Michigan State University Athletics
Men's Gymnastics Set To Open 2000 Season
1/12/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Jan. 12, 2000
The Michigan State's Men's Gymnastics team will open their season this Saturday, January 15, at the Windy City Invitational, hosted by the University of Illinois-Chicago. The eight-team tournament will begin at 8 p.m. ET.
The Spartans return 10 letter winners from the 1999 squad which finished fifth at the Big Ten Championships, and qualified as a team to the NCAA Eastern Regional, finishing sixth. The team ended the season ranked sixth (average score). Three individuals qualified for the NCAA Championships. Michael Phipps tied for 18th on the still rings, Jeff Moomaw finished in a tied for 24th on the vault, and David Ruiz, a freshman, took 44th on the high bar.
Five freshmen join the experienced team, adding depth and competition.
?It seems as if the team gets better and better as the years pass,? said head coach Rick Atkinson. ?It will be interesting to see how the freshmen develop within the team framework, as well as how the sophomores will come back after contributing so much last season.?
Michigan State will have to compensate for the loss of the clutch performances from Kenny Baker, the important rings contribution of Mike Phipps, and the consistency and leadership of Dave Barron.
?There will be five seniors next year, all with great leadership skills to contribute to a young team for this season,? said Atkinson. ?Look to see where the sophomores fill in this year, they are an important bunch along with the freshmen.
?Mike Quarress looks great, Jeff Moomaw?s fired up, Troy Takagishi is looking his strongest, Brady Grimm is on pace, and Chris Weedon is training hard as these seniors prepare for their final season as Spartans,? said Atkinson. ?Tom Housley and Jonathan Plante are looking awesome. Expect big scores from them for this season.?
The goals for this year?s team are very similar to the goals of Atkinson?s teams in the past: staying strong and healthy, while aiming to peak toward the end of the year when the competition heats up. A top three finish in the Big Ten Championships is one of the most important goals for the Spartans.
?The Big Ten is by far the strongest conference in NCAA gymnastics,? said Atkinson. ?A top three finish in conference would surely put us into NCAA Nationals.
?We have a tough schedule this year,? commented Atkinson. ?But the schedule will make our team strong for the end of the year - the most important time.
Last was the first in recent years that the Spartans had such a deep squad. With the performance of the young athletes last season and the addition of the freshmen, the team only gets deeper and better.
?It will be hard to obtain a spot on any of the six events because of the depth we have on the team,? predicted Atkinson.
?I really feel this is the team to take us to the NCAA National Championships.?
