No. 1 Sooners Top Hawkeyes

Feb. 21, 2009

NORMAN, Okla. - The No. 1 Oklahoma men's gymnastics team claimed all six event titles en route to its fourth straight victory with a victory over No. 10 Iowa on “Cleveland Elementary Night” Saturday at the Howard McCasland Field House.

The Sooners scored a 354.250 to beat the Hawkeyes (336.000) in front of 779 fans.

OU started strong with a season high team score of 60.650 on floor exercise, as sophomore Steven Legendre claimed the event title with a season high 15.650. Russell Czeschin also posted a season-high score of 15.150, coming in second on the event.

“It was nice to see the students and parents from Cleveland Elementary come and support us tonight,” said OU head coach Mark Williams. “They really add energy to our team and the way we compete.”

Oklahoma extended its lead by claiming its second event title with a season high 57.050 on pommel horse. Senior co-captain Jacob Messina captured the event title with a career high score 14.800 and junior Corey English finished second with a career-high score of 14.750.

“We competed well tonight but still have work to do to be where we want to be,” added Williams. “I was a little disappointed in a couple of our performances but overall we did well.”

Meet Results | Photo Gallery

The Sooners claimed the vault title with a score of 64.000. Senior Russell Czeschin won the individual title by posting a career-high score of 16.100, while sophomore Bobby Shortle tallied a career high as well with a score of 16.000.

On parallel bars, the Sooners added another season high from Jacob Messina with a score of 14.900. It was Messina's second high mark of the night.

The sweep of the meet was completed on high bar with a team event score of 56.400 and a career score coming from sophomore Steven Legendre (15.150).

Oklahoma returns to action against No. 8 Nebraska on Feb. 28. The meet will get underway at 7 p.m. (CT) at the Howard McCasland Field House in Norman.

Everyone in attendance will receive a free OU men's gymnastics poster while supplies last and the team will sign autographs in the lobby following the competition.

This will be the last time that the Sooners will be available for autographs after the competition.