Women’s Gymnastics Opens Y2K at Michigan State – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/5/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Jan. 5, 2000
BUCKEYES VAULT INTO 2000
The 20th-ranked Ohio State women’s gymnastics team opens its 2000 season Saturday night on the road, battling the host Michigan State Spartans as well as nationally-ranked Louisiana State and Oregon State in the season opener for all four teams. The action begins at 7:30 p.m. at The Summit in Lansing, Mich.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
The Spartans return seven letterwinners from last season’s 15-13 squad which struggled to a sixth-place finish at the Big Ten Championship. MSU battled the injury bug throughout the season and will look to erase those memories this year, beginning Saturday night. Head coach Kathie Klages enters her 10th year with the Spartans, sporting a 150-80-1 record at MSU. Junior Melissa Green is the leading returner for Michigan State, coming off a stellar 1999 season in which she took seventh place in the all-around at the NCAA Regional.
SCOUTING LOUISIANA STATE
LSU enters the 2000 campaign with high hopes for a fabulous season, as all 10 of its letterwinners, including seven seniors, return from last season’s 11-6 squad which finished the season ranked No. 9 in the nation. The Tigers advanced to the NCAA Championship, where they missed by just five-hundredths of a point of advancing to the NCAA “Super Six.” The Tigers return three first-team all-Americans from last year’s squad. LSU is led by long-time mentor D.D. Breaux, who boasts a 253-140-4 record during her tenure in Baton Rouge. Ohio State and LSU have faced off one time, with the Tigers defeating OSU during the 1990 season.
SCOUTING OREGON STATE
Oregon State comes off a stellar 1999 season which saw the Beavers finish as the Pac-10 runners-up while notching a 16-8 overall record. The Beavers return nine letterwinners, including Lara Degenhardt, who competed at last year’s NCAA Championships in the floor exercise. Oregon State is coached by Tanya Chaplin, who earned Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors last season. In her third season, Chaplin has a 19-9 record with the Beavers. Ohio State and Oregon State have met just one time, with the Beavers defeating OSU in the 1982 Oregon State National Invitational. OSU, MSU RENEW RIVALRY
Michigan State holds a 19-14 series edge over Ohio State. OSU took the matchup last season, defeating the Spartans 193.625-187.925 Jan. 23 at St. John Arena. The Buckeyes have struggled at MSU, losing 10 straight contests in East Lansing. Ohio State has not won a dual meet in East Lansing since the 1985 season. But OSU did defeat MSU at the Big Ten Championship in East Lansing last year, as the Buckeyes took third place and the Spartans notched sixth.
BUCKEYE INJURY REPORT
The Buckeyes will be without freshman Sheri Greig this weekend. Greig will not make the trip to Lansing after injuring an ankle in practice. OSU will also have limited services from Stephanie Buerkel, who injured a big toe. Instead of competing in the all-around, Buerkel will participate only in the bars. In her first collegiate meet, freshman Sarah Spring will step into Buerkel’s place in the all-around. The Buckeyes also will welcome back senior Lacey Hudson, who missed the entire 1999 season after suffering a dislocated kneecap.
RECAPPING THE MIXED PAIRS COMPETITION
OSU freshman gymnasts Sarah Spring and Raj Bhavsar claimed the title in the intersquad Mixed Pairs Championship at St. John Arena. The team of Spring and Bhavsar won the competition with a combined total of 57.250. After trailing for the first two rounds, the duo edged out Amanda Allen and Jamie Natalie in the championship round. Ten pairs competed through two rotations of events, as selected by each gymnast. The top four pairs advanced to the final round to compete for the title. The other finalists were Lindsey Vagedes and Michael Evans and the duo of Jill Tucker and Earnest Nelson. Tucker recorded the high scores for the women’s team, posting a 9.7 on the floor exercise and a 9.725 on the vault.
PLENTY OF TALENT RETURNING
Ohio State returns 12 letterwinners to the fold this season, including two-time all-American Lindsey Vagedes and all four all-Big Ten nominees from the 1998-99 campaign. Vagedes also gleaned all-Big Ten honors last year, along with Mary Beth Doerr, Elizabeth Jensen and Jill Tucker. OSU lost just three letterwinners from last year’s team, which took third place at the Big Ten Championship.
VAGEDES BACK FOR MORE
Already a two-time all-American, junior Lindsey Vagedes naturally has high aspirations for the 2000 season. She etched her name in the OSU record book last year, becoming OSU’s first all-American in 12 years, earning first-team status on the vault and second-team honors in the all-around. She also won championships on the vault and balance beam at the Big Ten Championship, marking two of 19 first-place finishes during her stellar sophomore season. Vagedes also took the Big Ten vault title as a freshman.
NEW BUCKEYES SET FOR ACTION
OSU welcomes five freshmen to the program this year. Sheri Greig, Stefanie Marshall, Sarah Spring, Rickee Wirtzberger and Janine Ziernicki all have potential to see plenty of action during their debut season, and Cox expects them all to provide the team with some key performances. All five saw action at the Mixed Pairs competition, with Spring earning the Mixed Pairs title along with fellow freshman Raj Bhavsar.
DAUNTING SCHEDULE FACES OSU
Ohio State will tackle a grueling schedule this year, battling 11 of the top-25 teams in the preseason coaches poll, including seven of the top 14. As if this wasn’t tough enough, OSU will face all but two of those squads on the road. The Buckeyes battle No. 7 Arizona State, No. 8 Penn State, No. 10 LSU, No. 11 Stanford, No. 12 Oregon State, No. 17 West Virginia and No. 18 Maryland in road dual matches and No. 4 Michigan and No. 14 Minnesota in the Big Ten Championship. OSU also takes on No. 13 N.C. State and No. 25 Oklahoma at home this year.
NACGC Preseason Poll School Points 1. Georgia 854 2. Alabama 825 3. UCLA 816 4. Michigan 806 5. Utah 770 6. Nebraska 680 7. Arizona St. 644 8. Penn State 590 9. Florida 584 10.LSU 584 11.Stanford 577 12.Oregon State 431 13.N.C. State 354 14.Minnesota 345 15.Denver 315 16.Arizona 283 17.W. Virginia 276 18.Maryland 264 19.Washington 250 20.Ohio State 245 21.Utah State 241 22.Iowa State 189 23.BYU 108 24.Auburn 97 25.Oklahoma 70
SI for Women Preseason Poll No. School 1. Georgia 2. Alabama 3. Utah 4. UCLA 5. Michigan 6. Arizona State 7. LSU 8. Nebraska 9. Penn State 10.Oregon State
2000 OSU Opponents in Bold
LOOKING BACK AT 1999
The OSU women’s gymnastics team finished with an 8-6 dual meet record last year, going a perfect 5-0 at home in St. John Arena. The Buckeyes notches two key wins at home over formidable foes Penn State and Arizona State, both ranked in the top 10. OSU took a third-place finish home from the Big Ten Championship as four Buckeyes – Lindsey Vagedes, Mary Beth Doerr, Elizabeth Jensen and Jill Tucker – garnered all-Big Ten laurels. OSU moved on to the NCAA Regional but struggled, taking fifth place while failing to qualify for the NCAA Championship. Despite failing to advance as a team, OSU did send Vagedes to the NCAA Championship as an individual, where she earned all-America status on the vault and in the all-around, becoming Ohio State’s fourth gymnast to take all-America honors and the first to become a two-time all-American.
