Sooners Debut at No. 1, Again

NORMAN, Okla. For the fourth time in the last five years, the Oklahoma men's gymnastics team is ranked No. 1 in the GymInfo Preseason Coaches Poll. The defending NCAA Champion Sooners received nine of a possible 14 first-place votes.

“We're always honored to be rated so highly,” OU head coach Mark Williams said. “I think we'll have a good opportunity to compete for another championship this year.”

The Sooners return the majority of last year's National Championship squad for the 2007 season. Of OU's school-record 14 All-America honors earned at last season's NCAA finals, only Jamie Henderson (All-American on parallel bars and still rings) is lost.

This year's Sooner team will be led by 2006 NCAA all-around champion Jonathan Horton. The Houston, Texas, native earned All-America honors on five events in 2006, tying his own school record set the year before and breaking two-time Olympic gold-medalist Bart Conner's school record for career honors (10). Horton also claimed three event titles at the 2006 NCAA Championships, setting another OU record and tying Conner's record for career titles (3). In September, Horton finished second at the Visa U.S. Championships and was appointed to the U.S. team for the 2006 World Championships.

Other returning All-Americans for OU include Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons (all-around, vault and parallel bars), Chris Brooks (high bar), Brian Carr (pommel horse) and Reed Pitts (floor exercise and vault).

2007 Schedule | 2006 Season in Review | 2007 Roster

Under Williams, Oklahoma has won four of the last five NCAA titles, the best run since Nebraska won four in a row from 1979-1982.

Williams, a four-time National Coach of the Year, owns a 169-13 (.929) in seven seasons at the helm. In October, Williams was chosen to lead the U.S. National Team (featuring Horton) at the 2006 World Championships in Denmark.

OU opens the 2007 season at the Rocky Mountain Open, Jan. 12-13, in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Fans can catch a preview of the 2007 Sooners at the team's annual Red-White meet, Dec. 2 at 2 p.m. at the Sam Viersen Gymnastics Center. Admission to the event is free. For maps or directions to the Viersen Center, click here.

2007 GymInfo Preseason Coaches Poll
First place votes in parentheses
1. OKLAHOMA (9)
2. Stanford (1)
3. Ohio State
4. California (1)
5. Penn State (2)
6. Illinois
7. Iowa
8. Michigan
9. Minnesota
10. Nebraska
11. Illinois-Chicago
12. Temple
13. William & Mary
14. Army
15. Navy

Receiving votes: Air Force, James Madison, MIT, Springfield

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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