Meet Eleven | 2012 NCAA Championship | Lloyd Noble Center (Norman, Okla.) | April 19-21, 2012 Ben Coldagelli, Communications Student Assistant McClendon Center for Intercollegiate Athletics 180 W. Brooks, Suite 2525, Norman, OK 73019 O: (405) 325-8231| C: (262) 501-9999 | E: [email protected] MEN’S GYMNASTICS ® www.SoonerSports.com | Twitter: @SoonerGymnasts EIGHT NATIONAL TITLES | SEVEN NISSEN-EMERY AWARD WINNERS | 219 ALL-AMERICANS | 35 INDIVIDUAL TITLES 2012 SCHEDULE GYMINFO AT A GLANCE DATE OPPONENT TIME (CT) 1 Jan. 14 Rocky Mountain Open$ (1/5) 343.700 Qualifier One . April 19 - 1 p.m. Qualifier Two . April 19 - 7 p.m. Jan. 21 at Ohio State W, 353.150 Team Finals . .April 20 - 7 p.m. Jan. 28 at Illinois & Michigan# (2/3) 347.700 Event Finals . .April 21 - 7 p.m. Feb. 2-4 Winter Cup Challenge+ Individual Location . Norman, Okla. Feb. 12 at California & Stanford% (1/3) 351.600 Venue . Lloyd Noble Center Feb. 25 IOWA W, 356.250 Webcast . .NCAA.com Oklahoma (18-1, 8-0 MPSF) 2012 NCAA Gymnastics March 3 STANFORD W, 357.050 Live Stats . .SoonerSports.com March 10 MICHIGAN* W, 355.500 SOONERS CHAMPIONSHIP March 17 AIR FORCE & NEBRASKA (1/3) 352.400 The Matchup March 24 at Minn. & Ohio State^ (1/ 3) 353.100 The top-ranked Oklahoma men’s gymnastics team will pursue its sixth national title since 2002 and ninth in program April 7 MPSF Championship$ (1/4) 355.600 history this weekend, and it will do so in the comfort of its own home. The University of Oklahoma plays host to the 2012 NCAA Championship at the Lloyd Noble Center with two qualifying sessions at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 19. The April 19 NCAA QUALIFIER* 7:00 p.m. Sooners will compete to be one of six teams to advance to the team finals at 7 p.m. on Friday. The top eight individuals on April 20 NCAA TEAM FINALS* 7:00 p.m. each apparatus will advance to the event finals at 7 p.m. on Saturday. April 21 NCAA EVENT FINALS* 7:00 p.m. The Sooners (18-1, 8-0 MPSF) enter the national championship as the No. 1 team in the nation, a position its been in for 10 All times are Central and subject to change. of the past 12 weeks. Oklahoma will be led by the NCAA’s top-ranked all-around gymnast and MPSF Gymnast of the Year, Home meets are indicated by BOLD CAPS and held at Jake Dalton. The junior looks to defend his 2011 titles on floor and vault while competing for his first NCAA all-around title. the Howard McCasland Field House. With the No. 1 ranking, Oklahoma will compete in the second session of the NCAA Qualifier on Thursday. The Sooners will *Held at the Lloyd Noble Center, $ Colorado Springs, be joined in the 7 p.m. session by No. 4 Illinois, No. 5 Minnesota, No. 8 California, No. 9 Temple and No. 12 Air Force. The first Colo., # Champaign, Ill., + Las Vegas, Nev., session, set for 1 p.m., features No. 2 Penn State, No. 3 Stanford, No. 6 Michigan, No. 7 Ohio State, No. 10 Nebraska and No. % Berkeley, Calif., ^ Minneapolis, Minn. 11 Iowa. The top three teams from each session qualify for the team finals on Friday night at 7. Oklahoma is coming off of a victory at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship, claiming its eighth conference Be sure to “like” the Sooners on title in the past 10 years and 10th title under head coach Mark Williams. Under Williams, the Sooners have also won five Facebook by logging onto national titles, 22 individual national titles, 42 individual conference titles, 126 All-America honors and three Nissen-Emery Facebook.com/SoonerGymnasts Awards. and Facebook.com/OklahomaSooners. Williams’ squad will have the advantage of competing for its first title since 2008 and will host the NCAA Championship For all of the latest information for the third time in the past 10 years. The Sooners are undefeated in past national championships held at the Lloyd Noble on the OU men’s gymnastics Center, claiming first place in 2002 and 2006. team, follow @SoonerGymnasts on Twitter. For news from OU’s Oklahoma’s eight national titles are the third most of any collegiate program, trailing only Penn State (12) and Illinois (9), entire athletics department, but is the only school to have won over eight titles since 1977. The men’s gymnastics team owns the most NCAA titles of any follow @SoonerSportsCom. sport at Oklahoma, with football and wrestling each holding seven. The official site of OU Athletics supplies On The Web Sooner fans worldwide with the latest • A live webcast of each session will be available on NCAA.com with live stats on SoonerSports.com. news and features on Oklahoma athlet- • OU men’s gymnastics’ Twitter feed (@SoonerGymnasts) will provide up-to-date information throughout the meet. ics direct from Norman. The site