University of Oklahoma Athletics
Sooner Sports Notes: April 28
April 28, 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: The Sooners went 3-2 last week with a midweek split at home against TCU (W, 11-6) and Southern Nazarene (L, 8-4) and a 2-1 series win at Texas Tech over the weekend. OU began the series with a 12-7 win in the series opener and the Red Raiders claimed victory in the middle game, 6-2, despite trailing 2-1 after five innings. In the series finale, OU edged out Texas Tech, 3-2, to win the first road series of the season.
• This Week: Oklahoma will return to action on Wednesday, April 30 at 7 p.m. against No. 7 Wichita State at L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman. The game will be televised by Metro Sports Communications and aired on Cox Ch. 7 in Oklahoma City. OU returns to Big 12 play next weekend for a three-game set at Kansas (25-22, 5-13) from May 2-4.
• Notes: The Sooners won their second series of the season at Texas Tech and first since topping Baylor (March 28-30) at home ... With a 2-1 series win at Texas Tech, the Sooners have moved up to seventh place in the Big 12 standings after entering the weekend in ninth ... OU is 8-3 in one-run games all-time against Texas Tech ... The Sooners have won the last four series meetings with the Red Raiders ... Mike Gosse extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a single in the seventh inning and has hit safely in 38 of the last 41 games ... Jamie Johnson hit safely in his eighth straight game with a RBI single in the fourth to tie a season high ... In five of those games, Johnson has connected for multi-hit performances ... Catcher J.T. Wise has thrown out six of the last 10 base stealers and 21 of 49 on the year.
• Promotions: OU Student Night (April 30) - All OU students can register to win a 26" LCD HDTV ... The first 500 students through the gate will also receive a free popcorn and Coke, courtesy of head coach Sunny Golloway.
• Last Week: The No. 8 Sooners wrapped up second place in the Big 12 race with as they notched sweeps over Oklahoma State and Texas last week. Oklahoma headed to Stillwater on Tuesday to finish up a game from April 2 that was postponed due to rain. The game resumed in the bottom of the second with OU leading 2-0 lead and the Sooners came out with the 3-1 victory in the first game of the Ford Bedlam Series. The Sooners recorded their 14th straight victory against the Cowgirls on Wednesday as OU topped Oklahoma State, 6-1, in Norman. The Sooners closed out the week with their final home series of the season against Texas and run-ruled Longhorns twice, 8-0 on both Saturday (six innings) and Sunday (five innings).
• This Week: Oklahoma will close out the regular season with the Baylor series in Waco on Wednesday. The Sooners and Bears will play a doubleheader with the first game set to begin at 5 p.m. OU will host a Fan Fest/Senior Night on Friday night at 6 p.m. at the OU Softball Complex. There is no scheduled game set for Friday night, but it will be an opportunity for fans to interact with the team by playing interactive games and honoring the four-member senior class.
• Notes: Despite two games left on the Big 12 schedule, Oklahoma is guaranteed to finish in second place ... The Sooners currently own a 14-2 conference record with two games remaining while Big 12 Champion Texas A&M owns a 16-1 mark with one game remaining and the Aggies own the tiebreaker against the Sooners as TAMU handed OU its only two conference losses of the season earlier this year ... Oklahoma swept Texas for the first time since 2004 ... The Longhorns were run ruled in back-to-back conference games for the first time in school history ... In its final three home games of the season, OU had over 1,000 fans in attendance at each game ... The Sooners have finished either first or second in the Big 12 race nine of the 13 years that the league has been in existence.
• Last Week: Courtney Paris completed her latest stint with the U.S. Senior National Basketball Team, claiming the silver medal at the Good Luck Beijing Tournament in China. The U.S. was upset by China, 84-81, Saturday after defeating the host team Thursday, 86-61. Paris contributed four points and one rebound in the medal game.
• This Week: The University of Oklahoma women's basketball team hosts its annual postseason banquet at the USPS National Center for Employee Development in Norman, Okla., Monday, April 28, at 6 p.m. Among the honorees are Shannon Selmon, who will be presented the inaugural Mary Jane Noble Humanitarian Award for her work with the Shine Foundation.
