Sooners Battle, Fall to Cardinal

Saturday, January 25

Palo Alto, Calif.

9 p.m.

University of Oklahoma

408.200

420.050

Stanford University

January 26, 2020 | Men's Gymnastics

Stanford Open Final Results

By: Patrick Dunn

PALO ALTO, Calif. — The University of Oklahoma men's gymnastics team fell for the first time this season on Saturday night at the hands of the No. 2 Stanford Cardinal, 420.050-408.200, in a matchup of the top two teams in the country. The Sooners topped No. 12 California at the meet, who posted a 400.700.

Oklahoma registered season-high scores on floor and vault, with big rotations of 73.350 and 72.900, respectively. The meet was highlighted by sophomore Vitaliy Guimaraes' NCAA-high score of 15.200 on floor exercise, good for a career high.

"We struggled on parallel bars which hurt us, but we were a bit outmatched," said OU head coach Mark Williams. "Stanford was very good tonight and rose to the occasion for the home competition. We didn't have an answer on particularly pommel horse and rings.

"Our floor and vault team did a really good job and even high bar was a good event for us. We have work to do and the season's just getting started, so we'll get better."

OU began the meet on still rings, tallying a 65.850. Freshman David Sandro led the team with a 13.450, the first of three events he led the Sooners on at the meet. Guimaraes chipped in a 13.400 in the leadoff spot.

Moving to vault in the second rotation, OU put up the first of two season-high team scores with a 72.900. All scores that counted for the Sooners were above 14.250, led by junior Gage Dyer's stuck 14.850. The score for Dyer was good for second overall at the meet. Two career bests were notched in the rotation, a 14.550 from sophomore Morgan Seyler and a 14.400 by redshirt sophomore Mason Menser.

OU slowed in the third rotation on parallel bars, scoring 65.850. Sandro led OU for the second time on the night, tallying a 13.900. Redshirt freshman Cesar Gracia put together a career-high 13.800 routine that was second-best for the Sooners.

In the fourth rotation on high bar, all five OU scores were above 13.200, equaling a team total of 67.000. Sandro and redshirt junior Randy Scharnhorst tied for the team lead with a pair of 13.550s. The scores were good for fourth place at the meet and a tie of Scharnhorst's career best.

The Sooners brought the energy on floor exercise in the fifth rotation, posting an NCAA-best 73.350 that won the event title for the squad. Guimaraes notched the NCAA-best 15.200 routine that bested his previous career high of 14.750. Dyer, the reigning CGA Event Specialist of the Week for his floor performance last week, continued to impress with a 14.950. Two more career bests were hit in the rotation with freshman Jack Freeman going 14.750 and sophomore Spencer Goodell posting a 14.500.

OU narrowed the gap between itself and the Cardinal after the fifth rotation, but finished the meet on arguably the toughest event, pommel horse. The Sooners tallied 63.250 in the final rotation, with the highlight being a 13.100 from Seyler. The score was good for a tie of third at the meet for the sophomore.

Freeman and Goodell competed all-around, finishing fifth and eighth, respectively, out of NCAA competition. Freeman posted a career-high 80.350, while Goodell notched a 77.900 in his first all-around action as a Sooner.

With the fifth-place finish, Freeman qualified himself to the Winter Cup Challenge, a USA Gymnastics meet in mid-February that serves as a qualifier for national team spots.

The Sooners fell for just the second time in six years, with both losses dating back to 2014 coming at the hands of the Cardinal.

Oklahoma is back in action Feb. 8 on their home floor for the first time of the season to face the No. 10 Iowa Hawkeyes at 7 p.m. CT. 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. 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, 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.