Second Ranked Oklahoma Travels to Michigan

Feb. 18, 2010

No. 2 Oklahoma Vs. No. 3 Michigan
Date	Saturday, Feb. 20 \| 2 p.m. (CT)
Location	Ann Arbor, Mich. \| Cliff Keen Arena
Tickets	mgoblue.com \| (734) 764-0247 or (866) 296-6849
Live Stats	mgoblue.com
Online	None
Meet Notes	Sooners

NORMAN, Okla. -- The No. 2 Oklahoma men's gymnastics team travels to Ann Arbor, Mich. to battle Big Ten foe No. 3 Michigan, Saturday, Feb. 20. The event will start at 2 p.m. CT in the Cliff Keen Arena at the University of Michigan.

Oklahoma enters the meet after claiming its third victory over a top-ten opponent, a 356.500-335.450 victory over No. 9 Nebraska. The meet marked OU's highest team total of the season.

The last time the two met during the regular season was a top-five showdown with then-No. 5 OU topping then-No. 2 Michigan. In 2009, Michigan defeated OU in the NCAA team event finals.

OPPONENT PREVIEW
The No. 3-ranked University of Michigan men's gymnastics team beat the No. 11 UIC Flames behind event wins from junior Ian Makowske, senior Mel Anton Santander and sophomore Syque Caesar, 339.250 to 328.850 on Feb. 13 at Cliff Keen Arena. Freshman Rohan Sebastian claimed the first all-around crown of his career with a 83.400.

UP NEXT
Oklahoma returns home for its next meet against the University of Minnesota and the Texas Club Team at the McCasland Field House. The meet 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.

“Cleveland Night” was rescheduled for Feb. 27 after the Jan. 30 meet with the Texas Club Team was cancelled due to winter weather.

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.

POMMEL RECORD FALLS...AGAIN
Freshman Alex Naddour claimed his third straight pommel horse event title as a Sooner breaking the school record on pommel horse with a 15.400, a mark he previously set earlier in the year (15.200 --Rocky Mountain Open).

MOVING ON UP
This week's ranking marks the first time this season that OU has held the second spot. The Sooners began the year ranked No. 4 in the preseason and the number thee spot last week.

Week                Ranking           Previous Ranking
Preseason              3                             NA
Week 1                  4                             3
Week 2                  4                             4
Week 3                  4                             4
Week 4                  3                             4
Week 5                  2                             3

AGAINST THE TOP-10
Oklahoma has started the 2010 season 6-0, including a 3-0 mark against conference op¬ponents. All three of those opponents have been ranked in the top-ten. Last season, the Sooners went undefeated against their top-10 opponents in the regular season.

STRONG FIRST HALF
Oklahoma has had a strong first half to the 2010 campaign claiming 17 of the first 18 team event titles of the season. The Sooners have also won 20 of the 21 individual titles in the first three meets.
Two of the three all-around titles of the season were claimed by freshman Jacob Dalton with scores of 87.500 and 89.600. Red shirt junior Ian Jackson claimed the third all-around title of the season with a score of 84.250 against No. 9 Nebraska.

FIVE ON NATIONAL TEAM
Four-year letterwinner Chris Brooks won the 2010 Winter Cup all-around title and regained his position on the U.S. Senior National Team on Feb. 6. Overall, one third of the national team selections were from the University of Oklahoma men's program as all five representa¬tives sent to the event were selected following strong performances.

Freshman Alex Naddour was the latest Sooner to be named to the team, while freshman Jacob Dalton and junior Steven Legendre and Olympian Jonathan Horton retained their positions on the team. The five Sooners, along with the other 10 members will comprise the U.S. team until the Visa Championships in August.

No other NCAA Division I men's gymnastics program has more members on Senior National Team than Oklahoma and this is most National Team members that the Sooners have ever had, beating the previous total in 1994 (4).

FACE IN THE CROWD
Freshman Jacob Dalton is featured in the Feb. 8 Olympic edition of Sports Illustrated's “Faces in the Crowd.”
The feature is a part of SI's continuing coverage of the top amateur athletes around the country. Also featured in this month's issue are Stephen Dennis (Basketball), Kathleen and Joanna Stevens (Track and Field), Kiley Neushul (Water Polo), Melissa Beyruti (Basketball) and Travis Flores (Baseball).

“CLEVELAND NIGHT” RESCHEDULED
The annual “Cleveland Elementary Night” has been rescheduled for the home meet against Minnesota on Feb. 27. The “Cleveland Elementary Night ” event is part of a “Partners in Education” program de¬veloped by Oklahoma Head Coach Mark Williams and Cleveland Elementary music teacher Regina Bell.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Second Ranked Oklahoma Travels to Michigan

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