Completed Event: Men's Gymnastics versus Ohio State on April 17, 2026 , Win , 322.825, to, 320.294
Final
Men's Gymnastics
322.825
vs Ohio State
320.294
University of Oklahoma Athletics
No. 4 Sooners Clash With No. 1 Ohio State And No. 2 California
February 10, 2004 | Men's Gymnastics
MEET 4 - at Ohio State
February 13, 2004 (6 p.m. - CST)
Columbus, Ohio
St. John Arena
Teams:
No. 4 OKLAHOMA
No. 1 Ohio State
No. 2 California
vs. No.1 Ohio State and No. 2 California Preview
The No. 4 Sooners return to action on Friday, Feb. 13th, at 6 p.m., in Columbus, Ohio against the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes and No. 2 California Golden Bears.
“This is probably the biggest test we have had in the past year and a half,” said Oklahoma head coach Mark Williams. “It is never easy to compete at Ohio State. They are always one of the toughest teams in the nation and that shows because it has either been us or them the past three years winning national titles. They have been right behind us during the past two championship runs. California will also be a tough test as they are performing well this year. It will be a great competition and we will have to bring our 'A' game.”
Over the past two years, Ohio State finished second in the NCAA Championships and in 2001 when the Buckeyes won the title, the Sooners were second behind them. The two met last year in Norman and OU prevailed 222.500-218.500.
This season, Ohio State (preseason No. 1) has been at the top of the polls for the past two weeks and has the highest national team score of the season, 220.200 posted on Jan. 31 versus Illinois. The Buckeyes are averaging 216.875.
The Sooners will also face MPSF foe California, for the first time this season. Cal finished second in the MPSF Championships last season and is averaging 216.412 this season. The last time the Bears were in action, they won at home (216.625) over Stanford and Air Force.
Next weekend, OU will host current-No. 7 Michigan, No. 8 Nebraska and No. 10 Minnesota at McCasland Field House on Saturday, Feb. 21.
Top 15
The Oklahoma men's gymnastics team remained at the No. 4 position after posting a 217.500 score thier last time out at No. 6 Iowa on Jan. 31. It was the second highest score of the season for OU and that raised its average to 215.517.
OU is coming off a NCAA National Championship undefeated season in 2003 and 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.
The Sooners are also ranked in the top six of every event with 16 individuals ranked in their respective events, including Josh Gore (2nd-parallel bars) and David Henderson (10th-all-around).
| Event | National Rank | Average |
| Floor Exercise | 6 | 35.400 |
| Pommel Horse | 4 | 35.817 |
| Still Rings | 2 | 36.150 |
| Vault | 6 | 36.517 |
| Parallel Bars | 2 | 35.375 |
| High Bar | 3 | 36.258 |
Streaks
OU extended their winning streak up to 43 straight wins overall over their opponents with their latest victory over No. 5 Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. That includes 28 on the road, where the Sooners last lost at Stanford on March 9 of 2002. At home, the Sooners have rattled off 27 straight victories. The last time an OU team lost in Norman was Jan. 28, 2000, against Ohio State. The school record for consecutive victories is held by the football team, which won 47 straight from 1953-1957.
Sooner Notes
Mubarak Abdullah-Simmons- Junior college transfer made collegiate debut at Iowa still rings (8.150), vault (8.925) and parallel bars (8.200).
Brian Carr- Freshman made his Sooner debut last weekend against Air Force. In his lone event, pommel horse, Carr recorded an 8.900.
Kyle Fernandez- Made the most of his home debut scoring a 9.475 on rings, a new career high.
Mike Gehart - Recorded career highs on the rings (8.8) and high bar (8.650) against Air Force at home.
Josh Gore- Won the parallel bars against Iowa, tying his career-high (9.350). Also placed second on pommel horse (9.200) and fifth on the high bar (9.100)
David Henderson- Won all-around against Air Force at home with new career high, 54.125
Jamie Henderson- Won the still rings competition at Iowa with a 9.250.
David Iammatteo- Scored a new career-high on the vault against Air Force at home, 9.100.
Heath Mueller- Finished second in the all-around last weekend with a new career high, 53.450. He also recorded new career-highs on floor (9.3), and rings (8.75) in the home meet against Air Force.
James Myers- Scored a career high of 9.200 on high bar in event finals at RMO.
Curtis O'Rorke- Made his 2004 debut against Air Force, scored 8.3 on floor and a 9.050 on vault.
