Michigan
Ohio State
Weekly Release #3: vs. Illinois and Ohio State
1/26/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Jan. 29 -- host Illinois and Ohio State (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 5 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa.), 7 p.m.
Looking Ahead to Ohio State and Illinois
The No. 2-ranked University of Michigan men's gymnastics team will face No. 4 Ohio State and No. 7 Illinois for the second time this season at the Wolverines' Cliff Keen Arena on Friday, Jan. 29. Their initial matchup was at the season's opening meet, the Windy City Invitational on Jan. 16, where the Wolverines placed third with a team score of 224.050, the Buckeyes finished second (225.000) and the Fighting Illini claimed fourth (223.400). Seven ranked teams competed in Chicago, with No. 3 Iowa (226.675) taking the top honors.
The Fighting Illini
The 1998 season for Illinois proved to be its best since the highly touted 1989 squad competed under head coach Yoshi Hayasaki's direction. Hayasaki led his '98 team to a 13-5 dual meet record and a third-place finish at NCAAs. Travis Romagnoli and Kyle Zak are the two returning All-Americans. Romagnoli received national championship honors in the all-around and on vault, and Zak contributed an All-America performance on the floor exercise.
Michigan met Illinois last season in a dual meet with Penn State on Jan. 31. The Fighting Illini topped off the Wolverines (223.05) and the Nittany Lions (224.80) with a 226.975 score. They also both competed in the 1998 Windy City and Santa Barbara Invitationals -- Michigan scored a 220.80 and a 223.50 and Illinois received a 223.80 and a 227.110, respectively.
The Buckeyes
Ohio State started the season off strong with second place at the Windy City Invitational. Tim Elsner took third place in the all-around (56.200), including a first place on the floor exercise with a 9.850. Leading along with Elsner was Jamie Natalie, competing with strong finishes on the floor exercise, pommel horse and parallel bars.
In his first year in 1998, head coach Miles Avery led his Buckeyes to third-place finish (229.60) at the Big Ten Championships, first place at the NCAA Regionals (228.725) and a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Championship Preliminaries. Avery heads into his second season with a claim on second place (225.00) at the Windy City Invitational and a win over Michigan State (223.600) with a score of 226.250 on Jan. 23 in Columbus, Ohio.
Wolverines Climb into the Runner-up Spot
Entering into the third week of competition, Michigan has continued to move up on the NAGC/M rankings, jumping from fourth place to second (228.475) in the nation. Contributing to this climb was the Wolverines' performance against Illinois-Chicago this past weekend (Jan. 23). Michigan (228.475) blew out Illinois (219.700) with an 8.775 point difference. The Maize and Blue are currently behind Penn State (228.750).
NAGC/M Top 20 Rankings (1/25/99)
1. Penn State 228.750
2. MICHIGAN 228.475
3. Iowa 226.675
4. Ohio State 226.250
5. Massachusettes 223.650
6. Michigan State 223.600
7. Illinois 223.400
8. Nebraska 221.150
9. Illinois-Chicago 221.050
Oklahoma 221.050
11. Bringham Young 220.250
12. Minnesota 216.550
13. California 214.800
14. William & Mary 213.850
15. Temple 212.000
16. Stanford 211.900
17. Air Force 211.150
18. Navy 211.050
19. Army 209.250
20. James Madison 193.600
