No. 1 OU Faces National Champion Stanford

March 2, 2012

No. 1 Men's Gymnastics vs. No. 4 Stanford
Date and Time	Saturday, March 3 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. - Two of the most dominant programs in men's gymnastics will face off Saturday when No. 1 Oklahoma hosts defending national champion Stanford at 7 p.m. at the McCasland Field House.

The Sooners (9-1, 3-0 MPSF) are coming off of a season-high score of 356.250, the highest score of any NCAA team this season, in their win over No. 12 Iowa last Saturday. With the win, the Sooners solidified themselves as the No. 1 team in the GymInfo Rankings for the sixth-straight week.

Over the past few years, Oklahoma and Stanford have proven to be two of the most dominant programs in the sport. Both schools have finished in the top three at the NCAA Championships since 2006, with OU winning it all in 2006 and 2008 and Stanford taking first in 2009 and 2011.

The Cardinal, ranked fourth in the GymInfo Rankings, was the only team to top the Sooners throughout last season. After an undefeated regular season in 2011, the Sooners fell to Stanford in both the MPSF Conference Championship and NCAA Championship.

OU defeated the Cardinal earlier this season at a conference tri-meet in Berkeley, Calif., on Feb. 12, 351.600-343.700.

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.

GYMNAST TO WATCH - JAKE DALTON
Dalton was named the MPSF Co-Gymnast of the Week after picking up two event titles in the Sooners' win over Iowa. The junior is ranked second in the nation on all-around along with first on floor, second on parallel bars and high bar, sixth on rings and ninth on vault.

SCOUTING STANFORD
• The fourth-ranked Cardinal (4-4, 2-4 MPSF) scored a season-high team score on Sunday against Michigan, sweeping all six events and posting season-high scores on floor exercise, still rings, vault and parallel bars.
• Junior Eddie Penev was named the NCAA National Gymnast of the Week after claiming the all-around title against Michigan. Penev is the only gymnast in the nation that ranks higher in the individual all-around rankings than OU junior Jake Dalton. He is also the top-ranked gymnast on vault, second on floor (behind Dalton) and is eighth on parallel bars.

STILL ON TOP
For the sixth-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 (353.667)
2. Penn State (352.667)
3. Illinois (349.533)
4. Stanford (348.217)
5. Ohio State (346.483)
6. Minnesota (345.600)
7. California (343.750)
8. Michigan (342.567)
9. Temple (338.767)
10. Nebraska (337.483)
11. Air Force (335.500)
12. Iowa (333.667)
13. Navy (327.550)
14. UIC (327.233)
15. Army (324.767)

LAST TIME OUT
After starting its first five weeks of the 2012 season on the road, the top-ranked Oklahoma men's gymnastics team finally got a chance to compete in front of a home crowd last Saturday night, scoring a season-best score of 356.250 to take down No. 12 Iowa at the McCasland Field House.

Oklahoma improved to 9-1 in the home opener win, topping Iowa's 334.400 total. The Sooners won the team title in all six events along with five Sooners combining to win all six individual titles - Jake Dalton (floor, vault), Raymond White (pommel horse), Chris Stehl (rings), Danny Berardini (parallel bars) and Jacoby Rubin (high bar).

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 four of its five meets.

OU's dominance on floor is nothing new to the world of college gymnastics. The Sooners have claimed the event title in 23 straight regular-season meets. The last opponent to out-score
Oklahoma on floor was Minnesota on March 7, 2009.

DALTON NAMED MPSF CO-GYMNAST OF THE WEEK
Junior Jake Dalton was awarded MPSF Co-Gymnast of the Week on Wednesday after picking up two event titles in the Sooners' dominant win over Iowa.

The junior sat out three events in order to rest for this weekend's meet against Stanford. Dalton was still able to win event titles in floor (16.100) and vault (15.250). He also took fourth place on rings with a 15.000.

Dalton won gymnast of the week honors for the second time this season. He last earned the title after claiming the all-around title against then-No. 2 Ohio State in the second week of the season.

Junior Chris Stehl and freshman Jacoby Rubin have also been named MPSF Gymnast of the Week this season.

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.

Five 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 (5), pommel horse (10) and p-bars (T11). Michael Reid is 11th on pommel horse, Alec Robin is No. 14 on floor, Michael Squires is 20th on rings and William Clement is tied for 20th on high bar.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Although the season started in early January, the Sooners began their season on the road for over a month. Oklahoma is now in a stretch of four-straight home meets over a course of four-straight weekends.

The Sooners haven't lost a regular-season meet at home in 16 meets, dating back to a loss to Ohio State on March 3, 2007.

OU's Lloyd Noble Center will host the NCAA Championship for the third time in the past 10 years, April 19-21. The Sooners are undefeated in past National Championships held in Norman, claiming first place in 2002 and 2006.

ALL-AROUND EXCELLENCE
Not only are the Sooners the nation's top all-around team, but OU is also ranked in the country's top two for four events. The Sooners are the top team in floor and rings and No. 2 on pommel horse and parallel bars. The Troester event rankings also have Oklahoma at No. 3 on high bar and No. 4 on vault.

NEXT UP
In preparation for the 2012 NCAA Championships, hosted by OU, the Sooners will move to the Lloyd Noble Center to take on Michigan on March 10 at 7 p.m.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

No. 1 OU Faces National Champion Stanford

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