Department of athletics, physical education and recreation
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Rasin and Sutton Qualify for NCAA Division I National Championships
April 4, 2007
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The 2007 National Collegiate Men's Gymnastics Championships selections were announced on Tuesday afternoon by the NCAA Men's Gymnastics Committee, with MIT represented on the list of qualifiers by sophomore Boris Rasin and senior Brad Sutton. Rasin became Tech's first ever men's gymnast to qualify for the all-around competition at the Division I meet, while Sutton will compete on the parallel bars and will serve as an alternate for the pommel horse. The national qualifier, which consists of two pre-qualifying sessions, will be conducted on Apr. 12 at Recreation Hall, on the campus of Pennsylvania State University. The two Engineers who will represent the Cardinal and Gray at this year's championships have entered into exclusive company, as only one other MIT men's gymnast has ever earned the right to compete in the prestigious competition. Damian Engen qualified for the meet on floor exercise and parallel bars in 2002. Rasin, who hails from of Brookline, Mass., posted a qualifying score of 45.890 to book his spot in the all-around portion of the event as the sixth and final entrant. He was the Engineers' most impressive overall competitor consistently throughout the season, finishing in the top all-around spot at two different meets. At the national championships, he will be facing off against the top competition in the country, consisting of Air Force's Gregory Stine, University of Illinois-Chicago's Tim Morrison and Anthony May, Navy's Christopher Tam and William and Mary's Derek Gygax. Rochester Hills, Mich., native Sutton secured the fourth best qualifying score on the parallel bars with a mark of 8.280. William and Mary's Andrew Hunt and Dave Ridings, Navy's Joseph Atzenbeck and Adam Stanton and Illinois-Chicago's Nikolai Korepanov will provide his opposition. The selection of the two men's gymnasts to be competitors at the Division I National Championships comes directly on the heels of a similar qualification for fellow Engineer Julia Zimmerman, who just two days ago earned a spot in the all-around portion of the women's Northeast Regional. The native of Chicago, Ill., became the Institute's first ever women's gymnast to qualify for a Division I competition with her selection. Three teams and the top three all-around competitors not on one of the qualifying teams, plus the top three individuals on each event not already qualified on a team or as an all-around competitor, will advance from each pre-qualifying session to the finals session. Final competitions will take place between Apr. 13-14, and will also be hosted by Penn State. The University of Oklahoma won the 2006 title with a score of 221.400, while Illinois-Chicago notched the runner-up position with a tally of 220.975. Stanford University rounded out the top three with a point-total of 218.375. |
