Sooners Visit Arizona State Friday

NORMAN, Okla. -- One week after a historic upset of sixth-ranked Nebraska in Lincoln, the ninth-ranked Oklahoma women's gymnastics team returns to action against No. 21 Arizona State and California.

The tri-meet is scheduled for an 8 p.m. (CST) start inside the Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Ariz.

Oklahoma (6-1) is coming off a dramatic come from behind win on the road against the Cornuhuskers. With the narrow 195.075-195.050 win at the Bob Devaney Center, OU defeated their Big 12 rivals in a dual meet in Lincoln for the first time since 1991. The win also ended a nearly two-year-old losing streak to the Huskers dating back to the 2004 Big 12 Championships.

In the lastest GymInfo rankings released on Feb. 5. No. 9 OU is seventh nationally on vault, 10th on bars and 12th on floor and beam.

Live Scores | Notes | Free Video | GymInfo Rankings

No. 21 Arizona State (0-3) fell last weekend to 16th-ranked Oregon State in a dual meet in Corvallis, Ore. Sophomore All-American Nicole Harris won the all-around title with a season-high 39.400, but the Sun Devils dropped a 195.825-193.300 decision to the Beavers.

ASU ranks 14th nationally on vault and 21st and 23, respectively on beam and bars.

California is 1-1 on the season after losing last weekend to No. 5 Stanford in Berkeley, Calif. Cal junior Siobhan Luce finished third in the all-around with a 38.600 and set season highs on bars (9.775), beam (9.675) and floor (9.6). The Cardinal took the team title by a 196.075-189.925 count.

The last time Oklahoma faced teams from the Pac-10 Conference was at the 2006 Cancun Classic. The 10th-ranked Sooners finished fourth out of five teams at the event, defeating No. 17 Arizona, but finishing behind ninth-ranked Stanford.

OU has not visited Pac-10 country in the regular season since 2003. That year the Sooners claimed victories at Arizona and UCLA.

Live scores from Friday's meet will be available on SoonerSports.com, as well as on thesundevils.com.

SETTING THE SCENE
What: No. 9 OU (6-1) vs. No. 21 Arizona State (0-3) and California (1-1)
Where: Tempe, Ariz. at Wells Fargo Arena (13,500)
When: Friday, Feb. 9, 2007 at 8 p.m. (CST)
Live Scores: Live scores from the meet will be available on SoonerSports.com and on thesundevils.com.
What 2 Watch 4: Friday's matchup with a pair of Pac-10 teams is OU's first regular season road meet in Pac-10 country since 2003. That year OU visited Arizona and UCLA, coming away with victories in both meets.

OU senior Brittney Koncak-Schumann has been making the most of her final season. The McQueeney, Texas, native has won the all-around title in two of the Sooners' four meets, including last weekend's win in Lincoln, Neb.

For her performance, Koncak-Schumann has been named Big 12 Gymnast of the Week three times this season, matching her total conference awards from all of 2006.

COMING UP NEXT...
Friday's meet is the third in a string of five straight road competitions for the Sooners. After the tri-meet in Tempe, OU visits both Iowa State (Feb. 16) and Iowa (Feb. 18).

Oklahoma's next home meet will not be until March 3, when the Sooners host Texas Woman's University at 7 p.m. in the Howard McCasland Field House.

OU NINTH IN FEB. 5 GYMINFO POLL
Despite the upset of sixth-ranked Nebraska on Feb. 2, the Oklahoma women's gymnastics team dropped one spot to No. 9 in latest GymInfo poll released on Feb. 5. OU began the 2007 season ranked 10th. The Sooners are second among all Big 12 teams behind No. 6 Nebraska. In the national event rankings, OU is seventh on vault, 10th on bars and 12th on beam and floor.

A HISTORIC WIN
The Sooners' upset of the Cornhuskers was more than just a big conference win. The last time OU beat Nebraska was at the 2004 Big 12 Championships where the Sooners claimed their only Big 12 title. Ending that two-year losing streak to the Huskers paled in comparison, however, to OU's struggles in Lincoln. With the victory, Oklahoma defeated Nebraska in a dual meet in Lincoln for the first time since 1991 -- a span of over 15 years.

CLUTCH PERFORMER
Clinging to a narrow lead on the last rotation against No. 6 Nebraska, OU head coach K.J. Kindler needed a near perfect beam performance from senior Brittney Koncak-Schumann to seal the win. The 2006 Big 12 all-around champion delivered under pressure, scoring a 9.9 on the apparatus to seal the upset.

