No. 1 vs. No. 2 Saturday at the Stanford Open

PALO ALTO, Calif. – The No. 1 Oklahoma men's gymnastics team continues its 2020 season on Saturday at the Stanford Open inside Burnham Pavilion on the campus of Stanford. The Sooners face off against the No. 2 Cardinal and No. 11 Cal Golden Bears at the meet, slated to start at 7 p.m. PT, 9 p.m. CT. A live stream will be available via Pac-12 Plus.

The Meet

Oklahoma (6-0) concludes its three-meet road swing to start the 2020 season with a challenging West Coast meet in the Stanford Open. The Cardinal, defending national champions, knocked off the Sooners at last year's NCAA Championships by a narrow .666 deficit, ending OU's streak of 121 consecutive victories and four straight national titles. The Sooners topped Stanford and Cal at the MPSF Championships in Norman two weeks prior to NCAAs, winning Oklahoma's eighth consecutive MPSF title and 26th conference crown overall.

Ohio State/ASU Rewind

OU put up the highest score in the nation for the second straight week last weekend in Columbus, Ohio, against the No. 7 Buckeyes and No. 11 Arizona State. The Sooners were strong on multiple events, winning each team event title and five of six individual crowns. Junior Gage Dyer put up the biggest score of the meet and the top FX score in the nation with a 15.150. Sophomore Vitaliy Guimaraes also went 15-plus, registering a nation-leading 15.050 on a stuck vault. Freshman David Sandro continued to impress in his first year with the Sooners, winning two event titles on PH (13.500) and SR (13.750).

Lead, MGym Dyer Ohio State

Sooners No. 1 in CGA Standings

After two full weeks of NCAA men's gymnastics competition, Oklahoma remains in the top spot of the College Gymnastics Association (CGA) standings.

The Sooners again posted the top team score of the 2020 season this past Saturday in a victory over No. 7 Ohio State and No. 11 Arizona State in Columbus, Ohio, notching a 412.200. OU holds the top team average (411.050) along with the top spot on floor exercise (71.825), parallel bars (68.150) and high bar (67.600).

The Sooners rank in the top five on the other three events, holding second on vault (71.775), third on rings (67.150) and fifth on pommel horse (65.025).

Top Ranks

Individually, Sooners hold three of the top 10 spots in the all-around rankings, led by junior Alexei Vernyi's 81.300 score from the Rocky Mountain Open, which is good for fifth. Junior Gage Dyer holds sixth (80.850), while freshman David Sandro (79.350) ranks ninth.

On floor exercise, Sooners hold three of the top five spots in the country. Dyer holds No. 1 with an average of 14.825 after his nation-leading 15.150 at Ohio State, sophomore Vitaliy Guimaraes (14.625) ranks second and sophomore Morgan Seyler (14.325) sits at fourth.

On still rings, Guimaraes (13.675) holds eighth, while senior rings specialist Collyn Kellogg sits just outside the top 10 at No. 11 with a 13.500 NQA.

Guimaraes holds his second top-two event ranking on vault after his NCAA-high 15.050 over the weekend. Three Sooners sit between Nos. 10-15 with redshirt sophomore Mason Menser (14.350) holding 11th, Seyler (14.300) tied for 12th and Vernyi (14.250) sharing the 15th spot.

On the final two events, parallel bars and high bar, two Sooners hold three top-10 spots. Dyer ranks fifth on P-bars with his 13.975 average, while freshman David Sandro (13.725) is tenth. Dyer claims his fourth top-five ranking on high bar in second with an NQA of 13.875.

Dyer Claims CGA Weekly Honor

Oklahoma junior Gage Dyer was named the College Gymnastics Association (CGA) Event Specialist of the Week on Tuesday afternoon, the association announced. The honor comes after a stellar performance on floor from the Yukon, Okla., native in a victory over No. 7 Ohio State and No. 11 Arizona State in Columbus, Ohio.

Dyer helped the Sooners put up the top team score of the NCAA season, a 412.200 on the road against the Buckeyes and Sun Devils. The junior claimed two event titles at the meet, putting up an NCAA-best and career-high 15.150 on floor exercise and scoring 14.100 on parallel bars. Dyer also took second on high bar with a 13.850 tally. The award marks Dyer's first CGA weekly honor of his career and the Sooners' first of the season.