• Notes: Paris earned her eighth medal as part of USA Basketball, including her second with the Senior National Team. To date, she has earned seven golds and one silver and has compiled a 44-2 record in non-exhibition matches with USA Basketball.
• This Week: The 10th-seeded University of Oklahoma women's gymnastics squad narrowly missed qualifying for the program's first Super Six with a fourth-place showing in the first preliminary session at the 2008 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships in Athens, Ga., on Thursday afternoon. OU recorded a team score of 196.075, falling just 0.5 of a point behind third-place LSU inside Stegeman Coliseum on the campus of the University of Georgia. The Sooners defeated Arkansas, Oregon State and Denver to tie UCLA for eighth-place overall, which also matched last season's program-best finish.
• Notes: Oklahoma set program marks for wins (28), consecutive victories (21), wins to start a season (21), regular season winning percentage (1.000), home winning percentage (.917) and regular-season road winning percentage (1.000) in 2008 ... The Sooners eighth-place tie at the NCAA Championships shared top program honors with last season's squad ... Senior Kiara Redmond-Sturms added four All-America honors in Athens, including first-team distinction on floor after scoring a 9.9 in preliminary competition ... Redmond-Sturms' nine All-America honors is the highest tally of any Sooner gymnast in program history, besting Kelly Garrison's seven honors during the 1997 and 1998 seasons ... While Redmond-Sturms has concluded her eligibility along with seniors Caitlin Hinkis and Stephanie LoPiccolo, the future is bright as the 28-8-1 Sooners return 18 of 24 routines performed in Athens, Ga., for the 2009 season.
• This Week: Four members of the national champion Oklahoma men's gymnastics team were selected to the field for the 2008 Visa U.S. Championships, May 22-24 in Houston, Texas. Jonathan Horton, Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons, Chris Brooks and Steven Legendre will join 45 of the nation's top men's gymnasts to compete for the title of U.S. champion and placement on the 2008-09 U.S. Senior National Team. The competition will also serve as a qualifying event for the 2008 U.S. Team Olympic Trials, June 19-22 in Philadelphia, Pa.
• Notes: Also in the field for the 2008 Visa U.S. Championships are former Sooners David and Jamie Henderson.
• Last Week: The University of Oklahoma men's golf team ended the 2008 Big 12 Championship in seventh place on Sunday at Whispering Pines Golf Club in Trinity, Texas. The Sooners shot a final-round team score of 300 (+12) at the Par 72, 7470-yard layout, finishing the four-round tournament at 48-over.
• This Week: Oklahoma now awaits the selection of the NCAA Regional Tournament fields, held May 15-17 in Columbus, Ohio, Chattanooga, Tenn., and Bremerton, Wash.
• Notes: Jesse Schutte led the way for Oklahoma, ending the event with a final-round 73 to finish in a tie for 18th at +8.
• Last Week: The Sooners took fifth place at the 2008 Big 12 Women's Golf Championship at Karsten Creek in Stillwater.
• This Week: OU awaits the announcement of its NCAA Regional Championship destination, which will be revealed Monday at 4 p.m. CDT.
• Notes: Junior Kendall Dye placed ninth individually for the Sooners at the Big 12 Championship, her best Big 12 performance to date. It was her second consecutive top 10 of the season, and the fifth of her career ... Dye's 76 on Sunday tied for the best round of the day with Oklahoma State's Amanda Johnson, who finished third ... Senior Kelly Jacques tied for 15th place, the 20th top-20 finish of her career ... Freshman Ellen Mueller made it six top-25s in 10 OU tournaments this year with her tie for 21st place ... The Sooners' fifth-place finish marked the eighth time in 12 tries that they have finished in the top five at the Big 12 Championship.
• Last Week: The No. 8-seeded University of Oklahoma women's tennis team (11-12, 4-8) ended its season Thursday, April 24, in the first round of the Big 12 Championships. The Sooners fell 4-1 to No. 9 Texas Tech University at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center at Texas A&M.
