No. 1 Men's Gymnastics Faces No. 2 Illinois

Jan. 26, 2012

No. 1 Men's Gymnastics at No. 2 Illinois/No. 7 Michigan
Date	Saturday, Jan. 28 at 5 p.m. (CT)
Location	Champaign, Ill. \| Huff Hall
Watch Live	N/A
Online	Live Scoring
Additional Info	Media Guide \| Meet Notes \| Blog \| Twitter \| Facebook

NORMAN, Okla. – The top-ranked University of Oklahoma men's gymnastics team continues its tough non-conference slate Saturday in a tri-meet against No. 2 Illinois and No. 7 Michigan at 5 p.m. in Champaign, Ill.

The undefeated Sooners (5-0, 1-0 MPSF) are coming off of a 353.150-347.750 victory over then-No. 2 Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio.

For the second week in a row, Oklahoma will take on the No. 2 team in the country. Illinois (5-1, 4-1 Big Ten) enters the meet after taking down Iowa 352.300-326.200. The Fighting Illini's one loss of the year came to Ohio State in the season-opening Windy City Invitational. Michigan (4-2, 3-2 Big Ten) took third in the event and has since defeated then-No. 1 Penn State last weekend.

Oklahoma will be looking for another strong performance from junior Jake Dalton, the defending Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Gymnast of the Week.

Dalton took home five event titles (floor, rings, vault, parallel bars and high bar) against the Buckeyes along with the all-around title with an 89.000. The junior tied a career best on floor exercise with a 16.250 while setting a career high on high bar with a 15.550.

ON THE WEB
Live scoring for the meet will be available on FightingIllini.com. OU men's gymnastics' Twitter feed (@SoonerGymnasts) will provide up-to-date scores and facts throughout the meet.

COACH WILLIAMS PREVIEWS NO. 2 ILLINOIS/NO. 7 MICHIGAN
OU Head Coach Mark Williams sat down with SoonerSports.com to preview this weekend's No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup.

GYMNASTS TO WATCH - JAKE DALTON AND MICHAEL REID
The reigning MPSF Gymnast of the Week, Dalton dominated in OU's dual meet at Ohio State, taking home five event titles in addition to the all-around title.

Although the freshman competes in just one event (pommel horse), Reid has led OU on the apparatus in both meets this season and won the event title at the Rocky Mountain Open.

NEXT UP
All three teams are sending gymnasts to compete in the 2012 Winter Cup Challenge in Las Vegas Feb. 2-4.

BACK ON TOP
After dropping two spots following the first week of competition, the Sooners have reclaimed the top spot in the GymInfo Rankings. Below is a complete list of this week's rankings along with each school's average score from this season.

No. 1 Oklahoma (348.425)
No. 2 Illinois (347.100)
No. 3 Ohio State (346.125)
No. 4 Penn State (344.125)
No. 5 California (340.675)
No. 6 Stanford (340.000)
No. 7 Michigan (339.500)
No. 8 Minnesota (338.750)
No. 9 Nebraska (333.925)
No. 10 Air Force (332.525)
No. 11 Temple (330.800)
No. 12 Illinois-Chicago (324.250)
No. 13 Army (321.600)
No. 14 Iowa (321.500)
No. 15 Arizona State (314.100)

DALTON DECORATED WITH HONORS
Jake Dalton was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Gymnast of the Week Tuesday after a dominant performance this past Saturday against No. 2 Ohio State.

Dalton took home five event titles (floor, rings, vault, parallel bars and high bar) along with the all-around title with an 89.000. The junior tied a career best on floor exercise with a 16.250 while setting a career high on high bar with a 15.550.

The Reno, Nev., native is the second-straight Sooner to be awarded Gymnast of the Week honors by the MPSF. Junior Chris Stehl claimed the honor last week after winning the all-around at the Rocky Mountain Open. The MPSF is the hybrid conference that OU men's gymnastics competes in with Air Force, California and Stanford.

Dalton was also recognized by the College Gymnastics Association as its NCAA Gymnast of the Week and was named CollegeSports360.com's Primetime Performer of the Week.