Returning Talent

The Sooners look to have a handful of leaders this season. Seniors Tanner Justus and Grant Kell were voted captains by their teammates this offseason and will step into veteran roles as experienced members of the team. The other senior, rings specialist Collyn Kellogg, will also look to make his presence known as he returns competition after missing 2019 with an injury. Other notable returnees include 2019 vault All-American, sophomore Vitaliy Guimaraes, who won four event titles a season ago as a true freshman. Junior Gage Dyer won the MPSF conference title on floor exercise last year and claimed seven event titles across floor, high bar and vault. Additionally, redshirt junior Matt Wenske and junior Alexei Vernyi have competed in their fair share of meets for the Sooners.

Fresh Faces

With the departure of eight seniors in 2019 and the loss of two gymnasts to medical retirements, head coach Mark Williams brought in one of his largest classes of freshmen in his 21-year tenure at Oklahoma. Added to the roster for 2020 include eight true and redshirt freshmen: Alan Camillus, Braden Collier, Josh Corona, Sean Daugherty, Jack Freeman, Cesar Gracia, David Sandro and Raphael Warner. Freshman and 2019 U.S. Championships high bar and pommel horse junior champion Lazarus Barnhill was forced to retire due to back injuries in September 2019.

The class looks to be led by Freeman of Cypress, Texas, and Sandro of Acton, Ontario, Canada. Cypress Academy product Freeman was the 2019 U.S. Championships junior silver medalist on still rings and took ninth in the all-around at the meet. Sandro, a former junior national team member for Canada, has competed at premier meets including the Calgary International Cup, Pacific Rim Junior Championships and the Elite Canada competition.

Lead, MGym ranking

Williams Eclipses 500 Wins

Oklahoma head coach Mark Williams is a household name in the world of gymnastics. Williams enters his 21st season at the helm for the Sooners in 2020. The 1980 University of Nebraska graduate and high bar All-American for the Huskers got into coaching at the high school level before quickly climbing the ranks to be an assistant at OU prior taking over in 2000 as the Sooners head man.

Since 2000, He has led Oklahoma to nine national titles, an NCAA record-tying number for championships as a head coach, 17 conference titles and six undefeated seasons. Along the way he has coached OU student-athletes to an impressive 220 All-America honors and coached at five Olympic Games, including serving as the Team USA head coach in 2016. At the Sooners' first meet, WIlliams eclipsed the 500-win mark with four victories at the Rocky Mountain Open. He currently holds a career record of 504-37, adding up to an exceptional winning percentage of .931.

Olympic Gold Medalist Goncharov Added to Staff

After the departure of 2009 OU graduate and Olympian Chris Brooks from the Sooner coaching staff following 2019, Williams announced in August 2019 the addition of Olympic gold medalist Valeriy Goncharov to the coaching staff. Goncharov (pronounced Vuh-leer-EE Gon-CHUR-ov) won an Olympic team silver medal with Ukraine at the 2000 Sydney Games and was a gold medalist on parallel bars at the 2004 Games in Athens.

The Ukraine native spent the last five years as a coach at Texas Academy of Acrobatics and Gymnastics in Baytown, Texas. Goncharov brings a wealth of gymnastics experience to Norman. As a competitor, Goncharov compiled seven medals across Olympic, World Championships and World Cup competitions. With his move up to the college ranks, Goncharov joins former Oklahoma assistant and current Ohio State head coach Rustam Sharipov as the only two coaches in NCAA men's gymnastics with Olympic gold medals.

Up Next

Oklahoma hosts the No. 10 Iowa Hawkeyes in its home opener inside McCasland Field House in Norman for a 7 p.m. meet on Sat., Feb. 8. The meet will serve as "Cleveland Night" for the Sooners, an annual tradition that celebrates OU men's gymnastics' partnership with local school Cleveland Elementary that dates back to when head coach Mark Williams took over. Fans are also encouraged to wear white as the team wants to "white out" the Field House for the home opener.

OU will have three home meets in 2020 inside McCasland Field House, facing off against Iowa (Feb. 8), Air Force (March 13) and Cal (March 21). Single meet and season tickets for all 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, follow @OU_MGymnastics on Twitter or like Oklahoma Men's Gymnastics on Facebook.