No. 2 Sooners Battle No. 6 Buckeyes

March 13, 2009

No. 2 Men's Gymnastics vs. No. 6 Ohio State
Date	Saturday, March 14 at 7 p.m. (CT)
Location	Norman, Okla. \| McCasland Field House
Notes	2009 Men's Gymnastics Notes
Tickets	Oklahoma Athletics Ticket Office \| Call (800) 456-GoOU
Online	Live Webcast on Oklahoma All-Access \| Live Stats
Promotions	Jonathan Horton Night \| 50 Cent Hot Dog Night

NORMAN, Okla.-- The No. 2 Oklahoma men's gymnastics returns home to battle Big Ten rival No. 6 Ohio State, Saturday, March 14. The matchup between the Sooners and the Buckeyes will start at 7:00 p.m. at the McCasland Field House.

"Ohio State is a tremendous rival of ours and competing for a national championship has always been a challenge to get past them," said head coach Mark Williams. "This year will be no different than others. They will be a team to contend with through the qualifier and on to the team finals."

Oklahoma is 10-0 and recorded its fifth and sixth wins over top 10 foes last weekend at the University of Minnesota against No. 1 Stanford and No. 7 Minnesota. The Sooners posted a 357.850 to top the Cardinal (356.400) and the Gophers (347.950).

The Minnesota meet was the first time that OU didn't sweep the team event titles, claiming all event titles in the first five meets (Rocky Mountain Open, (2) Nebraska, Texas, Iowa).

Schedule & Results | Roster | 2009 Season Preveiw

Oklahoma hosts its next two meets against two of its top rivals with Ohio State (March 14) and Penn State (March 21) coming to the McCasland Field House.

Since 2000, the Sooners, Nittany Lions and Buckeyes have combined to win the last nine NCAA titles. OU leads the pack with five national championships while Penn State has claimed three (2000, 2004, 2007) and Ohio State won the 2001 championship.

The March 14 meet against Ohio State marks "Jonathan Horton Night" where fans will see an exhibition from the two-time Olympic medalist and have the opportunity to get autographs after the meet.

Jonathan Horton
	Jonathan Horton was named a semifinalist fopr the Sullivan Award after winning silver on the horizontal bar and bronze in the team competition. To vote for former Sooner Jonathan Horton visit usatoday.com/sports. The University of Oklahoma will celebrate "Jonathan Horton Night" in the McCasland Field House at 7 p.m against No. 6 Ohio State. Inside Gymnastics interviews Horton.

"It will be good opportunity to pay tribute to the most decorated Oklahoma gymnast in the history of the program," added Williams. "We are really hoping to have a great send-off for him with our crowd and competition."

The University will also be offering $.50 hot dogs and cokes available for purchase while supplies last.

Coming up next...
Oklahoma remains at home for its next meet against Penn State on Saturday, March 21, at 7 p.m. in the McCasland Field House.

The meet will be Senior Night for the six seniors Reed Pitts, Russell Czeschin, Jacob Messina, Chris Brooks, Kyle McNamara, and Jason Laughton.

Brooks National Gymnast of the Week...
Oklahoma senior co-captain Chris Brooks was named the College Gymnastics Association National Gymnast of the Week as announced on Wednesday.

The recognition comes after Brooks led OU by claiming the all-around title with a career-high score of 90.200 in a win against No. 1 Stanford and No. 7 Minnesota. Brooks also recorded the top high bar score of the evening (15.100) and also finished second on the floor apparatus with a career-high 15.600.

Number One Goes Down...
The 10-0 Sooners won the competition against No. 1 Stanford after scoring a 357.850 in the victory. The Cardinal recorded a 356.400 and finished second while No. 7 Minnesota placed third in the competition with a 347.950.

The victory over the Gophers and Cardinal marks the fifth and sixth top-10 opponents the Sooners have defeated on the season.

The Sooners won the competition after scoring a 357.850 in the victory. Stanford posted a 356.400 Legendre Earns

MPSF Honor for Second Time...
Oklahoma sophomore Steven Legendre was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Gymnast of the Week. The honor was the second of the season for Legendre and the fourth of his career.

Legendre led OU with a school-record 16.500 on vault, which guided the Sooners to a program record team tally of 64.500 on the apparatus.

Legendre won the all-around competition with a score of 90.750, winning four events Saturday evening en route to the crown. His all-around tally was the highest in the NCAA this season.

Sooners Make it Three Against Huskers...
The No. 2 Oklahoma men's gymnastics team kept its undefeated streak alive in dominating fashion and defeated its fourth top-10 opponent on the year with a win over No. 9 Nebraska at the Howard McCasland Field House on Feb. 27.

