Big Ten gymnastics foes fierce competititors
More expected from Buckeyes

By PAIGE A. MUNDY
Collegian Sports Writer

The difference one year makes for an athletic program can be dramatic -- and sometimes disappointing.

One year ago, Ohio State's men's gymnastics team boasted an undefeated record and a No. 2 ranking heading into the Big Ten championships. The Buckeyes posted the highest championship score, 286.975, that weekend in Rec Hall. The squad included two up-and-coming gymnasts: Big Ten Gymnast of the Year Drew Durbin and Big ten Freshman of the Year Blaine Wilson.

Ohio State, No. 1 Penn State (6-2, 1-1 Big Ten) and five other conference schools will head to Illinois to compete in the Big Ten championships at 1 p.m. tomorrow and Sunday under different circumstances. The Buckeyes' record is 15-4 overall, 2-2 in the Big Ten, a slip Coach Peter Kormann attributes to inconsistent coaching.

"It's all poor coaching," he said. "I guess I haven't been doing my job."

Kormann was named Big ten Coach of the Year last season. Twelve months later, "I guess I have to work harder," he said. "I need to do a little more work, like study the other teams."

Kormann said he is not familiar with the competion in or out of the conference. He did not know the Lions were ranked No. 1.

"I haven't paid attention to rankings at all," Kormann said. "I saw Penn State when they came here, but I didn't notice much. I'm not surprised they're doing well. They have good coaching and have always had a good team."

Lion sophomore Joe Roemer agreed Penn State's team has shown tremendous improvement since last season.

"Our team is much stronger than last year," he said. "Ohio State looks real good, but they are certainly beatable."

Roemer said this could be a result of a scoring change implemented this year. Starting this season, four scores count toward the final team score on each event, instead of five. Ohio State's depth last year --including all-arounders Durbin, Wilson and former Buckeye captain Kip Simons --allowed the Buckeyes to monopolize on the five-score judging.

"Usually -- without being cocky -- we hit every time," Simons said after Big Tens last season. "When you've got 12 great guys, it's so easy for us to fill in those (other) three spots. We don't fill in with a 9.2 or 9.3, we fill in with a 9.6 or 9.7."

But this year is another story. The Buckeyes lost seven gymnasts, including Simons, from their roster at the end of the season.

"We lost a lot of good guys," Kormann said. "We don't have the same team. You can't expect to have that kind of season every year."

Kormann, however, might have expected to have his star freshman, Durbin, in his lineup again. But Durbin has not competed this year. Following the Penn State-Ohio State match up on Feb. 18 in Columbus, Penn State Coach Randy Jepson said Durbin did not compete because he was academically ineligible.

Kormann denied that Durbin's academic status prevented him from competing. The coach said the gymnast decided to take a break after a strenuous summer of competitions.

"He competed an awful lot in the summer," Kormann said. "That takes a toll. Everyone needs a rest."

Durbin will compete in Illinois this weekend with the rest of his squad. But that will not be a factor for the Lions.

"Drew will help them out a bit," Roemer said. "But we can't worry about who they have. We're going out there to hit our routines and win Big Tens."