No. 2 Men's Gym Competes for Ninth Title

April 18, 2013


	Rec Hall, site of the 2013 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championship

No. 2 Men's Gymnastics at NCAA Championship
NCAA Qualifier	Friday, April 19 at 12 p.m. CT
Team Finals	Saturday, April 20 at 6 p.m. CT
Event Finals	Sunday, April 21 at 1 p.m. CT
Location	State College, Pa. \| Rec Hall
Watch Live	NCAA.com
Live Results	GoPSUSports.com
All-Access	Championship Central
Meet Info	Meet Notes (PDF)
Additional Info	Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram \| Media Guide

QUICK PREVIEW
The No. 2 University of Oklahoma men's gymnastics team goes for its ninth NCAA Championship at the 2013 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championship this weekend in State College, Pa. Fresh off winning their 20th conference title, the Sooners look to win their sixth national crown since 2002. OU will compete as the top seed in the first national qualifier on Friday, April 19 at 12 p.m. CT. The top three teams in each of the two qualifiers advance to the NCAA Team Finals on April 20 at 6 p.m. CT. Individual event finals will be held April 21 at 1 p.m. CT.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
• Second-ranked Oklahoma enters the championship with an 18-1 record after they won their 20th conference title on April 6. Sixteen of OU's victories have come against teams ranked in the top 12 nationally, and Oklahoma has competed against and beaten nine of the other 11 teams in this year's NCAA field. No. 1 Penn State and No. 12 Temple are the only two teams that the Sooners have not faced.
• OU has won eight national championships, most recently in 2008. Since Mark Williams became head coach in 2000, the Sooners have claimed five NCAA titles. In the past 12 years, OU has never finished below third nationally.
• In its qualifying round, OU will face No. 3 Michigan, No. 6 Minnesota, No. 7 Illinois, No. 10 Nebraska and No. 11 Air Force. Oklahoma boasts a 9-0 record this season against the five teams in its session and has defeated every team at least once.
• In addition to eight national titles, OU gymnasts have earned 231 All-American honors and 37 individual NCAA crowns.
• Oklahoma's eight national championships are the third most of any collegiate program, trailing only Penn State (12) and Illinois (10), but is the only school to have won over eight titles since 1977. The men's gymnastics team owns the most NCAA titles of any sport at Oklahoma, with football and wrestling each holding seven.

ON THE WEB
Fans can find a free live webcast of Saturday's meet at NCAA.com . Behind-the-scenes, all-access updates will be available on the Championship Central page on SoonerSports.com. Live results, updates and photos from Colorado Springs will be available on Twitter at @SoonerGymnasts, on Facebook at Facebook.com/SoonerGymnasts, and on Instagram at Instagram.com/OU_MGymnastics.

Sooner to Watch
	Presten Ellsworth \| Jr. \| All-Around • Named the MPSF Conference Gymnast of the Year • Earned All-American honors on vault at last season's NCAA Championship • Tied for 10th nationally on floor and ranked 15th on parallel bars. • Expected to compete on floor, still rings, vault and parallel bars this weekend

ALL-AROUND EXCELLENCE
Not only are the Sooners one of the nation's top all-around teams, but OU is also ranked in the country's top six in all six events, including the top two in three events. The Sooners are No. 2 on floor, pommel horse and high bar. The Troester event rankings also have Oklahoma at No. 3 on parallel bars and still rings and sixth on vault.

CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
Known across the state of Oklahoma and throughout the country, the University of Oklahoma men's gymnastics program is recognized for one thing: winning championships. Since 1977, the Sooners have won eight NCAA National Championships, the third most of any collegiate program behind only Penn State (12) and Illinois (9).

In addition to team success, OU has also produced 37 individual NCAA title winners and a whopping 231 All-America honors. Over the years, seven Sooners have earned the honor of the Nissen-Emery Award, considered to be the Heisman Trophy of collegiate men's gymnastics.

ALWAYS A CONTENDER
Since 2000, The University of Oklahoma men's gymnastics program is the only collegiate men's gymnastics program to finish in the top four every year at the NCAA Championships.

Since their fourth-place finish in 2000, the Sooners have finished no lower than third in their quest for the national title, including five national titles and five second-place finishes.

DECADE OF DOMINANCE
Oklahoma has won five of the last 11 NCAA team crowns, (2008, 2006, 2005, 2003, and 2002), all under current head coach Mark Williams. The Sooners have staked their claim as the nation's premier program of the last decade. Since 2000, OU has garnered an amazing 11 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference championships and produced 127 All-America honors and 22 individual NCAA titles to go along with five national championships.

GYMINFO NATIONAL RANKINGS
Oklahoma remained second in this week's GymInfo National Top 10 Rankings. Past and future OU opponents are in bold.

1. Penn State (442.088 )	6. Minnesota (430.612)
2. OKLAHOMA (438.662)	7. Illinois (429.612)
3. Michigan (437.675)	8. Iowa (426.150)
4. Stanford (432.225)	9. California (424.725)
5. Ohio State (431.575)	10. Nebraska (423.350)

LAST TIME OUT: OU WINS 20TH CONFERENCE TITLE
• No. 2 Oklahoma captured its 20th conference title and 12th in the past 15 years on April 6 with its second-consecutive Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Conference Championship.
• The Sooners posted a 435.350 and became the only team in the country in conference championship meets to score a 70.000 or higher on all six events. OU posted the top scores on pommel horse, rings, parallel bars and high bar.
• Head coach Mark Williams was named the MPSF Coach of the Year for the 10th time, while junior Presten Ellsworth was honored with Gymnast of the Year honors.

2012 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP: OU FINISHES SECOND
Oklahoma captured second place at the 2012 NCAA Championship, narrowly falling to Illinois, 358.85-357.45 at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla.
Oklahoma junior Jake Dalton claimed the all-around and parallel bars titles, and OU gymnasts earned 12 All-American honors.

FOUR MPSF GYMNASTS OF THE WEEK
The Sooners have earned four MPSF Gymnasts of the Week honors this season. Senior Chris Stehl and sophomores Michael Reid, Alec Robin and Jacoby Rubin have all been recognized by the conference for outstanding performances.

Rubin earned the award on Jan. 29 after he posted a team-best score of 15.000 on high bar, tied a team high with a 14.800 on pommel horse and scored a career-high 15.050 on rings at the Metroplex Challenge.

Robin was honored on Feb. 5 after he scored career-highs on five of six events, in addition to a career-high and first-place 85.400 in the all-around at Iowa. He recorded career highs on floor (15.300), pommel horse (13.800) and rings (13.200) and tied his career highs on vault (14.800) and high bar (14.550).

Stehl earned the second conference accolade of his career on March 12 after his season-high tying 15.500 on still rings lead No. 3 OU to a 432.100-431.250 upset win at then-No. 2 Michigan.

Reid was recognized on March 26 for the first time in his career after he posted a career-high 15.400 on March 23. His career-high score was a meet high on the event, 0.500 points, is the highest pommel horse score for OU this season on the apparatus and tied for the fourth-highest total in the country this year.