Senior Night Against Penn State

March 20, 2009

No. 1 Men's Gymnastics vs. No. 8 Penn State
Date	Saturday, March 21 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	Senior Night \| OU Fan Banner

NORMAN, Okla.-- Saturday night marks the final home meet for the top-ranked Oklahoma men's gymnastics team and for the seniors Reed Pitts, Russell Czeschin, Jacob Messina, Chris Brooks, Kyle McNamara, and Jason Laughton. The Sooners will welcome eighth-ranked Penn State to the Howard McCasland Field House, Saturday, for Senior Night at 7 p.m.

One of the most decorated classes in Oklahoma history the 2009 seniors have been responsible for three National Championships, 11 All-Americans (Brooks, 4; Pitts, 3; Czeschin, 2; Laughton, 1; Messina, 1), four MPSF conference titles and one individual conference title (Brooks).

“It is special night for those who will be graduating and competing for their last time in Norman,” said head coach Mark Williams. “I am really excited about the event, it is our last time to compete at home before conference championships and hopefully we can put on a great competition.”

Schedule & Results | Roster | 2009 Season Preveiw

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

“They have really been a dominate team for many years and lead in NCAA Championships,” added Williams. “It's exciting to have a storied program come here that has won the NCAA twice in the past 10 years.

The Sooners look to go undefeated with a 12-0 record in the regular season for the third time under Williams. The Sooners have finished undefeated twice in the past 10 years (2003, 2006).

Penn State has claimed 12 National Championships in its stories program with consecutive titles coming in 1953-1954 and 1959-1961. During Penn State's last two championship runs, the Sooners have finished second at the NCAA Championships in the past nine years (2004, 2007).

Coming up next...
Oklahoma will take a week off to recuperate before beginning postseason competition at the 2009 MPSF Championships, April 5 in Palo Alto, Calif.

The Sooners are the four-time defending conference champions and have won nine MPSF titles in the last ten years, including eight under Williams.

Sooners Regain No. 1...
The defending National Champions regained the top spot in the GymInfo poll released on March 17 and the undefeated Sooners conclude the regular season this weekend at home against No. 8 Penn State.

The OU men's gymnastics team vaulted to No. 1 ranking after topping then-No. 6 Ohio State on March 14. The win was the Sooners' seventh over a top 10 opponent this season.

This week's rankings mark the second time this season that OU has held the top spot. The Sooners began the year ranked No. 2 in the preseason but was atop the list for five weeks.

Brooks Conference Gymnast of the Week…
Oklahoma senior co-captain Chris Brooks was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Gymnast of the Week, March 17.

The award is the first for Brooks from the conference office. Brooks was named the CGA National Gymnast of the Week on March 11.

Against Ohio State, Brooks claimed the vault title, posting a score of 16.150, and the all-around title with an 88.700, while setting a career high on pommel horse (13.900).

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 March 11.

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.

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 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. 28.

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.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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