Ohio State gymnast Kip Simons won't be surprised to see other teams aiming to knock the Buckeyes off the top. He's used to it.
"It's funny going into other people's gyms and seeing their little chalk boards that say stuff about us -- 'Five more days 'til Ohio State comes and we can kick their asses,' or something like that," the co-captain said.
Tomorrow the conference schools will get their chance at the Big Ten Championships. Team competition begins at 1 p.m. tomorrow with the individual event finals at 1 p.m. on Sunday in Rec Hall.
Here's a preview:
No. 2 Ohio State -- Coach Peter Kormann's undefeated squad looks unstoppable. The Buckeyes, ranked in the top five on every event, boast three of the country's best all-arounders -- national team members Simons, Drew Durbin and Blaine Wilson.
No. 5 Michigan -- For Coach Bob Darden, it will be a "good day --bad day" scenario. Michigan standouts include Brian Winkler, Bob Young and Rich Dopp. The "dark horse" is Ben Verrall.
"You don't see him because we sort of keep him tucked away in the lineup," Darden said, "but when the scores come out, he's always second on the event, if not the event leader."
No. 7 Iowa -- The Hawkeyes are having a good year and hope to "keep rolling in that direction," Coach Tom Dunn said. His squad's only weakness is vault, which is slowly improving. Senior Garry Denk holds the 13th spot in the all-around. Freshman Pete Masucci will not be competing after having knee surgery.
No. 10 Penn State -- The Lions' success will come with consistency. The talent exists -- the Lions just have to put it together. Lion gymnast J.M. Michel knows what has to be done -- it's a simple philosophy."We just have to do it," he said. "Just Nike it."
The Lions have been fine-tuning routines and perfecting landings --little steps can be costly. "If everybody sticks that saves you half a point, if not more," Lion Coach Randy Jepson said.
Captain Jim Delaney hopes the team posts a high score, saying, "The top three is up for us to grab."
Penn State's attribute is its depth, with no single Lion standout; however, top performers should include: Jim Delaney and Dave Riordan on pommel horse, Mark Cooper and Michel on vault, and Tom Ellefson, ranked No. 13, on high bar. Cooper, Lee Ricketts, Tony Pansy and Brandy Wood will complete the all-around.
No. 12 Illinois -- Key individuals for the Fighting Illini include senior All-American Brian Kobylinski, No. 2 on the rings. Coach Don Osborn's best all-arounder is Goncalo Macedo.
"We're a little bit of a young team," Osborn said.
No. 14 Minnesota -- Coach Fred Roethlisberger has a young team, but said his upperclassmen are ready. "I wouldn't say we have any strong events," he said. "They're all pretty average."
National team members include Bo Haun and Brian Yee. Co-captain Brian Ottenhoff was the 1992 high bar champion. Minnesota will compete without co-captain Kerry Huston, who broke his neck in Colorado Springs at the Winter Cup.
No. 17 Michigan State -- Michigan State has battled injuries all season. Strong events for the Spartans are parallel bars and high bar. Coach Rick Atkinson expects to see Mark Garny perform well in the all-around.
"This is the first time I'm going to take a semi-healthy team to a meet all year," Atkinson said.
Well, David beat Goliath and the 1980 USA Olympic Hockey Team beat the Russians. So maybe the other six conference women's gymnastics teams have a chance to beat juggernaut Michigan tomorrow at the Big Ten Championships (7 p.m, Rec Hall) but the Wolverines are prohibitive favorites.
A preview:
No. 3 Michigan -- The defending two-time Big Ten champions (21-7) are huge favorites, but Coach Beverly Plocki is low-key: "My team's having a strong year." They are led by the NCAA's No. 1 gymnast, Beth Wymer, who leads the nation on all events except vault. Michigan heads into the tourney with no major injuries and a 194.525 average score.
No. 13 Penn State -- The home-standing Lady Lions (13-8) finished second in each of their two championship appearances. The team is coming off a 193 against Florida last weekend, their season-high.
"Basically," Coach Steve Shephard said, "I'd like us to have the same kind of meet as we had against Florida."
April Polito, who suffered an ankle injury earlier this month, should be ready to compete in the all-around, Shephard said. She is Penn State's only returning all-Big Ten honoree.
No. 28 Minnesota -- The Golden Gophers (11-14) finished sixth last year's. They have won the tournament three times.
Coach Jim Stephenson was blunt about his team's chances: "Michigan is impossible to beat by anybody else in the Big Ten."
Stephenson's squad is young, with four freshmen. Minnesota's workhorse is sophomore Shannon Fisher, their top all-arounder with a 37.1.
No. 32 Ohio State -- Ohio State (8-8) has the most impressive tradition of the seven teams -- conference winners five times. But the Buckeyess have not finished higher than fourth in this decade.
Coach Larry Cox summed up the field:"Anything can happen, but Michigan would have to have a rotten event to lose."
Ohio State averages an 188.787, with their top performer being sophomore Betsy Cousins.
No. 35 Iowa -- The Hawkeyes (7-11) have never won the championship, their highest finish was a second in 1991. They finished fifth last season with a 189.65. Iowa's best event is floor, where they are paced by senior all-arounder Sandy Stengel.
No. 35 Michigan State -- Coach Kathie Klages said the story for the Spartans (11-8) has been injuries. All-arounders Wendy Minch (knee) and Tiffany Stennett (ankle) have missed the entire season. Their top gymnast is sophomore all-arounder Jodi Blotcher. Klages, whose team took third last year, said she is, "tired of third place. Our sights are set higher this year."
No. 54 Illinois -- The Illini (3-14) are clearly the conference's weak-sister, they finished last (184) in 1993. "Our squad is young, but talented . . . and I think we are capable of surprising some teams." Coach Lynn Crane said. Crane is familiar with Rec Hall, she is a 1991 Penn State graduate. The Illini's high score this year was 187.9. Their top performers are all-arounders Natalie Forsthoefel and Nicole Viernes.
Collegian Sports Writers Paige Mundy and B.J. Reyes contributed to this article.