SOONERS DOMINATE BIG 12 WEEKLY AWARDS
With her second all-around win of the season in the Sooners' win against Nebraska, Brittney Koncak-Schumann was named the Big 12 Gymnast of the Week for Feb. 5. The senior's three weekly awards so far this year match her total conference awards from last season.

With the honor, OU gymnasts have won five of the ten weekly awards handed out by the conference so far this season. In addition to Koncak-Schumann's three Gymnast of the Week honors, senior Lori Winn and junior Kiara Redmond have each earned Event Specialist of the Week awards.

Big 12 Gymnast of the Week
Jan. 9 - Janet Anson, Iowa State
Jan. 16 - Brittney Koncak-Schumann, Oklahoma
Jan. 23 - Brittney Koncak-Schumann, Oklahoma
Jan. 31 - Desire' Sniatynski, Nebraska
Feb. 5 - Brittney Koncak-Schumann

Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week
Jan. 9 - Emily Parsons, Nebraska
Jan. 16 - Lori Winn, Oklahoma
Jan. 23 - Emily Parsons, Nebraska
Jan. 31 - Kiara Redmond, Oklahoma
Feb. 5 - Emily Parsons, Nebraska

TEN NAMED TO BIG 12 HONOR ROLL
Ten members of the OU women's gymnastics team were selected to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll for the Fall 2006 semester. Senior Brittney Koncak-Schumann and sophomore Gina Lesko were two of the 39 OU athletes to earn perfect 4.0 grade point averages.

The other Sooner honorees were Haley DeProspero, Caitlin Hinkis, Ashley Jackson, Jessica Kinder, Kiara Redmond and Kristin Smith.

Seniors Coral Borda and Tara Anderson, whose gymnastics eligibility expired at the end of last season, were also on the list. Anderson, an elementary education major, also had a 4.0 GPA.

VISE TO MAKE OU DEBUT
Freshman Hollie Vise will make her collegiate debut Friday, competing on the balance beam for the Sooners. Vise is a two-time junior national champion on the apparatus and also was the 2003 world champion on bars, helping the U.S. Team to the World Championship title.

SHE'S SO PERFECT
Junior Kiara Redmond recorded a perfect 10.0 on the vault in OU's Jan. 27 quad meet victory over Texas Woman's, George Washington and Centenary. Redmond's 10 was the first recorded by a Big 12 gymnast in 2007. LSU's Ashleigh Clare-Kearney is the only other gymnast to post a perfect vault score this year. Redmond joins Leah Mueller (2002) and Amber McCracken in the OU vaulting record books.

MANTLE STEPS UP TO THE PLATE
Freshman Mary Mantle has proven to be a valuable contributor for head coach K.J. Kindler through the first three meets of the season. After competing as a vault specialist in the Sooners' first two events, Mantle was thrust into the lineup on bars and floor in the TWU quad meet on Jan. 27. The Bellvue, Colo. native responded, turning in scores of 9.725 on both events in helping No. 8 OU improve its record to 5-1 on the season.

KONCAK-SCHUMANN GOES BACK-TO-BACK
Oklahoma's Brittney Koncak-Schumann was named the Big 12 Gymnast of the Week for the second week in a row on Jan. 23. The honor was the sixth of her career.

The 2006 Big 12 all-around champion won the all-around (39.325), uneven bars (9.875) and balance beam (9.95) titles in the Sooners' home-opening win over Central Michigan and No. 22 Missouri. Her balance beam score was a career-high. She also finished fourth on vault (9.85).

Koncak-Schumann won three Big 12 weekly honors in 2006, and she is the first to win back-to-back honors this season. Nebraska's Emily Parsons and Iowa State's Janet Anson took home consecutive honors last season.

RECORD BREAKERS
Five OU gymnasts recorded career highs against Missouri and Central Michigan on Jan. 19. Senior Brittney Koncak-Schumann scored a near perfect 9.95 on beam, while junior Stephanie LoPiccolo was right behind her with a 9.925.

Sophomore Ashley Jackson topped her previous best with a 9.875 on vault, and a pair of freshmen, Jacqueline Flanery (9.825/FX) and Kristin Smith (9.675/FX) also set new benchmarks in their short OU careers.

SOONER SENIORS EARN BIG 12 HONORS
Oklahoma's two senior gymnasts, Brittney Koncak-Schumann and Lori Winn, swept the Big 12 Conference's weekly honors for Jan. 16 after leading OU to a near upset of No. 4 Alabama on Jan. 12.

