Temple played host to the NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships last weekend at the Liacouras Center, but the home team failed to advance past the first day of qualifying.
The top 12 teams from the nation were granted the honor of competing for the team title.
2002 team champion Oklahoma, along with Penn State and Ohio State, were at the top of this years’ list.
Temple held the 11th seed.
The Sooners quest for a repeat succeeded when they were crowned 2003 NCAA National Champions with a score of 222.600, a fitting way to end their flawless 26-0 season.
The Buckeyes (220.700) failed to reclaim their NCAA glory but finished a close second, while Penn State (219.950) rounded out the top three.
The first day of competition was a qualifying round for the team and individual finals.
The day was split into two sessions, with the top three teams from each session advancing.
Temple’s score at the end of the day was a 209.400, placing them fifth in their session and out of the competition.
The Owls had their work cut out for them as they faced the Sooners, fourth ranked California-Berkeley, fifth ranked Michigan, eighth ranked Illinois and No. 10 Nebraska in their qualifying session.
By far the best event for the Owls was the rings, where they placed three in the top 10.
Sophomore Nyika White claimed first place posting a 9.675, the best score of any Owl in the entire competition.
This score also qualified White for the individual finals on Sunday, the only Owl that would accomplish this feat.
He placed third in the individual finals.
Senior Richie Maguire tied for third in his best event posting a 9.550.
Senior Tory Torcomian tied for sixth with a 9.400, senior Alex Weber tied for 29th with an 8.500, junior Travis Kitchen tied for 38th with an 8.200, and and freshman Brian Forquer finished 40th with an 8.100.
On the floor exercise, senior Michael Ast and freshman David Ramos tied for 14th with an 8.700, Weber tied for 23rd with an 8.550, and Forquer and Kitchen finished 43rd (7.550) and 44th (7.250), respectively.
In what proved to be his best event, Weber took fifth place in the pommel horse with a 9.475.
Senior Jason Moresi tied for 15th with a 9.050, and senior Adam Owens tied for 29th with an 8.250.
Weber also vaulted himself to 14th place in the vault competition, receiving a 9.175.
Maguire tied for 23rd with a 9.050, Ast tied for 26th with a 9.000, White tied for 30th with an 8.900, and Ramos and Kitchen tied for 38th with an 8.800
On the parallel bars, Ramos finished 22nd with an 8.525 and Hallinan tied for 23rd with an 8.500.
On the high bar, Maguire tied for 21st (8.700), Owens tied for 25th (8.450), Weber, Ramos, and Hallinan tied for 27th (8.400), and Forquer tied for 37th (8.250).
Out of the 13 gymnasts that competed in the All-Around, Weber finished sixth with a 52.550 and Maguire 13th with a 42.450.
Head coach Fred Turoff was not at all disappointed in his team’s performance and was pleased that Temple’s national ranking moved up to No. 10.
“Some of the guys did the best routines they’ve done,” Turoff said.
“And because of that, they can say ‘Alright, that’s the best I did but it wasn’t quite good enough, so I gotta work harder.'”
Steve Papurt can be reached at baby.gerald@verizon.net.
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