No. 1 OU Set for Showdown with No. 8 Ohio State

No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 8 Ohio State

Jan. 26 | 7 p.m. CT | Norman, Okla. | McCasland Field House

FSOK

MATCHUP AT A GLANCE
	Oklahoma	Ohio State
Standings	No. 1	No. 8
Coaches Poll	No. 1	No. 8
Season High	418.550	398.500
Team Avg.	414.500	398.500
Floor Avg.	70.325	65.200
Pommel Horse Avg.	66.550	63.850
Rings Avg.	70.025	67.400
Vault Avg.	72.450	71.150
Parallel Bars Avg.	67.900	68.250
High Bar Avg.	67.250	62.650

NORMAN— The No. 1 Oklahoma men's gymnastics team hosts the No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes inside McCasland Field House Saturday night at 7 p.m. CT as the Sooners chase their 105th straight victory. This weekend's meet will be broadcast on FOX Sports Oklahoma with Chad McKee and Colin Van Wicklen on the call.

NOTES AND NUMBERS

THE MEET

Oklahoma continues its chase for its fifth straight national title on Saturday as the No. 1 Sooners (7-0) welcome No. 8 Ohio State (2-3) to McCasland Field House at 7 p.m. CT. Entering his 20th season at the helm of OU men's gymnastics, head coach Mark Williams and his team are aiming at an NCAA men's gym record 12th national championship in 2019. The team will also look to extend its NCAA-best streak of 104 straight victories. The Buckeyes come in to Norman as the eighth-ranked team in both the Road to Nationals rankings and College Gymnastics Association coaches poll.

FOR THE FANS

Saturday's meet against Ohio State will serve as both a celebration of the Sooners' 2018 national championship along with Hero Night to honor military and first responders. The first 150 kids in attendance will receive superhero capes and the Sooners' last four national championship trophies will be available for photos in the lobby. OU students get in to all home meets free of admission with a valid student ID.

LAST TIME OUT

Oklahoma opened its 2019 home slate with victories over No. 11 Arizona State and No. 12 Air Force last Saturday at McCasland Field House. The Sooners posted the top team score of the season with a 418.550. The Sooners won or claimed a share of all six event titles, along with senior co-captain Genki Suzuki taking the all-around crown with a career-high and NCAA season-best 83.600. Suzuki's performance earned him NCAA and MPSF Gymnast of the Week honors.

Home opener

NEVER 5ETTLE

Oklahoma made more history in 2018, becoming just the third program since 1938 to win four straight national titles. The Sooners' perfect 21-0 2018 campaign marked 97 straight wins for Williams and his program. OU has claimed 12 all-time NCAA team titles and nine under Williams. OU finished with five All-Americans who notched a total of 11 honors last season.

TOP RANKS

Oklahoma held steady at No. 1 in the CGA coaches poll for the second straight week of the regular season. In the Road to Nationals rankings, OU holds the top team average (414.500) along with the top spot on floor exercise (70.325), still rings (70.025), vault (72.450) and high bar (67.250). The team also ranks in the top five on the other two events, coming in third on pommel horse (66.550) and fifth on parallel bars (67.900).

Individually, senior co-captain Genki Suzuki recorded the top all-around score of the season (83.600) in last weekend's home opener, putting him at No. 1 in the all-around ranks. Junior Matt Wenske sits seventh in the all-around standings after his Rocky Mountain Open tally of 80.100. The Sooners occupy five of the top 10 rankings on vault with Wenske at third (14.550), freshman Vitaliy Guimaraes and sophomore Alexei Vernyi tied for fourth (14.525), sophomore Gage Dyer at eighth (14.475) and Suzuki at tenth (14.450).

OU gymnasts rank in the top 10 on four other events. Senior co-captian Yul Moldauer ranks second on still rings with his 14.725 average after notching a 15.100 on the event this past weekend. Fellow seniors Peter Daggett (14.125) and Jake Maloley (14.100) rank seventh and eighth, respectively.

Levi Anderson holds third on high bar with a 13.925 average while Dyer shares a tie for fourth (13.750). On pommel horse, redshirt senior horse specialist Brian Schibler ranks seventh (13.725) and Moldauer holds eighth (13.650).

RETURNING TALENT

Despite losing five-time All-America honoree Hunter Justus, OU returns a wealth of experience in 2019. Senior Yul Moldauer is looking to cap a historic collegiate career, coming off a junior season in which he earned four individual national titles (AA, FX, VT, PB) in addition to All-America nods on floor, pommel horse, still rings, vault, parallel bars and all-around. Fellow senior Levi Anderson returns in 2019 after earning All-America honors on both high bar and all-around in 2018. Other key returners are senior Genki Suzuki, an All-American on pommel horse last season, and junior Tanner Justus, a vault All-American in 2018.

