Completed Event: Men's Gymnastics at California on March 21, 2026 , Win , 325.250, to, 315.100
Final
Men's Gymnastics
325.250
at California
315.100
University of Oklahoma Athletics
No. 2 Sooners Host No. 1 Illinois On Senior Night
March 05, 2004 | Men's Gymnastics
MEET 7
March 6, 2004 (7 p.m. - CST)
Norman, Okla.
McCasland Field House
Teams:
No. 2 OKLAHOMA
No. 1 Illinois
Preview
The No. 2 Sooners host their final home meet of the season on Saturday, March 6 at 7 p.m., with No. 1 Illinois coming to McCasland Field House.
The Sooners (11-0) defeated the Stanford Cardinal the last time out by a score of 219.950-214.575. OU recorded its highest score on the pommel horse this season at Stanford with a 37.400 and outscored the opposition in every event.
Junior David Henderson stepped up for the Sooners scoring a career-high 54.300 in the all-around that was good enough for first place. The Crosby, Texas native also took second place in both the rings and vault with scores of 9.450 and 9.400 respectively. For his efforts, Henderson was named Inside Gymnastics Magazine's Midwest Region Gymnast of the Week.
Illinois (8-3) sports the nation's best average, a 219.125 after scoring the top two scores in the nation this season (221.575 & 221.550). In their last meet, a 221.550-210.900 victory, sophomore Justin Spring led the Illini once again winning four events and posting two school records that he previously owned. The Burke, Va. native set the records by winning the floor exercise (9.800) and the high bar (9.800). He also won the parallel bars with a 9.550, just shy of his school record score of 9.600, and he won the vault with a 9.450. Spring has won 18 titles this season. Yoshi Hayasaki enters his 28th year as head coach at Illinois and his career mark currently stands at 238-130-1. At Illinois, Hayasaki has one national championship, earned back in 1989.
"This competition will be an interesting one against Illinois and it has posted the top two scores in the nation this season," said Oklahoma head coach Mark Williams. "We will have to compete better than we did against Stanford last weekend and bring our A' game in order to be successful against the Illini."
OU students are admitted free with a valid OU ID. Tickets are $5 per adult and $2 for children. Fans presenting their OU vs. Baylor Men's Basketball ticket stub will receive $2 admission. Group rates can be obtained 24 hours inadvance for 10 or more people ($2 per ticket) by calling the OU ticket office.
Complete Release | Season Statistics
Senior Night
When the men take the floor on Saturday, it will be the last time that three Sooners will compete on the college level in Norman. Seniors Quinn Rowell, Heath Mueller and Jock Stevens have had stellar careers at OU. All three have at one time been named All-Americans. Rowell and Mueller are co-captains of this year's squad that is seeking its third straight NCAA Championship. Rowell was an All-American on the high bar during the 2002 season, Mueller was tabbed one last season on parallel bars and Stevens was an All-American on the vault last season as well. During their tenure at OU, the trio has helped the Sooners to two national championships and a 78-3 record.
Top 15
The Oklahoma men's gymnastics team remained in the No. 2 spot after posting a 219.950 score their last time out at Stanford.
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 this week. 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 15 individuals ranked in their respective events, including Josh Gore (1st-parallel bars) and Quinn Rowell (5th-high bar).
EVENT National Rank Average
| Floor Exercise | 4 | 36.217 |
| Pommel Horse | 2 | 36.842 |
| Still Rings | 3 | 36.242 |
| Vault | 6 | 36.700 |
| Parallel Bars | 1 | 36.125 |
| High Bar | 1 | 37.400 |
49 Straight!
OU extended its winning streak to 49 straight with its latest victory over then-No. 10 Stanford. On Feb. 21 against Michigan, Minnesota and Nebraska the Sooners broke the school record for most consecutive wins by an athletic program. The school record for consecutive victories was held by the football team, which won 47 straight from 1953-1957. The gymnasts streak includes 31 on the road, where the Sooners last lost at Stanford on March 9, 2002. Before that, the Sooners rattled off 30 straight victories at home. The last time an OU team lost in Norman was Jan. 28, 2000, against Ohio State.
“I still feel like in football it is different because you can only get one victory at a time and it is over a four year span,” said Williams about the streak. “It is a little like comparing apples and oranges because unlike gymnastics, football can not defeat three teams in one day. We have certainly had the opportunity where we could have let down and not put together this string of wins.
The guys have been amazing and I am grateful for the work ethic they have put forth over this span to be this successful. It is great to be a part of history.”
Records Are Meant To Be Broken
The Sooners have broken two school event records so far this season and one individual mark. On Feb. 21 the Sooners posted a school record 36.700 on the parallel bars. The previous mark of 36.500 was set last season against Stanford and Ohio State at home.
On Feb. 13 against then-No. 1 Ohio State and then-No. 2 California the Sooners broke two records. The first was the team's high bar score of 37.550. OU recorded a 38.250 breaking the old mark set on March 7 of last season. Senior co-captain also broke a record set back on that same day last season by breaking Daniel Furney's 9.700 with a 9.850 against the Buckeyes and Golden Bears.
Oklahoma 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
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NCAA Record
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 12 of the top 25 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, California and Illinois are the only other members in the top 25. OU has posted two top 25 scores this season; (Feb. 13 - 219.600 & Feb. 21 - 221.475).
