University of Oklahoma Athletics
Sooner Sports Notes: March 24
March 24, 2008 | Athletics
NORMAN, Okla. -- Sooner Sports Notes provide fans with a quick overview of all teams in action for Oklahoma. View a recap of last week, notes and a look ahead for the Crimson and Cream in this weekly feature.
• Last Week: Oklahoma participated in its 25th NCAA Tournament in school history and advanced to the second round before seeing its season come to a close in Birmingham, Ala. The sixth-seeded Sooners defeated No. 11 seed Saint Joseph's 72-64 on Friday behind a career-high 25 points from senior David Godbold (he was 5-for-8 from 3-point range and 6-for-6 from the free throw line). Longar Longar added 14 points, Blake Griffin 12 and Austin Johnson 10. No. 3 seed Louisville proved too much to handle on Sunday as OU lost 78-48. Godbold again led OU in scoring with 15 points while Taylor Griffin added 11.
• Notes: The Sooners' NCAA Tournament appearance was their 12th in the last 14 years and 21st in the last 26 seasons ... Friday's victory marked head coach Jeff Capel's first as a head coach in the NCAA Tournament ... OU posted 23 wins on the season (seven more than last year) ... Blake Griffin finished the season 16 points shy of 500 (Wayman Tisdale in 1983 and Jeff Webster in 1991 are the only freshmen in school history to score 500 points) ... Griffin averaged 14.7 points and 9.1 rebounds on the year while shooting .568 from the field (all team highs) ... Godbold averaged 20.0 points in OU's two NCAA Tournament games and went 9-for-15 (.600) from 3-point range.
• Last Week: Oklahoma advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 69-61 win against Illinois State Sunday, March 23, at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind.
• Last Week: OU recorded a 2-2-1 record ... The Sooners swept a two-game, mid-week series at South Florida and then began Big 12 play at No. 22 Nebraska over the weekend. OU lost game one 4-2 on a walk-off homer in the ninth inning and then dropped a 4-3 decision in game two. The Sooners and Huskers tied game three, 8-8, after 10 innings and the Big 12 travel rule was enforced.
• This Week: The Sooners return home to begin an eight-game home stand. That stretch kicks off with UT Arlington on Tuesday, March 25 at 7 p.m. and continues with a three-game set with Baylor from March 28-30 (6:35 p.m., 2 p.m. and 1 p.m.).
• Promotions:
Tuesday - 50 cent hot dogs and cokes while supplies last
Friday - First 200 fans receive free OU crocs
Saturday - The first 250 fans receive free OU mini bats (team autographs after the game)
Sunday - Kids run the bases after the game
• Notes: For the first time since April 22, 2001, the OU baseball team recorded a tie on Sunday afternoon at No. 22 Nebraska. After 10 innings of play, the game ended in an 8-8 tie after the Big 12 travel rule was enforced ... Senior Mike Gosse extended his hitting streak to 11 games on Sunday and has 20 hits in that span ... The Sooners have 10 or more hits in eight of the last 10 games ... OU ranks third in the Big 12 with a .316 team batting average.
• Last Week: The No. 11 Sooners recorded a 2-1 record last week at the OU Softball Complex. Oklahoma fell to Missouri State, 3-2, last Wednesday, but bounced back with a sweep of the Kansas Jayhawks to open Big 12 action. Oklahoma used a Susan Ogden walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the seventh on Friday night as the Sooners topped Kansas, 3-2. The Sooners concluded the series sweep on Saturday as the run ruled Kansas, 8-0, in six innings.
• This Week: Oklahoma will take a break from regular season play on Tuesday as the Sooners face the USA Olympic Team in an exhibition game at 6:30 p.m. at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. The Sooners will follow that with a non-conference contest against Central Arkansas on Wednesday 6 p.m. at the OU Softball Complex. Oklahoma will return to conference action next Saturday as the Sooners head to Lincoln for a two-game series against Nebraska. The series will begin on Saturday with a 2 p.m. contest and conclude on Sunday with a 12 p.m. game.
• Notes: Susan Ogden recorded walk-off hits in both games against Kansas last weekend ... The senior right fielder recorded an RBI walk-off single on Friday to give OU the 3-2 victory while she also recorded a two-RBI double in the bottom of the sixth against KU on Saturday, which ended the game in a run rule ... Freshman Haley Anderson made only her seventh start of the season against KU on Saturday, but the rookie had a career outing as she went 2-for-3 with two RBI and her first career home run ... Texas A&M currently leads the Big 12 standings with a 3-0 record while Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas own a perfect 2-0 record.
