A Closer Look

March 3, 2001

Oklahoma took on defending-NCAA champs Penn State, Michigan State, Stanford, the Mexican national team and hosts Arizona State (club program) at the Southwest Cup, March 3 in Tempe, Ariz. Even without star sophomore Daniel Furney (shoulder injury), the Sooners surged to victory, claiming the top spot over MSU 215.250 to 210.400. Penn State finished third with 208.925.

Oklahoma started its Southwest Cup stint on pommel horse, where the Sooners seem to have finally conquered the horse hang-ups that have plagued them for most of the season. Heath Mueller (freshman) and Steve Van Etten (senior) contributed to the Sooners' stunning effort with an 8.9 and 9.2, respectively. OU's top score came from senior Gabe Hansen, who earned a 9.25 in his first meet back after a shoulder injury sustained in Iowa on February 3.

Brett Covey scored a meet-high and personal-best 9.7 on rings (Azarian pull to planche, swing Maltese, bounce cross, press Maltese) to secure a lead that the Sooners would never relinquish.

On vault, Jock Stevens (freshman) and Van Etten led the way with matching 9.1s. Van Etten earned his for a stuck Kasamatsu, while Stevens performed a more difficult version of the Kasamatsu, adding a half twist.

Parallel bars started slow with errors from Shannon Carrion (sophomore) and Ryan Hillyer (junior), but the bottom half of the lineup came through, including an event win by Everette Bierker (junior).

High bar was a repeat of p-bars when sophomores Josh Landis and Carrion crumbled at the start of the lineup, but Bierker (9.15), Hillyer (9.3) and Van Etten (9.4) made up for early errors with a 1-2-3 sweep of the event medals.

Ending on floor, where they are ranked number one in nation, the Sooners sailed to victory, despite errors from usual stalwarts Brendan O'Neil (senior) and Stevens.

"I was kind of hoping we could end with a great performance on floor," coach Mark Williams said, "but that didn't exactly happen. Still, despite some problems, it was a significant meet for us. We defeated the national champs and the meet format was very similar to a conference champs or NCAAs. There were six teams out on the floor and we just went about our business, which was to win. I think that's a confidence builder. When we get to those big post-season events we're going to know how to handle that environment."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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