Suzuki, rings

STILL STREAKING

The Sooners have won or finished first in every meet in which they have competed since placing second at the 2014 NCAA Team Finals. In that span they have racked up 104 victories, the most consecutive wins in program history, topping the 52 straight victories from 2002 to 2004. The streak is also the current longest in any Division I NCAA sport. Oklahoma has claimed 66 straight victories at McCasland Field House dating back to the 2007 season. The Sooners last loss at the Field House came March 3, 2007 to Ohio State.

THE CHAMP IS BACK

Senior Yul Moldauer has made his mark on the OU record books and will continue his historic collegiate career on Saturday when the Sooners host Ohio State. Moldauer is a seven-time individual national champion and became just the third men's gymnast ever to win four individual national titles in one year in 2018. Last season marked Moldauer's second all-around national title after claiming the crown his freshman season in 2016. His seven titles rank first all-time at OU ahead of Steven Legendre (6) and Olympians Jonathan Horton (6) and Jake Dalton (4).

VETERAN PRESENCE

Williams' squad returns four All-Americans from last year's title team. Seniors Yul Moldauer (AA, FX, PH, SR, VT, PB), Levi Anderson (AA, HB) and Genki Suzuki (PH) return in 2019 for the Sooners, along with junior Tanner Justus (VT). The Sooners also return eight other upperclassmen in 2019.

IMPACT FRESHMEN

The Sooners welcome a trio of talented freshmen for 2019 in Spencer Goodell, Vitaliy Guimaraes and Morgan Seyler. Goodell was named a U.S. Junior Men's National Team member after taking third in the junior elite division all-around at the 2018 U.S. Championships. Additionally, Goodell tied for first on still rings and placed second on vault. Guimaraes, a product of 5280 Gymnastics in Colorado, finished just behind Goodell in the all-around at the U.S. Championships, claiming fourth, but took home junior national titles on floor exercise and vault. Seyler, whose parents were both gymnasts at OU, finished seventh in the all-around in the junior elite division at the 2017 P&G Championships.

NATIONAL STAGE

Numerous Oklahoma gymnasts had a busy offseason competing in national and international competitions. Five of the 12 U.S. Senior Men's National Team members are current or former Sooners. Seniors Yul Moldauer and Genki Suzuki, 2017 graduates Colin Van Wicklen and Allan Bower and 2016 alum Kanji Oyama represent OU on Team USA. Moldauer helped the U.S. to a fourth-place finish at the 2018 World Championships in Doha, Qatar. It was the best finish for a U.S. men's team at Worlds since taking fourth in 2014. Moldauer took 12th in the all-around at the championships and finished just shy of a medal on floor exercise, placing fourth. Moldauer was joined in Doha by Van Wicklen and Bower. Suzuki, just months after attaining his U.S. citizenship, made the men's national squad and was assigned to the 2018 Pan American Championships in Lima, Peru. Suzuki claimed gold on pommel horse at the meet and helped Team USA claim gold as a team. He was accompanied in Peru by Sooners' freshman and junior national team member Spencer Goodell.

Yul, US Champs

In August 2018, ten current or former Sooners competed at the U.S. Championships in Boston. Moldauer, Bower, Van Wicklen, Suzuki, and Oyama all placed in the top 10 of the all-around competition. Junior Tanner Justus and sophomores Alexei Vernyi and Gage Dyer took 16th, 18th and 20th, respectively. Freshmen Goodell and Vitaliy Guimaraes competed in the junior division U.S. Championships, placing third and fourth, respectively in the all-around.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma travels to Lincoln, Neb., for a competitive tri-meet against No. 3 Nebraska and No. 4 Illinois Saturday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m. CT. It is the first meeting of 2019 against both the Huskers and Fighting Illini. The Sooners welcome Illinois to McCasland Field House on March 9 for Senior Night.

Fans are also encouraged to #ArriveSooner to avoid delays into McCasland Field House with enhanced screenings. OU's clear bag policy will also be in efffect.

Season tickets for all regular-season home meets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling the University of Oklahoma Ticket Office at (405) 325-2424 or toll-free at (800) 456-GoOU. Tickets can also be ordered online by visiting SoonerSports.com/tickets.

For updates and more information on Oklahoma men's gymnastics, follow the Sooners on Twitter and Instagram (@OU_MGymnastics) and like Oklahoma Men's Gymnastics on Facebook.