• Promotions: Tickets for OU's game against USA Softball are still available. Individual tickets for the game can be purchased for as little as $10 for general admission seats. The four-game college pack in March can be reserved for only $35 by calling 1-800-654-8337 or visiting SoftballOutlet.com and clicking on the Bound 4 Beijing link. Discounted group tickets of 10 or more are available for corporate outings, softball clubs and or church/civic fundraisers by calling 1-800-654-8337.
• Last Week: No. 19 Oklahoma competed in the NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Mo., March 20-22. OU qualified five wrestlers for the postseason tourney, and junior Will Rowe was halted one win short of becoming OU's 257th All-American. The Sooners garnered eight points in St. Louis, for 39th place.
• This Week: The Sooners have concluded their 2007-08 season and will begin preparation for international competition. The team's annual season-ending banquet is scheduled for April 4 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
• Notes: Zack Bailey recorded an impressive upset in the first round of the championships, knocking off No. 8 seed Dan Leclere of Iowa ... The Hawkeyes went on the win the NCAA title by a commanding 38.5 points over second-place Ohio State ... Here is how the Sooners fared in Missouri, as well as their overall season records: 125-pound Joey Fio (1-2, 21-10), Bailey (1-2, 28-13), 149-pound Will Rowe (3-2, 26-9), 184-pound Joshu Weitzel (2-2, 26-5) and Joel Flaggert (1-2, 23-7) ... The championships marked seniors Weitzel and Flaggert's final competition as Sooners ... OU will return freshman NCAA qualifiers Fio and Bailey and junior Rowe to next year's squad.
• Last Week: Second-ranked OU closed out its regular season with a 357.850-356.650 road victory at No. 3 Penn State. Freshman Steven Legendre won event titles on floor (15.800) and vault (16.050), while senior Jonathan Horton won the rings (15.550) and junior Chris Brooks claimed the parallel bars crown (15.350). As a team, Oklahoma claimed event wins on floor exercise (61.850), rings (60.350), vault (62.550) and parallel bars (60.650). The Sooners' 357.850 team score was their third-highest of the season and the team's second-best road score (359.800 at the Pacific Coast Classic).
• This Week: Oklahoma takes two weeks off to prepare for the 2008 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships, April 5 in Lincoln, Neb.
• Notes: Legendre's floor title was his sixth in eight regular season meets. His 15.800 total tied his personal best and OU record set on March 15 against Minnesota ... Oklahoma gymnasts set or tied seven career bests against the Nittany Lions ... Senior co-captain Jonathan Horton was announced as one of five finalists for the 78th AAU James E. Sullivan Award honoring the nation's top amateur athlete. Horton will join the other four finalists at an awards banquet at the New York Athletic Club in New York City on April 1.
• Last Week: The No. 9 OU women's gymnastics squad closed the regular season in successful fashion on Saturday, becoming the only team in the NCAA top 25 to post an undefeated record with a 196.125-195.625 victory over 25th-ranked Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minn. The win was the 18th straight for the Sooners this season, with the team posting five of its top seven scores on the road. Individually, senior All-American Kiara Redmond-Sturms led the way and pushed her all-around season title total to double digits (10). Redmond-Sturms claimed a share of all four event honors, winning titles outright on vault (9.875) and bars (9.9), while sharing event wins on beam (9.9) and floor (9.875) with teammates Haley DeProspero (beam) and Jackie Flanery (floor).
• Last Week: Sophomore Amy Backel established a new Oklahoma program record in the javelin as three Sooners recorded four top-three finishes Saturday at the Tulsa Duels. The meet marked the first outdoor competition of the year for Sooner athletes.
• This Week: The Sooners head south to Arlington, Texas, to take part in the Arlington Invitational, Saturday, March 29.
• Notes: The javelin was one of two top-two finishes for Backel who finished second in the shot put with an outdoor personal best of 44-9.00 (13.64) ... Buck Sullivan finished second in the men's hammer throw with a long toss of 183-11 (56.06) ... Catherine Odell finished second in the women's 800-meter run with a time of 2:14.02 to round out OU athletes in the top three.
• This Week: Paced by 2007 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Jesse Schutte's 17th-place standing, the Sooners finished the seventh annual Barona Collegiate Cup in 11th place at the 7,393-yard, par-72 Barona Creek Golf Club in Lakeside, Calif., on March 18. Schutte (-1) carded rounds of 71,71 and 73 to pace the Sooners who fired rounds of 292 (+4), 298 (+10) and 298 (+10) in finishing at +24 (808) for the tournament.
