No. 1 OU Hosts Nebraska, Air Force

NORMAN, Okla. -- After sweeping both teams at last week's Rocky Mountain Open in Colorado Springs, top-ranked Oklahoma welcomes MPSF rivals Air Force and No. 10 Nebraska to Norman for its home opener on Saturday, Jan. 20.

The meet is scheduled for a 1 p.m. (CST) start inside the Howard McCasland Field House.

“As our first home meet we'd like to take the energy we had from the Rocky Mountain Open and continue to improve,” OU head coach Mark Williams said.

The Sooners will face the Falcons (1-2) and Huskers (2-1) for the second time in as many weeks. The Sooners' 207.350 total bested Nebraska's 189.700 and Air Force's 175.300 in the team finals of the Rocky Mountain Open on Jan. 12.

Live Video | Meet Notes | 2007 Media Guide

“We always want to put on a good show for the home crowd, and we'd like to put together a team score that's more commensurate with what the top teams scored last weekend,” Williams said.

Help should arrive Saturday with the return of 2006 NCAA all-around champion Jonathan Horton, who missed the Rocky Mountain Open due to commitments with the U.S. Senior National Team. Returning All-Americans Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons and Chris Brooks should also see more action after being limited last week because of minor injuries.

Air Force is in its second season under head coach Kip Simons. The Falcons had three gymnasts earn top three event finishes at the RMO, including Brennan Wolford (T-third, floor), Garrett Canter (third, pommel horse) and Jacob Schonig (T-third, rings).

Nebraska is led by 37th-year head coach Francis Allen. The 10th-ranked Huskers are led by a pair of veterans junior Stephen Tetrault and senior Jason Wassung. Tetrault, a 2005 All-American on vault, finished second in the all-around at the Rocky Mountain Open with a (48.150), while Wassung (48.050) was third.

OU will see both schools again this season before the MPSF Championships on March 31. The Sooners travel to Lincoln to take on the Huskers on Feb. 2, and Air Force is scheduled to compete in the Pacific Coast Classic, Feb. 24 in Oakland, Calif.

The Sooners will start on the floor exercise on Saturday and will follow the Olympic rotation (FX, PH, SR, V, PB, HB). Air Force will begin on the pommel horse and Nebraska will start on rings.

SETTING THE SCENE
What: No. 1 OU (3-0) vs. No. 10 Nebraska (2-1) and Air Force (1-2)
Where: Norman, Okla.
Howard McCasland Field House (2,000)
When: Jan. 20, 2007 at 1 p.m. (CST)
Ticket Information: Student admission is free with OU ID.
Public & Faculty/Staff - $7.00
Letterwinners - $5.00
Youth (K-HS) - $5.00
Group (10-99) - $3.00*
Group (100+) - $2.00*

Contact the OU Ticket Office (405) 325-2424 for season ticket information
* groups of 10 or more should call at least 24 hours in advance

Seating: Seating will be restricted to the upper section of the McCasland Field House. All seating will be general admission. Doors open at 12 p.m.
Live Scores: Scores will be posted on SoonerSports.com after each rotation.
Promotions: Free T-shirts will be available for the first 200 fans.

KNOW THE FOE
Air Force Falcons
Colors: Blue and Silver
Conference: MPSF
Facility: Cadet West Gymnasium
Head Coach: Kip Simons (Ohio State, 1994)
Record at Air Force: 0-6 (1 year)
Career Record: same

2006 Season
Conference Finish: Fifth
NCAA Finish: N/A
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 9/7
All-Americans Returning/Lost: 0/0
Top Returner: Brian Boardman

Nebraska Cornhuskers
Colors: Scarlet and Cream
Conference: MPSF
Facility: Bob Devaney Sports Center
Head Coach: Francis Allen (Nebraska, 1969)
Record at Nebraska: 189-108-3 (36 years)
Career Record: same

2006 Season
Conference Finish: Fourth
NCAA Finish: 10th
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 6/5
All-Americans Returning/Lost: 1/0
Top Returner: Jason Wassung

COMING UP NEXT...
After Saturday's home meet with No. 10 Nebraska and Air Force, OU hits the road for dual meets at No. 8 Michigan (Jan. 27) and 10th-ranked Nebraska (Feb. 2). Select members of the OU squad will also participate in the Winter Cup USA re-ranking events in Las Vegas, Nev., Feb. 9-10.

