No. 4 Oklahoma Set to Battle Hawkeyes

Jan. 21, 2010

No. 4 Oklahoma at No. 8 Iowa
Date	Saturday, Jan. 23 \| 2 p.m. (CT)
Location	Iowa City, Iowa \| Main Field House
Tickets	Order Online \| (1-800 IA-HAWKS)
Live Stats	None
Online	None
Meet Notes	Sooners

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- One week after winning the Rocky Mountain Open for the 11th straight season, the fourth-ranked Oklahoma men's gymnastics team travels to face No. 8 Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. The meet is slated for a 2 p.m. (CT) start on Saturday, Jan. 23.

Last season, Oklahoma swept team and individual event titles at the Howard McCasland Field House in Norman to beat the Hawkeyes 354.250 to 336.000.

Freshman Jacob Dalton will look to build an impressive start to the season this weekend after claiming four individual titles on vault, parallel bars, high bar and the all-around titles. Junior co-captain Steven Legendre is also poised to improve his second-place finish in the all-around and vault event at the Rocky Mountain Open.

OPPONENT PREVIEW
The University of Iowa men's gymnastics team placed fourth at the 40th annual Windy City Invitational Saturday, hosted by the University of Illinois-Chicago. The Hawkeyes scored a team total of 339.600, while Big Ten foe Illinois won the meet with 353.750 total team points.

UP NEXT
The Sooners return home for a matchup with the University of Texas club team on Jan. 30. The two teams met last year in Norman with the Sooners winning the meet 349.050 to 304.950.

The matchup between the Sooners and Longhorns marks “Cleveland Elementary Night. ” The event is part of a “Partners in Education” program developed by Oklahoma Head Coach Mark Williams and Cleveland Elementary music teacher Regina Bell.

The OU Athletics Marketing Department has some special events planned for “Cleveland Elementary Night”. Several lucky students will win the opportunity to serve as junior judges, score flashers, march-in leaders, junior PA announcer and award presenters at the meet. One Cleveland student will also perform the national anthem.

EVENTS AROUND THE COUNTRY
Saturday, Jan 23:
Arizona State/Washington at Minnesota, Noon (CT)
Navy, Springfield, Temple, William & Mary,
Brockport at Navy Open, 2 p.m. (CT)

Oklahoma Roster | 2010 Schedule and Results | Complete 2010 Preview with Event Breakdowns

A LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK
The Oklahoma men's gymnastics team began the 2010 campaign with a victory at the Rocky Mountain Open claiming the meet championship for the 11th consecutive year.

OKLAHOMA ROCKY MOUNTAIN OPEN INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS
Floor Exercise: Stephen Legendre, Oklahoma
Pommel Horse: Alex Naddour, Oklahoma
Vault: Jacob Dalton, Oklahoma
Parallel Bars: Jacob Dalton, Oklahoma
High Bar: Jacob Dalton, Oklahoma
All-Around: Jacob Dalton, Oklahoma

COMING BACK
The upcoming meet against the University of Iowa will be the first for junior Ian Jackson since his injury at the 2009 Rocky Mountain Open. Jackson suffered an injury to his Achillies tendon during the RMO on the last pass of his floor routine.

POMMEL RECORD FALLS
Freshman Alex Naddour claimed his first individual event title as a Sooner breaking the pommel horse record last week at the Rocky Mountain Open with a score of 15.200. The previous best was held by Jason Laughton with a score of 15.000 set on Feb 28, 2009.

The Sooners also claimed the team event title with a score of 56.950.

GYMNASTS TO WATCH

Alex Naddour | Fr. | All-Around -- Led Sooners to a pommel horse team event title at Rocky Mountain Open, while breaking the event record score with a 15.200.

Jake Dalton | Fr. | All-Around -- Won first All-Around title as a Sooner at Rocky Mountain Open with a score of 87.500 ...Named MPSF Gymnast of the Week for performance at Rocky Mountain Open.

SUMMER IN LONDON
Half of Team USA at the 2009 World Championships was represented by the Sooner
program. Current OU gymnasts Jake Dalton and Steven Legendre and former Sooner Jonathan Horton competed in London, England.

Current OU Head Coach Mark Williams and former Sooner gymnast Tom Meadows also represented Team USA as individual coaches for the Sooner gymnasts.

BRINGING IN MORE TALENT
For the 2010 season head coach Mark Williams signed three gymnasts as a part of the 2009 signing class. Freshman Jake Dalton, Alex Naddour and Chris Stehl look to fill the departure of one of the most decorated classes in Oklahoma history as each of the '09 recruits finished in the top five at the 2009 Men's Junior Olympic National Championships.

Alex Naddour
Hometown: Gilbert, Ariz.
High School: Highland | Club: Arizona Flairs

Jake Dalton
Hometown: Reno, Nev.
High School: Spanish Srings | Club: Gym NV

Chris Stehl
Hometown: Houston, Texas
High School: William B. Travis | Club: Cypress Academy

ONE MEET AT A TIME
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.

The 2010 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships will be hosted by Oklahoma at the Howard McCasland Field House on April 3.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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