No. 7 Ohio State Returns Home For California Dual – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
Buckeyes look for an upset against No. 3 Golden Bears
COLUMBUS, Ohio Returning after a break in collegiate action for the USA Gymnastics 2008 Winter Cup Challenge, the seventh-ranked Ohio State men’s gymnastics team (4-5; 2-3 Big Ten) looks to earn a win at home against a strong and No. 3-ranked California team at 7 p.m. Saturday in St. John Arena. The men’s dual with the Golden Bears is part of a co-ed meet with the No. 23 women’s team vs. Pittsburgh.
GET IT HERE FIRST
Follow live scoring of the co-ed meet Saturday, which can be accessed from the men’s gymnastics schedule page online at OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
IN THE RECORDS
The Buckeyes trail the Golden Bears in the all-time series, 11-13, but the programs have traded dual wins in the past four years:
March 10, 2007 at California L, 213.0-212.3
Feb. 18, 2006 vs. California W, 215.9-210.7
Feb. 12, 2005 at California W, 215.35-214.45
Feb. 13, 2004 vs. California L, 217.4-218.175
CONFERENCE BEST: DOUBLE-TIME
After earning his first-career Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honor Jan. 30, junior captain Jake Bateman repeated as the conference’s honoree, sharing the laurel with Penn State’s Vladi Klurman, the conference office announced last Wednesday. The award, the second of his career, marked the first time a Buckeye received back-to-back weekly league laurels since Randy Monahan did so Jan. 14 and 21, 2004.
Bateman collected wins in two of the three events he competed on at the Buckeyes’ nonconference tri-meet vs. Temple and Navy in Philadelphia Feb. 2. With a 15.25, just .05 points shy of his season high, the Kingsport, Tenn., native nabbed first on parallel bars, distancing himself from the competition by nearly a point. The Buckeye tri-captain also won on rings with a 15.05, helping the Buckeyes to an event win, 58.35-55.35. Bateman added his third Top 4 score of the night with a 13.85 for fourth on pommel horse.
Bateman’s first weekly league award came Jan. 30 after he notched his first all-around victory as a Buckeye with score of 89.1. En route to his career-high mark, he tallied four Top 5 finishes, including his first event win of the season on parallel bars (15.3), vs. Illinois in St. John Arena (Jan. 26).
A LOOK BACK
The seventh-ranked Ohio State squad fell to No. 9 Temple, 342.85-341.15, and defeated No. 11 Navy, 341.15-332.85, Feb. 2 in Philadelphia. After losing junior Eddie Hay early on floor because of injury, the Buckeyes had to battle hard for every point with only four gymnasts competing on four events.
Captains Jake Bateman and Jimmy Wickham took charge, securing first-place finishes on three events. Bateman earned top marks on rings (15.05) and parallel bars (15.25) while Wickham nabbed his first win on floor in 2008 with a season-best 15.6 and tied for second on vault with his second 15.6 of the evening. Other top Buckeye performances included junior Andy Saurber’s career and team-high 14.25 on pommel horse for third. The squad swept on rings with Bateman in first, freshman Brandon Wynn in second (14.9) and sophomore Shachar Tal in third (14.4). Wynn ended the night with two more second-place finishes on parallel bars (14.4) and high bar (14.6).
WINTER CUP REPORT
At the 2008 USA Gymnastics Winter Cup, junior Jake Bateman placed 13th in the all-around with a two-day total of 166.85 Saturday at the Las Vegas Sports Center. The gymnast ended the national meet in 14th on rings (29.25) and 15th on vault (30.5).
Blaine Wilson, a three-time Olympian and former Buckeye (1994-97), finished the weekend with Top 10 finishes on floor (t-9th/29.0), rings (7th/30.25), vault (t-4/31.75) and high bar (6th/29.05). Paul Hamm, the 2004 Olympic all-around champion, topped the competition, winning the all-around with a two-day score of 185.85. Both athletes are coached by Ohio State head coachMiles Avery.
Leading the field heading into the finals, Hamm scored a 93.05 in the all-around Saturday to finish with a combined score of 185.85 in his first competition since winning Olympic gold in Athens. Former-Buckeye Raj Bhavsar (2000-03) finished second with a total of 178.6.
Also competing in the finals was OSU signee Alexy Bilozertchev, who placed 15th in the all-around with a 165.05.
Buckeyes Eddie Hay and Sean Regan also participated at the Winter Cup qualifier Thursday. The teammates tied on high bar with a 13.75 for 24th at the qualifier and Regan went on to finish the all-around in 28th.
