OU Women Set Sights on Super Six

2008 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships
Team Qualifiers	Thursday, April 24 at 12 noon CT
Team Finals	Friday, April 25 at 5 p.m. CT
Event Finals	Saturday, April 26 at 5 p.m. CT
Location	Athens, Ga. \| Stegeman Coliseum
TV/Radio	CBS (tape delay), May 10 at 2 p.m. CT
Online	Live Stats \| Webcast (Thursday)

NORMAN, Okla. - The Big 12 Champion OU women's gymnasts squad (25-1) travels to Athens, Ga., April 24-26, for the NCAA Championships with its sights set on the first Super Six appearance in school history. Seeded 10th and making their eighth appearance at the national championship, the Sooners were placed in the afternoon
session of the preliminary team competition on Thursday at noon (CDT) inside Stegeman Coliseum on the University of Georgia campus.

Oklahoma seeks the exclamation point to an already historic season as the Sooners have made their mark atop the record book for wins (25), consecutive victories (21), wins to start a season (21), regular season winning percentage (1.000), home winning percentage (.917) and road winning percentage (1.000).

Joining OU in the first session is Florida (#3), Alabama (#4), LSU (#7), Oregon State (#8) and Arkansas (#11).

The top three teams in each of Thursday's sessions will advance to the NCAA Super Six on Friday, April 25 at 5 p.m. (CDT), where the national team champion is determined. The top four individuals from each session in each event (plus ties) from the preliminary team and all-around competition will also compete in the individual-event competition Saturday, April 26 at 5 p.m. (CDT).

Postseason Notes | Press Conference Quotes |

OU Interview

The Sooners are led by senior All-American Kiara Redmond-Sturms who ranks third nationally in the all-around with a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 39.555. The Los Angeles, Calif., native has collected 44 individual titles in 2008 on her way to being named gymnast of the year by both the Big 12 Conference and South Central Region.

The 2008 NCAA Gymnastics Championships will air tape-delayed on CBS at 2 p.m. (CDT) on May 10.

Women's Gymnastics Notes

WHAT IT TAKES TO ADVANCE
The top three teams in each of Thursday's sessions will advance to the NCAA Super Six on Friday, April 25 at 5 p.m. (CDT), where the national team champion is determined. The top four individuals from each session in each event (plus ties) from the preliminary team and all-around competition will also compete in the individual-event competition Saturday, April 26 at 5 p.m. (CDT).
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FIRST SESSION ROTATION ORDER
OU follows vault with a bye before bars, beam and a bye before floor. Florida starts with a bye before bars, Arkansas on bars, Alabama on beam, LSU on a bye before floor and Oregon State on floor. Joining the Sooners in their rotation is Ohio State all-around qualifier Kaylan Clevinger.
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LIVE SCORING AND POST MEET INFO
Live scoring will be available on www.georgiadogs.com. Following the meet, a complete recap, quotes, photos, video and official scores can be found on soonersports.com. The 2008 NCAA Gymnastics Championships will air tape-delayed on CBS at 2 p.m. (CDT) on May 10 with Tim Brando and Amanda Borden providing the commentary.
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RISING TO NEW HEIGHTS
Led by five-time All-American Kiara Redmond-Sturms and `06 All-America honoree Stephanie LoPiccolo, Oklahoma is making its fifth-straight appearance at the NCAA Championship, adding to its program-record streak of consecutive showings. Prior to the current streak, the Sooners had never been in the field in back-to-back years in the 27-year history of the program. OU's best finish at the NCAA's came last season when the Sooners finished eighth.
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20 YEARS LATER?
OU gymnasts are seeking the first NCAA individual crown since Kelly Garrison won both the bars and beam titles en-route to the all-around victory at the 1988 NCAA Championships, with an NCAA Championship-record score of 39.80. Garrison, the most decorated gymnast in OU history with her seven All-America honors, also took home the all-around title at the 1987 NCAA Championships.
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FAMILIAR FACES
OU is competing against Alabama for the fifth time since January of 2007. The Sooners almost became the first visiting squad to defeat the Crimson Tide in a non-conference dual in Tuscaloosa under `Bama head coach Sarah Patterson in `07. OU led after three rotations before slipping in the final event. The two programs also met at the `07 NCAA Central Regional, the NCAA Championships two weeks later and April 12th's NCAA South Central Regional with Alabama coming out on top in all three meetings as well. The Sooners defeated Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark., on March 15 by a score of 196-750-196.625.
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REGIONAL SUCCESS
OU has finished in the top two in each of the last five NCAA Regionals, marking a school record for consecutive NCAA Championship appearances. Oklahoma advanced to last year's NCAA Championships after edging Big 12-rival Iowa State in a tiebreaker 233.4 - 233.2. The Sooners haven't finished worse than fourth at a regional since placing sixth in 2000.
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MOVE OVER KANSAS
Winning the NCAA Basketball title on March 31st, the Jayhawks weren't the only Big 12 school to garner press in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated. Kiara Redmond-Sturms was featured in the Faces in the Crowd section for her accomplishments at the Big 12 Championship. The senior All-American added to her already extensive resume on April 12 when she was named the South Central Gymnast of the Year.
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BIG 12 RECAP
Heading into the final rotation in third place, the No. 9 OU women's gymnastics team recorded its second-highest vault score of the season (49.275) to clinch the 2008 Big 12 Championship. Performing the final routine of the night and needing a 9.875 or better for an Oklahoma win, senior All-American Kiara Redmond-Sturms posted a 9.95 on vault as the Sooners clinched their second Big 12 title and first since 2004.
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WELL DESERVED RECOGNITION
Following OU's come-from-behind heroics in the conference championship, second-year head coach K.J. Kindler was named the 2008 Big 12 Coach of the Year while senior Kiara Redmond-Sturms garnered Big 12 Gymnast of the Year honors. The duo has led the Sooners to a 25-1 mark on the year, the second straight season with at least 21 wins -- which marks the first time in school history that the team has had back-to-back 20-win seasons.
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AT THEIR BEST WHEN NEEDED MOST
Following three falls on bars in the opening event, OU recorded only two scores lower than 9.8 in the final three events as the Sooners clinched at least a share of all four individual event titles - marking just the third time in Big 12 history that a school clinched at least a share of all four apparatus wins. Hollie Vise and Haley DeProspero won titles on bars and beam, respectively, as the pair both recorded scores of 9.9 in their event wins. Kiara Redmond-Sturms won the other two titles, taking home the vault win with her 9.95 and the floor exercise title after a score of 9.9.
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CONFERENCE ALL-STARS
OU claimed a conference-leading nine spots on the 2008 Gymnastics All-Big 12 Team, the conference office announced on March 26. The Big 12 Conference awarded the top four Big 12 gymnasts with the highest regional qualifying score (RQS) in each event, excluding the all-around. Leading the way for OU was five-time senior All-American Kiara Redmond-Sturms who earned a spot on vault, uneven bars, beam and floor exercise. The Los Angeles, Calif., native was the only Big 12 gymnast to garner four accolades.

