Looking Back 2008-09: Men’s Gymnastics – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
Four All-Americans and a Big Ten Freshman of the Year honor highlighted the 2009 season
The Ohio State men’s gymnastics team did just as it intended to do in 2009, make it back to the nation’s Super Six by peaking at the right time. After finishing in third place for a second year in a row at the Big Ten Championships, Miles Avery’s squad returned to Columbus and trained solidly during its bye week before the national championships.
The effort in the gym paid off as the Scarlet and Gray posted a season-high 354.3 team total, topping host Minnesota (351.05) in the final rotation to garner a Top 3 finish at the national qualifier April 16 and advanced to the NCAA team finals for the first time in three seasons. In all, the Buckeyes collected seven individual career-high marks at the qualifier.
“Coming down to horse, we knew it was between us and Minnesota,” Avery said. “I thought Minnesota had a tremendous competition and I thought we did too. What a fight and exciting competition for sports fans. It was a tremendous fight right down to the last guy competing.”
Ohio State had another career night as the squad tallied its second-consecutive season high with a 355.95 team total April 17 at the 2009 NCAA Championships at the Sports Pavilion in Minnesota. The squad finished the competition in sixth place and saw sophomore Brandon Wynn earn his first career All-America honor with an eighth-place finish (87.45) in the all-around.
The Scarlet and Gray concluded its season at the NCAA individual event finals April 18 where three Buckeyes earned All-America accolades. Ohio State’s first-year pommel horse specialists Ty Echard and Steven Spencer turned in their third-consecutive solid outing to earn their first-career All-America honors. Spencer executed the best set of his career, posting a program-high 15.475 to finish second while Echard tallied his second-consecutive personal high, a 15.45, to place third. Illinois’ Daniel Ribeiro won the pommel horse title with a 15.575. On rings, senior co-captain Jake Bateman capped his four-year career capturing his second All-America honor with a 15.25 on rings to tie Stanford’s Tim Gentry for fourth. In his 12-year career, Avery has tutored 22 All-Americans.
At the league championships, Ohio State finished third with a score of 349.9 behind Illinois and Michigan who tied for first (357.1) April 3 at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich. Two Buckeyes finished in the Top 6 of the all-around, earning All-Big Ten status. Bateman placed third with an 88.55 while rookie Philip Onorato, the 2009 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, took sixth with an 82.65. The Plano, Texas, native became just the sixth Buckeye to earn the conference’s rookie of the year honor and the first since Bateman was the honoree in 2006. Fifth-year senior and co-captain Pejman Ebrahimi was named Ohio State’s Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree.
Onorato headlined Ohio State’s stellar performance at the Big Ten individual event championships April 4, placing second on rings (15.275) and vault (16.0). Joining the rookie on the podium for rings were Wynn in third (15.25) and Bateman in fifth (15.025). Bateman, who competed in 5-of-6 event finals, placed on four events, including floor (fourth), rings, vault (sixth) and parallel bars (sixth). Junior Shachar Tal recorded his first Top 6 league finish with a fourth-place 14.725 on parallel bars.
In 2009, the Buckeyes were 3-7 overall and 1-6 in the Big Ten. Bateman was selected as a Nissen-Emery Award finalist to continue Ohio State’s streak. Since 1999, the Scarlet and Gray have produced a candidate to the award’s finalists list nine of the last 11 seasons. In April, the senior was awarded an educational grant through the NCAA postgraduate scholarship program. Bateman was one of 58 winter-sport student-athletes across the nation to receive the one-time, nonrenewable grant. The Buckeyes also continued to be successful in the classroom with eight student-athletes earning Academic All-Big Ten status.
