No. 1 OU Hosts Iowa in Home Opener

Feb. 23, 2012

No. 1 Men's Gymnastics vs. No. 12 Iowa
Date and Time	Saturday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. (CT)
Location	Norman, Okla. \| McCasland Field House
Watch Live	All-Access
Online	Live Scoring
Additional Info	Media Guide \| Meet Notes \| Blog \| Twitter \| Facebook

NORMAN, Okla. - After competing on the road for the first four meets of the season, the top-ranked Oklahoma men's gymnastics team hosts its first home meet of the 2012 season against No. 12 Iowa on Saturday, Feb. 25 at the McCasland Field House.

Oklahoma (8-1, 3-0 MPSF) is ranked No. 1 in the GymInfo Rankings for the fifth-straight week and is coming off of an in-conference tri-meet win against California and Stanford.

Not only are the Sooners ranked No. 1 in the nation for their overall score, they're also ranked in the top five for each of the six events - floor (1), rings (2), high bar (2), vault (3), pommel horse (4) and parallel bars (5).

The Sooners and Hawkeyes last met in the 2010 NCAA Qualifier, where Oklahoma took third with a 356.400 and Iowa finished sixth with a 341.550.

Saturday's meet boasts a full slate of promotions for fans of all ages, including Sooners of the Caribbean Night, which includes a pre-meet treasure hunt for kids to search for treasure throughout the McCasland Field House. The meet will also feature pirate-themed games and trivia contests throughout the night.

Hot dogs and cokes will be available for just $.50 each for all fans in attendance. A postgame autograph session has also been scheduled at the conclusion of the meet.

The home opener has also been marked as Student Night, where the first 100 OU students will receive a free Oklahoma t-shirt.

Single-meet tickets ($8 Adult and $5 Youth) for all regular-season home meets are for general admission at the McCasland Field House. Tickets can be purchased online at SoonerSports.com or by calling the OU Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 456-GoOU. For more information on OU men's gymnastics, visit www.SoonerSports.com.

ON THE WEB
• Live scoring for the meet will be available on SoonerSports.com. A live webcast of the meet will also be available through OU All-Access.
• OU men's gymnastics' Twitter feed (@SoonerGymnasts) will provide up-to-date information throughout the meet.

SCOUTING IOWA
• The 12th-ranked Hawkeyes (1-8, 0-6 Big Ten) scored a season-high team score of a 334.500 their last time out in a tri-meet loss to Minnesota and Nebraska.
• Iowa junior Javier Balboa of Monterrey, Mexico, is ranked No. 4 in the country on parallel bars with a 14.867 average.

GYMNASTS TO WATCH - JAKE DALTON AND JACOBY RUBIN
Dalton, the top gymnast in the nation in the all-around rankings, also boasts the No. 1 ranking on floor and No. 2 rankings on high bar and parallel bars.

Freshman Jacoby Rubin claimed MPSF Co-Gymnast of the Week after OU's tri-meet win over Cal and Stanford. Rubin is ranked in the top 15 on high bar (8), pommel horse (13) and parallel bars (13).

STILL ON TOP
For the fifth-straight week, Oklahoma is on top of the GymInfo Rankings. Below is a complete list of this week's rankings along with each school's average score from this season.

1. Oklahoma (350.817)
2. Penn State (350.767)
3. Illinois (349.533)
4. Stanford (345.767)
5. California (343.750)
6. Minnesota (343.667)
7. Ohio State (342.150)
8. Michigan (341.700)
9. Nebraska (337.483)
10. Temple (336.933)
11. Air Force (334.250)
12. Iowa (330.933)
13. UIC (327.233)
14. Navy (325.583)
15. Army (322.300)

LAST TIME OUT
The Sooners are coming off of an in-conference tri-meet against California and Stanford on Feb. 12, where they posted a 351.600 team total. Oklahoma won event titles on floor (59.500) and rings (60.300) while posting a season-high 57.500 on pommel horse. Junior Jake Dalton was second in the all-around (86.700) and took the floor title with a 15.600.

OU dominated on floor exercise, as it clinched the top-four spots, including Alec Robin (14.800) taking second behind Dalton.

FLOORING IT
Oklahoma has proven to be a force on the floor exercise, ranked No. 1 in the nation in the event and winning the event title in each of its first four meets of the 2012 season. Led by 2011 NCAA floor champion Jake Dalton, the Sooners have posted a 59.500 or higher in the event in three of its four meets.

OU's dominance on floor is nothing new to the world of college gymnastics. The Sooners have claimed the event title in 22 straight regular-season meets. The last opponent to out-score Oklahoma on floor was Minnesota on March 7, 2009.

RUBIN NAMED MPSF CO-GYMNAST OF THE WEEK
Freshman Jacoby Rubin was honored last week when he was named MPSF Co-Gymnast of the Week. Through six weeks of the season, an OU gymnast has been awarded MPSF Gymnast of the Week three times.

Junior Chris Stehl claimed the honor after the Sooners' victory at the season-opening Rocky Mountain Open and Dalton earned it the following week after OU's win over then-No. 2 Ohio State.

YOUTH MOVEMENT
With 10 freshmen on OU's 18-man roster, the Sooners are looking for their younger gymnasts to make a quick transition to collegiate competition. The young Sooners are doing just that.

Four freshmen are ranked in the top 20 of at least one event in the GymInfo event rankings. Jacoby Rubin leads the way on high bar (8), pommel horse (13) and p-bars (13). Alec Robin is No. 14 on floor and No. 18 on vault, William Clement is tied for 15th on high bar and Michael Squires is tied for 18th on rings.

LEGENDRE AND DALTON CONTINUE OLYMPIC PUSH
Former Oklahoma gymnast Steven Legendre continued to make a name for himself in his pursuit of a spot on the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team by taking second place in the all-around and claiming two event titles at the 2012 Winter Cup in Las Vegas.

Due to his automatic qualification, 2011 Winter Cup Champion Dalton did not compete in his two strongest events, floor exercise and vault, which he won NCAA and USA titles in last season.

NEXT UP
• The Sooners host defending national champion Stanford on March 3 at the McCasland Field House. OU defeated the Cardinal in a conference tri-meet in Berkeley, Calif., on Feb. 12, 351.600-343.700.
• The meet has been named both Cleveland Elementary Night and Sooner Kids Club Night. OU will give away 250 free "There's Only One Oklahoma" tote bags and 250 free kids t-shirts. Sooner Kids Club members will also receive free wristbands.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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