Oklahoma Finishes Third at National CHampionship

April 16, 2010

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- The University of Oklahoma men's gymnastics team tallied 357.050 points to finish third at the 2010 NCAA Championship at the Holleder Center on the campus of the United States Military Academy. Michigan (360.500) claimed the National Championship, as Stanford (359.800) finished second and Illinois (354.900) was fourth. California (354.700) and Ohio State (347.350) finished fifth and sixth, respectively.

Teams were delayed several times to fix a broken ring after an Illinois gymnast fell on the apparatus. Oklahoma had just finished on pommel horse when fall happed and were next on rings after the Illini. After the ring was replaced, several gymnasts subsequently fell due to the new ring. Those gymnasts were granted the opportunity to retry thier routines after several falls occurred, including gymnasts Steven Legendre and Alex Naddour.

“I have never experienced a NCAA Championship like this one,” said OU head coach Mark Williams. “I am real proud of what the team did tonight. They fought hard all night under tough circumstances.”

Defending NCAA all-around National Champion, junior Steven Legendre, finished second in the all-around with a score of 88.950 as a total of five OU gymnasts qualified for the individual event finals scheduled for Sunday. Oklahoma finished first on pommel horse (58.250) and vault (64.200) on the night.

“I couldn't be any more proud of this team right now,” added junior co-captain Steven Legendre. “Michigan and Stanford were better than us today but we fought to the very last guy.”

Alex Naddour (PH), Jacob Dalton (FX, V), Corey English (PH, PB), Ian Jackson (V), Steven Legendre (FX, V) and Jeremy Adams (PH) will compete tomorrow in the individual championships as each of the eight individuals in each event will be crowned All-Americans.

Team Final Results | Photo Gallery | Championship Blog | 2010 Schedule and Results

The Sooners started the night on floor with steady performances coming from freshman Alex Naddour (14.950) and Jacob Dalton (15.350). Junior Steven Legendre scores a 16.000 to round out Oklahoma's team score of 61.150.

After a bye rotation, Oklahoma then moved to pommel horse turning in a 58.250 on the event. Strong performances came from freshman Jeremy Adams (14.550) and senior Corey English (14.550), while Alex Naddour claimed the night's top score with a 15.450.

“Our team fought hard and I am really proud of everyone,” said senior co-captain Corey English. “I'm proud to be a Sooner today and I will always say that about a team that fights. I'm very proud of everybody.”

After two strong opening performances, OU then moved to rings scoring a 58.250 and received a score of 14.800 from Patrick Piscitelli and Dalton. A clutch showing on vault followed for the Sooners who tallied a 64.200 to win the event title. Key performances came from junior Ian Jackson, Legendre and Dalton, all posting 16.150.

Oklahoma scored a 57.800 on parallel bars with English (14.000), Dalton (14.450), Legendre (14.550) posting solid scores to help OU down the stretch.

On the final event, the Sooners scored a 56.750 on high bar with Jackson (14.350), Legendre (14.400) and Dalton (14.250) helped OU post the event's high score on the event.

Saturday night's competition is slated for a 7 p.m. start inside the Holleder Center. A live blog of the event can be accessed as part of the NCAA Championship Central page on SoonerSports.com. ESPN2 will air the competition on a tape delay on April 23 at 1:30 p.m.

Oklahoma Finishes Third at National CHampionship

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