Sooners Host MPSF Championship at McCasland Field House

Saturday, April 6

2 p.m.

University of Oklahoma

Stanford

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Photo by: Andrew Marsh/University of Oklahoma

Sooners Host MPSF Championship at McCasland Field House

April 05, 2024 | Men's Gymnastics

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THE MEET

• Oklahoma competes for its 28th conference championship, and first since 2021, on Saturday, as the second-ranked Sooners play host to the MPSF Championship at McCasland Field House in Norman, Okla. The meet, featuring OU, No. 1 Stanford, No. 8 California and No. 10 Air Force, is set to begin at 2 p.m. Doors to McCasland Field House open at 1 p.m.

• Seven of the 18 current members of the U.S. Men's Senior National Team are slated to compete at the MPSF Championship: Oklahoma's Fuzzy Benas, Air Force's Patrick Hoopes and Stanford's Jeremy Bischoff, Taylor Burkhart, Asher Hong, Colt Walker and Khoi Young.

• Oklahoma is hosting the MPSF Championship for the fifth time since 2005, and the first time since the 2019 season. The Sooners won the conference title in each of those previous four years (2005, '10, '14, '19). The previous three conference championships (2010, '14, '19) were contested at McCasland Field House, while the 2005 championship was held at Lloyd Noble Center.

• OU is seeking its 20th MPSF Championship and 28th conference title overall. The Sooners lead all MPSF members across all sports with their 19 league titles in men's gymnastics. Oklahoma last won a conference title in 2021, capping a run of nine straight league championships. The Sooners claimed their first MPSF title in 1996, and have won 19 of the last 27 conference championships contested (no championship was held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

• Oklahoma is unbeaten against its last 75 opponents, encompassing 64 consecutive meets, inside McCasland Field House, dating back to the 2007 season. The streak began on March 17, 2007, with a victory over Iowa. OU's last loss in the field house was March 3, 2007, against Ohio State. The Sooners and Cardinal tied in a dual meet in McCasland Field House during the 2021 season.

TICKETS/PROMOTIONS

• Tickets for the MPSF Men's Gymnastics Championship are still available for just $10 for adult general admission and $5 for youth (ages 6-18) and seniors (55+) at SoonerSports.com, or can be purchased at the door. Current students at participating schools receive free admission.

• The first 200 fans in the field house can receive free Cupbop on Saturday.

WATCH/FOLLOW

• A subscription-based live video stream through MPSF will be available via Overnght ($9.99 for a monthly subscription). Free live scoring will be available via OUStats.com. Follow @OU_MGymnastics on Twitter and Instagram.

STICKS

• Oklahoma has faced each of the other three conference members at least once this season and has posted a 4-1 record. The Sooners topped Air Force in Norman on Jan. 13 (413.600 to 382.750) and at the Rocky Mountain Open on Jan. 20 (420.350 to 392.750) and California on Feb. 10 in Norman (417.800 to 400.800) and March 16 in Stanford, Calif. (410.500 to 404.950), and fell to Stanford on March 16 (421.150 to 410.500).

• In its four home meets this season, Oklahoma has averaged a 414.550 team all-around score. In five road meets, the Sooners have posted an average score of 409.530.

• Eight Sooners earned a total of 13 regular season All-America honors from the College Gymnastics Association: Junior Emre Dodanli (FX, VT, HB), redshirt sophomore Fuzzy Benas (AA, PB) fifth-year senior Jack Freeman (FX, HB), senior Zach Nunez (PH), sophomore Ignacio Yockers (PH), sophomore Kelton Christiansen (HB), freshman Nico Hamilton (FX) and freshman Tas Hajdu (SR). Regular season All-Americans have been recognized by the CGA since the 2020 campaign. The top eight-ranked gymnasts and ties on each event and in the all-around receive CGA Regular Season All-America status.

• Hamilton was named MPSF Freshman of the Year and Yockers was named MPSF Specialist of the Year, while head coach Mark Williams was named Coach of the Year in a vote by the league's coaches. Yockers has won the conference annual specialist award in each of its first two years, Hamilton is OU's first MPSF freshman of the year and Williams won his 15th conference coach of the year honor in his 25 seasons.

