Bower Tabbed NCAA and MPSF Gymnast of the Week

NORMAN – Oklahoma men's gymnastics junior Allan Bower earned both NCAA and MPSF Gymnast of the Week honors after helping lead the Sooners to a road win over No. 5 Illinois over the weekend, the conference announced Tuesday. He shared the national honor with Ohio State's Sean Melton.

"Allan had the consumate meet as an all around gymnast," head coach Mark Williams said. "He went 6-for-6 and we got the team victory. The awards were earned through his consistency as a performer and his leadership with the team."

"The awards were earned through his consistency as a performer and his leadership with the team."
- Head Coach Mark Williams

As he has been all year, Bower was a vital part of OU's success against Illinois. He placed first in the all-around with a score of 89.700, helping push OU to a team mark of 444.750 to best the fifth-ranked Illini in Champaign, Ill.

The Chandler, Ariz., native also took home the event title on vault (15.100), earning one of just two scores of 15 or better on the night. Bower also logged a second-place finish on pommel horse (15.300) and third-place finishes on parallel bars (15.000) and high bar (14.300). The junior also put up a 15-point performance on floor (15.050).

The awards are the third and fourth gymnast of the week titles of Bower's career. He also earned the MPSF honors on on Feb. 24 and March 18 of 2015.

Bower's 89.700 is his second-best total this season having previously scored 90.400 against Stanford. He now ranks second nationally in 4-score average in the all-around, and also sits in the top 10 on pommel horse (5^th – 15.200), vault (T9^th – 15.133) and parallel bars (9^th – 15.017).

The Sooners are off this week but will be back in action on Saturday, April 2 as they head to Palo Alto, Calif., to defend their crown at the MPSF Conference meet. The Sooners have won four straight MPSF titles and have taken the conference crown in 13 of Williams' 16 years at OU.