Teammate Hollie Vise was also a multiple winner, clinching a spot on both uneven bars and beam. Leading the Big 12 on beam (9.895), junior Haley DeProspeo was named to the beam team while Jackie Flanery and Ashley Jackson were honored for their efforts on floor.

Impact Performer
	Hollie Vise \| So. \| UB, BB Only a sophomore, Vise provides a calming presence to the OU bars and beam line-up as the Dallas, Texas, native has been rock solid all year in the two events. Garnering All-Big 12 honors on both apparatuses, Vise could play a key role in OU's aspirations of a Super Six appearance.

HITTING THE BOOKS
Six University of Oklahoma student-athletes have been named to the 2008 Academic All-Big 12 Gymnastics Team, including four first-team members, the conference announced on March 25.

Garnering first-team accolades were Haley DeProspero (zoology), Caitlin Hinkis (psychology), Jessica Kinder (health and exercise science) and Ashley Jackson (zoology). The second team included Jackie Flanery and Mary Mantle, both human relations majors. DeProspero and Hinkis made the list for the second consecutive year as the two were both awarded first-team honors last season. The announcement also marks the second consecutive year Jackson has garnered the award as the Hudsonville, Mich., native was a second-team member in 2007.
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RECORD BREAKER
Five-time All-American Kiara Redmond-Sturms garnered her seventh Big 12 Gymnast of the W Week honor on March 25, setting a conference high for single season weekly accolades. She broke the record of NU's Richelle Simpson who garnered six GOTW honors as a junior in 2003.
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ONE MORE TIME FOR GOOD MEASURE
Sooner gymnasts Kiara Redmond-Sturms and Haley DeProspero were honored as Big 12 Gymnast and Event Specialist of the Week, respectively, the conference office announced on March 25. The announcement marked the final weekly conference awards of the 2008 regular season, and OU gymnasts have garnered 15 of the 22 awards including Big 12 Gymnast of the Week honors in eight of a possible 11 weeks. It was the sixth time this season that Oklahoma has won both conference awards during the same week.
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CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'
Through 14 events in 2008, Los Angeles, Calif., native Kiara Redmond-Sturms is having the kind of season any gymnast would dream about. The five-time All-American won her 10th all-around title against Minnesota on March 22. Redmond-Sturms scored a 39.55 in the all-around against the Golden Gophers, her fourth-best score of the year but a mark that still outpaced all other season highs for Big 12 all-arounder competitors. The senior has netted a Big 12-leading 44 individual titles in 2008, outpacing all conference gymnasts by double digits.
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NATIONALLY KNOWN NAMES
Individually, Redmond-Sturms holds the third spot in the country in the all-around rankings with an RQS average of 39.555, besting all conference opponents. Redmond-
Sturms (9.935 - second) and Haley DeProspero (9.9 - fifth) both hold top-five rankings on floor and balance beam, respectively.

On beam, Hollie Vise stands 15th in the country, teaming up with Redmond-Sturms (22nd) as the duo pair with DeProspero to put three Sooners in the top 25 on the apparatus. Rounding out the top-25 rankings for Oklahoma is Redmond-Sturms' eighth-place standing on vault and 14th-place ranking on bars.
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PERFECTION
Posting an unblemished 18-0 record during the regular season, OU became the only school in the NCAA this year with an undefeated regular season. The Sooners were dominant throughout, with Arkansas being the only team to come within 0.2 of a point of OU, falling 196.750 -196.625 to the Sooners in Fayetteville, Ark., on March 15.
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ROAD WARRIORS
Three of Oklahoma's top four scores in 2008, including a season-best-tying 196.750 at Arkansas, have come on the road for the Sooners. Going further, five of OU's top seven scores in 2008 have come outside of Norman.

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