OU Opens Season with Rocky Mountain Open Victory

Saturday, January 15

7 p.m.

University of Oklahoma

407.700

375.900

Arizona State

OU Opens Season with Rocky Mountain Open Victory

January 15, 2022 | Men's Gymnastics

Rocky Mountain Open Final Results Photo Gallery Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2 Photo Gallery 3 Photo Gallery 4 Photo Gallery 5

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The University of Oklahoma men's gymnastics team started the 2022 season with a win at the Rocky Mountain Open on the campus of the U.S. Air Force Academy Saturday night.

No. 3 Oklahoma topped No. 1 Stanford, No. 4 Nebraska and No. 10 Air Force with a final tally of 407.700 to Stanford's 407.500, Nebraska's 404.350, AFA's 323.250 and ASU's 375.900. The Sooners won three events on the night and placed second in the remaining three. With the victory, the Sooners have won 22 of the past 23 Rocky Mountain Opens.

"I was really happy, we've had a lot of challenges up to this point to get to this competition," said head coach Mark Williams. "When the guys raised their hands, their competitive juices kind of kicked in and we performed very well for this time of the year. I'm happy for them. It's just the beginning but I'm pleased with where we started."

Freshmen Fuzzy Benas, Raydel Gamboa and sophomore Zach Nunez swept the top three of the all-around to qualify for the 2022 Winter Cup held in Indianapolis, Ind., Feb. 24-26. Benas took the all-around title with an 83.800, followed by Nunez's 81.700 and Gamboa took third with an 80.600. Senior team captain Vitaliy Guimaraes and OU alum Colin Van Wicklen have already qualified for the USA Gymnastics competition.

"Fuzzy had a tremendous night, he was solid throughout. I'm really excited to have the three guys sweep the all-around and have them qualify for Winter Cup. I'm really pleased with Zach Nunez, he stayed steady across the board and didn't let things phase him. It's been a while since he's gotten to qualify for Winter Cup and he's really excited. Raydel was also able to pull it out tonight. Getting three guys to qualify tonight, that's pretty good."

The Sooners started the night out on still rings, putting up a combined score of 67.250, paced by a 14.200 and a stuck landing from Benas, tying him with Stanford's Mark Berlaga for first place on the event. Sophomore Dan Simmons helped the tally with his 13.600 performance, setting a career high.

For the second rotation, the squad put up a 71.050 on vault, good for the event title. Sophomore Zach Nunez set a career high with an impressive 14.450, good for a third place finish. In fourth on the event, Benas showed off his skills, earning a 14.400.

OU saw the parallel bars for the third event of the evening. The freshmen stole the show with a 14.150 from Benas, putting him in third overall and a 13.950 put up by Gamboa, tying him for sixth. The Sooners tallied an overall score of 67.300 on the event.

Moving to high bar, the Sooners collected 67.750 on the event, crowning them with their second event title of the meet. The squad was led by Guimaraes' 13.700 and followed closely by Jack Freeman, Gamboa and Cesar Gracia, each good for a 13.600.

The Sooners took on the floor exercise for the fifth rotation and tallied a 67.950. Benas took third on the event with a 14.100. Senior Spencer Goodell's 14.050 debut following a shoulder injury in the offseason put him in the number four spot.

The Sooners collected their third event title on pommel horse in the final rotation of the season opener. Nunez showcased his strength as the last Sooner to compete, putting up a 14.000 routine, good for fourth on the event and bringing the Sooners to another Rocky Mountain Open victory.

The Sooners return to the floor next weekend with a familiar opponent when Air Force travels to Norman for OU's home opener at McCasland Field House. The meet is set for a 7 p.m. CT start and can be seen live on SoonerSports.tv.

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.