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 2004 Men's Gymnastics NCAA Championships will be held in Champaign, Illinois this year hosted by the University of Illinois in Assembly Hall. The event will feature four sessions held on April 2, 3 and 4. For additional information click the following link: 2004 NCAAs.
SCHEDULE
| Date | Session | Time |
| April 2 | I National Qualifier | 1 p.m. |
| II National Qualifier | 7 p.m | |
| April 3 | III Team, AA Finals & Individual Event Qualifying | 7 p.m. |
| April 4 | IV Individual Event Finals | 2 p.m. |
Sooners Sign Three For 2005
The Sooners' incoming class for next season includes Taqiy Abdullah, Joseph Weaver and Jonathan Horton. All three rank amongst the best gymnasts coming out of high school and Horton is regarded as No. 1 prospect.
"This may be the best class I have recruited in my tenure here at OU. And only time will tell if these three guys can equal up to what last year's seniors (Daniel Furney, Josh Landis and Shannon Carrion) accomplished in their OU careers.”
Parallel Bars and High Bar Ranks No. 1 In The Nation
For the third consecutive week, Oklahoma is ranked No. 1 in the nation on the parallel bars with a scoring average of 36.125. The Sooners feature four individuals ranked in the top 20 on the apparatus. Junior Josh Gore is the highest ranked invidual for Oklahoma. He is averaging a 9.350 on the parallel bars and is ranked No. 1 in the nation. Senior Brian Trause is also ranked (9.067-6th) along with senior Heath Mueller (8.983-12th) and sophomore Jamie Henderson (8.967-15th).
The Sooners' high bar team is also the nation's best, averaging 37.400. Senior Quinn Rowell is the highest ranked Sooner on the apparatus with a 9.583 avareage that puts him No. 5. Jamie Henderson is No. 7 with a 9.492 average and is followed by Jsoh Gore (9.233-14th) and Heath Mueller (9.167-16th).
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 four MPSF teams, Air Force, Stanford, California and Nebraska. The Sooners are 6-0 against those teams, beating Air Force and Nebraska on two occasions. The next conference meet is when OU travels to face Nebraska. Below is a look at how OU ranks against the rest of the MPSF.
| National Rank | Team | Total Season Avg. | Meets |
| No. 2 | OKLAHOMA | 219.067 | 4 |
| No. 3 | California | 217.000 | 6 |
| No. 8 | Nebraska | 212.917 | 5 |
| No. 10 | Stanford | 210.292 | 5 |
| No. 16 | Air Force | 201.400 | 4 |
Williams Reaches 100
Oklahoma head coach Mark Williams earned his 100th career win at OU after defeating Ohio State and California on Feb. 21 and he currently holds a record of 104-7, in his fifth season. Williams is the fastest coach in the NCAA to reach the 100-win plateau in the sport. Williams only trails Greg Buwick (224) in wins at the school and Buwick earned his 100th victory near the end of his 10th season at OU. Buwick compiled a 224-74-1 in 16 seasons at OU before giving the reigns over to Williams.
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.
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.
Last Time Out (at Stanford - Feb. 28)
The University of Oklahoma men's gymnastics team won at Stanford on Saturday by scoring a 219.950 to top Stanford's 214.575. OU outscored Stanford in every team event and had its third highest team score of the season.
The No. 2 Sooners recorded the victory over the Cardinal with a season-high 37.400 on the pommel horse, while Stanford scored a 36.800. OU continued to outscore the competition with a 36.050 on floor (Stanford-35.550), 36.850 on still rings (Stanford-35.550), 36.350 on vault (Stanford-35.800), 35.900 on parallel bars (Stanford-35.000) and a 37.400 on high bar (Stanford-35.875).
Another key to OU's triumph was junior David Henderson's performance in the all-around. Henderson scored a career high 54.300 en route to the all-around title in the meet. His top event performances included a 9.450 on still rings, good for second place and a 9.400 on vault (tied career-high), also good for second.
“I was fairly pleased with our team score and with David's (Henderson) performance in the all-around,” said Oklahoma head coach Mark Williams. “There were certain points during the meet that we had some top-level performances, but we were not as consistent as I wanted.”
Last weekend at home, the Sooners recorded the most consecutive wins by an athletic program at the University of Oklahoma with 48 straight, a streak that started after OU lost to Stanford in March, 2002. Saturday night, the Sooners went with a different lineup to earn No. 49 against Stanford in order to prepare for next weekend's meet with Illinois.
“We went with a different order tonight in order to rest some guys and give some others some experience,” said Williams. "So we did not get the type of score like I was hoping and we did not have a great hit percentage but you have to be happy with another win and a 219 score.”
Individually, the Sooners took first place in all but two events, the vault and pommel horse. Sophomore Jamie Henderson recorded a career-high 9.700 on the high bar to take first place on the podium and did the same with a 9.700 on still rings (season-high). Joining him was junior Josh Gore taking first on the parallel bars (9.350) and senior Jock Stevens scoring a 9.450 on the floor exercise.
Up Next For The Sooners
OU will travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, to finish off the regular season against current No. 8 Nebraska.
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
Problem Solvers: Beyond The Game - Ignacio Yockers
Wednesday, March 18