The Sooners claimed their third victory over the Huskers in 2009, posting a 358.300-342.400 win. OU's team total was the second highest this season in the NCAA.

Another Top-Ten Goes Down...
Last weekend marked the third top-10 victory for the Oklahoma Men's Gymnastics team this year after Sooners defeated then-No. 10 Iowa. Oklahoma men's gymnastics team claimed all six event titles en route to its fourth straight victory with a victory over the Hawkeyes.

Oklahoma will go for its fourth victory of the season over a top ten foe when it battles No.9 Nebraska Feb. 28.

Cleveland Night a Success...
The Sooners scored a 354.250 to beat the Hawkeyes (336.000) in front of 779 fans, many of them being students and parents from Cleveland Elementary in Norman, Okla.

"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."

The annual Cleveland Elementary event is part of a "Partners in Education" program developed by Oklahoma Head Coach Mark Williams and Cleveland Elementary music teacher Regina Bell. OU gymnasts make weekly visits to the school to assist teachers with class activities and to help tutor students in math, grammar and reading.

Trio of National Team Members...
The University of Oklahoma men's gymnastics program posted another impressive feat at the Winter Cup Challenge in Las Vegas, Nev. on Feb. 7. Following strong performances by senior co-captain Chris Brooks and sophomore Steven Legendre, the Sooners now have three members on the U. S. Senior National Team. The two current Sooners are joined by Olympian Jonathan Horton.

No other NCAA Division I men's gymnastics program has more members on Senior National Team than Oklahoma and it marks most National Team members that the Sooners have had since 1994 (4).

Brooks finished fifth in the weekend competition and recorded a two-day total of 173.500. Posting an all-around score of 87.100 for the final night, the Houston, Texas, native improved on rings (14.300), vault (15.700), and parallel bars (14.800) to help his average.

After posting stronger scores in the final night of competition, Legendre finished seventh in the weekend competition and recorded a two-day total of 172.050. The Port Jefferson, N. Y., native improved his routine scores on floor (15.550), rings (14.750), and parallel bars (14.400) to finish the night with an all-around score of 87.650.

Sooners Promote Cleveland Night...
The Oklahoma men's gymnastics team took a break from workouts to participate in an exhibition for students at Norman's Cleveland Elementary School. The OU coaches and gymnasts made their annual visit prior to "Cleveland Elementary Night."

As a special treat for Cleveland's students, the team performed a gymnastics demonstration at a school assembly. The Sooners showed off some of their skills on floor exercise and parallel bars for a packed audience in the Cleveland Elementary gymnasium.

Legendre Impresses...
Oklahoma sophomore Steven Legendre was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Gymnast of the week on Jan. 21.

The honor was the first of the season for Legendre and the third of his career.|

Oklahoma gymnasts claimed all of the individual titles at the Rocky Mountain Open with the help of the Port Jefferson, N.Y., native winning event titles on floor (15.350), vault (15.900), parallel bars (14.950), and high bar (14.700). Legendre also claimed his second Rocky Mountain Open all-around title with an 89.400.

Legendre claimed two event titles (vault and still rings) against conference rival Nebraska on Sunday and upped his season total to seven. The U.S. Senior National team member also finished second in the all-around behind teammate Chris Brooks.

Fresh New Faces...
The Sooners added five freshman for the 2009 season in Chad Crumley, David Finning, Ben Mayer, Troy Nitzky and Pat Piscitelli. This years signing class reaches far across the country. Form Illinois, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Oklahoma this group looks to have an impact to the 2009 season for the Sooners.

Horton the Sixth...
The program's most decorated gymnast, Horton was the 2008 Nissen-Emery recipient in one of the strongest fields in the award's history.Considered the Heisman Trophy of gymnastics, the Nissen-Emery Award, founded by trampoline inventor George Nissen, has been handed out to the nation's top senior collegiate gymnast annually since 1966. Since the award's inception, Oklahoma has claimed a nation-leading six Nissen honorees: Bart Conner (1981), Jarrod Hanks (1991), Dan Fink (1998), Todd Bishop (1999), Daniel Furney (2003) and Jonathan Horton (2008).

All-Americans Back For More...
The Sooners roster is filled with five All-Americans from last year's squad. In total, Oklahoma gymnasts earned 11 All-America honors in 2008, the second-highest total in the nation. Seniors Russell Czeschin (FX), Chris Brooks (PB, HB), Jason Laughton (PH), Reed Pitts (FX) and sophomore Steven Legendre (FX, V, HB), received national distinction.

Williams Names Captains...
Seniors Jacob Messina and Chris Brooks were named co-captains for the 2009 season by head coach Mark Williams.
Both have been apart of several of the Sooners national championship squads and have received national honors for their effort. Brooks was a two-time All-American last year on high bar and parallel bars while Messina

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