Men's Gymnastics Season Preview

Time for nine.

These three words have become the mantra of the 2015 Oklahoma men's gymnastics team. After four years of coming agonizingly close to adding the program's ninth national title to the trophy case with second-place finishes at the NCAA Championships, the team is as hungry as ever to bring the trophy back to Norman.

“I'm optimistic that we will carry on from where we were last year,” head coach Mark Williams said. “I don't know that there is much dip where we are at in our team potential but we want to feel like we can go that next step because we have been very good for four years in a row and have come very close to winning the national championship.

“We are hoping that because we have seven seniors those guys will be willing to take that last step from being runners-up to that place where we are clearly the team to beat. We are all healthy and optimistic that this should be a good season.”

Floor Exercise

Oklahoma has traditionally been a powerhouse in the floor exercise event and 2015 is shaping up to be no different. The Sooners return defending national champion Alec Robin in the apparatus along with a number other gymnasts who are considered the nation's elite in the event. Sophomore Colin Van Wicklen and junior Kanji Oyama both qualified for the event final in 2014 and are poised to post high marks for OU this season. Other Sooners to keep an eye on are senior Dylan Akers, junior Todd Dowdy and sophomore Allan Bower.

Coach Williams' Take:
“Floor is good for us. Floor has been one of our best events over the last couple of years and it will continue to be this year.”

Pommel Horse

The Sooners nearly took home four of the six individual event titles in 2014, as Michael Reid placed second in the pommel horse in the final. Reid returns to lead Oklahoma in the event this season and is joined by a solid group that should help the team thrive on the apparatus. Bower, Robin and junior Sergey Resnick will all likely play a major role on the pommel horse in 2015.

Coach Williams' Take:
“As a team pommel horse has been one of our better events and we have a veteran squad this year. I actually don't worry as much about pommel horse as I used to because I think we have addressed the issue of being consistent and we have been a pretty good pommel horse team over the last four or five years.”

Mike Squires

Still Rings

Mike Squires has become a household name when it comes to still rings at the NCAA level. The senior has dominated the event over the last two seasons, winning back-to-back NCAA individual event championships in 2013 and 2014. Squires will be heavily relied upon for big scores this season, as there are a number of question marks for the event with the rest of the squad. The team will need to get consistency from the remaining four gymnasts in the event to have the season it hopes to have. Gymnasts who may make an impact include Oyama and sophomores Reese Rickett and Thao Hoang.

Coach Williams' Take:
“I'm a little concerned about the rings from our team's perspective. It's an event we should be better at. We have a lot of guys who can hit ring routines, it's just we have to have a score that is a big score.”

Vault

Like floor exercise and still rings, Oklahoma returns the 2014 NCAA individual national champion in the vault. Robin, the aforementioned floor exercise national title winner, also captured the crown in the vault a season ago and is poised to have another big year in the event this season. The event appears as if it will be one of the Sooners' strong suits in 2015, as Van Wicklen, Oyama, Dowdy and Bower are each strong gymnasts in the event and will provide a lot of depth for the squad.

Coach Williams' Take:
“I think we have very good potential in the event. We have a lot of guys doing very difficult vaults. We have a strong vault team. We are going to be doing harder vaults this year, which will separate us, but we just have to make sure to land them every time we do them.”

Parallel Bars

Senior Danny Berardini, a three-time All-American on the parallel bars, will be the anchor for the Sooners in his final season in Norman. Berardini can be counted on to post consistent high scores for Oklahoma by coaches and teammates. Oyama and senior Jacoby Rubin are also returnees for the event who figure to play a vital role to the team's success in the event. A gymnast to watch who could be a breakout performer on the parallel bars is Reid, who has been working on a routine that could greatly help the team.

Coach Williams' Take:
“I think we have a pretty good parallel bars team. We just have to put it all together and be very consistent in what we are doing.”

High Bar

The final event in the rotation figures to be a tricky one for the Sooners this year, as the squad still has a lot of question marks heading into 2015. Oklahoma's best and most reliable performer on the high bar from last season is senior William Clement, who earned All-America status in the event in 2014. The senior has a great high bar routine entering his final year that should aid the program in the apparatus. After Clement a number of Sooners who could play a pivotal role in the event include Berardini, Rubin, Van Wicklen and Oyama.

Coach Williams' Take:
“High bar has been a bit of a weak event for us the last couple years. I think that's still true. The high bar is a concern. I would say that is an area we have to improve on.”

Floor Exercise

Pommel Horse

Still Rings

Vault

Parallel Bars

High Bar

Players Mentioned

Dylan Akers

Danny Berardini

Allan Bower

William Clement

Todd Dowdy

Thao Hoang

Michael Reid

Reese Rickett

Alec Robin

Jacoby Rubin

Colin Van Wicklen

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics