Sooners Tabbed as the Top Seed at the NCAA Championships

NORMAN – The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) champion Oklahoma men's gymnastics team has qualified as the No. 1 seed at the NCAA Championships, taking place at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago on April 20 and 21.

The Sooners will compete in a preliminary session on Friday at 7 p.m., April 20 against No. 4 Illinois, No. 5 Ohio State, No. 8 Penn State, No. 9 Iowa and No. 12 California. As the No. 1 seed, OU earned the right to pick its starting event and will compete in Olympic order, starting on floor and ending on high bar.

A second preliminary session featuring No. 2 Minnesota, No. 3 Michigan, No. 6 Stanford, No. 7 Nebraska, No. 10 Navy and No. 11 Air Force will take place prior to the evening session. The top three teams from each session will qualify for the finals on Saturday, April 20, along with the top three individuals on each event not already qualified with a team.

OU has faced four of five of the teams in their preliminary – Illinois, Ohio State, Iowa and California – defeating all of them en route to its fourth straight undefeated regular season.

Last weekend, the Sooners claimed their seventh consecutive conference championship with a 414.050, defeating Stanford (404.150), California (393.650) and Air Force (392.550). Yul Moldauer won a program-record five individual conference titles and posted the second-highest all-around total in the country this season with an 86.900. OU wrapped up the meet with 14 top-three finishes on its way to its 25th overall conference title.

The three-time defending national champions will look for their 12th national title in team history, which would tie Penn State for the most of any NCAA men's gymnastics program. The Sooners also look for their fourth consecutive championship. Only two other men's gymnastics programs, Illinois from 1939 to 1942 and Nebraska from 1979 to 1982, have won at least four NCAA titles in a row.

Tickets for the 2018 NCAA Championships in Chicago can be purchased here.