GymInfo Pre-season NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Coaches Poll
Posted on 17 October 2008 by admin
GymInfo has published their pre-season coaches poll that has Stanford ranked number one, followed by Oklahoma, Ohio State, Illinois and Penn State. Oklahoma is the defending national champion. It’s interesting to note that seventh-ranked Cal has one of the first place votes. Stanford led the way with ten first place votes.
Despite the graduation of U.S. National Team member, Tim McNeill, Cal should definitely be in the hunt for the national championship. The inclusion of freshman all-arounder, Glen Ishino, the 2008 JO National Champion, should more than make up for the loss of McNeill. Cal will be formidable with the return of Kyle and Kyson Bunthuwong, Bryan del Castillo and a very strong freshman class.
Oklahoma will be in contention, despite the loss of Jonathan Horton and Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons. Returning standouts Steven Legendre, Chris Brooks and Kyle McNamara will keep the Sooners in the hunt. Legendre was recently named to the U.S. Senior National Team and won 2008 NCAA national titles on floor and vault.
Penn State returns defending NCAA all-around champion Casey Sandy. The 2008 Big Ten champion Nittany Lions finished fourth in the NCAA championships. Top freshman recruit, Miguel Pineda, will add much needed depth to the 2009 squad.
Ohio State has an exciting freshman class led by Alexy Bilozertchev and Philip Onorato, both all-arounders. The Bucks, led by Miles Avery, are always in the mix. Once again, the Big Ten crown will be highly contested.
The 2009 NCAA season is shaping up to be one of the most exciting ever. The top contenders are loaded up with veterans and incoming clubbers. The rich keep getting richer. Along with this season’s impressive incoming freshmen, we are about to see something special with the looming pipeline of clubbers in 2010 and 2011. These men will comprise an impressive lineup of those who will be contesting for spots on the 2012 U.S. Men’s Olympic Team.
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October 20th, 2008 at 9:33 am
Come on lets be serious. Talking about Cal and not Illinois? No one ever gives them credit. Nearly unranked two years ago after Justin and Adam left the pushed into the final six finishing fifth. And last year pre-ranked eighth they finished third. Receiving arguable the best recruiting class of the year with 4 USA Championship Qualifiers and a rings specialist almost guaranteed to All-American they should be mentioned. Returning 1 of 1 National Champs and 6 of 9 All-Americans I expect a shocker in Minn.
October 26th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
You are correct. The Ilini will definitely contend for the ‘09 title. Their incoming freshmen are impressive…probably the best recruiting class in the country.