No. 3 Ohio State Men’s Gymnastics Opens Season at Windy City Invitational – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/9/2007 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
Jan. 9, 2007
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 3 ranked Ohio State men’s gymnastics team begins the 2007 season when it travels to Chicago for the 37th-annual Windy City Invitational. The meet is set for 8 p.m. EST Saturday at the UIC Physical Education Building on the campus of UIC. Ohio State looks to defend its 2006 invite title against five squads including Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and UIC.
“I expect our guys to do a good job and show how talented this team is,” Miles Avery, Ohio State men’s gymnastics coach, said. “We are not at full strength yet, but I still think they will do well. Everyone is looking forward to this meet.”
IN THE WINDY CITY
Ohio State makes the trip to the Windy City Invitational for the 27th-consecutive year. Last season, the Buckeyes reclaimed first with an overall score of 211.65. In the win, the squad outscored their opponents on floor, rings, parallel bars and high bar. Illinois, the top finisher in 2005, followed in second (210.5) and Michigan rounded out the Top 3 with a score of 207.4.
Since competing in the invitational, the Buckeyes have captured the invite’s title on 10 occasions. Most recently, Ohio State won in 2006 and had back-to-back wins in 2003 and 2004. OSU also was the invitational’s champion in 1985, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997 and 2000.
BUCKEYES IN THE RANKINGS
The program earned the No. 3 spot in the 2007 preseason coaches’ poll released by the College Gymnastics Association (CGA) Nov. 14. Two-time defending NCAA champion Oklahoma holds the No. 1 spot after receiving nine first-place votes, followed by Stanford.
The Buckeyes placed highest among their conference foes after securing back-to-back league titles in 2005 and 2006. All six Big Ten programs earned Top 10 preseason ranks. The remaining five teams landed the fifth through ninth spots in the rankings. No. 5 Penn State received two first-place votes and was followed by No. 6 Illinois, No. 7 Iowa, No. 8 Michigan and No. 9 Minnesota.
BIG TEN PRESEASON POLL
Ohio State earned a preseason second-place selection by the Big Ten Conference coaches Dec. 19. The coaches voted Penn State first among league competition heading into the 2007 season and Michigan third. Illinois, Minnesota and Iowa ranked fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.
Additionally, the Big Ten coaches selected a 12-member Preseason All-Big Ten team, which included 2006 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Jake Bateman and four-time All-American DJ Bucher.
The Buckeyes return all 14 letterwinners from the 2006 Big Ten Championships squad and red-shirted freshman Kevin Brown. The seasoned squad touts the talents of 2006 All-Americans Willie Ito on high bar, Bucher on pommel horse and Jimmy Wickham on vault.
SCARLET AND GRAY CAPTAINS
Named at Varsity Exhibition, seniors Kristopher Kline and Nicholaus Searcy will lead the Buckeyes in 2007. Kline, a consistent competitor for the Buckeyes since joining the squad in 2004, competed in all six regular-season meets as a junior and represented the program on five events at the 2006 NCAA Championships qualifying round. In addition, he earned a career-high 9.05 on floor and personal-best 9.3 on vault at 2006 Big Ten Championships and noted Academic All-Big Ten and OSU Scholar-Athlete honors.
Searcy, honored by his teammates as the 2006 Big Ten Sportsman of the Year from Ohio State, also saw action in all regular-season meets and served as team co-captain as a junior. The Buckeye ranked nationally in the Top 5 on parallel bars eight of nine weeks and spent three-consecutive weeks in the third spot in GymInfo national rankings. On the event, he placed first on parallel bars (9.3) at 2006 NCAA Championships team qualifying session.
MEETING THE ROOKIES
Avery welcomes five freshmen to the program in 2007. Michael Bell, Vince DePiero, Tai Lee, Justin Myers and Shachar Tal comprise the Ohio State freshman class.
Michael Bell, coached by Ohio State alum Mike Serra at Hocking Valley Gymnastics Center, has competed in five Junior Olympic National championships including the 2004 all-around finals. Bell was also a member of the Hocking Valley state championships squad (2001-06).
Vince DePiero came to Ohio State with hopes to break into a collegiate career on parallel bars, but has been delayed with a shoulder injury.
Tai Lee landed the No. 1 high school recruit honor after capturing the 2006 Region VIII championship and wining the Region VIII “10.0” award. The “10.0” honor, awarded to the region’s outstanding high school senior in academics and gymnastics, was last won by Ohio State teammate Jake Bateman. A U.S. National Team member 2004-06, Lee is a three-time U.S. National rings champion and has competed internationally three times (Ukraine, El Salvador and Japan).
Justin Myers comes to Ohio State with a solid background on parallel bars and high bar. As a junior, he claimed the 2006 state championships parallel bars title and qualified for the Junior Olympics championships four times.
