Gymnastics Releases 2010 Slate

Aug. 28, 2009

NORMAN, Okla. -- University of Oklahoma vice president for intercollegiate athletics programs and director of athletics Joe Castiglione and head men's gymnastics coach Mark Williams announced the Sooners' 2010 schedule on Friday, Aug. 28.

The Sooners will participate in nine regular season meets, and face five opponents that competed at the 2009 NCAA Championships. OU will also host three home meets at the Howard McCasland Field House, highlighted by matchups with Minnesota and Nebraska.

“I think that the schedule will be a bit of a challenge this year because we are going to be competing on the road more so than at home,” said Williams. “We feel like throughout the course of the season we will be in the position to contend for a national championship.”

Oklahoma begins the 2010 slate on Jan. 16 with its annual trip to the Rocky Mountain Open hosted by the Air Force Academy. The Sooners will stay on the road and head to Iowa City, Iowa the following week against Hawkeyes on Jan. 23.

The Sooners open the home season against Texas on Jan. 30 at the Howard McCasland Field House. Following the home opener, select Sooners will then make the trip to Las Vegas to compete in the Winter Cup (Feb 4-6). The annual individual event helps determine the participants at the U.S. Visa Championships.

Following the break from team competition, the OU men welcome conference rival Nebraska (Feb. 13) and then travel to Ann Arbor, Mich. to face the University of Michigan (Feb. 20). Oklahoma returns home to host Minnesota (Feb. 27), to round out the month of February.

2010 Men's Gymnastics Schedule 2010 PDF Men's Gymnastics Schedule

In the month of March, the Sooners will face two rivals from the Big Ten conference on the road beginning with a trip to the Ohio State on March 13. After the matchup with the Buckeyes, Oklahoma will travel to Penn State (March 20) for a matchup with the Nittany Lions.

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 2010 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships will be hosted by Oklahoma at the Howard McCasland Field House on April 3. In 2009, the Sooners claimed one team event title on vault, while junior Steven Legendre finished first on vault. OU will be seeking its 10th conference title out of the last 12 years as the Sooners won the last conference title last time it was held at OU in 2005.

“The silver lining to our schedule is that we are hosting the MPSF conference championship this year,” added Williams. “It's the qualifier for the NCAA tournament, so we will want to be at our best and be able to compete for the national championship.”

The United States Military Academy at West Point will host the 2010 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships, April 15-17, at the Christl Arena. Oklahoma has won five national championships under the leadership of head coach Mark Williams and has claimed eight overall in the program's history.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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