Ohio State
Windy City Invitational
No. 3 Ohio State Finishes Third at Windy City Invitational – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
Jan. 18, 2015
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 3 Ohio State men’s gymnastics team opened its 2015 regular season with a third-place showing at the 45th annual Windy City Invitational at UIC Pavilion in Chicago Saturday evening.
The Buckeyes totaled a final team score of 414.800, finishing behind fifth-ranked Illinois (428.100) and No. 2 Michigan (422.950). No. 9 Iowa was fourth (414.000), followed by No. 7 Minnesota (410.350) and host and 16th-ranked UIC (388.400)
“We have a lot of young guys – five freshmen – who experienced their first college meet today, and this was a challenging meet to open with,” head coach Rustam Sharipov said. “That being said, I’m not totally happy with our performance. We expected a better showing tonight, so we need to get back to the gym and regroup for next Saturday.”
Ohio State won two of six events as a team, posting high scores on its first two rotations, parallel bars (70.750) and high bar (71.400). Three Buckeyes – sophomore Sean Melton, freshman Alexander Wilson and senior Drew Moling – placed in the Top 10 on parallel bars. Melton earned a second-place score of 14.800, followed by Wilson (eighth, 14.250) and Moling (ninth, 14.200). Moling continued his early momentum with a third-place showing on high bar (15.000). Redshirt junior Donald Yeager was fourth with a personal-best score of 14.800, while sophomore Andrew Rickly tied for sixth (14.500).
OSU moved to floor exercise for the third rotation, where redshirt junior Andrew Teal and senior Danny Steiner led the way for the Scarlet and Gray, with Teal turning in a score of 14.700 for third place and Steiner a 14.550 to finish tied for fourth. Overall, the team totaled a score of 69.650.
The fourth rotation was not kind to the Buckeyes, as the team failed to place an individual in the Top 15 on its way to a score of 62.000 on pommel horse, dropping to fifth place through four rotations. Sophomore Logan Melander was the top finisher, tying for 17th with a 13.100.
Ohio State took to rings for the fifth rotation, with Melton contributing a sixth-place score of 14.500 and senior Alex Nork a 13th-place score of 14.000. As a team, OSU finished with a score of 68.900.
Senior Larry Mayer got the Buckeyes back on track in the sixth rotation with a second-place tie on vault (15.00). Melander contributed a 14.400 and Wilson a 14.300 as the Buckeyes computed a score of 72.100 as a team to jump to third in the final team standings.
The Buckeyes return to action Saturday, Jan. 24 against Illinois in the first of three Big Ten regular season dual meets. The meet is slated for a 4 p.m. ET start at St. John Arena.
Top 3 by Event
Floor Exercise
3. Andrew Teal – 14.700
T-4. Danny Steiner – 14.550
T-19. Alexander Wilson – 13.550
T-19. Emeric Quade – 13.550
Pommel Horse
T-17. Logan Melander – 13.100
19. Donald Yeager – 12.800
26. Alexander Wilson – 12.200
Rings
T-6. Sean Melton – 14.500
13. Alex Nork – 14.000
20. Cody Teaney –13.600
Vault
T-2. Larry Mayer – 15.000
T-13. Logan Melander – 14.400
T-16. Alexander Wilson – 14.300
Parallel Bars
2. Sean Melton – 14.800
8. Alexander Wilson – 14.250
9. Drew Moling – 14.200
High Bar
3. Drew Moling – 15.000
4. Donald Yeager – 14.800
T-6. Andrew Rickly – 14.500
