University of Minnesota Athletics
MEN'S GYMNASTICS NARROWLY MISSES QUALIFYING FOR NCAA TEAM FINALS
4/5/2001 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
Ohio State won Session II with a score of 217.075, followed by Michigan (216.850), Michigan State (213.350), Minnesota (213.175), Iowa (209.175) and Stanford (208.875). The last time Minnesota qualified as a team for the NCAA Championships was in 1993 when the Golden Gophers went on to finish fifth in the nation.
In the closest race of the qualifiers, Michigan State and Minnesota entered the sixth and final rotation separated by only .025 points. Michigan State captured a 36.500 on vault to hold onto third place and advance to the team finals, while Minnesota's 36.350 on pommel horse was not enough to help them overtake the Spartans.
The Golden Gophers, however, did advance several Maroon and Gold gymnasts to the individual event preliminaries, and sophomore Clay Strother to the all-around finals. Each will be contested, along with the team finals, at 7 p.m. Friday, April 6, in OSU's St. John Arena.
Strother, performing exceptionally in his first full competition since spraining an ankle in early March, qualified for the all-around finals with his third-place finish with a score of 54.900 in session two. Raj Bhavsar of Ohio State won the all-around with a 55.325. Strother, a Jasper, Texas native, advanced to the national all-around finals with first-place finishes in the floor exercise (9.600) and pommel horse (9.700), and fourth-place finishes in the parallel bars (8.900) and vault (9.300). He also placed ninth in the high bar (8.800) and 24th in the rings (8.600).
In addition to Strother, Minnesota advanced the following Golden Gophers to the individual prelims: floor exercise - freshman Bill Callahan (8.950); pommel horse - junior Bob Goss (9.250) and junior Todd Guilbeau (8.800); vault - freshman Eric Steele (9.325); parallel bars - freshman Mitch Griffin (8.700); horizontal bar - Callahan (8.700). Steele, the 2001 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and conference vault champion, placed second in the vault with his score of 9.325.
2001 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championship National Qualifier, Session II April 5, 2001; 7 p.m. St. John Arena, Columbus, Ohio Team Scores: 1. Ohio State 217.075 2. Michigan 216.850 3. Michigan State 213.350 4. Minnesota 213.175 5. Iowa 209.175 6. Stanford 208.875 All-Around: 1. Raj Bhavsar, Ohio State, 55.325; 2. Daniel Diaz-Luong, Michigan, 54.975; 3. Clay Strother, Minnesota, 54.900. Other Minnesota finishers: 10. Todd Guilbeau, 50.250; 19. Eric Steele, 43.425. All-Around - Top Finisher and Individual Qualifiers: 1. Raj Bhavsar, Ohio State (55.325), Clay Strother, Minnesota (52.300), Andrew Thornton, Iowa (52.200), David Durante, Stanford (52.000). Floor Exercise: 1. Clay Strother, Minnesota, 9.600; 2. Raj Bhavsar, Ohio State, 9.200; 2. Daniel Diaz-Long, Michigan, 9.200; 2. Brad Kenna, Michigan, 9.200 . Other Minnesota finishers: T10. Bill Callahan, 8.950; T19. Josh Nitzberg, 8.800; T33. Tim Koehler, 8.550; 39. Eric Steele, 8.350; 40. Todd Guilbeau, 8.300. Floor Exercise - Top Finisher and Individual Qualifiers: 1. Clay Strother, Minnesota (9.600), Dan Gill, Stanford (9.125), Paul Di Palma, William & Mary (9.050), Bill Callahan, Minnesota (8.950). Pommel Horse: 1. Clay Strother, Minnesota, 9.700; 2. Jon Plante, Michigan State, 9.600; 3. Daniel Diaz-Long, Michigan, 9.400. Other Minnesota finishers: T6. Bob Goss, 9.250; 15. Todd Guilbeau, 8.800; T21. Mitch Griffin, 8.600; T28. Eric Steele, 8.300; T33. Allen Sopko, 8.150. Pommel Horse - Top Finisher and Individual Qualifiers: 1. Clay Strother, Minnesota (9.700), Antonio Cesar, Iowa (9.250), Bob Goss, Minnesota (9.250), Todd Guilbeau, Minnesota (8.800). Still Rings: 1. Daren Lynch, Ohio State, 9.650; 2. Scott Vetere, Michigan, 9.500; 3. Daniel Diaz-Long, Michigan, 9.450. Minnesota finishers: T14. Gabe Suarez, 8.850; T16. Eric Steele, 8.800; 23. Tim Koehler, 8.650; 24. Clay Strother, 8.600; T31. Allen Sopko, 8.300; T38. Todd Guilbeau, 8.050. Still Rings - Top Finisher and Individual Qualifiers: 1. Daren Lynch, Ohio State (9.650), Marshall Erwin, Stanford (9.300), David Johnson, UIC (9.100), Arthur Reshad Garan, Stanford (8.900). Vault: 1. Dan Gill, Stanford, 9.350; 2. Eric Steele, Minnesota, 9.325; 2. Kris Zimmerman, Michigan, 9.325. Other Minnesota finishers: T4. Clay Strother, 9.300; T12. Tim Koehler, 9.100; 16. Todd Guilbeau , 9.050; T18. Bill Callahan</ a>, 9.000. Vault - Top Finisher and Individual Qualifiers: 1. Dan Gill, Stanford (9.350), Eric Steele, Minnesota (9.325), Cameron Schick, Iowa (9.200). Parallel Bars: 1. Raj Bhavsar, Ohio State, 9.375; 2. Jamie Natalie, Ohio State, 9.200; 3. Kris Zimmerman, Michigan, 9.000. Minnesota finishers: 4. Clay Strother, 8.900; T11. Mitch Griffin, 8.700; T19. Bill Callahan, 8.550; T27. Justin Conner, 8.350; 34. Bob Goss, 8.100; T47. Todd Guilbeau, 7.550. Parallel Bars - Top Finisher and Individual Qualifiers: 1. Raj Bhavsar, Ohio State (9.375), Paul O'Leary, Stanford (8.775), Martin Fournier, Nebraska (8.700), Mitch Griffin, Minnesota (8.700). Horizontal Bar: 1. Scott Vetere, Michigan, 9.350; 2. Kris Zimmerman, Michigan, 9.100; 3. Raj Bhavsar, Ohio State, 9.050. Minnesota finishers: T9. Clay Strother, 8.800; T16. Bill Callahan, 8.700; 19. Eric Steele, 8.650; T20. Josh Nitzberg, 8.600; T25. Todd Guilbeau, 8.500; 42. Tim Koehler, 8.050. Horzontal Bar - Top Finisher and Individual Qualifiers: 1. Scott Vetere, Michigan (9.350), Shane de Freitas, Iowa (8.850), Mike Turns, William & Mary (8.800), Bill Callahan, Minnesota (8.700).