provides the latest press releases, rosters, bios, GYMNAST TO WATCH schedules, statistics, notes, quotes, ath- lete blogs, photo galleries and audio and Jake Dalton | Junior | All-Around | Reno, Nev. video available to both Sooner fans and the media. Dalton, the 2012 MPSF All-Around Champion and current No. 1-ranked all-around gymnast in the NCAA, looks to defend his NCAA titles on vault and floor while pursuing his first NCAA team title. Oklahoma Men’s Gymnastics Notes 2 NAME CLASS HEIGHT EVENTS HOMETOWN HIGH SCHOOL CLUB Dylan Akers FR 5-9 All-Around Kingwood, Texas Kingwood HS Cypress Academy of Gymnastics Danny Berardini FR 5-8 All-Around Lake Forest, Ill. Lake Forest HS Buffalo Grove Gymnastics Center William Clement FR 5-10 All-Around San Jose, Calif. Valley Christian HS California Sports Center Chad Crumley SR 5-11 FX, SR, HB Long Grove, Ill. Stevenson HS Buffalo Grove Gymnastics Center Jacob Dalton JR 5-5 All-Around Reno, Nev. Spanish Springs HS Gymnastics Nevada Presten Ellsworth SO 5-10 All-Around Allen, Texas Allen HS World Olympic Gymnastics Academy Michael Heredia SR 5-11 Fx, V, HB Reno, Nev. Bishop Manogue Catholic HS Gymnastics Nevada Ethan Jose RS FR 5-7 All-Around Fremont, Calif. Mission San Jose HS West Coast Olympic Gymnastics Academy Troy Nitzky RS JR 5-6 PH, SR Philadelphia, Pa William Tennent HS Temple Boys Gymnastics Patrick Piscitelli SR 5-11 FX, SR, PB, HB Charlotte, N.C. Charlotte Catholic HS G & J Speedway Stanton Rehkemper RS FR 5-7 FX, HB Plano, Texas Plano Senior HS World Olympic Gymnastics Academy Michael Reid FR 5-6 Pommel Horse Killeen, Texas Killeen HS Crenshaw’s Athletic Club Sergey Resnick FR 5-4 PH, PB Houston, Texas G.W. Carver HS Houston Gymnastics Academy Alec Robin FR 5-6 All-Around Calabasas, Calif. Calabasas HS Victory Gymnastics Academy Jacoby Rubin FR 5-3 All-Around Buffalo Grove, Ill. Stevenson HS Buffalo Grove Gymnastics Center Michael Squires FR 5-2 SR Edmond, Okla. Edmond North HS Oklahoma Gold Gymnastics Chris Stehl JR 5-5 All-Around Houston, Texas William B. Travis HS Cypress Academy Raymond White SO 5-4 All-Around Austin, Texas John B. Connally HS Crenshaw’s Athletic Club COACHING STAFF Head Coach Mark Williams 13th Season Nebraska, 1980 Assistant Coach Guard Young Sixth Season Brigham Young, 2001 Assistant Coach Norimasa Iwai First Season Nihon University, 1995 DYLAN AKERS DANNY BERARDINI WILLIAM CLEMENT CHAD CRUMLEY JAKE DALTON PRESTEN ELLSWORTH MICHAEL HEREDIA ETHAN JOSE TROY NITZKY PATRICK PISCITELLI STANTON REHKEMPER MICHAEL REID SERGEY RESNICK ALEC ROBIN JACOBY RUBIN MICHAEL SQUIRES CHRIS STEHL RAYMOND WHITE Oklahoma Men’s Gymnastics Notes 3 CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL Known across the state of Oklahoma and throughout the country, the University of Oklahoma men’s gymnastics program is recognized for one thing: winning championships. Since 1977, the Sooners have won eight NCAA National Championships, the third most of any collegiate pro- 2012 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE gram behind only Penn State (12) and Illinois (9). Oklahoma proves itself to be a dominant force Thursday, April 19 | Qualifier 1 | 1 p.m. throughout the season, claiming 19 conference championship crowns. Penn State, Stanford, Michigan, Ohio State, Nebraska, Iowa In addition to team success, Oklahoma has also produced 35 individual NCAA title winners and a Thursday, April 19 | Qualifier 2 | 7 p.m. whopping 219 All-America honors. Over the years, seven Sooners have earned the honor of the Oklahoma, Illinois, Minnesota, California, Temple, Air Force Nissen-Emery Award, considered to be the Heisman Trophy of collegiate men’s gymnastics. Friday, April 20 | Team Finals | 7 p.m. DECADE OF DOMINANCE Top three teams from each qualifier Oklahoma has won five of the last 10 NCAA team crowns, (2008, 2006, 2005, 2003, and 2002), all under current head coach Mark Williams. With eight national championships, the men’s gymnas- Saturday, April 21 | Event Finals | 7 p.m. tics team owns the most titles of any OU athletics program, breaking a tie with the football and Top eight individuals in each event wrestling squads with the 2008 win. TICKET INFORMATION Under Williams, the Sooners have staked their claim as the nation’s premier program of the last All session tickets to the NCAA Championships ($25 Adult, $15 Youth decade. Since 2000, OU has garnered an amazing 10 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference and OU Students) are on sale now. Fans can purchase online at championships and produced 115 All-America honors and 20 individual NCAA titles to go along SoonerSports.com or by calling the OU Athletics Ticket Office at (800) with five national championships.