University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Head to Vegas for Winter Cup

February 01, 2012 | Men's Gymnastics

By: Athletics Communications

Feb. 1, 2012

 
No. 1 Men's Gymnastics at Winter Cup Challenge
Date Thursday, Feb. 2 and Saturday, Feb. 4
Location Las Vegas, Nev. | Las Vegas Sports Center
Watch Live N/A
Online Live Scoring
Additional Info Media Guide | Meet Notes | Blog | Twitter | Facebook

NORMAN, Okla. - Five current University of Oklahoma men's gymnasts will compete Feb. 2 and 4 among the nation's best at the 2012 Winter Cup Challenge at the Las Vegas Sports Center in Las Vegas, Nev.

The Winter Cup Challenge helps determine the 15 gymnasts who will comprise the U.S. Men's Senior National Team through the 2012 Visa Championships in June.

Oklahoma, ranked No. 1 in the GymInfo Rankings, will be represented by juniors Jake Dalton, Troy Nitzky and Chris Stehl, sophomore Presten Ellsworth and freshman Dylan Akers. In addition to the five current Sooners, recent letterwinners Steven Legendre, Chris Brooks and Jonathan Horton will also compete.

Although gymnasts compete individually, the Sooners look to represent their school and claim OU's third-straight all-around champion at the event. Dalton took the all-around title in 2011 and Brooks won it in 2010.

The seven members of the 2011 World Championships Team, which includes Dalton, Legendre, Brooks and Horton, will automatically retain their spots on the national team.

The remaining eight spots will be determined based on the following criteria: the top-ranked all-around athlete who is not already on the senior national team; four based on the National Team Points System; two athletes selected by the Men's Program Committee; and one selected by the national team coordinator.

The competition schedule includes three preliminary rounds throughout the day on Thursday leading up to Saturday's final round at 9:15 p.m. CT.

The top 42 gymnasts, according to the Men's Program Committee's point ranking system, will advance to the final competition, along with the top three gymnasts in each event. The all-around and individual event champions will be determined by a combined two-day score.

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