• Last Week: The No. 40 University of Oklahoma women's golf team finished in ninth place at the 18-team Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational in Austin, Texas, with a score of 651 (+75). The Sooners finished three strokes behind eighth-place Iowa State and seven strokes behind seventh-place Ohio State at the 36-hole tournament, shortened from 54 holes after the second round was cancelled due to inclement weather.
• This Week: The Sooners head to Tucson, Ariz., March 29-30 for the MountainView Collegiate.
• Notes: Junior Kendall Dye posted the best finish for the Sooners at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational, tying for 24th place with a two-round score of 160 (+16).
• Last Week: Oklahoma's (5-7) match at Jacksonville, scheduled for Thursday, March 20, was cancelled due to an airline pilot shortage.
• Last Week: The University of Oklahoma women's tennis team (7-5, 0-2) picked up a 6-1 victory Wednesday, March 19, at the University of Jacksonville (9-4). The Sooners then traveled to Fort Worth, Texas, Saturday, March 22, where they fell 6-1 to TCU.
 |
Men's Basketball |
• Last Week: Oklahoma participated in its 25th NCAA Tournament in school history and advanced to the second round before seeing its season come to a close in Birmingham, Ala. The sixth-seeded Sooners defeated No. 11 seed Saint Joseph's 72-64 on Friday behind a career-high 25 points from senior David Godbold (he was 5-for-8 from 3-point range and 6-for-6 from the free throw line). Longar Longar added 14 points, Blake Griffin 12 and Austin Johnson 10. No. 3 seed Louisville proved too much to handle on Sunday as OU lost 78-48. Godbold again led OU in scoring with 15 points while Taylor Griffin added 11.
• Notes: The Sooners' NCAA Tournament appearance was their 12th in the last 14 years and 21st in the last 26 seasons ... Friday's victory marked head coach Jeff Capel's first as a head coach in the NCAA Tournament ... OU posted 23 wins on the season (seven more than last year) ... Blake Griffin finished the season 16 points shy of 500 (Wayman Tisdale in 1983 and Jeff Webster in 1991 are the only freshmen in school history to score 500 points) ... Griffin averaged 14.7 points and 9.1 rebounds on the year while shooting .568 from the field (all team highs) ... Godbold averaged 20.0 points in OU's two NCAA Tournament games and went 9-for-15 (.600) from 3-point range.
|
Women's Basketball |
• Last Week: Oklahoma advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 69-61 win against Illinois State Sunday, March 23, at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind.
• This Week: Oklahoma plays Notre Dame Tuesday, March 25, at approximately 8:20 p.m. Central. The winner will advance to the Oklahoma City Regional Semifinal at the Ford Center Sunday, March 30.
• Notes: The Sooners are 6-1 in the NCAA second round ... OU and Notre Dame have met just once before with the Sooners taking a 57-54 victory in Seattle, Wash., in Dec. 1986.
|
Baseball |
• Last Week: OU recorded a 2-2-1 record ... The Sooners swept a two-game, mid-week series at South Florida and then began Big 12 play at No. 22 Nebraska over the weekend. OU lost game one 4-2 on a walk-off homer in the ninth inning and then dropped a 4-3 decision in game two. The Sooners and Huskers tied game three, 8-8, after 10 innings and the Big 12 travel rule was enforced.
• This Week: The Sooners return home to begin an eight-game home stand. That stretch kicks off with UT Arlington on Tuesday, March 25 at 7 p.m. and continues with a three-game set with Baylor from March 28-30 (6:35 p.m., 2 p.m. and 1 p.m.).
• Promotions:
Tuesday - 50 cent hot dogs and cokes while supplies last
Friday - First 200 fans receive free OU crocs
Saturday - The first 250 fans receive free OU mini bats (team autographs after the game)
Sunday - Kids run the bases after the game
• Notes: For the first time since April 22, 2001, the OU baseball team recorded a tie on Sunday afternoon at No. 22 Nebraska. After 10 innings of play, the game ended in an 8-8 tie after the Big 12 travel rule was enforced ... Senior Mike Gosse extended his hitting streak to 11 games on Sunday and has 20 hits in that span ... The Sooners have 10 or more hits in eight of the last 10 games ... OU ranks third in the Big 12 with a .316 team batting average.
|
Softball |
• Last Week: The No. 11 Sooners recorded a 2-1 record last week at the OU Softball Complex. Oklahoma fell to Missouri State, 3-2, last Wednesday, but bounced back with a sweep of the Kansas Jayhawks to open Big 12 action. Oklahoma used a Susan Ogden walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the seventh on Friday night as the Sooners topped Kansas, 3-2. The Sooners concluded the series sweep on Saturday as the run ruled Kansas, 8-0, in six innings.
