University of Oklahoma Athletics

Dalton to Face World's Best at American Cup

March 01, 2013 | Men's Gymnastics

March 1, 2013

 
 

Jacob Dalton

 Jacob Dalton at the AT&T American Cup
 Date & Tip Time  Saturday, March 2 at 10:30 a.m. CT
 Location  Worcester, Mass. | DCU Center
 TV  NBC (Beginning at 12 p.m. CT)
 Live Scoring  ATTAmericanCup.com
 Additional Info  Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Media Guide

Former OU gymnast and 2012 Olympian Jacob Dalton (2010-12) will compete at the AT&T American Cup Saturday in Worcester, Mass. The competition is a World Cup event and features an elite selection of international gymnasts.

The AT&T American Cup is part of the International Gymnastics Federation World Cup series. It marks the unofficial beginning of the road to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The competition is the first of many international events in the four years leading up to the Summer Games.

"Jake's getting another opportunity to be at the American Cup," OU head coach Mark Williams said. "He was third two years ago, which a surprise to many, but it may have been the start to his build to making the 2012 Olympic Team. This is fairly early in the new quadrinium towards 2016, but we'd like to feel like he's one of the best guys in the country on the all-around, and that he's able to prove that against a pretty stiff group of competition from an international group that's pretty select this weekend. I think if he has a good meet he has a chance to win."

Dalton competed at the AT&T American Cup in 2011, where he finished third in the all-around with a score of 88.497. Dalton came in first on floor with a 15.766 and tied for first on parallel bars with a 15.066. He was added to the field on the morning of the competition due to an injury.

Held annually since 1976, OU gymnast Bart Conner won the inaugural American Cup and again in 1980 and '81. Former Sooner Jonathan Horton is a three-time American Cup all-around winner, having claimed the title in 2006, '07 and '11.

In addition to Dalton, fellow American and 2012 Olympian Danell Leyva will also compete. The star-filled international field includes Sergio Sasaki of Brazil, Jorge Hugo Giraldo Lopez of Colombia, Marcel Nguyen of Germany, Kristian Thomas of Great Britain, Hiroki Ishikawa of Japan and Oleg Verniaiev of Ukraine.

Dalton is coming off a victory in the all-around at the Winter Cup on Feb. 7 and 9 in Las Vegas. He won the all-around title with a combined score of 173.250 and claimed event titles on floor and rings with two-day totals of 31.250 and 29.650, respectively.

Saturday's competition begins at 10:30 a.m. CT at the DCU Center. NBC will broadcast the event beginning at 12 p.m. CT, and live scoring, a complete schedule and general event information can be found at ATTAmericanCup.com.

For complete news and behind-the-scenes updates on the Sooners, follow them on Twitter at @SoonerGymnasts, on Facebook at Facebook.com/SoonerGymnasts, and on Instagram at Instagram.com/OU_MGymnastics.

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