No. 4 Sooners Welcome Red River Rivalry

Jan. 28, 2010

No. 4 Oklahoma Vs. Texas
Date	Saturday, Jan. 30 \| 7 p.m. (CT)
Location	Norman, Okla \| McCasland Field House
Tickets	Order Online \| (405) 325-2424 or (800) 456-GoOU
Live Stats	SoonerSports.com
Online	Oklahoma All-Access
Meet Notes	Sooners

NORMAN, Okla. -- The fourth-ranked Oklahoma men's gymnastics team returns to McCasland Field House Saturday, Jan. 30, for its home opener against the University of Texas club team at 7 p.m.

The Sooners are looking to continue early season success this weekend after winning their first two competitions at the Rocky Mountain Open and at No. 8 Iowa.

Last season, Oklahoma swept team and individual event titles at the Howard McCasland Field House in the home opener to beat Texas 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.

OPPONENT PREVIEW
Texas is an independent club team made up of gymnasts looking for an opportunity to compete against the nation's best, even if their school doesn't sponsor an intercollegiate gymnastics team.

UP NEXT
Following the home opener, select Sooners will make the trip to Las Vegas to compete in the Winter Cup (Feb 4). The annual individual event that helps determine the participants at the U.S. Visa Championships. Oklahoma returns to team action on Feb. 13 against Nebraska.

EVENTS AROUND THE COUNTRY
Saturday, Jan 30:
Iowa vs. Michigan
Minnesota vs Air Force, Nebraska, Calgary
Ohio State vs. Illinois
Stanford vs. Cal

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

A LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK
The fourth-ranked Oklahoma men's gymnastics team claimed its second straight victory of the 2010 season by winning all six events over No. 8 Iowa Saturday at the Main Field House in Iowa City, Iowa. The Sooners scored a 349.500 to beat the Hawkeyes (340.950) in their first meeting of the regular season.

OKLAHOMA @ IOWA INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS
Floor Exercise: Jacob Dalton, Oklahoma
Pommel Horse: Alex Naddour, Oklahoma
Vault: Jacob Dalton, Oklahoma
Parallel Bars: Jacob Dalton, Oklahoma
High Bar: Steven Legendre, Oklahoma
All-Around: Jacob Dalton, Oklahoma

GYMNASTS TO WATCH

Ian Jackson | Jr. | All-Around -- The upcoming meet against the University of Texas will be the first for redshirt-junior Ian Jackson since his injury at the 2009 Rocky Mountain Open.

Jake Dalton | Fr. | All-Around -- Won second straight all-around title at Iowa with a score of 89.600 ...Named MPSF Gymnast of the Week for second straight week.

TWICE IS NICE
Oklahoma freshman Jacob Dalton repeated as the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Gymnast of the Week.

The honor is the second of Dalton's career as he claimed the all-around title in his second collegiate meet with an 89.600 score at eighth-ranked Iowa. The Reno, Nev., native also won the all-around Jan. 16 at the Rocky Mountain Open.

Dalton helped Oklahoma sweep all six individual titles against the Hawkeyes with event titles on floor (15.750), vault (16.000), rings (15.000) and parallel bars (15.050).

BOUNCING 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.

FULFILLING EXPECTATIONS
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 have fulfilled expectations that Williams envisioned for the class.

Dalton has back-to-back all-around titles in his first two meets and has been named MPSF Gymnast of the Week the first two week of the season. Naddour broke the pommel horse school record in his first meet as a Sooner with a score of 15.200 and has added depth on multiple events. Stehl, coming off injury, has also contributed several scores to the team total.

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

POMMEL RECORD FALLS
Freshman Alex Naddour claimed his first individual event title as a Sooner breaking the
school pommel horse record Jan. 16 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.

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.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

No. 4 Sooners Welcome Red River Rivalry

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