GOLDEN BEAR LOOKOUT
At the Stanford Open, California (2-1) placed second with a 357.9 score at Burnham Pavilion. Host and then-No. 3 Stanford won the event with a 361.35 and Nebraska finished third (333.85).
At the meet, the Golden Bears swept the Top 3 finishes on pommel horse with junior standout Kyson Bunthuwong nabbing the event win (14.8). Seniors Tim McNeill and Colin Christ finished second (14.7) and third (14.5), respectively, as the squad won the event with a 58.2. The squad had two more event wins, one coming on rings (59.5) and the other on parallel bars (61.6). On rings, senior Tyler Block scored a meet-best 15.75 while McNeill won on parallel bars with a 15.75.
OHIO STATE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Entering the sixth week of the regular season, Ohio State remains seventh in the GymInfo national rankings with a team total season average of 343.483 after three competitions. Penn State remains atop the standings with an average of 355.087 while Stanford and California hold steady at the No. 2 (354.183) and No. 3 (352.575) spots, respectively. Moving into fourth is Oklahoma with a team average of 350.037. Illinois also moves up the charts to fifth (348.95) with conference rival Michigan following in sixth (347.587). Trailing the Buckeyes in eighth are the Golden Gophers (342.5). Temple remains in ninth (339.917) with Iowa rounding out the country’s Top 10 with a team average of 336.3.
The Buckeyes hold Top 10 team averages on five events, including a team-best sixth on floor (58.733).
BUCKEYES IN THE TOP 20
Three Ohio State gymnasts hold Top 10 individual event scores in the national rankings, including captains DJ Bucher, Jimmy Wickham and Jake Bateman. Wickham has the highest ranking for a Buckeye ranking third on vault with a 15.933 average while Bateman is seventh on parallel bars and 10th in the all-around. Bucher is eighth on pommel horse with an average score of 14.225.
Junior Eddie Hay has recorded the nation’s 12th highest average on parallels bars (12.15) while rookie Brandon Wynn has cracked the GymInfo Top 20 individual national rankings in three standings rings (13th), high bar (16th) and the all-around (16th).
CONFERENCE STANDINGS
Defending national champion Penn State leads both the Big Ten Conference and national rankings with a season average of 355.087 points. In second is Illinois (348.95) and rounding out the league’s top half is Michigan with an average of 347.587. Ohio State is fourth with a team average of 343.483 while Minnesota holds fifth (342.5) in the Big Ten and Iowa owns sixth (336.3)
OFF THE BOARD
One thing is for certain, once senior Jimmy Wickham’s hands hit the board Ohio State can expect a high score. Earning the team’s top mark on vault in each of its three competitions, Wickham has been an anchor for the Buckeyes on the event in 2008. Notching a career-high 16.25 on the apparatus vs. Illinois Jan. 26, the Gulfport, Miss., native earned his first win of the season. The captain scored a team-best 15.95 on vault at the Windy City Invitational (Jan. 12) for fourth and a 15.6 vs. Temple (Feb. 2) to tie for second. The success he has found this season ranks him second in the Big Ten Conference and third in the nation with a 15.933 average.
AN ALL-AROUND PAIR
Buckeye all-arounders junior Jake Bateman and freshman Brandon Wynn have shown consistency in 2008, which has proven vital to the Ohio State effort this season. Against Illinois Jan. 26, Bateman tallied a career-high 89.1 to claim his first all-around win after finishing with a sixth-place 82.2 at the Windy City Invitational Jan. 12. And not far behind the junior in scoring is OSU newcomer Wynn. A native of Voorhees, N.J., Wynn finished seventh at the invite with an 81.6 and third against the Fighting Illini with an 85.75. Last time out, he served as the only Buckeye all-arounder notching a fourth-place 84.4 at the tri-meet vs. Temple and Navy Feb. 2. Bateman and Wynn are ranked fifth and seventh in the all-around, respectively, among Big Ten competitors. In the national standings, Bateman is 10th while Wynn is 16th.
UP NEXT
The Buckeyes host No. 1 Penn State at 2 p.m. Feb. 24 at St. John Arena in the third and final co-ed dual meet of the 2008 season as the women’s side also takes on the Nittany Lions. The conference matchup marks Ohio State men’s gymnastics debut on the Big Ten Network. The network will air the meet on tape delay at 6 p.m. Feb. 28 and 4 p.m. March 2.