Shachar Tal joined the Buckeye squad in January and will look to boost the Ohio State’s effort on rings. Previously, he competed for Israeli Men’s Senior National team on three occasions, including the 2006 Stela Zahrova Cup (Ukraine), 2004 European Championships (Slovenia) and 2003 World Championships (United States). In addition, Tal earned three Top 5 finishes at 2005 Maccabia Games including all-around (4th), floor (3rd) and parallel bars (1st) and finished third in the all-around at 2004 Israeli Championships.
SCOUTING THE ILLINI
Illinois, ranked sixth nationally in the College Gymnastics Association (CGA) preseason Coaches Poll, enters the 2007 with no seniors. Earning preseason All-Big Ten selections, juniors Wes Haagensen and Tyler Yamauchi return to lead the Orange and Blue. Haagensen, the 2005 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, continued to turn in solid routines for the Illini as a sophomore, capturing eight event titles. A 2006 All-Big Ten selection, Haagensen finished second in the all-around at the conference championships and was named an NCAA All-American on floor (5th), parallel bars (3rd), and all-around (4th). Yamauchi, 2006 All-American on rings, also notched eight event titles in 2006. Recipient of the 2006 Fighting Illini Attitude Team Award, Yamauchi had 19 Top 3 finishes and ended the season ranked 13th in the nation on rings.
TRACKING THE HAWKEYES
Iowa returns its two All-Americans Curtis Kleffman and Geoff Reins, and enter the season ranked seventh in the preseason national coaches poll. As a sophomore, Kleffman tied graduated teammate Michael Reavis in the all-around at the 2006 NCAA Championships. An All-American on pommel horse, Kleffman also returns as the Hawkeyes top returner on parallel bars. Reins an All-American on floor, looks to also turn in high scores on vault.
NEWS FROM UP NORTH
Ranked eighth in the nation, Michigan returns in 2007 with a healthy Justin Laury. After missing his last season due to injury, Laury returns for the Wolverines as a fifth-year senior. A 2005, Laury was named All-America in the all-around (5th) and won the all-around title at the Big Ten championships with a career and Michigan high 56.2. Laury, 2003 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, is joined on the squad this year by his freshman brother Torrance Laury. Both Laury and sophomore Kent Caldwell tabbed preseason All-Big Ten selections for the Wolverines. Caldwell returns on floor for the Maize and Blue after earning a 9.08 on the event at the NCAA championships qualifier.
SIZING UP MINNESOTA
The Golden Gophers return in 2007 ranked ninth in the country. Senior Jacob Lee looks to lead Minnesota on pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel and high bar again. Lee, who notched a 2006 team high score on every event with the exception of floor, was an All-Big Ten honoree as a junior. In his first season with the Gophers, Lee earned the Big Ten Freshman of the Year Award. Minnesota newcomer Cole Storer looks to make his mark in collegiate gymnastics in 2007. The Plano, Texas, native represented the U.S. in a 2005 dual meet between Germany where he noted first-place finishes on floor and high bar. Also in 2005, Storer took fourth in the all-around at the U.S. Championships.
ON THE FLAMES
Leading UIC in 2007 will be senior captain Tim Morrison. In his final campaign, he looks to again standout in the all-around. In his career, Morrison represented the Flames at the past three NCAA championships. In 2006, he finished 11th in the all-around with a 48.625 at the national championships qualifier.
MONOHAN NAMED ASSISTANT VOLUNTEER COACH
Miles Avery has appointed former Buckeye Randy Monahan (2002-05) to the 2007 coaching staff as volunteer assistant coach. Monahan will assist the men’s program while continuing to train with Avery at the Steelwood Athletic Training Facility.
While at Ohio State, Monahan was a seven-time All-American, including a personal best 56.55 in the all-around for a second-place finish at the 2005 NCAA championships and won two Big Ten team championships in 2002 and 2005. As a senior, Monahan was recognized as one of five Nissen-Emery Award finalists, an award presented to the outstanding senior male collegiate gymnast in the nation. As a Buckeye, Monahan compiled Ohio State program records in both the all-around (56.55) at the 2005 NCAA championships and rings (9.925) against UIC. He also won Big Ten Gymnast of the Year and Big Ten all-around championship titles in 2003 and 2004.
2007 SCHEDULE
Ohio State remains on the road for a dual meet at Illinois before returning for 1-of-2 home meets. The season home-opener will welcome Avery’s alma mater, Temple, to St. John Arena.
The Buckeyes face a demanding schedule this year as they challenge four tough competitors, Penn State, Oklahoma, California and Michigan at the end of the season. Ohio State will face-off against Penn State, Oklahoma and California on the road and end the season at home with a dual meet versus Michigan.
“It is a brutal schedule, but I hope it will make us one of the best teams in the nation,” Avery said. “The difficult season will only help ready ourselves for the Big Ten and NCAA championships.”
A plus of traveling this season will be the Buckeyes’ chance to preview the national championships setting when they visit Penn State. Avery hopes if will allow the team to familiarize themselves with the facility before returning in April for the championships.
UP NEXT FOR OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes take a week hiatus before again facing conference rival Illinois. The match-up will take Ohio State to Champaign, Ill., for the 65th dual between the two teams at 8 p.m. EST at Huff Hall.
