Men's Gymnastics Begins Fall Workouts

NORMAN, Okla. - The 2006 University of Oklahoma men's gymnastics team began fall practice Thursday in the Sam Viersen Gymnastics Center. The Sooners, fresh off the progam's sixth national title, are looking to replace seven seniors from the 2005 squad.

The Sooners opened fall practice with seven returners from the 2005 team and six newcomers joining head coach Mark Williams' program. The returners bring with them nine All-America honors led by sophomore Jonathan Horton's five honors. Also returning with All-America honors are senior Jamie Henderson and sophomores Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons and Jake Messina.

"This is the largest turnover that I've experienced during my time at the University of Oklahoma," said Williams. "We have a lot of new faces on this year's team that we are going to be bringing into our system. We hope that once they become accustom to our program, that they will help us win another national championship.

"With our core group of returners including Jonathan Horton, Jamie Henderson, Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons and Jake Messina, I think we have the making of another good team. We are going to have to go through a lot of work, but this group is capable of that."

This year's newcomers include three former U.S. Junior National Team members. Wesley Aderhold, Jason Laughton and Chris Brooks all enter the OU program with national team experience on their resumes. Garrett Carr, the younger brother of junior Brian Carr also joins the squad along with Kyle McNamara and Russell Czeschin.

New faces do not only appear on the OU roster, but also on the coaching staff. Joining Williams in 2006 are two new assistant coaches, Rustam Sharipov and Daniel Furney. Sharipov brings with him the experience of two Olympic gold medals and a world championship on the parallel bars. Furney, one of the program's most decorated gymnasts, joins Williams in his first collegiate coaching position.

"We have two new assistants who are more than capable of guiding this team to its goal of winning both the conference championship and the national championship," added Williams.

The Sooners will look to repeat their success from the 2005 which saw the program win its sixth national title, 14th conference championship, three individual conference champions, 13 All-Americans and an overall record of 21-2.

OU's 2006 season kicks off on Jan. 13 at the Rocky Mountain Open in Colorado Springs, Colo. The first home action for the Sooners will be one week later on Friday, Jan. 20 when they host Air Force.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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