OU KNOCKS OFF NO. 2 OHIO STATE
Oklahoma continued its hot start to the 2012 season by taking down No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, 353.150-347.750. The Sooners swept all six team event titles and scored almost 10 points higher than their season-opener total in Colorado the week before.

OU was led by junior Jake Dalton, who took home five event titles (floor, rings, vault, parallel bars and high bar) along with the all-around title with an 89.000.

After trailing Ohio State through one event by 3.050, the Sooners collected a 61.600 on floor and took a 118.850-117.150 lead after two rotations. Raymond White (15.500), Dylan Akers (14.950) and Alec Robin (14.900) all set career highs on floor, while Dalton tied his personal best of 16.250.

OU extended its lead in the third rotation with a 59.150 on vault behind Dalton's 15.000 and Michael Heredia's 14.800. Oklahoma scored a 59.150 on rings with three gymnasts posting scores of 15.000 or higher on rings; Dalton (15.200), Nitzky (15.100) and Stehl (15.000).

Dalton led Oklahoma on high bar in the fifth rotation with a career-best 15.550 to help the Sooners score a 58.050 in the event. The Sooners clinched the victory with a 57.150 on parallel bars with top scores coming from Dalton (15.100) and Rubin (14.500).

COMING HOME
The Sooners have three gymnasts on their 18-man roster that grew up in Illinois. Freshmen Danny Berardini (Lake Forrest, Ill.) and Jacoby Rubin (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) and senior Chad Crumley (Long Grove, Ill.) are all from the Land of Lincoln.

REGULAR SEASON DOMINANCE
Since the start of the modern scoring era (2008), the Sooners have lost just two regular season meets. Oklahoma has currently won 13-straight meets dating back to its last regular-season loss on March 7, 2010 against Stanford (361.650-360.300). The Sooners only other loss under the current scoring system also came to Stanford on Feb. 24, 2008 (361.650-359.800).

2012 TEAM CAPTAINS
With 10 freshman on the roster, Williams believes that upperclassman leadership will be essential to his team's success in 2012. Williams has chosen senior Patrick Piscitelli, redshirt junior Troy Nitzky and junior Jake Dalton as Oklahoma's captains for the 2012 season.

Piscitelli, a native of Charlotte, N.C., has posted solid scores for the Sooners on floor, rings, vault, parallel bars and high bar. In 2010, he claimed fifth place on rings at the MPSF Championships.

Troy Nitzky was a 2011 All-American on rings after posting a 15.200 at the 2011 NCAA Championships. Nitzky has also contributed scores on pommel horse and parallel bars.

Dalton, a seven-time All-American, claimed the floor and vault individual titles at the 2011 NCAA Championships. The junior is also a current member of the U.S. Senior National Team and competed alongside three former OU gymnasts at the 2011 World Championships, helping Team USA take third place.

PLENTY OF NEW FACES
The Sooners are preparing to defend their No. 1 ranking with a lineup filled with newcomers. Ten of the 18 gymnasts on the OU roster are freshmen.

Williams says the young Sooners are developing quickly to the collegiate level of competition and believes freshmen like Dylan Akers, Danny Beradini and Jacoby Rubin will be essential to the Sooners success in the coming season.

RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS
Jake Dalton leads the returning Sooners with seven All-American honors in just two seasons of competition. The Reno, Nev., native earned All-America status on floor, vault, parallel bars and high bar in 2011 and all-around, floor and vault in 2010.

In addition to Dalton's seven All-America honors, the Sooner lineup also returns junior Troy Nitzky, who earned All-American status on rings after posting a 15.200 at the 2011 NCAA Championships.

FOLLOW THE SOONERS
The OU gymnastics program maintains its own Facebook and Twitter accounts, which are updated frequently with all of the latest news about the squad. Links to each of these pages as well as a behind-the-scenes blog can be found at www. SoonerSports.com.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

No. 1 Men's Gymnastics Faces No. 2 Illinois

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