OU's next home meet is Feb. 16 against club teams from the University of Washington and the University of Texas.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGHS
Seven Sooners set or tied career highs at the Rocky Mountain Open in Colorado Springs.

Competing for the first time on parallel bars and high bar, sophomore Garrett Carr recorded scores of 8.4 and 8.25, respectively. Fellow sophomore Jason Laughton, in his first collegiate competition on the still rings, scored an 8.5.

Jacob Messina set a new personal mark on p-bars with an 8.9, while Wes Aderhold bested his previous floor exercise mark with a 9.1 in the team finals.

Sophomore Chris Brooks blew away his old career best of 8.85 on the p-bars with a 9.3 in the team finals.

Kyle McNamara, competing near his hometown of Littleton, Colo., tied his career high with an 8.35 on the rings.

FRESHMEN AT WORK
In their first action as collegiate gymnasts, OU newcomers Ian Jackson and Corey English performed.

Competing on four events, Jackson recorded the team's second-highest score on vault with an 8.65 in the team finals. In the event finals, the Harrisburg, Pa. native finished second on the still rings (8.85) and third on high bar (8.55).

English participated on the pommel horse and parallel bars for the Sooners. He notched the team's second-highest score on pommel with an 8.25. In the event finals he tied for fourth place on the apparatus with a 7.5.

IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES, IT WAS THE WORST OF TIMES
The Rocky Mountain Open represented both the high and low points of junior Jacob Messina's season.

The Matthews, N.C. native took the all-around title and advanced to the individual finals on three events (PH, SR, HB). He finished second on the pommel horse and high bar and claimed the still rings title with a 9.1.

On his dismount from the high bar, his final event of the night, Messina fell to the mat, clutching his right knee. Team doctors diagnosed the injury as a torn anterior cruciate ligament, effectively ending his season.

“Jacob was having a great competition, from winning the all-around and rings and finishing strong on the horse. He was looking better than he has ever looked.”

Messina's injury is the second notable loss for a Sooner squad looking for its third straight national title. Sophomore Reed Pitts, an All-American on floor and vault as a freshman, tore his Achilles tendon prior to the start of the season and was forced to redshirt.

CONFERENCE DOMINANCE
Under head coach Mark WIlliams the Sooners have ruled the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). Since 2000, Williams first season at the helm, Oklahoma has claimed six conference titles and lost only twice to conference rivals.

The Sooners finished as runner-up to Cal at the 2004 MPSF Championships, the only time under Williams that OU has not worn the conference crown.

OU also lost a road dual to Stanford on March 9, 2002.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN REVIEW
The No. 1 Oklahoma men's gymnastics squad opened the 2007 season the same way it finished 06 as 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).

It was OU's eighth straight Rocky Mountain team title.

The Sooners swept every event in the team finals, and 10 OU gymnasts qualified for Saturday's event finals.

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.

Continuing its strong showing from the previous night, Oklahoma won five of six individual event titles Saturday afternoon. The event ended on a somber note as Messina suffered an apparently season-ending knee injury.

OU quickly displayed why it is the top contender for a third-straight national championship. Starting the afternoon on the still rings, the Sooners swept the event. Improving on yesterday's 8.900, Messina won the event with a score of 9.100. Freshman Ian Jackson finished second at 8.850 in the first individual event finals of his collegiate career. Jason Laughton sealed the sweep with his 8.400.

To qualify for the event finals, an individual had to finish in the top eight on an apparatus in Friday night's competition. No more than three athletes per school could qualify on the same event. The Sooners placed the maximum three gymnasts on each event.

Moving to the floor exercise, Chris Brooks led off with a solid 9.200, a mark no one would upend. Wes Adherhold placed second after a 9.00. Joseph Weaver finished fourth at 7.900.

Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons started the Sooners off on the pommel with a fourth-place 7.500. Corey English followed and matched Taqiy's 7.500. Messina finished second with a score of 8.500 in the only event OU didn't win.

On the parallel bars, sophomore Wes Aderhold won the event with a score of 8.650. Fellow Sooner Chris Brooks finished fourth after a 8.050.

Picking up its second sweep of the afternoon, Oklahoma's Kyle McNamara, Garrett Carr and Russ Czeschin posted respective scores of 8.650, 8.400 and 8.200 on the vault.

As everything appeared to be going Oklahoma's way, Messina fell to the mat at the conclusion of his high bar routine, clutching his right knee. Messina's performance was still strong enough for a second place showing with a score of 8.700. Brian Carr, the lone senior on the team, sealed OU's dominating third sweep with a winning 9.150. Jackson took third with a score of 8.550. The Harrisburg, Pa., freshman had two top-three finishes on the afternoon.

WILLIAMS NAMES CAPTAINS
Jonathan Horton and Brian Carr were named co-captains of the 2007 Sooner squad by head coach Mark WIlliams.

Horton's leadership and contributions to the team are well-documented. The 2006 NCAA all-around champion tied Bart Conner's school record of three individual event national titles. He is serving his second stint as a team captain.

The lone senior on the team, Carr is expected to provide Williams with consistent scores on four events. Carr is one of the top scorers returning on the pommel horse and high bar and looks to excel on both events in 2007.

IN WITH THE NEW(COMERS)
Once again the Sooners have brought in a talented freshman recruiting class under Coach Williams. Joining the OU squad for 2007 are Ian Jackson from Harrisburg, Pa., and Corey English from Covington, La.

Last season, Williams plugged a number of freshmen into the OU lineup and their contributions helped lead the Sooners to a national title.

This year's freshmen will also be counted on to solidify the OU lineup with the loss of All-Americans Jamie Henderson (graduation) and Reed Pitts (injury) as well as replacing the consistent scores of departed senior James Myers.

SOONERS DEBUT AT NO. 1, AGAIN
For the fourth time in the last five years, the Oklahoma men's gymnastics team was ranked No. 1 in the GymInfo Preseason Coaches Poll.

The defending NCAA Champion Sooners received nine of a possible 14 first-place votes.

A NOTE ON THE RANKINGS
The GymInfo rankings are based on the following criteria:

Jan. 23 - February 13: Ranking by Total Season Average (average of all scores)

February 20 - March 13: Ranking by Three Score Average

March 20 - March 27: Ranking by Modified Three Score Average (Select the four highest scores, counting no more than two home meet, and drop the highest score. Average the three remaining scores.)

April 3: Ranking by National Qualifying Average

SOONERS LOOKING FOR NCAA TRIFECTA
Having won four of the last five NCAA championships, the 2007 OU squad will be seeking the program's first three-peat.

Since the creation of collegiate men's gymnastics (1953), only seven current teams have won consecutive national championships. Oklahoma is the only men's gymnastics program to have won two straight or more on three separate occasions. Penn State and Nebraska are the only schools to win three or more straight titles. After winning back-to-back titles in 1953 and 1954, Penn State won three in a row from 1959 to 1961. Nebraska ran an impressive string of four straight titles from 1979-1982. OU's seven national championships ranks fourth all-time behind Penn State (11), Illinois (9) and Nebraska (8).

The Sooners' 2006 title, along with OU's 2005 crown, marked the third time in program history that Oklahoma has won back-to back-titles. OU accomplished the task on two previous occasions in the program's history. The first feat was accomplished in 1978 after the Sooners won their first national title in program history in 1977 under head coach Paul Ziert. Williams was the next coach in Sooner history to add the feat to his resume, winning consecutive titles in 2002-03 and 2005-06.

OU SENDS SIX TO VISA CHAMPIONSHIPS
All six University of Oklahoma gymnasts who competed in the July U.S. Men's Qualifier at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., advanced to the Visa U.S. Championships in August.