Koncak-Schumann, from McQueeney, Texas, was named the conference Gymnast of the Week after taking second in the all-around against the Crimson Tide with a score of 39.350, just 0.025 points behind Alabama's Kassi Price. She also shared the balance beam title (9.85), was third on uneven bars (9.85), sixth on floor exercise (9.85) and tied for seventh on vault (9.80).

Winn, an Oklahoma City native, earned the first conference honor of her career. The Event Specialist of the Week is a new award for this season to recognize those who do not compete in the all-around.

Winn competed on three events for the Sooners at Alabama. She shared the balance beam title (9.85) with Koncak-Schumann while placing fourth on uneven bars (9.825). She also competed on floor exercise (9.75).

STARTING FRESH(MEN)
Three Oklahoma freshmen saw the first action of their collegiate careers against the fourth-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. Jacqueline Flanery, from Plattsburg, Mo., recorded a 9.775 on both the vault and floor exercise. Mary Mantle, a Bellvue, Colo. native, scored a 9.8 on the vault, the Sooners' second-highest score on the apparatus against the Tide. Oklahoma City native Kristin Smith scored a 9.0 on the floor in her debut.

SOONERS DEBUT AT NO. 10
The University of Oklahoma women's gymnastics team is ranked No. 10 in the 2007 preseason GymInfo Coaches Poll. The top-10 ranking ties the Sooners' highest preseason poll position of the last 10 years. OU was also ranked 10th in the 2006 preseason poll.

“OU is honored to be placed amongst the top 10 teams in the country,” Kindler said. “We have strong leadership in our two seniors and will rely heavily on their guidance of a fairly young squad.”

Oklahoma finished the 2006 season ranked 10th nationally, tying for the second-best final poll position in school history.

ROAD WARRIORS
The Oklahoma women's gymnastics team will be either road-tested or road weary by the end of the 2007 season. Of the Sooners 11 regular season meets, only four take place within the friendly confines of the Howard McCasland Field House.

After starting the season on the road against Alabama, OU will return to Norman to face Missouri and Central Michigan on Jan. 19. Following the home season opener, head coach K.J. Kindler's squad faces a stretch of five consecutive away meets, including trips to No. 7 Nebraska (Feb. 2), No. 11 Arizona State (Feb. 9), and No. 13 Iowa State (Feb. 16).

OU hits the road one final time to face eighth-ranked Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif. on March 9.

The 2007 Big 12 Championships will also be away, as the event will be hosted by No. 18 Missouri in Columbia, Mo.

Oklahoma's seven away meets in 2006 are the most since OU went on the road eight times in 2005. The Sooners also traveled to seven away meets in 2004.

The five straight meets away from Norman (Jan. 27-Feb. 18) marks the second-longest road trip for OU in the last five years. The 2002 Sooner squad opened the season with seven consecutive away events.

KINDLER SIGNS THREE FOR 2008
First-year head coach K.J. Kindler announced her first Oklahoma recruiting class Friday, signing three gymnasts to National Letters of Intent. Taylor Zondervan, Natalie Ratcliff and Melanie Root will join the Sooners for the 2008 season.

“We are energized about the signing of Natalie, Taylor and Melanie,” Kindler said. “All three have extensive experience at the national level and will be key factors to the success of the OU program. Most importantly, they have expressed an excitement about OU and the goals we share for the gymnastics program.”

Zondervan, a Level 10 from Schoolcraft High School in Kalamazoo, Mich., trains at Geddert's Twistars, the former club of current OU gymnast Ashley Jackson. Zondervan was a member of the 2006 Junior Olympic National Team and finished fifth in the all-around, third on bars, fifth on beam and sixth on floor in the Senior B Division at the 2006 J.O. Nationals. She also captured the bars and floor titles at the 2006 Region 5 Regionals in Senior B and took 10th in the all-around at the 2005 J.O. Nationals. Zondervan plans on majoring in Zoology/Pre-Med at OU.

A native of Overland Park, Kan., Ratcliff is a member of Great American Gymnastics Express where she is coached by Al and Armine Fong and Rodney Gust. The Blue Valley Northwest High School senior and Level 10 gymnast is an eight-time Missouri State Champion and a former member of the U.S. National Team. An honor roll student at Blue Valley, Ratcliff intends to major in Elementary Education.

Root attends Cartersville High School in Cartersville, Ga., and trains at Cartersville Twisters. She is a three-time State Champion (2003, 2004 and 2006) and finished 15th in the all-around and 10th on beam at the 2006 Junior Olympic Nationals. She also qualified for Nationals is 2005 and was an alternate in 2003 and 2004. A Level 10, Root went pre-elite for a year in 2004. She plans to major in Management at OU.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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