Oklahoma Sooners Men's Gymnastics Day

April 30, 2003

NORMAN, Okla.-University of Oklahoma President David Boren declared Wednesday, April 30, 2003, as "Oklahoma Sooners Gymnastics Day" in recognition of the profound achievements of head coach Mark Williams and the 2003 National Champion Sooner Men's Gymnastics Team.

President Boren resolution, which ran as full page ad in the Oklahoma Daily, read as follows:

WHEREAS, the 2003 University of Oklahoma men's gymnastics team won back-to-back national titles for the second time in school history, giving Oklahoma five NCAA Gymnastics National Championships;

WHEREAS, OU is just the second team in NCAA gymnastics history to finish an entire season undefeated (26-0) and only the ninth to win the title in consecutive years;

WHEREAS, OU set the top three NCAA all-time team scoring marks in 2003 and became just the ninth team in NCAA history to have four or more individual NCAA Champions;

WHEREAS, OU led the conference with six student athletes on the conference All-Academic First Team;

WHEREAS, Josh Landis and Daniel Furney became the first Sooners in OU history to claim two NCAA Individual Championships in the same season;

WHEREAS, Daniel Furney is just the fifth Sooner to win the prestigious Nissen Emery Award, given to the sport's top collegiate gymnast, and finished his Oklahoma career with nine All-America honors, tying Bart Conner for most in school history;

WHEREAS, Head Coach Mark Williams is the first coach in NCAA Gymnastics history to win two titles in their first four years as head coach, was the fastest coach in NCAA history to reach 90 wins, and holds the highest winning percentage of any active NCAA coach at 93 percent;

WHEREAS, OU swept every top honor in the sport, including conference gymnast of the year and coach of the year, as well as NCAA Coach of the Year;

WHEREAS, six Sooners on the 2003 squad won 11 All-America honors, broke six of the seven event scoring records, and individual competitors broke five of the school individual event records;

WHEREAS, Oklahoma will enter the 2004 season with an NCAA best winning streak of 42 overall, 28 on the road and 15 at home;

For more information on OU men's gymnastics, visit www.soonersports.com.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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