Men's Gymnastics Looking For Second Straight Against Huskers

Jan. 30, 2003

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Familiar Foe Awaits

The No. 2 Oklahoma men's gymnastics team meets a familiar foe this weekend in the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Not only are the Sooners meeting the Huskers for the second consecutive weekend, but they are also meeting for the fifth time since the beginning of the 2002 season. Oklahoma and Nebraska will renew their rivalry Saturday, Feb.1 at 7 p.m. inside the Devaney Center in Lincoln.

"Like most of OU's teams, we have a natural rivalry with Nebraska," said OU Head Coach Mark Williams. "The guys love to beat their neighbor to the north and I have my own special ties to them. I competed for and coached with their head coach Francis Allen, so I always have an extra bit of motivation to beat one of my former mentors."

OU has taken 11 of the last 12 meetings with Nebraska and could run its streak to 13 consecutive victories as they meet the Huskers twice after this coming weekend.

Nebraska scored a 206.550 last weekend in the RMO and was led by all-arounders Steve Friedman and Mace Patterson. Friedman (6th place) and Patterson (7th place) were sandwiched between OU all-arounders Daniel Furney (5th place), David Henderson (8th place) and Curtis O'Rorke (9th place).

While OU's event rotation is still not set in stone, expect Senior Josh Landis, Daniel Furney, Shannon Carrion and Brett Covey to continue their impressive showings and set the pace for the Sooners.

Select OU individual competitors will compete in the WInter Cup, Feb. 7-8, in Las Vegas, Nev. before beginning its home schedule in a coed dual meet with Iowa, Feb. 14, at the Lloyd Noble Center.

Rewritin' The Record Books

Senior Shannon Carrion, Daniel Furney and Josh Landis rewrote the Oklahoma men's gymnastics record book at the RMO last weekend. Carrion, who hasn't competed regularly on high bar since his freshman year, broke Quinn Rowell's school record of 9.450 with a 9.500 during RMO event finals. Furney bettered his own record of 9.300 on parallel bars with a 9.400, again during the event finals. Landis only put a new date next to the school record on pommel horse, tying his own record (9.600), which he set March 3, 2002, in a triangular meet at the Lloyd Noble Center.

"I was very happy with my performance on pommel horse tonight," said Landis. "We don't really expect great scores at a meet this early in the season. Hopefully, my mark is something we can continue to build on."

Weekly Notes

- For the second weekend in a row OU faces Nebraska. The Sooners will make one final trip to Lincoln this season for the MPSF Championships in March.

-OU heads to Nebraska riding a streak of 21 consecutive victories over collegiate opponents. OU's streak of four consecutive meet victories was snapped by the United States Olympic Training Center team at the RMO.

- OU has defeated Nebraska four times since the start of the 2002 season, including two consecutive defeats at the Rocky Mountain Open. Nebraska still leads the all-time series with OU 28-23-1.

- Penn State took over the nation's No.1 ranking last week with a team score (217.250) that was nearly three points higher than OU's score against Michigan. Last weekend in a dual with Michigan, PSU finished with 219.400, which is better than the score OU posted to win last year's NCAA Championships.

- OU had won the previous two RMO's before this year's loss.

- Rookies Curtis O'Rorke and Jamie Henderson each competed in the all-around for the first time as Sooners. O'Rorke scored a 51.200, while Henderson recorded a 50.700.

- OU Head Coach Mark Williams competed and coached under Nebraska Head Coach Francis Allen. Allen has been at the Husker helm for 34 years and has won the second most NCAA Championships of any coach (8).

Sooner Notes,

Shannon Carrion - Set an OU school record with 9.500 on high bar at Rocky Mountain Open.

Brett Covey - Furthered his case as the best rings performer in the country with 9.5 and 9.625 at RMO.

Daniel Furney - Claimed his second OU record with 9.400 on p-bars, also owns all-around mark.

Michael Gehart - Continued impressive early season showing by making vault event final at RMO.

Josh Gore - Collected two career-highs on high bar (9.125) and p-bars (8.625) at RMO. David Henderson - Competed in the all-around (50.575) for the first time in collegiate career at Michigan.

