NCAA Champs Announce 2007 Schedule

NORMAN, Okla. The defending NCAA National Champion Oklahoma men's gymnastics team and head coach Mark Williams announced the Sooners' 2007 schedule on Thursday.

OU will compete in 11 events and will also host four home meets at the Howard McCasland Field House.

Oklahoma begins the season with its annual trip to the Rocky Mountain Open hosted by the Air Force Academy, Jan.12-13.

“The Rocky Mountain Open is always a good beginning for us,” Williams said. “It's a good opener where we can go up to the Air Force Academy and face a number of teams. It's generally not a time when we're overly consistent, but we do have to start somewhere and it's exciting to have some individual awards at that particular meet.”

Next the Sooners return to Norman to open their home season against Nebraska and Air Force on Jan. 20 at 1 p.m. in the Field House.

“Nebraska's a rival that we've always had a great relationship with and it should be a good stepping off point for the fans,” Williams said.

Oklahoma then goes on the road for its next two meets, at Michigan (Jan. 27) and at Nebraska (Feb. 2) before sending gymnasts to compete in the 2007 Winter Cup in Las Vegas.

The Winter Cup is an individual event that serves as an opportunity to earn a spot on the U.S. National Team. At the 2006 Winter Cup, Jonathan Horton finished second in the all-around to land a third stint on the U.S. squad.

2007 Schedule | 2006 Season in Review | 2007 Roster

OU returns to its regular schedule the week after the Winter Cup, hosting club teams from the University of Washington and the University of Texas at the Field House on Feb. 16.

The Sooners then face their sternest test of the season as they travel to the Pacific Coast Classic, Feb. 24, in Oakland, Calif. Several of the nation's top teams including Michigan, California, Illinois, Minnesota and Stanford will be competing. The event will be televised by Fox Sports Net.

Oklahoma wraps up the regular season with consecutive home meets against talented Big Ten teams Ohio State (March 3) and Iowa (March 17).

“Ohio State is always a huge rivalry,” Williams said. “Those two meets come late in the season when we are getting ready for the conference championship and will provide two great tests.”

Williams' squad will look to win its eighth overall and third consecutive MPSF title in 2007. Cal-Berkeley will serve as host of the event.

“I think the conference meet is going to be a big challenge,” Williams said. “Cal-Berkeley is going to be good and Stanford's going to be good and it's going to be in their backyard. That's going to be a huge step towards NCAAs.”

The 2007 NCAA Division I Men's Gymnastics Championships will be held April 12-14 on the campus of Penn State University in State College, Pa.

After winning their second consecutive NCAA crown in front of a home crowd at the Lloyd Noble Center in 2006, the Sooners will be aiming for the three-peat in a tough environment in State College.

“Penn State has a very good team this year and they're known for getting a good crowd,” Williams said. “We're going to have to have everything going for us being in a hostile environment. Hopefully we'll be up for the challenge.”

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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