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No. 4 Ohio State Earns Program Best Team Score at No. 2 Michigan – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/1/2014 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
Feb. 1, 2014
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The No. 4 Ohio State men’s gymnastics team had its best performance of the season Saturday afternoon, earning a program best 440.800 against defending national champion No. 2 Michigan. The Buckeyes fell to the Wolverines, 444.550-440.800, at Cliff Keen Arena.
“I’m really proud of the guys and how they handled the meet and I hope that we can build more confidence from this experience,” Ohio State head coach Rustam Sharipov said. “I’m pleased with the team performance, especially during the second half of the meet. We’re on the right path.”
The Buckeyes claimed four individual event titles against the Wolverines, as sophomore Jake Martin claimed first place on pommel horse with a career-high 15.60 and tied for first place on vault with a career-high 15.30, junior Drew Moling claimed first place on rings with a career-high 15.75 and sophomore Alex Johnson claimed first place on high bar with a career-high 15.40.
In addition, Ohio State earned team best scores on floor exercise (72.55), rings (74.65), parallel bars (73.65) and high bar (75.10). The team score on high bar is the highest score in the nation this year.
The Buckeyes opened the meet on pommel horse, where Martin paced the team with his first-place overall finish. Behind Martin, freshmen Sean Melton and Jake Dastrup tied for second on the team and sixth overall with a 14.700. The score marked a career-high for Dastrup.
The Scarlet and Gray moved to floor exercise for the second rotation. Dastrup led the team with a 14.950, which marked a career-high and a third-place finish overall. Junior Danny Steiner scored a 14.700 to place second on the team and Johnson tallied a career-high 14.55 to round out the top three scorers.
In the third rotation on vault, Martin tied with Michigan’s Sam Mikulak for a first-place finish overall. Dastrup and redshirt junior Jeff Treleaven rounded out the top three Buckeyes, scoring 14.700 and 14.450, respectively.
Moling led the Buckeyes on rings during the fourth rotation for the third consecutive meet. Melton tallied a career-high 15.050 and senior Misha Koudinov earned a career-high 14.950 to claim the second and third top scores on the team.
Ohio State swept the top three spots on high bar in the fifth rotation, as Martin earned a season-high 15.100 and senior Kris Done notched a season-high 14.900 to place second and third overall behind Johnson.
The Buckeyes closed the dual meet on parallel bars, where Melton tied for second place overall with a career-high 15.400, Koudinov placed fourth with a 14.95 and Done placed fifth with career-high 14.70.
Ohio State returns to action against No. 5 California Friday, Feb. 14 at St. John Arena at 7 p.m.