• This Week: Oklahoma will take a break from regular season play on Tuesday as the Sooners face the USA Olympic Team in an exhibition game at 6:30 p.m. at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. The Sooners will follow that with a non-conference contest against Central Arkansas on Wednesday 6 p.m. at the OU Softball Complex. Oklahoma will return to conference action next Saturday as the Sooners head to Lincoln for a two-game series against Nebraska. The series will begin on Saturday with a 2 p.m. contest and conclude on Sunday with a 12 p.m. game.
• Notes: Susan Ogden recorded walk-off hits in both games against Kansas last weekend ... The senior right fielder recorded an RBI walk-off single on Friday to give OU the 3-2 victory while she also recorded a two-RBI double in the bottom of the sixth against KU on Saturday, which ended the game in a run rule ... Freshman Haley Anderson made only her seventh start of the season against KU on Saturday, but the rookie had a career outing as she went 2-for-3 with two RBI and her first career home run ... Texas A&M currently leads the Big 12 standings with a 3-0 record while Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas own a perfect 2-0 record.
• Promotions: Tickets for OU's game against USA Softball are still available. Individual tickets for the game can be purchased for as little as $10 for general admission seats. The four-game college pack in March can be reserved for only $35 by calling 1-800-654-8337 or visiting SoftballOutlet.com and clicking on the Bound 4 Beijing link. Discounted group tickets of 10 or more are available for corporate outings, softball clubs and or church/civic fundraisers by calling 1-800-654-8337.
|
Wrestling |
• Last Week: No. 19 Oklahoma competed in the NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Mo., March 20-22. OU qualified five wrestlers for the postseason tourney, and junior Will Rowe was halted one win short of becoming OU's 257th All-American. The Sooners garnered eight points in St. Louis, for 39th place.
• This Week: The Sooners have concluded their 2007-08 season and will begin preparation for international competition. The team's annual season-ending banquet is scheduled for April 4 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
• Notes: Zack Bailey recorded an impressive upset in the first round of the championships, knocking off No. 8 seed Dan Leclere of Iowa ... The Hawkeyes went on the win the NCAA title by a commanding 38.5 points over second-place Ohio State ... Here is how the Sooners fared in Missouri, as well as their overall season records: 125-pound Joey Fio (1-2, 21-10), Bailey (1-2, 28-13), 149-pound Will Rowe (3-2, 26-9), 184-pound Joshu Weitzel (2-2, 26-5) and Joel Flaggert (1-2, 23-7) ... The championships marked seniors Weitzel and Flaggert's final competition as Sooners ... OU will return freshman NCAA qualifiers Fio and Bailey and junior Rowe to next year's squad.
|
Men's Gymnastics |
• Last Week: Second-ranked OU closed out its regular season with a 357.850-356.650 road victory at No. 3 Penn State. Freshman Steven Legendre won event titles on floor (15.800) and vault (16.050), while senior Jonathan Horton won the rings (15.550) and junior Chris Brooks claimed the parallel bars crown (15.350). As a team, Oklahoma claimed event wins on floor exercise (61.850), rings (60.350), vault (62.550) and parallel bars (60.650). The Sooners' 357.850 team score was their third-highest of the season and the team's second-best road score (359.800 at the Pacific Coast Classic).
• This Week: Oklahoma takes two weeks off to prepare for the 2008 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships, April 5 in Lincoln, Neb.
• Notes: Legendre's floor title was his sixth in eight regular season meets. His 15.800 total tied his personal best and OU record set on March 15 against Minnesota ... Oklahoma gymnasts set or tied seven career bests against the Nittany Lions ... Senior co-captain Jonathan Horton was announced as one of five finalists for the 78th AAU James E. Sullivan Award honoring the nation's top amateur athlete. Horton will join the other four finalists at an awards banquet at the New York Athletic Club in New York City on April 1.
|
Women's Gymnastics |
• Last Week: The No. 9 OU women's gymnastics squad closed the regular season in successful fashion on Saturday, becoming the only team in the NCAA top 25 to post an undefeated record with a 196.125-195.625 victory over 25th-ranked Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minn. The win was the 18th straight for the Sooners this season, with the team posting five of its top seven scores on the road. Individually, senior All-American Kiara Redmond-Sturms led the way and pushed her all-around season title total to double digits (10). Redmond-Sturms claimed a share of all four event honors, winning titles outright on vault (9.875) and bars (9.9), while sharing event wins on beam (9.9) and floor (9.875) with teammates Haley DeProspero (beam) and Jackie Flanery (floor).