Jonathan Horton, Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons, Chris Brooks, Jacob Messina, Jason Laughton and Jamie Henderson each scored well enough to compete for the U.S. Championships.

The six Sooner qualifiers were the most from any school, as well as the most in school history.

At the U.S. Championships, Horton won the floor exercise and earned top five finishes on the high bar and still rings to take second in the all-around competition. Brooks won the high bar title and also finished 10th on the floor exercise to land in eighth place in the all-around standings.

Jacob Messina finished ninth in the all-around and recorded a tie for eighth on the pommel horse (28.250).

Several other Sooners scored top-10 event finishes including Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons, who tied for fifth on the parallel bars, and Jamie Henderson,who was 10th on the pommel horse.

EXCELLENCE IN THE GYM AND THE CLASSROOM
Nine members of the Oklahoma men's gymnastics team were named All-America Scholar-Athletes by the College Gymnastics Association in July.

As a team, Oklahoma placed sixth in the nation with a team grade point average of 3.137.

“We're very pleased with the overall GPA of our team throughout the season to add to the success of being national champions in 2006,” OU head coach Mark Williams said.

“I feel confident that we can now clearly be called champions both in and out of the classroom and I congratulate all our student-athletes who were All-Americans.”

Earning first team honors for the Sooners were Wes Aderhold (3.875), Russell Czeschin (3.872), Reed Pitts (3.786), and Chris Brooks (3.50).

Second team honorees included Brian Carr (3.37), James Myers (3.354), Jonathan Horton (3.28), Jamie Henderson (3.222) and Jacob Messina (3.222).

The CGA honored 55 gymnasts as 2006 first team All-America Scholar-Athletes for attaining a GPA of at least 3.50, and 56 second-team members with GPAs between 3.20 and 3.499.

CRIMSON & CREAM ON THE U.S. NATIONAL TEAM
Oklahoma has always had a noticeable presence in USA Gymnastics. Over the program's history, OU has placed 15 athletes on the U.S. Senior National Team.

The Sooners have had two Olympians, four World Championships participants and sent three athletes to the Pan American Games, Pan American Championships and World University Games.

Since taking over in 2000, Coach Williams has placed four gymnasts on the Senior National Team, including current OU standouts Jonathan Horton and Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons. Assistant coach Daniel Furney and recent graduate Jamie Henderson have also been a part of the U.S. Team.

HORTON AND WILLIAMS AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
In October 2006, two Sooners represented the university and the nation as members of the U.S. Team at the 2006 World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark. Oklahoma's Mark Williams was appointed head coach of the U.S. team, while Jonathan Horton was selected to the American squad after a strong showing at the Visa U.S. Championships.

Williams had previously served as a personal coach at the World Championships and Olympics and as an assistant coach on the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team. Most recently he coached former OU assistant coach Guard Young to a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

At the 2006 Visa U.S. Championships, Williams was honored as the USA Gymnastics Coach of the Year, and Horton was named Sportsman of the Year by the Junior and Senior U.S. National Team.

Horton was selected to the squad based on his finish at the U.S. Championships in August. The Houston, Texas, native won a gold medal on the floor exercise and finished second in the all-around standings.

Horton's selection added to an already impressive gymnastics resume. In addition to his NCAA accolades, the 5-1 junior has been a member of the U.S. Men's Senior National Team since 2003. He was a member of the American squad at the 2003 and 2005 Pan American Games and led the U.S. to victory at the 2006 France/USA/Switzerland tri-meet, finishing second in the all-around.

The highlight of his budding international career came at the 2006 Tyson American Cup where he took gold on the still rings and finished second on the floor exercise and vault to claim the all-around title over Japan's Hisashi Mizutori.

Despite his considerable list of accomplishments, the World Championships represented a new challenge and opportunity for Horton.

“It doesn't really compare to anything,” Horton said. “It's so huge the World Championships. You really can't compare it to any other international meet except for the Olympics.”

Over 100 countries participated in the 2006 World Championships with the top 12 teams qualifying for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

The U.S squad finished third in its preliminary session and did not advance to the team finals. Horton finished first on the floor exercise but did not qualify for the all-around competition.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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