Sooners Send Five to Winter Cup

2008 Winter Cup Challenge
Date	Thursday, Feb. 7 at 2 p.m. and 9 p.m. (CT) Saturday, Feb. 9 at 9:15 p.m. (CT)
Location	Las Vegas, Nev. \| Las Vegas Sports Center
Online	Results at usa-gymnastics.org

NORMAN, Okla. - Five members of the Oklahoma men's gymnastics team travel to Las Vegas, Nev., for the 2008 Winter Cup Challenge, Feb. 7 and 9. Seniors Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons and Jonathan Horton, junior Jacob Messina, sophomore Ian Jackson and freshman Steven Legendre will face a field of America's top men's gymnasts at the two-day event held at the Las Vegas Sports Center. The Winter Cup serves as an individual re-ranking event for USA Gymnastics and helps determine spots on the U.S. Junior and Senior National Teams.

Horton's place on the U.S. Senior National Team is already secure as a member of the 2007 U.S. World Championships squad. For the other four Sooners competing in the event, the Winter Cup provides an opportunity to advance to the 2008 Visa U.S. Championships in May.

According to OU head coach Mark Williams, Horton and Abdullah-Simmons will compete on only a few events. While Horton is automatically qualified for the National Team, Abdullah-Simmons continues to recuperate from offseason injuries.

Legendre, the all-around gold-medalist at the 2007 Junior Pan Am Games in Guatemala, will be competing against senior division competition for the first time since the 2007 Visa U.S. Championships where he finished second on vault and seventh on the floor exercise.

Messina and Jackson will be competing in their first Winter Cup.

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"It's certainly exciting to have five of our guys competing at this event," Williams said. "Everybody's going to be competing hard for the opportunity to go to the U.S. Championships later this year and maybe get to be a part of the U.S. Olympic Trials."

Former Sooners David and Jamie Henderson will also be competing at the Winter Cup. David Henderson is currently working out at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, while younger brother Jamie is a member of the Team Gattaca club program.

The Winter Cup Challenge consists of two days of competition. Scores from both days of competition count toward the final rankings for the all-around and individual events. The qualification round on Feb. 7 consists of two sessions, each with approximately 44 athletes, beginning at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. (CST). The top 42 gymnasts, based on the points ranking system approved by the Men's Program Committee, will advance to the finals, which begin at 9:15 p.m. (CST) on Feb. 9.

The OU gymnasts will compete in both the first and second sessions on Thursday.

Seven gymnasts will be named to the U.S. Men's Senior National Team following this week's event. Four athletes will be added to the team based on the national team points system rank order, while the final three gymnasts will be selected from the Winter Cup Challenge participants and petitioned athletes by the Men's Program Committee. Those seven, along with the seven members of the 2007 World Championships Team who already qualified for the team, will comprise the U.S. Men's Senior National Team until the 2008 Visa Championships in May.

Sooners at the Winter Cup

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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