Buckeye excellence is not exclusive to the football field or the basketball court. Around the Oval is our way of keeping you informed of the amazing things happening with the other 34 varsity sports on campus.
Individual Title
Two weeks after claiming its first Big Ten Conference title since 2007, the Ohio State men's gymnastics team hosted the 2016 NCAA Championships, and they had a stellar showing.
The Buckeyes finished third as a team at the 2016 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships, Saturday – the team's best finish at the NCAA finals since 2005.
The highlight of the night for Ohio State was senior Alex Johnson's performance on the high bar. The Buckeye captain posted a season-best 15.200 score on his final collegiate routine putting him in a first-place tie with Akash Modi of Stanford. Johnson is the first Ohio State individual national champion since Michael Newburger won the pommel horse in 2013.
“It’s honestly a dream come true,” said Johnson in an Ohio State release. “I’m from the Columbus area so growing up this is what I dreamed of – my senior year, to finish at home at St. John Arena and to be able to finish the way I did, it’s a dream come true and I’m at a total loss for words.”
In addition to Johnson's national title, six Buckeye athletes earned All-American honors. Alec Yoder, Sean Melton, Seth Delbridge, Alex Wilson and Emeric Quade all collected All-America accolades.
“Before the competition started, I told our guys I didn’t care where we finished – all I cared [about] was that we do our best,” said OSU head coach Rustam Sharipov in an Ohio State release. “It was a rough meet. We had an injury to Sean [Melton] on the vault, but we picked up on the p-bars, high bar was even better and the guys never gave up, so that is what it’s all about.”
B1G Win
After losing seven straight games to ranked opponents, four of which were one point losses, Ohio State faced a must-win game against rival Michigan. In front of nearly 55,000 fans on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, the Buckeyes delivered.
Sophomore Trevor Hodgins led the Ohio State offense, scoring three goals to notch his first career hat-trick while senior Carter Brown and junior Johnny Pearson each had two goals, combining for three assists as well. Junior Jake Withers won 13-of-21 faceoffs and tallied a game-high seven groundballs. The stellar performances led the Buckeyes to a 10-7 victory in the eighth annual Showdown in the Shoe.
"What an incredible venue," said Ohio State head coach Nick Myers. "We're very thankful."
The win against their rivals to the north is the fourth straight for this senior class, meaning they'll graduate undefeated against the Wolverines in their careers.
"This experience is amazing," said Brown. "We worked so hard, and to go 4-0 against our rival – that's what we work for and strive for."
The win also snaps Ohio State's seven game losing streak and keeps its post-season hopes alive. The Buckeyes have an outside chance of earning an at large bid to the NCAA Tournament, but their easiest path to the Big Dance is to win the Big Ten Tournament – a tournament which they're still fighting to qualify for.
Ohio State is currently fifth in the Big Ten standings; the top four teams qualify for the tournament. With two games remaining against the conference's top-two teams, the Buckeyes have a tall task ahead of them.
"We're fighting for our lives every game," said Brown. "One day at a time, one practice at a time, and one game at a time. Hopefully we get some momentum from this win."
The next task for Ohio State is a road matchup against No. 5 Maryland. The Buckeyes have come close against many ranked opponents this season, but close is no longer good enough. Every game is now a must win game.
Other Scores and News
- No. 2 Men's Volleyball: Men's volleyball sweeps IPFW in MIVA Semifinals.
- No. 3 Rowing: Won nine races over two days at the Clemson Invitational.
- No. 3 Men's Tennis: Swept both Minnesota and Wisconsin in its final road trip of the season.
- No. 5 Women's Tennis: Swept Illinois 7-0 and defeated Northwestern 6-1.
- Baseball: Went 4-1 against Morehead State and Rutgers.
- Softball: Defeated Dayton 1-0, but got swept to No. 2 Michigan.
