Buckeyes look ahead to 2020 Season Opener
1/6/2020 9:45:03 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s gymnastics team is set to begin another season Saturday, Jan. 18. The Buckeyes will open up the 96th season at home hosting Oklahoma and Arizona State University in the Covelli Center’s inaugural year. To wrap up the 2019 season, the Buckeyes placed sixth at the Big Ten Championships, ended with five qualifiers for the individual NCAA Championships finals, and fielded a Big Ten and NCAA individual champion on pommel horse, Alec Yoder.
Head coach of the Buckeyes, Rustam Sharipov will begin his ninth season with the Buckeyes placed at No. 6 in the Big Ten preseason poll.
“Throughout this semester our main focus was to build a mentally & physically strong team. This year we have 5 freshman student-athletes who have been working hard to prove themselves each and every day so that they can make a big impact on the program. I have been very impressed with their work ethic along with their attitude! We have a very experienced team of 8 Sophomores, 7 Juniors, and 1 Senior, who will lead this team in the upcoming 2020 season.” said Sharipov, “Our two Junior co-captains, Michael Chan and Sean Neighbarger have been doing a great job in leading the team by example in and outside of the gym. Our goal for the beginning of the season is to be 100% healthy and to be ready for our home opener in our new state of the art Covelli Center against Oklahoma and Arizona State on January 18th. This season our focus will remain the same, in regards to putting our best team together and fighting in every single opponent we face. We appreciate your support and are looking forward to seeing you this season in the Covelli! Go, Bucks!”
Assistant coach, Jamie Henderson, will be entering his first season with the Buckeyes and looks to help aid the team in reaching their goal of championships.
“My hopes for the season are pretty simple; stay healthy mentally and physically starting now and throughout the season. Also, I hope our guys compete with integrity and passion. I feel we have had a productive training this semester with our guys stepping up in terms of quality and repetition.” said Henderson, “ I am excited to see how our guys handle adversity as the season goes on and step up to the level of competition ahead of us. If we stay on our current training path I am confident we will reach our goal of Conference Champions and qualify to finals at NCAA Championships.”
The Buckeyes will host three home meets this season (Jan.18, Feb.1, Feb. 29) at the Covelli Center. The Big Ten Championships are set for April 3-4 followed by the NCAA Championships April 17-18.
