No. 1 OU Wins Eighth Straight RMO

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. The No. 1 Oklahoma men's gymnastics squad opened the 2007 season the same way it finished 06 champions. The Sooners, with a team score of 207.35, cruised to victory over Nebraska (189.70), Air Force (175.30) and Arizona State (172.350).

Successfully starting their title defense, with a third straight NCAA Championship in sight, the Sooners swept every team event Friday night at the Cadet West Gymnasium on the grounds of the United States Air Force Academy.

Ten OU gymnasts qualified for Saturday's event finals, scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. (CST).

“I thought it was a good effort all the way around,” said head coach Mark Williams. “We need to get some guys healthy, but I thought it was a good effort considering we are not back to full strength.”

Jacob Messina won the all-around title with a score of 51.00. The Matthews, N.C., native bested Nebraska's Stephen Tetrault, who finished at 48.150.

The Sooners won handily despite the absence of reigning NCAA all-around champion Jonathan Horton who was with the U.S. Senior National Team at a training camp in Japan.

RMO Team Results (PDF) | Meet Notes | 2007 Media Guide

OU began the night on the pommel horse where Messina finished off the rotation with a team-high 8.550. In his first collegiate competition, Corey English posted a 8.250 on the apparatus. Philadelphia native Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons matched English's score of 8.250.

“The way we started on pommel horse, I will take that all season,” Williams said. “We posted some very good scores for this early in the season.”

Moving to the still rings, OU finished strong with scores of 9.050 (Ian Jackson), 9.200 (Messina) and 9.100 (Abdullah-Simmons) from its last three gymnasts. Friday night's event marked the first competition for both Jackson and Messina on the rings.

On the vault, the Sooners posted a team score of 34.250. OU was led by Kyle McNamara's opening 8.900, followed by Jackson and Garrett Carr, who posted scores of 8.650 and 8.450, respectively.

The following rotation on the parallel bars saw Oklahoma distance themselves from second-place Nebraska. Behind Chris Brooks' career-high 9.300, the Sooners posted a team score of 35.20 to Nebraska's 31.20.

The Sooners moved to the high bar where the team's lone senior, co-captain Brian Carr, led the way with a score of 8.80. Messina and Jackson posted scores of 8.55 and 8.30, respectively.

OU had closed the door on 10th-ranked Nebraska by the time it reached the floor exercise. Wes Aderhold and Brooks posted matching 9.100 scores to seal the win. The mark was a career best for Aderhold.

OU will see both Air Force and Nebraska next weekend, as the Sooners open their home slate Jan. 20th at 1 p.m. in the Howard McCasland Field House.

TEAM RESULTS (NCAA DIVISION), SCORE
1. OKLAHOMA, 207.350
2. Nebraska, 189.700
3. Air Force, 175.300
4. Arizona State, 172.350

OU SCORING
* - Event Finals Qualifiers (OU gymnasts only)

FLOOR EXERCISE
J. Weaver, 8.500*
I. Jackson, 8.350
W. Aderhold, 9.100*
J. Messina, 7.600
C. Brooks, 9.100*
R. Czeschin, 7.550
Team: 35.050

VAULT
K. McNamara, 8.900*
G. Carr, 8.450*
I. Jackson, 8.650*
J. Messina, 8.200
R. Czeschin, 8.250
C. Brooks, 8.150
Team: 34.250

STILL RINGS
J. Laughton, 8.500
J. Weaver, 7.000
K. McNamara, 8.350
I. Jackson, 9.050*
J. Messina, 9.200*
T. Abdullah-Simmons, 9.100*
Team: 35.850

HIGH BAR
K. McNamara, 8.150
I. Jackson, 8.300 *
W. Adherhold, 8.150
G. Carr, 8.250
B. Carr, 8.800*
J. Messina, 8.550*
Team: 33.900

POMMEL HORSE
G. Carr, 7.600
C. English, 8.250*
W. Aderhold, 7.900
B. Carr, 8.050
T. Abdullah-Simmons, 8.250*
J. Messina, 8.550*
Team: 33.100

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