Sooners Set for NCAA Preliminaries

No. 1 Oklahoma at NCAA Preliminaries

No. 4 Illinois, No. 5 Ohio State, No. 8 Penn State, No. 9 Iowa, No. 12 California

April 20 | 7 p.m. CT | Chicago, Ill. | UIC Pavilion

CHICAGO – The Oklahoma men's gymnastics team qualified as the No. 1 seed at the NCAA Championships, taking place at UIC Pavilion in Chicago on April 20 and 21. OU will face No. 4 Illinois, No. 5 Ohio State, No. 8 Penn State, No. 9 Iowa and No. 12 California at 7 p.m. on Friday in the second of two preliminaries taking place. Of the five other teams in their session, the Sooners have faced Illinois, Ohio State, Iowa and California, defeating all of them en route to their fourth straight undefeated regular season. A live stream will be available on NCAA.com.

MATCHUPS AT A GLANCE
	OU	Illinois	Ohio State	Penn State	Iowa	California
Ranking	No. 1	No. 4	No. 5	No. 8	No. 9	No. 12
Team NQA	414.713	408.463	408.350	407.038	402.850	395.275
2018 Team High	429.550	413.900	414.900	417.400	411.050	398.950

NOTES AND NUMBERS

STREAKING

The Sooners have won every meet in which they have competed since placing second at the 2014 NCAA team finals. In that span they have racked up 87 victories, the most consecutive wins in program history (the next most was 52 straight from 2002 to 2004). It stands as the longest current streak among all NCAA Division I sports.

LET IT R3IGN

Last season, OU won its third consecutive national championship, becoming the fourth team in NCAA history to win back-to-back-to-back titles. Yul Moldauer won a pair of individual national titles on floor (14.900) and still rings (14.950). The Sooners claimed 22 All-America honors with Allan Bower and Moldauer picking up six each. OU outscored the competition in four of six events: still rings (74.000), vault (73,100), parallel bars (74.100) and high bar (69.950).

ALL 4 ONE

Oklahoma could lock up its fourth consecutive title this weekend. 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. The Sooners also look to claim their 12th championship in program history, which would tie Penn State for most all-time. Head coach Mark Williams, who has won eight national titles during his tenure, would tie former Nittany Lions head coach Gene Wettstone for most championships all-time with his ninth.

LUCKY NO. 7

OU secured its seventh consecutive Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) championship with a 414.050 total, defeating Stanford (404.150), California (393.650) and Air Force (392.550). Yul Moldauer claimed a school-record five individual conference titles, winning on floor (14.600), pommel horse (14.150), still rings (15.050), parallel bars (14.950) and the all-around with the second-highest total in the NCAA this season (86.900). Tanner Justus earned his first conference title with a 14.550 on vault. In total, the Sooners finished with 14 top-three finishes en route to their 25th overall conference title. Moldauer was named MPSF Gymnast of the Year while head coach Mark Williams was named MPSF Coach of the Year.

ALL-AROUND SUCCESS

Yul Moldauer and Levi Anderson have combined for the top three all-around scores in the NCAA this season. In Moldauer's first all-around performance of the year against Nebraska and Stanford on Feb. 3, he registered an 87.150, the highest total in the country. The junior took home three event titles on floor (14.400), still rings (14.600) and parallel bars (14.900). In his only other all-around competition of the year at MPSF Championships, Moldauer registered an 86.900, winning five individual conference titles. Anderson, who has competed in the all-around five times this season, tallied the third-highest all-around score with an 86.100 against Navy on Feb. 24.

ACADEMIC HONORS

The Sooners have excelled in and out of the gym this season, with ten gymnasts being named MPSF Academic Scholar-Athletes and to the Academic All-Big 12 At-Large Team. Redshirt freshman Isamu Ito, sophomore Collyn Kellogg, juniors Levi Anderson, Eric Holley, Grant Kell, Jake Maloley, Brian Schibler and Genki Suzuki, and seniors Hunter Justus and Reese Rickett earned both academic honors. Holley, Kellogg, Schibler and Suzuki were all nominated with a 4.0 GPA. To qualify for the Academic All-Big 12 At-Large Team, athletes must meet certain GPA and competition requirements.

THE CHAMP RETURNS

Yul Moldauer has made his mark on the OU record books and continues his storied career this season. So far in 2018, the junior has a team-leading 20 event titles through seven meets. At the MPSF Championships, Moldauer won a school-record five individual conference titles. He also posted the second-highest all-around total in the NCAA this season with an 86.900. In Feburary, Moldauer won his second straight American Cup, becoming the first gymnast to win back-to-back titles since former Sooner Jonathan Horton in 2006 and 2007. The Arvada, Colo., native totaled a 85.964 all-around score (more than 2.500 higher than the runner-up's mark), finished in the top three on all six events and posted higher than a 14.000 on five of six events. Moldauer is a three-time individual national champion and became just the second freshman to ever win the NCAA all-around title in 2016. In 2017, he added another pair of crowns on floor and still rings. His three titles rank fourth all-time at OU behind current assistant coach Steven Legendre (6) and Olympians Horton (6) and Jake Dalton (4).

THERE IS ONLY ONE

OU enters the NCAA Championships as the No. 1 seed with the top national qualifying average of 414.713. The Sooners remained in the top three on five of six events, retaining their No. 1 ranking on parallel bars (69.475) and high bar (69.075). They posted a strong 70.300 on still rings at MPSF Championships, which helped them move into the top spot on the event (69.863). OU remains second on pommel horse (67.725) and third on vault (71.900). Yul Moldauer stayed in the top 10 on three events, retaining the top spot on still rings (14.750) and on parallel bars (14.983). He also ranks sixth on pommel horse (14.338). Levi Anderson moved into third in the all-around rankings (81.825) and sits in fourth on high bar. Genki Suzuki owns the top average on high bar (14.400) and is ninth on pommel horse (13.800). On still rings, Reese Rickett (14.188) and Jake Maloley (14.025) rank fifth and 10th, respectively. Hunter Justus is sixth on vault (14.638).

UP NEXT

The top three teams from each preliminary session will move on to Saturday's finals, starting at 6 p.m. CT, along with the top three individuals on each event not already qualified with a team.

Players Mentioned

Levi Anderson

Levi Anderson

Allan Bower

Eric Holley

Eric Holley

Isamu Ito

Isamu Ito

Hunter Justus

Tanner Justus

Tanner Justus

Grant Kell

Grant Kell

Collyn Kellogg

Collyn Kellogg

Jake Maloley

Jake Maloley

Yul Moldauer

Reese Rickett

Brian Schibler

Brian Schibler

Genki Suzuki

Genki Suzuki

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