Quinn Rowell- Finished second on high bar against Iowa with a 9.625, a new career high for the 2002 All-American on that apparatus breaking his old mark set last week against Air Force, a 9.525.
Jock Stevens- Took second at Iowa on the floor exercise, 9.100.
Brian Trause- Won second place against Air Force at home on the parallel bars with a 9.075.
Head Coach Mark Williams
One of the most respected gymnastics authorities in the nation, Mark Williams has coached at every level of the sport, from beginners to Olympians. Williams was named head coach of the program in 2000 and produced immediate results. With the 2003 and 2002 squads claiming national championships, he now has the program positioned as a legitimate national contender every year.
Williams has done a lot of winning during his stint as head coach, producing five conference titles, in addition to being named “Coach of the Year” by the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation four times and NCAA National Coach of the Year twice. In 2003, the Sooners went 26-0 winning the NCAA National Championship in Philadelphia, Pa. Williams was named NCAA Coach of the Year and became the first coach in NCAA history to win two national titles in his first four years as head coach. Williams reached the 90-win plateau (93-7 career) faster than any other coach in NCAA history and owns the highest winning percentage of any active NCAA coach at 93 percent. Wiliams' squad will enter the 2004 season with winning streaks of 38 overal over opponents, 24 on the road and 26 at home.
Wiliams owns the NCAA record for wins (93) and winning percentage (.930) in a coach's first four seasons. In his 23 years as a professional gymnastics coach, Williams has guided gymnasts to World Championship, Pan American Games and University Games teams.
Mark Williams Record At Oklahoma (as head coach)
| Year | Record | Conference Finish | NCAA Finish |
|
2000 |
15-4 | MPSF (First) |
NCAA (Fourth) |
| 2001 | 24-2 | MPSF (First) | NCAA (Second) |
| 2002 | 28-1 | MPSF (First) | NCAA National Champion |
| 2003 | 26-0 | MPSF (First) | NCAA National Champion |
| 2004 | 5-0 |
Total: 98-7 (.933) winning percentage
Williams Approaches 100
Rings And Parallel Bars Leads The Way
The Sooners are ranked No. 2 in the nation on rings with a scoring average of 36.150, just short of Penn State's 37.012. In addition OU had two individuals ranked amongst the top 20 in the nation. Jamie Henderson is no stranger to success on the apparatus, the 2003 All-American is 11th in the nation. The other culprit is Penn State transfer Kyle Fernandez (13th). The junior opened up the season with a 9.200, a mark that qualified for the Rocky Mountain Event Finals.
OU is also ranked No. 2 in the nation on the parallel bars. Junior Josh Gore is averaging a 9.125 on the apparatus and is ranked No. 2 in the nation. Senior Brian Trause is also ranked (8.856-11th) along with junior David Henderson (8.850-12th).
Record Home Crowd
When the men opened their season at homeon Jan. 23, they posted their season best score in front of a new regular season record crowd for an Oklahoma Gymnastics' meet. Some 1,475 faithful fans attended the meet against Air Force, also featuring the OU women against the Falcons' women. The old record for a Sooner gymnastics meet was set last year when the men hosted Ohio State and the women hosted Penn State on March 7, 2003 in front of 1,227 at the Lloyd Noble Center.
The MPSF
The Sooners have won the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship five years in a row, four straight under Williams. This season OU is looking to do much of the same en route to defending its national championship as well. So far in 2004, OU has competed against the likes of two MPSF teams, Air Force and Nebraska. The Sooners are 3-0 against those teams, beating Air Force on two occasions. The next conference foe for OU is Nebraska at home on Feb. 21 at McCasland Field House. Seven days later, OU will travel to Palo Alto, Calif., (home of this year's MPSF Championship) to face Stanford.
Sooners' Recap At The 2004 Winter Cup
DAY ONE
Senior co-captain Heath Mueller finished 22nd in the all-around with a 52.175 and also took 10th in the high bar (9.275). Junior David Henderson was 10th on the vault with a 9.475 and 30th in the all-around (51.200). Sophomore Jamie Henderson ended up 28th in the all-around (51.400).
“I was really happy with how we performed,” said Oklahoma head coach Mark Williams. “We competed very well and the guys represented the university.”
DAY TWO
Assistant coach Guard Young was the only qualifier for the event finals and he took second on the vault (9.600) a day after finishing 10th in the all-around with a 53.625. He also competed on floor and rings.
