OU Ranked Third in Preseason Poll

Oct. 22, 2007

NORMAN, Okla. - The Oklahoma men's gymnastics team is ranked third in the preseason GymInfo Coaches Poll released Monday, receiving two first-place votes. The Sooners have debuted in the top three in each of head coach Mark Williams' eight seasons at OU and were the coaches' preseason No. 1 five times in that span (2002-03 and 2005-07).

Stanford will begin the 2008 season as the nation's top team, while defending national champion Penn State debuts at No. 2. The Cardinal and Nittany Lions received eight and four first-place votes, respectively. Ohio State and California round out the top five.

The Sooners boast 13 returning letterwinners from a team that went 26-4 last season and finished second at the NCAA Championships. The 2007 squad also captured the program's ninth Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title.

OU boasts a star-studded lineup for the 2008 campaign, highlighted by senior co-captains Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons and Jonathan Horton. The duo have accounted for the last two NCAA all-around titles (Horton in 2006 and Abdullah-Simmons last year) and have a total of six individual national titles and 24 All-America honors between them.

In addition to Abdullah-Simmons and Horton, OU returns four gymnasts with All-America credentials in juniors Chris Brooks, Russell Czeschin and Jake Messina and sophomore Reed Pitts.

Since taking over as head coach in 2000, Williams has guided the Sooners to an incredible 195-17 mark that includes four NCAA titles and seven MPSF championships in eight seasons. Oklahoma has won four of the last six NCAA titles and finished no lower than second since 2001.

2008 GymInfo Preseason Coaches Poll
First-place votes in parentheses
1. Stanford (8)
2. Penn State (4)
3. OKLAHOMA (2)
4. Ohio State (1)
5. California
6. Michigan
7. Minnesota
8. Illinois
9. Iowa
10. Nebraska
11. Temple
12. Army
13. Illinois-Chicago
14. William & Mary
15. Navy

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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