Red-White Scrimmage Kicks Off 2004 Season For Men's Gymnastics

Norman, Okla. - Saturday featured the first competition for the Oklahoma men's gymnastics team as they prepare to defend their title in the 2004 season after winning the NCAA championships in 2002 and 2003. The annual Red-White scrimmage was held at Sam Viersen Gymnastics Center and was open to the public.

The red team captained by Heath Mueller was edged out by the white team led by the Sooners' other co-captain Quinn Rowell. The final tally was 156.98 to 155.95. Fans got a chance to see 10 letterwinners return from the 2003 season, including five all-Americans from the past two seasons.

"I was impressed with everything," said Oklahoma head coach Mark Williams. "The level of performance has continued to increase throughout our training and it showed on Saturday. Overall the efforts and attitudes are much higher than we expected and the team is definitely on the path to defending a National Championship."

The red team was ahead by a considerable amount throughout the meet. Going into the last rotation Mueller's squad was ahead by almost four points but the white team overcame the deficit with an excellent parallel bars and high Bar performance.

Some highlights for OU was Rowell having a great day after returning from a sports hernia just a short time ago. Jock Stevens also performed well and has added events from last season. In addition, James Myers had a solid day and coach Williams commented that he has come a long way since his arrival last season.

Four new faces were on the Sooners' roster, including juniors David Iammatteo, Kyle Fernandez and Mubarak Abdullah-Simmons. The lone freshman on this year's team is Brian Carr.

Williams added, "The new guys seem to be fitting in well. They all had a good day and are fighting for their spots."

The Sooners will open up the season in defense of their national championships on January 16-17, in Colorado Springs, Colo., at the Rocky Mountain Open. OU is ranked no. 2 in the preseason poll, trailing no. 1 Ohio State by six first place votes.

Team Results:

White Team - 156.98
Captain Quinn Rowell
Jock Stevens
David Henderson
Mike Gehart
Mubarak Abdullah-Simmons
David Iammatteo
Brian Carr

Red Team - 155.95
Captain Heath Mueller
Josh Gore
Jamie Henderson
Brian Trause
David Myers
Kyle Fernandez