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Sooners Named NCAAsports.com Team of the Week
The Oklahoma men's gymnastics team was named this week's NCAAsports.com Team Spotlight of the Week. The men are coming off back-to-back victories at the Rocky Mountain Open (Jan. 16-17) and over the Air Force Academy in Norman on Jan. 23.
In their victory over Air Force, the Sooners scored a season-high 217.650 and junior David Henderson won the all-around with a career-high 54.125. Henderson was also tops on parallel bars, pommel horse and still rings.
Overall, 13 different career-highs were tied or broken when the defending national champions defeated Air Force. Among some of those individuals to score well were OU's senior co-captains Heath Mueller and Quinn Rowell. Mueller, fresh off winning the all-around at the Rocky Mountain Open, recorded career highs on the floor exercise (9.300) and still rings (8.75). Rowell, a 2002 All-American on high bar, set a new mark in that event with a 9.525 score that earned him a tie for first place on the apparatus with Henderson.
“It is nice to be recognized for our effort and we are just staying focused on the task at hand and that is our match-up on the road with Iowa this weekend,” said Oklahoma head coach Mark Williams. “Iowa should be an interesting challenge due to the fact that at the Rocky Mountain Open there was one tenth of a point separating us. It will also have implications towards national rankings and we just want to keep the momentum going from our victory in the home opener against Air Force and post a solid score on the road.”
Last week, OU track and field's DaBryan Blanton was NCAAsports.com Spotlight Athlete of the Week. It marks the first time since the awards have been given out that a school has been awarded in consecutive weeks for different sports.
NCAA Record
Ever since the new scoring system's inception in 2001 in college gymnastics (Federation de Internationale Gymnastics Code Scoring System), OU has dominated the top team scores around the nation. Not only did the Sooners break the record twice last season, but they also currently own nine of the top 20 scores. On March 7, 2003, at home against Stanford and Ohio State, OU topped their old mark of 220.650 with a 222.500. That record would only last till the end of the month, when at the MPSF Championships the team recorded a 223.500. Penn State, Ohio State and Illinois are the only other members in the top 20.
Last Time Out (at Iowa - Jan. 31)
The No. 4 Oklahoma men's gymnastics team travelled to Iowa City, Iowa on Saturday, Jan. 31 and came out victorious against the No. 5 Iowa Hawkeyes. The Sooners (5-0) scored their second consecutive 217 score (217.500) to defeat Iowa (214.550) for the second time in 2004. The two met in the season opener at the Rocky Mountain Open and the Sooners won by a tenth of a point.
“We are always pleased with a victory, especially one on the road,” said Oklahoma head coach Mark Williams. “This is definitely a better performance than the last time we travelled (211.400 at Rocky Mountain Open) but that does not mean we did not mistakes today. There are some things we still need to work on to become more consistent.”
The Sooners posted their high event score on the high bar, with a 36.975. OU won every event as a team including the high bar except for the floor exercise and the vault. The Sooners have now defeated 43 straight opponents, including 28 now on the road. The last time OU lost a collegiate meet occurred back on March 9, 2002 at Stanford.
OU's top performer in the all-around was junior David Henderson. The 2002 All-American on still rings was third in the competition with a 51.700.
Junior Josh Gore was the other Sooner to collect first place honors. Gore recorded a 9.350 on the parallel bars for the victory. That mark tied Gore's career high and it was also the second time this season that he has scored a 9.350 on the parallel bars. Gore was also second on the pommel horse (9.200).
Other top five finishers for OU included senior Quinn Rowell setting a career-high on the high bar (9.625-2nd) and sophomore Jamie Henderson (9.350-3rd) also on the high bar. Henderson also won the still rings competition with a 9.250. Senior Jock Stevens' 9.100 on the floor exercise gave him second place and senior Brian Trause was also second with a 9.075 on the parallel bars and fourth on the pommel horse with a career-high 9.100.
“We are looking forward to a week off before our next team meet,” said Williams. “Some of our individuals will compete at the Winter Cup in Las Vegas but as a team we will use this time to improve upon our mistakes made today. Our next meet at Ohio State will be a challenge and we are looking forward to this week off to prepare and perform better in that meet.”
Sooners' Remaining Home Schedule
* Saturday, Feb. 21 vs. Minnesota, Michigan and Nebraska
* Saturday, March 6 vs. Illinois (Senior Day)
MGYM Highlights: NCAA Championship
Saturday, April 18
MGYM Highlights: NCAA Qualifier
Friday, April 17
MGYM Highlights: MPSF Championship
Saturday, April 04
MGYM Highlights: OU 325.250, California 315.100
Saturday, March 21