• Notes: In doubles action, Oklahoma took the win at the No. 2 spot as senior Christi Baxley and freshman Maria Kalashnikova defeated TTU's Brenna Jackson and Kerryn Potgieter 8-3. Tech rebounded with wins at the No. 1 and 3 positions to claim the doubles point and take an early 1-0 lead ... Freshman standout Ana-Maria Constantinescu, currently ranked 111th, was next off the court and the first to put OU on the board. The Romania native defeated Samantha van der Drift 6-0, 6-3, making the score 2-1 ... Constantinescu finished the season with a team best 15-5 record.
• Last Week: The Oklahoma Sooners (11-13, 1-5 Big 12) were defeated by the No. 3-seed Oklahoma State Cowboys (15-8, 4-2 Big 12) on Friday, 6-1, during quarterfinal action at the 2008 Big 12 Tennis Championships. The Sooners opened the day winning two of the three doubles matches. That gave Oklahoma a 1-0 advantage over the Cowboys. Oklahoma State then won four straight singles matches to take the match.
• This Week: Sophomore Andrei Daescu now awaits the NCAA selection process to determine where he will go as an individual for the 2008 NCAA Tennis Championships. The 2008 NCAA Division I men's and women's tennis selection announcements will air between 2 and 2:30 p.m. ET, Tuesday, April 29, on ESPNews.
• Last Week: Select Sooners traveled to Las Vegas, Nev., to compete in the FILA and US Nationals April 23-26. Freshman Kyle Bergstedt took fourth and teammate Pat Flynn placed seventh. Ryan Smith, also a freshman for Oklahoma, finished eighth. All three qualified for the FILA World Team Trials May 23-26 by placing.
• Notes: Four Sooner alums also were in competition last weekend in Nevada. Two-time national champion Teyon Ware placed third and four-time All-American Michael Lightner took fifth at 132 pounds in the senior freestyle results. Two-time Sooner All-American Jared Frayer finished third in the 66 kilogram weight class and four-time All-American Sam Hazewinkel finished fourth in the Greco division at 55 kilograms.
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Baseball |
• Last Week: The Sooners went 3-2 last week with a midweek split at home against TCU (W, 11-6) and Southern Nazarene (L, 8-4) and a 2-1 series win at Texas Tech over the weekend. OU began the series with a 12-7 win in the series opener and the Red Raiders claimed victory in the middle game, 6-2, despite trailing 2-1 after five innings. In the series finale, OU edged out Texas Tech, 3-2, to win the first road series of the season.
• This Week: Oklahoma will return to action on Wednesday, April 30 at 7 p.m. against No. 7 Wichita State at L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman. The game will be televised by Metro Sports Communications and aired on Cox Ch. 7 in Oklahoma City. OU returns to Big 12 play next weekend for a three-game set at Kansas (25-22, 5-13) from May 2-4.
• Notes: The Sooners won their second series of the season at Texas Tech and first since topping Baylor (March 28-30) at home ... With a 2-1 series win at Texas Tech, the Sooners have moved up to seventh place in the Big 12 standings after entering the weekend in ninth ... OU is 8-3 in one-run games all-time against Texas Tech ... The Sooners have won the last four series meetings with the Red Raiders ... Mike Gosse extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a single in the seventh inning and has hit safely in 38 of the last 41 games ... Jamie Johnson hit safely in his eighth straight game with a RBI single in the fourth to tie a season high ... In five of those games, Johnson has connected for multi-hit performances ... Catcher J.T. Wise has thrown out six of the last 10 base stealers and 21 of 49 on the year.
• Promotions: OU Student Night (April 30) - All OU students can register to win a 26" LCD HDTV ... The first 500 students through the gate will also receive a free popcorn and Coke, courtesy of head coach Sunny Golloway.
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Softball |
• Last Week: The No. 8 Sooners wrapped up second place in the Big 12 race with as they notched sweeps over Oklahoma State and Texas last week. Oklahoma headed to Stillwater on Tuesday to finish up a game from April 2 that was postponed due to rain. The game resumed in the bottom of the second with OU leading 2-0 lead and the Sooners came out with the 3-1 victory in the first game of the Ford Bedlam Series. The Sooners recorded their 14th straight victory against the Cowgirls on Wednesday as OU topped Oklahoma State, 6-1, in Norman. The Sooners closed out the week with their final home series of the season against Texas and run-ruled Longhorns twice, 8-0 on both Saturday (six innings) and Sunday (five innings).
