The Ohio State men’s gymnastics team hosted the Big Ten Championship at St. John Arena Friday and Saturday, competing against Penn State, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois.
After two nights of competition, OSU’s Randy Monahan was named the 2003 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year.
Monahan won the all-around competition with a career-high score of 54.5 Friday night. Fellow Buckeye Raj Bhavsar, who was defending his all-around title from last season, helped the team with his third-place finish.
This was not enough to put the No. 3 Buckeyes ahead of No. 2 Penn State, as the Nittany Lions took top honors.
“As a team at a gymnastic level, it is all about everyone getting the routines when it comes time for it and getting over the nerves,” Bhavsar said.
The nerves hurt OSU when they competed on the pommel horse. Bhavsar had the best performance in the event for the Buckeyes, but only placed 12th.
“We were physically ready,” said coach Miles Avery. “There were no excuses. We just didn’t have it (Friday) night.”
The Buckeyes started the competition on the vault. Dick Huntwork finished his routine with an impressive 9.4 performance to tie for second. Huntwork’s score gave OSU a solid start, putting it near the top of the competition.
Performances on the parallel bars kept the Buckeyes in the hunt for the title. Bhavsar took second, leading the team to a first-place finish in the event.
OSU won first in the floor routine as well, scoring a season-high of 37.45.
The top six in each event Friday moved on to the individual round Saturday. OSU had six competitors in the final day.
Bhavsar scored a 9.275 to win the parallel bars title. He also placed third in the vault and sixth on the rings. Other impressive performances were given by Monahan with his second-place finish on the high bar and third place on the floor routine.
The men will spend next week preparing for the NCAA championships.
“We are going to continue to work hard,” Avery said. “We still have the opportunity to become national champions. We haven’t lost sight of that goal.”
This final meet for the season will take place April 11-13 in Philadelphia.
