No. 3 Ohio State Men’s Gymnastics Lands in Third at Windy City Invitational – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/14/2007 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
Jan. 14, 2007
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CHICAGO – The Ohio State men’s gymnastics team (3-2), ranked No. 3 in the preseason GymInfo Coaches Poll, finished third at the 37th annual Windy City Invitational with a score of 209.5 Saturday. Michigan sprang into first place with a total of 212.75 and Illinois just nudged out the Buckeyes with a second-place score of 209.75.
“I’m not worried with these guys because they are a good team,” Miles Avery, Ohio State men’s gymnastics head coach, said. “We trained through this week so that we will peak later in the season and it showed tonight. We didn’t hit tonight, but I’m confident this team will be ready in March and April.”
The Buckeyes started the night on pommel horse with a team score of 33.35. Senior Grant Osborne (Fort Collins, Colo./USOTC) led with a team-high score of 9.0 on the event, grabbing second-place. Freshman standout Tai Lee (Orlando, Fla./ Orlando Metro Gymnastics) hit his first collegiate routine with a score of 8.55 and sophomore Andy Saurber (Hamilton, Ohio/Queen City Gymnastics) aided the Ohio State effort with an 8.0.
On rings, Pejman Ebrahimi (Jr., Encino, Calif./LeClub Gymnastics) bested his career high by .45 with a score of 9.3 to finish the competition second on the event, trailing behind his teammate Lee by only .2 tenths of a point. Lee, a three-time junior U.S. National Champion on rings, turned in the team’s highest mark with a 9.5. With the 9.5, Lee garnered his first event title and in all, Ohio State noted a score of 35.45 on the apparatus.
Junior David Ortiz (Cincinnati, Ohio/Queen City Gymnastics) finished tied for third with Ralph Rosso from Michigan with an 8.75 in the third rotation. Ortiz led the Buckeyes on vault and classmate Jimmy Wickham (Gulfport, Miss./Planet Gymnastics) followed with an 8.65 to tie Wes Haagensen from Illinois for fifth. Ohio State ended the halfway mark of the meet in fourth place with 103.75 points after scoring a 33.95 on vault.
Senior co-captain Nicholaus Searcy (Dublin, Ohio/Hocking Valley Gymnastics), nationally ranked in the Top 5 in eight of nine weeks of the 2006 season on parallel bars, returned for the Buckeyes on the event with a career-high and title winning 9.55. For Searcy, the 9.55 bested his previous career high by a tenth of a point and gave the senior his third career first-place finish. Willie Ito (Sr., Huntington Beach, Calif./South Coast Gymnastics) also boosted the squad’s team score of 36.5 with a fourth-place 9.3.
In a difficult rotation for the Buckeyes, OSU recorded a 34.5 on high bar. Ortiz again turned in a solid routine for the Scarlet and Gray with a 9.05. He finished third among competitors and highest among the Buckeyes on the apparatus. Ortiz was followed by seniors Ito and Osborne, notching an 8.7 and 8.6, respectively. At the end of five rotations, Ohio State had a second-place score of 173.75 points behind Michigan’s 179.35.
The Buckeyes finished the competition on floor and recorded a score of 35.75 on the event. Sophomore Eddie Hay (Butler, Pa./Butler Gymnastics) led the squad with a third-place 9.2 and 2006 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Jake Bateman (So., Kingsport, Tenn./Premier Athletics) added a 9.05.
Senior co-captain Kristopher Kline (Westerville, Ohio/Hocking Valley Gymnastics) finished the all-around in fifth place with a 49.1. Kline nearly matched his 2006 Windy City all-around score of 49.2. Bateman finished 10th in the competition with a 44.3 for the night.
Ohio State has a bye week before traveling to Champaign, Ill., Jan. 27 where it will face Illinois for a 7 p.m. dual.
