The Sooner The Better

Oklahoma gymnasts look to three-peat as No. 1 Buckeyes fall

April 12, 2007

By Kate Aras

Special to CSTV.com

 

With No. 1 Ohio State not making it past the first qualifying round of the 2007 men's national collegiate gymnastics championships earlier in the day, all teams participating in the second qualifying session saw the field open up to the chance of an upset.

 

As the meet started and each team began its first rotation, the anxiety and pressure was evident on all areas of the floor. Many teams began slowly, giving the indication that it would be a low scoring meet.

 

At the conclusion of the meet, there was no major upset and the three top teams in the regular season advanced to the finals. Penn State, Oklahoma and Minnesota will all move on to tomorrow night's championship. The schools join Stanford, Illinois and Michigan, the three teams who moved on after today's first qualifying round.

 

Tomorrow night will conclude the 2007 NCAA team championships. The Sooners are looking to capture their third title in a row but they will have five other teams vying for the top spot as well.

 

"If we have a good day I will be very satisfied with the season," Sooner head coach Mike Williams said. "We've had enough ups and downs that just getting to this point has been an accomplish.

 

"But looking in perspective of history and winning three national championships in a row, that would be great. We would certainly like to do that."

 

It was a battle between No. 2 Oklahoma, the No. 3 Nittany Lions and the No. 6 Golden Gophers for the top position. The Lions prevailed at the culmination of the night, leading all teams with a score of 218.9. The Sooners took second with a score of 218.6 and the Gophers rounded out the top three, scoring 216.9 as a team.

 

"You get past today and then you get a chance," Penn State head coach Randy Jepson said. "We got a chance so that's exciting. Tomorrow is a brand new day."

 

Tonight, the No. 7 California Golden Bears took over first place after the first rotation, scoring a 36.6 on high bars. Sophomore Kyson Bunthuwong gave his team the top score in this event, notching a 9.3.

 

The Sooners were close behind, scoring a 36.2 on parallel bars. Junior Taqiy Abdullah-Simmc led his team with a 9.35.

 

As hosts of this year's NCAA championships, No. 3 Penn State had an obvious advantage, something it used from the first rotation. Starting the night on vault, the Nittany Lions fed off their home crowd. No Lion scored below an 8.8 and junior Santiago Lopez gave his best performance of the season, scoring a 9.3 to lead his team.

 

"It was great to have the home crowd," Lions' senior Matt Cohen said. "You could hear all of our friends and family cheering us on. It gave us a lot of energy and I think each-going night is going to be even better."

 

Still, judging was hard for all events and it was a neck and neck race early on between California, Oklahoma and Penn State as to who would receive the top spot at the end of the night. The rankings stayed the same through the second rotation, with the Lions inching closer to the Sooners for second place.

 

Oklahoma, last year's national champion, had a great third rotation on floor. It took a 3-point jump on Penn State to secure the top spot, since California had a bye. Four of its five competitors had scores over 9, as junior Jonathan Horton lead his team with a 9.65.

 

The Gophers had strong showings on the rings in the third rotation, propelling them into a top spot, something they would keep for the rest of the meet. Junior Mitchell Mays had a career high on rings tonight, scoring a 9.45 in the third rotation and leading his team to a 36.75 for that round.

 

It was in the fourth rotation where the Lions jumped up to secure the top spot from Oklahoma. Since the Sooners had a bye, Penn State took this as a way to excel on the floor exercise. Freshman Noam Shaham, who only participates in two events for the Lions, scored a 9.45, his season and career high.

 

After a bye in the fifth round, Penn State began its rotation on the pommel horse strong. As the first to go for his team, senior Justin Miklos pulled out a season high 9.25. Junior Vladi Klurman then scored a 9 too keep up with his teammate and sophomore Casey Sandy, who topped them all with a 9.3.

 

"We have a very strong horse team," Jepson said. "We have guys that look good, have good start values and they just need to stay on and do their routines. If you don't give up a lot, you are in the mix."

 

At the same time, Oklahoma was rivaling the Lions on the rings. Adbullah-Simmc scored a 9.7, his career high. Horton topped his teammate with a score of 9.8, leading the Sooners to the top of the charts.

 

Ending the night on the vault, all the Sooners could do was watch as the Lions gave their fans quite a show on the rings. The show began with Derek Helsby scoring a 9.55. Then Cohen, this year's Nissen-Emery Award winner, one-upped him with a 9.6. Ramos tied his teammate with a 9.6, elevating Penn State to the top spot.

 

California, who led at the beginning of the meet, could not find enough to take the third spot.  Along with Nebraska and Temple, the Bears will not be moving on to the championship round. Nebraska's Jacob Lee took the all-around today, scoring a 54.45 to beat out Oklahoma's Jonathan Horton by one tenth.