Sooners Showcase Skills at Red-White Scrimmage

NORMAN – The Oklahoma men's gymnastics team held its annual intrasquad scrimmage Saturday afternoon in the Sam Viersen Gymnastics Center. The meet was the first time the 2022 Sooners performed their new routines in front of fans and judges in preparation for the upcoming season.

"It looked pretty typical for this time of the year," said head coach Mark Williams. "The guys are getting their skills into their routines and getting that first opportunity to put it out there in front of judges. I felt like it was a pretty good start."

Competing in front of a panel of judges, Oklahoma sent up gymnasts on all six events. The Sooners welcome plenty of new faces to the 2022 squad, including six freshmen.

In the five-up, three-count format, the red squad edged the white team by just over four points.

"There are certainly things that we need to try and correct as we go," continued Williams. "We need to get a few more guys healthy, but overall, it stands up there with any of the meets we've had this time of year. In some cases, we had some really good performances. We will move forward and get better before our first meet"

Team captain Vitaliy Guimaraes won the all-around and put up the highest scores of the day on floor and high bar. Sophomore Daniel Simmons impressed the crowd with a stuck vault that led all teams and Simmons tied with junior Jack Freeman on still rings for the highest score on the event. Freeman also claimed the best score on parallel bars. Sophomore Zach Nunez secured the top spot on pommel horse.

"I liked the energy and the atmosphere that we made as a team," - Team Captain Vitaliy Guimaraes.

"We were competing against each other but we were supporting each other, so it was a really fun aspect of having that competitiveness. At the end of the day we want everyone to do their best gymnastics."

Oklahoma kicks off its 2022 campaign in Colorado Springs, Colo. with the Rocky Mountain Open on Jan. 15. The home opener is set for Saturday, Jan. 22 against Air Force.

Season and single-meet tickets for the OU home slate are on sale now. Fans can purchase tickets 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.