Men's Gymnastics Tabbed No. 2 In Preseason Coaches' Poll

NORMAN, Okla. The Oklahoma men's gymnastics team, coming off a NCAA National Championship undefeated season in 2003, was voted No. 2 in the GymInfo Coaches' preseason top-15 poll. The Sooners got three first-place votes and trailed only Ohio State, which received nine first-place votes. OU has ranked in the top five of the preseason poll over each of the last seven seasons and were No. 1 in 2003 and 2002.

Last season, Oklahoma took first at the NCAA Championships for the second straight season to go along with its fifth straight Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship.

“This is obviously just a preseason ranking but it still was kind of a surprise to be this high with the seniors graduating from last year,” said Oklahoma head coach Mark Williams. “I think that we will have a strong team this season. We will do our best to be in the mix come March and April and contend again for a NCAA Championship with a nice combination of experience and fresh talent on this squad.”

This season, the Sooners return five All-Americans from the past two seasons. Seniors Jock Stevens (All-American on vault), Heath Mueller (All-American on parallel bars) and sophomore Jamie Henderson (All-American on still rings) return from stellar seasons in 2003. From the 2002 season, senior-captain Quinn Rowell (All-American on high bar) and junior David Henderson (All-American on still rings) conclude the list of top returners for OU in the 2004 season.

The No. 2 Sooners will open up the 2004 season with the Rocky Mountain Open in Colorado Springs, Colo., on January 16 and 17.

Also receiving first place votes and rounding out the top-five were Illinois and Michigan with a vote each, at No. 3 and No. 4 respectively, with Penn State at No. 5. The following is a complete list of the Top-15 as selected in the preseason by the coaches:

1. Ohio State (9)
2. Oklahoma (3)
3. Illinois (1)
4. Michigan (1)
5. Penn State
6. Iowa
7. California - Berkeley
8. Minnosota
9. Stanford
10. Nebraska
11. Temple
12. William & Mary
13. Army
14. Illinois-Chicago
15. Air Force

Also receiving votes: Navy, Springfield

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Men's Gymnastics Tabbed No. 2 In Preseason Coaches' Poll

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