Oyama Named MPSF Gymnast of the Week

NORMAN – Senior Kanji Oyama posted an all-around mark of 88.600 to help propel the Sooners to a 447.450-428.700 win over No. 6 Nebraska on Saturday. Oyama's performance earned him MPSF Gymnast of the Week honors, the conference announced Tuesday.

“Kanji had an outstanding meet against Nebraska, scoring one of the best all-around totals this season,” head coach Mark Williams said. “His leadership is helping pace this team.”

"His leadership is helping pace this team."
- Head Coach Mark Williams

Oyama also posted the meet's top score on high bar (14.900) and placed second on floor (15.400), third on vault (15.050) and parallel bars (15.050) and fifth on rings (14.450) en route to his first all-around crown of the year. The Nebraska meet marked just the second time the Huntington Beach, Calif., native has competed in the all-around this year. He previously scored 86.950 in Oklahoma's road meet against then No. 10 Michigan.

The senior's Saturday performance helped lift the Sooners to their third score of the year of at least 447.400. Current No. 2 Stanford is the only other team in the nation to exceed that mark, having done so once.

Oyama currently ranks fourth nationally in the all-around with an average mark of 87.775. He is also ranked in the top 10 on floor (6^th- 15.250), parallel bars (7^th – 14.917) and rings (10^th– 14.825).

The conference honor is the first this season for Oklahoma and the second of Oyama's career. He was named MPSF and NCAA Gymnast of the Week following the Sooners' record-breaking team total of 456.400 against Michigan in 2015. Oyama was crucial to OU's prolific performance, posting a career-high 91.000 in the all-around.

The Sooners are idle this week and will return to action next weekend as select members of the squad head to Las Vegas, Nev., to compete in the 2016 Winter Cup. Gymnasts from across the country will compete individually at the event, held Feb. 18-20, vying for spots on the U.S. national teams.

The Sooners return to NCAA competition on Saturday, Feb. 27 when they host No. 3 Minnesota at McCasland Field House. Tickets are available for purchase online or by calling the OU Athletics Tickets Office at (405) 325-2424 or toll-free at (800) 456-GoOU.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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