OU Set to Take on Illinois

2 Oklahoma

5 Illinois

Saturday, Feb. 12 / 1 p.m. CT / Champaign, Ill. / Huff Hall

NORMAN – The Oklahoma men's gymnastics team heads to Champaign, Ill. for a matchup against the No. 5 Illinois on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 1 p.m. CT.

NOTES AND NUMBERS FOR MEET FOUR

THE MEET
After a week off from competition, No. 2 Oklahoma returns to the floor Saturday afternoon in Champaign, Ill. to take on No. 5 Illinois in Huff Hall.

The meet is available to watch via BIG 10+ at 1 p.m. CT. Live results can be accessed here.

LAST TIME OUT

The No. 2 Oklahoma men's gymnastics team took second with a 405.450 at the Stanford Open in Palo Alto, Calif. against No. 1 Stanford (410.250) and No. 9 Cal (393.000) two weekends ago.

The Sooners started the night off on still rings where they put up a team score of 66.300. The squad was paced by freshman Fuzzy Benas' 13.950 performance. Junior Jack Freeman put up a 13.300 and both Evan Perreault and Zach Nunez collected a 13.100.

In the second rotation of the evening, the Sooners put up a 70.950 on vault. Benas earned an impressiveI14.700 on the event, putting him in third overall and setting a career-best. Freshman Raydel Gamboa also set a career-high with a 14.500. Nunez chipped in a 14.100.

OU took on parallel bars for the third event of the meet and gathered a score of 68.250. Benas took second overall with a big 14.750. Gamboa and Goodell added to the team's total with a 13.800 and 13.450, respectively.

On high bar, the Sooners registered a 64.350 for the fourth rotation. Both Freeman and Nunez earned a 13.400 and Cesar Gracia collected a 13.300.

In the fifth rotation, the squad produced three 14-plus scores on floor exercise to bring the team tally to 68.850, the best team score on floor for the night. Alexei Vernyi collected his season-high score with a 14.050, while Gamboa also put up a 14.050. Not far behind was Freeman with his 14.000.

In the sixth and final rotation of the meet, the Sooners scored a 66.750 on pommel horse. The squad was paced by Nunez's impressive 14.100 routine, good for a second-place finish. Benas helped the team tally with his 13.700 on the event. Alan Camillus and Braden Collier helped with their respective 13.250 and 13.050.

With his 79.650, Freeman qualified to February's Winter Cup, making it five Sooners qualified for the meet.

SOONERS NO. 2 IN CGA STANDINGS

Following the conclusion of week five of NCAA men's gymnastics, Oklahoma holds the No. 2 spot in the College Gymnastics Association (CGA) standings.

After a week of no competition for the Sooners, OU holds the second highest team average (404.883) behind Stanford's 409.967. The Sooners rank first on floor (68.333), second on pommel horse (68.075) and parallel bars (67.583), third on still rings (66.700) and vault (71.250) and fourth on pommel horse (65.417).

Individually, Sooners hold the top three spots in the all-around rankings, led by freshman Fuzzy Benas' 83.800 score from the Rocky Mountain Open. Sophomore Zach Nunez holds second in the country after his 80.975 average and freshman Raydel Gamboa sits in third with an average of 80.800.

On floor exercise, Sooners have two gymnasts holding a top-10 spot. Sitting in the No. 3 seat, Benas holds a 14.150 average. Senior Spencer Goodell holds an average of 13.917, good for seventh, and senior Alexei Vernyi holds down the 11-spot with a 13.825 average.

One OU gymnasts ranks in the top-10 on pommel horse. Nunez holds tenth with a 13.467 average.

On still rings, Benas holds seventh overall with a 13.900 average.

The Sooners have two in the top eleven on vault, led by Benas in the five spot with a 14.550. Sophomore Dan Simmons holds the No. 11 seat with a 14.350 average on the event.

In the parallel bar ranks, Benas collects his fifth top-10 ranking with a 14.433, good for third. Gamboa (13.733) sits in twelfth.

On high bar, two Sooners find themselves in the top 10. Senior Vitaliy Guimaraes sits in the No. 3 spot with a 13.700. Jack Freeman holds sixth with a 13.467 average and Raydel Gamboa sits just outside of the top-10 with a 13.400, good for eleventh.

UP NEXT

The Sooners will return home to host Nebraska on Saturday, Feb. 19 at McCasland Field House. The meet is slated for a 6 p.m. CT start.

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.