• This Week: Oklahoma will close out the regular season with the Baylor series in Waco on Wednesday. The Sooners and Bears will play a doubleheader with the first game set to begin at 5 p.m. OU will host a Fan Fest/Senior Night on Friday night at 6 p.m. at the OU Softball Complex. There is no scheduled game set for Friday night, but it will be an opportunity for fans to interact with the team by playing interactive games and honoring the four-member senior class.
• Notes: Despite two games left on the Big 12 schedule, Oklahoma is guaranteed to finish in second place ... The Sooners currently own a 14-2 conference record with two games remaining while Big 12 Champion Texas A&M owns a 16-1 mark with one game remaining and the Aggies own the tiebreaker against the Sooners as TAMU handed OU its only two conference losses of the season earlier this year ... Oklahoma swept Texas for the first time since 2004 ... The Longhorns were run ruled in back-to-back conference games for the first time in school history ... In its final three home games of the season, OU had over 1,000 fans in attendance at each game ... The Sooners have finished either first or second in the Big 12 race nine of the 13 years that the league has been in existence.
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Women's Basketball |
• Last Week: Courtney Paris completed her latest stint with the U.S. Senior National Basketball Team, claiming the silver medal at the Good Luck Beijing Tournament in China. The U.S. was upset by China, 84-81, Saturday after defeating the host team Thursday, 86-61. Paris contributed four points and one rebound in the medal game.
• This Week: The University of Oklahoma women's basketball team hosts its annual postseason banquet at the USPS National Center for Employee Development in Norman, Okla., Monday, April 28, at 6 p.m. Among the honorees are Shannon Selmon, who will be presented the inaugural Mary Jane Noble Humanitarian Award for her work with the Shine Foundation.
• Notes: Paris earned her eighth medal as part of USA Basketball, including her second with the Senior National Team. To date, she has earned seven golds and one silver and has compiled a 44-2 record in non-exhibition matches with USA Basketball.
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Women's Gymnastics |
• This Week: The 10th-seeded University of Oklahoma women's gymnastics squad narrowly missed qualifying for the program's first Super Six with a fourth-place showing in the first preliminary session at the 2008 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships in Athens, Ga., on Thursday afternoon. OU recorded a team score of 196.075, falling just 0.5 of a point behind third-place LSU inside Stegeman Coliseum on the campus of the University of Georgia. The Sooners defeated Arkansas, Oregon State and Denver to tie UCLA for eighth-place overall, which also matched last season's program-best finish.
• Notes: Oklahoma set program marks for wins (28), consecutive victories (21), wins to start a season (21), regular season winning percentage (1.000), home winning percentage (.917) and regular-season road winning percentage (1.000) in 2008 ... The Sooners eighth-place tie at the NCAA Championships shared top program honors with last season's squad ... Senior Kiara Redmond-Sturms added four All-America honors in Athens, including first-team distinction on floor after scoring a 9.9 in preliminary competition ... Redmond-Sturms' nine All-America honors is the highest tally of any Sooner gymnast in program history, besting Kelly Garrison's seven honors during the 1997 and 1998 seasons ... While Redmond-Sturms has concluded her eligibility along with seniors Caitlin Hinkis and Stephanie LoPiccolo, the future is bright as the 28-8-1 Sooners return 18 of 24 routines performed in Athens, Ga., for the 2009 season.
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Men's Gymnastics |
• This Week: Four members of the national champion Oklahoma men's gymnastics team were selected to the field for the 2008 Visa U.S. Championships, May 22-24 in Houston, Texas. Jonathan Horton, Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons, Chris Brooks and Steven Legendre will join 45 of the nation's top men's gymnasts to compete for the title of U.S. champion and placement on the 2008-09 U.S. Senior National Team. The competition will also serve as a qualifying event for the 2008 U.S. Team Olympic Trials, June 19-22 in Philadelphia, Pa.