Jamie Henderson - Competed in RMO all-around and totaled a 51.200.

Josh Landis - Became third senior to set OU record with 9.600 on pommel horse.

Heath Mueller - Cousin of Leah Mueller who is a current member of OU's women's gymnastics team.

James Myers - Collegiate debut produced 8.200 on the floor exercise.

Curtis O'Rorke - Made collegiate debut with all-around score of 51.200 at RMO.

Quinn Rowell - Despite nagging wrist injury made the high bar event finals at RMO.

Jock Stevens - Posted identical 9.100 on floor and vault at Michigan.

Brian Trause - Injured his left knee on parallel bars during RMO team finals.

Coach's Points

Coach Williams recapping the Rocky Mountain Open team finals- "We had events that we improved on from our meet with Michigan. Our overall hit percentage was down, but we were able to get to the same team score as Michigan. It was a good sign to see us improve by nearly four points on pommel horse.

On the competing with USOTC- 'USOTC set a great standard, which I think we are capable of meeting. Having three guys in each event and scoring better than the USOTC on certain events really says something about Oklahoma gymnastics. Last year, we proved we were a great team, and now some individuals are starting to stand out. Being able to see and compare ourselves to the USA's top gymnasts brought out the competitive fire in some of our gymnasts. Individual meets create competition within the team, which is another bonus because the guys will push each other to excel. "

On Senior Brett Covey's Michigan performance: "Brett posted one of the highest scores of his career. His score and performance were tremendous for a season opening meet. He has been extremely motivated since competing in World Championships. He is hoping to develop into a strong gymnast on three events for OU this season and Canada in the future. I know that with his work ethic he can do it."

Williams Making A Comback?

OU Head Coach Mark Williams did a high bar routine iin Colorado Springs for the first time in many years. Why did he break out the competitive uniform? The story behind the performance goes back to last season National Championships, when coach took the team to see "The Rookie". Inspired by the motion picture, the team made Williams promise to compete if they took the title. Well they won and he competed, garnering a 9.900 from a fairly generous panel of judges.

Against The Nation's Best

OU did not back down against a USOTC squad that featured current and former national, world and Olympic team members. The most impressive of the Sooners' finshes was by Brett Covey, who defeated everyone on rings with a 9.625. Daniel Furney knocked off two USOTC competitors on parallel bars, while David Henderson and Shannon Carrion cracked the all USOTC top three on high bar and vault. What all this means is that Oklahoma has a number of young athletes who will compete for national team spots in the next few years.

Covey And Furney Pick Up Three Weekly Awards
Senior Brett Covey and Daniel Furney of the No. 2 Oklahoma men's gymnastics team were awarded with the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation gymnast of the week awards for the first two weeks of the 2003 season. Covey, who was also named the NCAA Midwest Gymnast of Week Tues. by Inside Gymnastics Magazine, was given the honor for the week of Jan. 11-17. Furney was named MPSF Gymnast of the Week for his performance last weekend (Jan. 24, 25) at the Rocky Mountain Open.

"Brett has been outstanding this season," said OU Head Coach Mark Williams. "He is making a name for himself as the best rings performer in the country. Daniel Furney was our leader last season and he's a captain again this year. He expects great performances from himself. I feel both were very deserving of the awards. Their accomplishment shine a very positive light on our program."

At OU's season-opener against Michigan, Covey recorded a 9.850 on the still rings. The score ranked as the highest in the nation for that weekend and still stands at the top by .20 over any other score in the country. Covey also tallied a 9.500 and 9.625 at the Rocky Mountain Open last weekend, for which he received the NCAA award and a first place finish in the RMO event finals.

Furney collected the nation's third-highest all-around score this past weekend with a score of 54.150 during the RMO Team Finals. He also posted a 9.250 on pommel horse, a team-high 9.175 on parallel bars (2nd place), 9.075 on high bar and 8.950 on floor exercise (3rd place). The senior co-captain set an OU record on parallel bars with a 9.400 during the RMO Event Finals Jan. 25, which landed him in second place on the event.

The MPSF weekly awards mark the third such honors for the OU program this season and the second weekly award for Covey.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Men's Gymnastics Looking For Second Straight Against Huskers

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