University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Finish Fifth At Big Ten Men's Gymnastics Championships
3/28/2003 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
The Gophers had the highest finish on vault among conference teams with a score of 37.100 and they were third on floor exercise and parallel bars with season-high scores of 37.050 and 35.050, respectively. Minnesota also had a season-high total on the horizontal bar with a 35.050.
Individually, the Gophers were led by sophomore Guillermo Alvarez and senior Clay Strother. Alvarez finished fourth in the all-around with a score of 53.900, while Strother was fifth at 53.575. Strother heads into tomorrow night's individuals finals with the highest preliminary score on floor exercise (9.625), while Alvarez had the second-best total in the event with a 9.575. Strother was second on vault (9.40) and fifth on parallel bars with a 9.050, while Alvarez finished eighth on parallel bars (8.80) and had the team's highest total on horizontal bar with a 9.050 for 11th place.
Other top performances for the Gophers included a ninth-place preliminary showing by junior Mitch Griffin on pommel horse, which was the Gophers' best score, while junior Gabe Suarez had the team's highest output on rings with a 9.10. Senior Tim Koehler finished behind Clay Strother in fourth place on vault with a 9.350 to help the Gophers win that event.
The Gophers will be in action tomorrow night at St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio, in the individual finals of the six events of the Big Ten Championships at 7 p.m.
TEAM FX PH SR VT PB HB TOTAL PSU 37.100 36.875 36.975 36.900 35.450 37.250 220.550 OSU 37.450 35.400 36.850 37.025 35.975 35.900 218.600 Iowa 36.400 36.525 35.000 36.125 35.000 36.550 215.600 Michigan 35.800 35.600 36.975 36.625 34.825 35.500 215.325 Gophers 37.050 35.300 34.750 37.100 35.050 35.050 214.300 Illinois 35.125 35.750 34.650 36.400 34.325 35.600 211.850 INDIVIDUAL SCORES (PRELIMINARY) Floor 1. Clay Strother 9.625 2. Guillermo Alvarez 9.575 3. Randy Monahan, Ohio State 9.500 17T. Ryan Fleming 8.975 23T. Tim Koehler 8.875 27. Jeff Cohen 8.675 34. Justin Meyer 8.300 Pommel Horse 1. Ben Newman, Illinois 9.650 2. Kevin Tan, Penn State 9.400 3. Zack Roeder, Penn State 9.375 9. Mitch Griffin 9.100 12T. Joe Alberts 8.950 18T. Guillermo Alvarez 8.800 28T. Clay Strother 8.450 33. Dyri Kristjansson 7.800 34. Jeff Cohen 7.750 Still Rings 1. Kevin Tan, Penn State 9.725 2T. Cody Trobaugh, Ohio State 9.450 2T. C. Parzuchowski, Michigan 9.450 9T. Gabe Suarez 9.100 19T. Clinton Mays 8.650 24T. Guillermo Alvarez 8.500 24T. Clay Strother 8.500 24T. Joe Alberts 8.500 33. Joe Moore 7.950 Vault 1. Andrew DiGiore, Michigan 9.500 2T. Clay Strother 9.400 2T. Dick Huntwork, Ohio State 9.400 4. Tim Koehler 9.350 12T. Guillermo Alvarez 9.175 12T. Ryan Fleming 9.175 17. Clinton Mays 9.100 33T. Mitch Griffin 8.650 Parallel Bars 1. Luis Vargas, Penn State 9.300 2. Raj Bhavsar, Ohio State 9.250 3. Kevin Tan, Penn State 9.175 5. Clay Strother 9.050 8T. Guillermo Alvarez 8.800 19T. Mitch Griffin 8.600 19T. Dyri Kristjansson 8.600 25. Clinton Mays 8.425 35T. Tim Koehler 7.350 Horizontal Bar 1. Kevin Tan, Penn State 9.600 2. Mike Reavis, Iowa 9.400 3T. Randy Monahan, Ohio State 9.350 3T. Linas Gaveika, Iowa 9.350 11T. Guillermo Alvarez 9.050 18. Ryan Fleming 8.800 22T. Clinton Mays 8.650 26. Clay Strother 8.550 27. Dyri Kristjansson 8.450 36. Tim Koehler 8.050 All-Around 1. Randy Monahan, Ohio State 54.500 2. Justin Laury, Michigan 54.100 3. Raj Bhavsar, Ohio State 54.075 4. Guillermo Alvarez, Minnesota 53.900 5. Clay Strother, Minnesota 53.575