• Notes: Also in the field for the 2008 Visa U.S. Championships are former Sooners David and Jamie Henderson.
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Men's Golf |
• Last Week: The University of Oklahoma men's golf team ended the 2008 Big 12 Championship in seventh place on Sunday at Whispering Pines Golf Club in Trinity, Texas. The Sooners shot a final-round team score of 300 (+12) at the Par 72, 7470-yard layout, finishing the four-round tournament at 48-over.
• This Week: Oklahoma now awaits the selection of the NCAA Regional Tournament fields, held May 15-17 in Columbus, Ohio, Chattanooga, Tenn., and Bremerton, Wash.
• Notes: Jesse Schutte led the way for Oklahoma, ending the event with a final-round 73 to finish in a tie for 18th at +8.
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Women's Golf |
• Last Week: The Sooners took fifth place at the 2008 Big 12 Women's Golf Championship at Karsten Creek in Stillwater.
• This Week: OU awaits the announcement of its NCAA Regional Championship destination, which will be revealed Monday at 4 p.m. CDT.
• Notes: Junior Kendall Dye placed ninth individually for the Sooners at the Big 12 Championship, her best Big 12 performance to date. It was her second consecutive top 10 of the season, and the fifth of her career ... Dye's 76 on Sunday tied for the best round of the day with Oklahoma State's Amanda Johnson, who finished third ... Senior Kelly Jacques tied for 15th place, the 20th top-20 finish of her career ... Freshman Ellen Mueller made it six top-25s in 10 OU tournaments this year with her tie for 21st place ... The Sooners' fifth-place finish marked the eighth time in 12 tries that they have finished in the top five at the Big 12 Championship.
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Women's Tennis |
• Last Week: The No. 8-seeded University of Oklahoma women's tennis team (11-12, 4-8) ended its season Thursday, April 24, in the first round of the Big 12 Championships. The Sooners fell 4-1 to No. 9 Texas Tech University at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center at Texas A&M.
• Notes: In doubles action, Oklahoma took the win at the No. 2 spot as senior Christi Baxley and freshman Maria Kalashnikova defeated TTU's Brenna Jackson and Kerryn Potgieter 8-3. Tech rebounded with wins at the No. 1 and 3 positions to claim the doubles point and take an early 1-0 lead ... Freshman standout Ana-Maria Constantinescu, currently ranked 111th, was next off the court and the first to put OU on the board. The Romania native defeated Samantha van der Drift 6-0, 6-3, making the score 2-1 ... Constantinescu finished the season with a team best 15-5 record.
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Men's Tennis |
• Last Week: The Oklahoma Sooners (11-13, 1-5 Big 12) were defeated by the No. 3-seed Oklahoma State Cowboys (15-8, 4-2 Big 12) on Friday, 6-1, during quarterfinal action at the 2008 Big 12 Tennis Championships. The Sooners opened the day winning two of the three doubles matches. That gave Oklahoma a 1-0 advantage over the Cowboys. Oklahoma State then won four straight singles matches to take the match.
• This Week: Sophomore Andrei Daescu now awaits the NCAA selection process to determine where he will go as an individual for the 2008 NCAA Tennis Championships. The 2008 NCAA Division I men's and women's tennis selection announcements will air between 2 and 2:30 p.m. ET, Tuesday, April 29, on ESPNews.
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Wrestling |
• Last Week: Select Sooners traveled to Las Vegas, Nev., to compete in the FILA and US Nationals April 23-26. Freshman Kyle Bergstedt took fourth and teammate Pat Flynn placed seventh. Ryan Smith, also a freshman for Oklahoma, finished eighth. All three qualified for the FILA World Team Trials May 23-26 by placing.
• Notes: Four Sooner alums also were in competition last weekend in Nevada. Two-time national champion Teyon Ware placed third and four-time All-American Michael Lightner took fifth at 132 pounds in the senior freestyle results. Two-time Sooner All-American Jared Frayer finished third in the 66 kilogram weight class and four-time All-American Sam Hazewinkel finished fourth in the Greco division at 55 kilograms.
Tuesday, June 09
Monday, April 13
Monday, April 13
Monday, April 06
