Dalton Leads No. 4 Sooners to Victory

Jan. 29, 2011

Oklahoma	Team Scores	Minnestoa
56.750	Floor	55.750
53.950	Pommel	54.500
59.100	Rings	56.900
63.700	Vault	61.800
55.150	P-Bars	54.300
56.000	High Bar	53.500
344.650	Total	336.750

Oklahoma	Event Leaders			Minnesota
Alex Naddour	83.250	AA	NA	NA
Dalton	15.050	Floor	14.300	LaFleur
Nitzky	13.850	Pommel	14.400	Scallon
Nitzky	15.350	Rings	14.250	Heaver
Dalton	16.550	Vault	16.000	Repp
Stehl	14.050	P-Bars	13.750	Dabritz
Dalton	14.450	HighBar	13.900	Cameratta

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OU Men's Gymnastics Media Guide | Meet Notes

2011 OU Season Statistics | National Stats & Rankings

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NORMAN, Okla. -- The fourth-ranked Oklahoma men's gymnastics team remained undefeated in 2011 on Saturday after defeating No. 7 Minnesota and Team Texas at the McCasland Field House.

A season-best 1,098 fans watched OU (5-0 overall, 2-0 MPSF) post a 344.650 en route to the victory over the Gophers (336.750) and Team Texas (293.400).

“I am pleased with the crowd support and it's great to hear them respond to good gymnastics,” said OU Head Coach Mark Williams. “Steve caught three high bar release moves in a row, the crowd cheered and that gets really fun.”

The Sooners claimed five of the six team events on floor (56.750), rings (59.100), vault (63.700), parallel bars (55.150) and high bar (56.000). The Sooners have only lost two event titles this season, both on pommel horse (Saturday and at the Rocky Mountain Open).

Sophomore Alex Naddour claimed his first all-around of the season with a score of 83.250.
The Sooners posted top scores on five of the six individual events with three different gymnasts winning titles.

“We started slowly and tried to give some opportunities to guys to get out there and compete,” added Williams. “We are definitely not in the same position that we were in last weekend.”

Sophomore Jacob Dalton won three events on floor (15.050), vault (16.550) and high bar (14.450). For the second straight week, Dalton tied the program record on vault with a score of 16.550. The U.S. Senior National Team member previously recorded OU's top score last week against then-No. 8 Ohio State.

Sophomore Chris Stehl claimed his first career individual title on parallel bars with a 14.050, while redshirt sophomore Troy Nitzky finished with the night's top score on rings (15.350).

“It was great. The last couple of weekends I have done pretty well and continually gotten better,” said red shirt sophomore Troy Nitzky.

Oklahoma returns to action next week when select Sooners make the trip to Las Vegas to compete in the 2011 Winter Cup (Feb 2-4). The annual individual event helps determine the participants at the U.S. Visa Championships.

“We already have a number of guys who will be on the U.S. National Team,” continued Williams. “It is always great to go out there and have a good performance. Jacob Dalton and Alex Naddour have to make the National Team, so it will be a big weekend for them.”

The Sooners return to NCAA team competition on Feb. 13 against Nebraska in Lincoln.

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