• This Week: Oklahoma turns its attention towards the postseason as it returns to the friendly confines of the Lloyd Noble Center for back-to-back events before hopefully qualifying for the NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga. OU hosts both the Big 12 Championship (March 29) and NCAA South Central Regional (April 12) in Norman.
• Notes: The Sooners won event titles on vault, bars, and floor en route to their 31st victory in their last 32 regular season matchups dating back to Jan. 19, 2007. The Sooners' last regular season defeat was to Stanford on March 9, 2007 in Palo Alto, Calif.
|
Track & Field |
• Last Week: Sophomore Amy Backel established a new Oklahoma program record in the javelin as three Sooners recorded four top-three finishes Saturday at the Tulsa Duels. The meet marked the first outdoor competition of the year for Sooner athletes.
• This Week: The Sooners head south to Arlington, Texas, to take part in the Arlington Invitational, Saturday, March 29.
• Notes: The javelin was one of two top-two finishes for Backel who finished second in the shot put with an outdoor personal best of 44-9.00 (13.64) ... Buck Sullivan finished second in the men's hammer throw with a long toss of 183-11 (56.06) ... Catherine Odell finished second in the women's 800-meter run with a time of 2:14.02 to round out OU athletes in the top three.
|
Men's Golf |
• This Week: Paced by 2007 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Jesse Schutte's 17th-place standing, the Sooners finished the seventh annual Barona Collegiate Cup in 11th place at the 7,393-yard, par-72 Barona Creek Golf Club in Lakeside, Calif., on March 18. Schutte (-1) carded rounds of 71,71 and 73 to pace the Sooners who fired rounds of 292 (+4), 298 (+10) and 298 (+10) in finishing at +24 (808) for the tournament.
• This Week: OU returns to the links on April 11 when the Sooners travel to Tempe, Ariz., for the ASU Thunderbird Invitational.
|
Women's Golf |
• Last Week: The No. 40 University of Oklahoma women's golf team finished in ninth place at the 18-team Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational in Austin, Texas, with a score of 651 (+75). The Sooners finished three strokes behind eighth-place Iowa State and seven strokes behind seventh-place Ohio State at the 36-hole tournament, shortened from 54 holes after the second round was cancelled due to inclement weather.
• This Week: The Sooners head to Tucson, Ariz., March 29-30 for the MountainView Collegiate.
• Notes: Junior Kendall Dye posted the best finish for the Sooners at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational, tying for 24th place with a two-round score of 160 (+16).
|
Men's Tennis |
• Last Week: Oklahoma's (5-7) match at Jacksonville, scheduled for Thursday, March 20, was cancelled due to an airline pilot shortage.
• This Week: Next, the Sooners host Cameron and Oklahoma Baptist on Tuesday, March 25, at the Headington Family Tennis Center. OU and Cameron start at 1 p.m. followed by OBU at 4 p.m.
• Promotions: Free pom-poms and foam O's and U's while supplies last.
|
Women's Tennis |
• Last Week: The University of Oklahoma women's tennis team (7-5, 0-2) picked up a 6-1 victory Wednesday, March 19, at the University of Jacksonville (9-4). The Sooners then traveled to Fort Worth, Texas, Saturday, March 22, where they fell 6-1 to TCU.
• This Week: The Sooners will take a weekend road trip to Kansas with a stop in Lawrence, Kan., Friday, March 28 to face the Jayhawks and Manhattan, Kan., on Saturday, March 29 to take on Kansas State.
• Notes: The Sooners' win against Jacksonville University put an end to the Dolphins' six-match winning streak ... Against TCU, freshman Maria Kalashnikova picked up OU's lone point, defeating fellow freshman Katariina Tuohimaa, 2-6, 7-5, 10-6. Kalashnikova's victory put an end to Tuohimaa's nine-match win streak.
Tuesday, June 09
Monday, April 13
Monday, April 13
Monday, April 06
