Men's Gymnastics Uses NCAA Record To Stomp Ohio State

March 7, 2003

The Oklahoma men's gymnastics team used an NCAA record team score of 222.500 to stomp rival Ohio State and Stanford in triangular meet on Friday night at the Lloyd Noble Center. The Sooners remain perfect on the season at 10-0 and extended their winning streak to 26 and their home winning streak to 14, both of which are the longest in the nation.

"We've been putting this on the calendar since the NCAA's last season," said OU Head Coach Mark Williams. "We looked forward to a return to our rivalry with Ohio State. We had advantage of being home and we wanted to send message that we were No. 1 contender for the title this year. Looking at energy level and the way we have trained this week, I wasn't surprised to see a 222. It really started with this team's focus in the gym. They were just awesome."

Senior Daniel Furney led OU with two school records of his own. Furney scored a 56.350, easily the highest in the NCAA this season. His score of 9.700 broke fellow senior Shannon Carrion's record of 9.500 on the high bar. Furney grabbed first place finishes in the all-around, parallel bars (9.450), high bar and second place finishes on pommel horse (9.450) and vault (9.350).

"Daniel is one of the best," said Williams. "History will prove that he is in the top three all time in OU gymnastics."

Senior Brett Covey scored a 9.700 on the still rings and finish in second place. The finish snapped a streak of five meets in which Covey had finished at the top. Senior Shannon Carrion finished third on the event with a score of 9.600, which tied a career-high. Carrion also finished second on high bar with a 9.400. Sophomore Heath Mueller notched a second place finish in the all-around with a score of 52.650.

"This was absolutely the perfect way for seinors to go out," said Williams. "They handled it (senior night ceremonies) better than me. They knew what they wanted and wouldn't be deterred from finishing in the fashion they desired. They will be dissapointed if they don't end the season as national championships. You can't teach that passion. They have brought this program back to the top. They are what Oklahoma gymnastics is all about.""

OU also set school records on the high bar with a score of 37.550 and the parallel bars with 36.500. Both scores obliterated the previous marks.

OU won the national title in 2002 and Ohio State won the title in 2001, both times the other school finished second at NCAA's.