• The Sooners have won 42 individual event titles and 37 team event titles in eight meets this season (including the top score on high bar in eight of nine meets [March 16 was the exception]). Dodanli paces OU with 11 event victories in his seven meets, while Yockers has claimed eight event titles and Benas has three. Dodanli, who led the team with seven event titles in 2023, currently has the most individual event medals by a Sooner since Benas won 12 event titles in 2022.

• Dodanli has recorded the four highest floor exercise scores in the nation this season (15.250 at Rocky Mountain Open, 15.050 vs. Cal, 14.900 at Michigan and 15.050 at Stanford/Cal), and is the first gymnast nationally to register a 15-plus score on floor since the 2021 season. His 15.250 was the highest floor score nationally since the 2021 NCAA Finals (15.266 by OU's Gage Dyer).

• In six meets this season, all five Sooners in the vault lineup have scored 14.000 or better: at Illinois (Jan. 28), vs. California (Feb. 10), at Simpson (Feb. 17), at Michigan (March 2), vs. Navy (March 9) and at Stanford/vs. Cal (March 16). OU has scored better than 72.000 on vault seven times and no lower than 70.950 (coincidentally, that was at the Rocky Mountain Open, when it scored a nation-leading season high of 420.350 in the team all-around).

NATIONAL RANKINGS NOTES

• Oklahoma ranks first nationally as a team on floor exercise (70.133), pommel horse (69.850), vault (72.417) and high bar (68.933). The Sooners rank third nationally on parallel bars (68.267) and fifth on still rings (67.650). OU is ranked second nationally in the team all-around (414.533), just six-tenths behind Stanford (415.133).

• Junior Emre Dodanli ranks first nationally in floor exercise with his 14.983 four-score average. Freshman Nico Hamilton's 14.083 four-score average ranks seventh and fifth-year senior Jack Freeman's 14.050 average ranks tied for eighth.

• Sophomore Ignacio Yockers ranks third on pommel horse with his 14.950 average and senior Zach Nunez follows in fourth with his 14.467 average. Freshman Tas Hajdu ranks sixth nationally on still rings with his 13.950 average.

• Dodanli ranks fifth on vault with his 14.750 average, while freshman Max Bereznev ranks ninth with his 14.633 average and redshirt sophomore Fuzzy Benas follows in 12th with his 14.600 four-score average.

• Benas' 14.333 parallel bars average ranks third nationally. On high bar, sophomore Kelton Christiansen ranks second with his 14.200 four-score average, Freeman ranks third with his 14.167 average and Dodanli ranks fourth with a 14.117 average.

• Benas leads the nation in the individual all-around with his 82.317 average. His 85.200 at Rocky Mountain Open remains the third-highest all-around score in the nation this season.

LAST TIME OUT

Emre Dodanli won the floor exercise title and Ignacio Yockers won the pommel horse title to lead Oklahoma in its tri-meet at Stanford on Saturday, March 16. The Sooners placed second at the meet, scoring a 410.500, behind No. 2 Stanford's 421.150 and ahead of No. 8 California's 404.950.

Dodanli topped the floor exercise standings with a 15.000, his third score of 15 or better on floor exercise this season. It was Dodanli's 11th event title in his seven meets this season. Yockers claimed the pommel horse crown with a 14.800.

Oklahoma started the meet on still rings and tied its season high score on the event by posting a 67.900. The Sooners notched a 69.450 on floor exercise, 69.150 on pommel horse, 64.300 on horizontal bar, 72.250 on vault and 67.350 on parallel bars. OU's 410.500 was its second-highest road score of the season, second only to its 420.350 at the Rocky Mountain Open on Jan. 20.

HISTORY AND TRADITION

Oklahoma has won 12 national championships (1977, '78, '91, 2002, '03, '05, '06, '08, '15, '16, '17, '18), tied for most in NCAA history (tied with Penn State), including nine national titles since 2000. The Sooners have finished first or second in 19 of the last 22 NCAA Championships, and has reached 24 consecutive NCAA finals, or every championship held since 2000 (does not count the 2020 championship canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

Mark Williams has led Oklahoma to nine national titles over the course of his 24 complete seasons as head coach of the Sooners. OU won an NCAA championship held in Norman three times: 2002, 2006 and 2015.

The Sooners last won an NCAA championship in 2018 in Chicago, Ill., capping a run of four consecutive national titles (2015-18). The Sooners claimed second place in three straight championships: 2019, '21 and '22, and have finished in the top three in 21 of the last 23 NCAA Championships.