Oklahoma Seeks Ninth National Championship

April 14, 2010

2010 NCAA National Championship
Location	West Point, N.Y. \| Holleder Center
Qualifiers	Thursday, April 15 - 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Team Finals	Friday, April 16 - 7 p.m. (CT)
Individual Finals	Saturday, April 17 - 7 p.m. (CT)
Tickets	Order Online \| 1-877-TIX-ARMY (1-877-849-2769)
Live Blog	SoonersSports.com
Meet Information	Game Notes \| NCAA Webite

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- After winning the MPSF Championship, the No. 2 Oklahoma men's gymnastics team heads to West Point, N.Y., in search of the program's ninth national title. The 2010 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships will take place April 15-17 in the Holleder Center on the campus of the United States Military Academy.

The 2010 NCAA Championships will begin on Thursday, April 15 with two qualifying sessions at 1 and 7 p.m. (CDT). The Sooners will compete in the evening session with No. 3 Michigan, No. 6 California, No. 7 Minnesota, No. 10 Nebraska and No. 11 Iowa. The first session will showcase No. 1 Illinois, No. 4 Stanford, No. 5 Ohio State, No. 8 Penn State, No. 9 UIC and No. 12 Temple.

The top three teams from each session will earn berths in Friday night's team and all-around Finals, scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.

Individual national champions will be determined at the event finals on Saturday night at 7 p.m.
In 2009, the Sooners tallied 361.200 points to finish third at the NCAA Championship in Minnesota. The 2009 team also finished with 11 All-America honors as Steven Legendre captured the national all-around crown and titles on floor and vault at the individual National Championships.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
The team finals will be televised by ESPN2 on tape-delay April 23 at 1:30 p.m.

A live webcast for the NCAA National Championship can be found on NCAA.com and live stats are available on
SoonerSports.com via the men's gymnastics schedule page.

Oklahoma Roster | 2010 Schedule and Results | 2010 Media Guide

MPSF CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP
The No. 2 Oklahoma men's gymnastics squad hit six straight pommel routines in the final rotation to edge Cal and clinch its 10th conference title in 12 years.

OU notched its 31st and 32nd individual conference titles under Mark Williams, as Steven Legendre (floor - 16.000) and Ian Jackson (vault - 16.200) won MPSF titles. It was Legendre's 53rd title of his career, while Jackson posted his first win on vault since the 2008 season.

CHAMPIONSHIP TRADITION UNDER WILLIAMS
Since 2000, The University of Oklahoma men's gymnastics program is the only collegiate men's gymnastics program to finish in the top four every year at the NCAA Championships. Since their fourth-place finish in 2000, the Sooners have finished no lower than third in their quest for the national title.

CONSECUTIVE NATIONAL TITLES
Since the creation of collegiate men's gymnastics (1953), only seven schools that still sponsor the sports have won consecutive national championships.

Oklahoma is the only men's gymnastics program to have won two straight or more on three separate occasions.

Penn State and Nebraska are the only schools to win three or more straight titles. After winning back-to-back titles in 1953 and 1954, Penn State won three in a row from 1959 to 1961. Nebraska ran an impressive string of four straight titles from 1979-1982. OU's eight national championships ties Nebraska for third all-time behind Penn State (12) and Illinois
(9).

30 INDIVIDUAL TITLES
Oklahoma is currently ranked fourth in the nation with 30 individual NCAA National Championships. Junior Steven Legendre sits with five individual titles and one away from tying Jonathan Horton (6), who owns the program lead.

GYMNASTS TO WATCH

Alex Naddour | Fr. | All-Around -- The freshman finished second on pommel at the MPSF Conference Championships with a score of 14.700. The freshman is the fourth-ranked gymnast in the all-around with an average score of 86.800.

Steven Legendre | Jr. | All-Around -- Legendre claimed the floor individual MPSF Conference title on floor with a score of 16.000. The junior is currently the top-ranked gymnast in the nation in the all-around with an average score of 88.010.

LEGENDRE, DALTON AND NADDOUR ON TOP OF ALL-AROUND STANDINGS
Junior Steven Legendre is atop the current national all-around standings with a average score of 88.483, while freshman Jacob Dalton is right behind at number two with a score of 87.470.

Legendre has claimed eight all-around titles in his career, including the 2009 NCAA National All-Around title. Dalton has claimed three all-around titles in his young career, including back-to-back all-around wins at Rocky Mountain Open and at Iowa.

Freshman Alex Naddour rounds out the Sooner dominance with a top four ranking in the all-around (86.800). The Gilbert, Ariz., native is currently ranked four on pommel horse with an average score of 15.000.

SOONERS IN THE RANKINGS
Oklahoma currently has four of the top gymnasts in the top five on vault and three gymnasts in the top five on floor. Junior Steven Legendre is the leader on floor with a average score of 16.020.

The Sooners have at least two gymnasts ranked in the top 20 on each apparatus.

AN ALL-AROUND TEAM
This season, OU has been ranked in the top three in the nation on all six events while holding
the top spot on three events (floor, vault, parallel bars). Individually, the Sooners have the top-ranked gymnast on four events. (Floor: Legendre, Pommel Horse: Alex Naddour, Vault: Dalton, All-Around: Dalton)

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).

250 WINS AND BEYOND
Earlier this season, head coach Mark Williams passed the 250 win mark as the head coach at the University of Oklahoma. With a win at then eighth-ranked Iowa, Williams surpassed the 250 mark and now stands at 268 wins as the head coach. Last year, Williams passed the 224 win mark to become Oklahoma's all-time wining men's gymnastics coach.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Oklahoma Seeks Ninth National Championship

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