No. 1 Oklahoma Awaits Buckeyes in Norman – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
March 13, 2015
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The eighth-ranked Ohio State men’s gymnastics team travels to Norman, Okla., on Saturday, March 14, for a dual meet with the No. 1-ranked Oklahoma Sooners. Events from the Lloyd Noble Center are scheduled for 7 p.m. CT/8 p.m. ET.
Sooner Sports TV will broadcast the weekend dual meet, with two-time Olympic gold medalist Bart Conner and U.S. Senior National Team Members Jake Dalton and Steven Legendre on the call. Sooner Sports TV is available on Fox Sports Southwest PLUS, Fox College Sports Pacific and via streaming through the Fox Sports GO App (availability determined by cable subscription).
SCOUTING THE SOONERS
Oklahoma has been ranked No. 1 in the CGA Coaches Poll for the entirety of the 2015 season. The Sooners received all 14 first-place votes in the Week 9 poll.
The Sooners set an NCAA record earlier this season with a final team score of 456.400 in a dual-meet victory over Michigan. OU averaged a team score of 76.067 per event against the Wolverines and a 15.213 total per routine.
OU owns the top all-around average nationally with a four-score average of 447.083. The Sooners are ranked No. 1 on four additional events: rings (76.067), floor exercise (75.417), pommel horse (74.517) and high bar (74.517).
Individually, Michael Squires is ranked No. 1 on rings (16.233), Michael Reid No. 1 on pommel (15.633) and Danny Berardini No. 1 on high bar (15.350).
SERIES HISTORY – OKLAHOMA
The Sooners lead the all-time series with the Buckeyes 38-24-1. OU is 1-0 against OSU in 2015, finishing first ahead of the third-place Buckeyes at a tri meet with Iowa in February. Ohio State last defeated Oklahoma in a head-to-head dual meet in 2008.
MOLING NAMED B1G GYMNAST OF THE WEEK
Senior captain Drew Moling was named Big Ten Co-Gymnast of the Week Monday, earning his first weekly award from the conference.
Moling totaled a four-score average of 15.300 Saturday at the Arnold Challenge, leading Ohio State to a win over the Ukrainian and Canadian National Teams. He enjoyed his finest meet of the season for the Buckeyes, winning high bar and rings while earning runner-up finishes on vault and parallel bars. The Canal Winchester, Ohio, native also produced personal-best scores on high bar (15.450), vault (15.200) and parallel bars (15.150).
BUCKEYES IN THE RANKINGS
TEAM
Ohio State remained No. 8 in the CGA Week9 rankings following a win at the Arnold Challenge. The Buckeyes own the No. 6 team average in the nation on vault (73.000) and high bar (71.883) and are ranked in the Top 10 in three additional events: rings (seventh – 72.650), parallel bars (eighth, 71.517) and pommel horse (eighth, 70.400). Additionally, the team is ranked ninth in average all-around score with a four-score average of 428.733.
INDIVIDUAL
Senior Larry Mayer is tied for fifth nationally on vault with a four-score average of 15.017. Moling is tied for seventh on rings (14.883) and ranks eighth on high bar (15.267).
LAST TIME OUT
Ohio State used a season-best score of 436.250 to defeat the Ukrainian and Canadian National Teams at the 2015 Arnold Challenge March 7 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
Buckeye athletes were winners in five of six events at the second annual event held in conjunction with the Arnold Sports Festival. Freshman Meyer Williams won floor exercise, senior Alex Nork won pommel horse, freshman Alexander Wilson won vault and Moling was victorious on both high bar and rings. As a team the Buckeyes won rings, vault and high bar, totaling season-best scores of 74.150 and 73.700 on rings and vault, respectively.
BUCKEYE INJURY BUG
The Buckeyes have dealt with several injuries and illnesses throughout the 2015 season.
Sean Melton, the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a 2015 All-American, has been dealing with a lower back issue and will not compete against the Sooners. He last saw action against Illinois in January.
Jake Martin, also an All-American, is recovering from illness and will also be held out of action. He last competed against Penn State in early February.
BUCKEYES AT WINTER CUP
Future Buckeye Alec Yoder was named to the U.S. Senior National Team at the conclusion of the 2015 Winter Cup Challenge in Las Vegas last weekend.
Yoder, a native of Indianapolis, finished eighth overall in the all-around with a two-day score of 171.250. He placed in the Top 10 in three events, highlighted by a third-place tie on pommel horse with a two-day total of 30.050.
Moling, Wilson and junior Alex Johnson participated in preliminary round competition on Thursday. Moling posted the top finish for OSU, placing 32nd overall with an all-around score of 79.450, including an 11th-place score of 14.250 on rings. Wilson competed in three events, earning a top score of 13.850 and a 21st-place finish on parallel bars. Johnson was featured in four events – he tied for 11th on high bar with a score of 14.250.
FIVE UP, FIVE COUNT
Through Winter Cup, six gymnasts were allowed to perform on each event with the Top-5 scores counting toward the final team score. As of meets beginning the weekend of Feb. 28, only five gymnasts are allowed to perform on each event with all five scores counting toward the overall team score.
OHIO STATE NAMED BIG TEN FAVORITE
Ohio State was named the preseason favorite in the Big Ten Conference in a poll of league coaches.
Two-time defending national champion Michigan was voted second overall. Illinois was ranked third, followed by Penn State and Minnesota. Iowa and Nebraska completed the preseason rankings in sixth and seventh place, respectively.
MOLING, JOHNSON & MELTON NAMED TEAM CAPTAINS
Moling, Melton and Johnson were named team captains for the 2014-15 season.
The Buckeyes will be led by a trio of captains for only the fifth time in the history of the program. The first time the squad featured three captains was 2001, when the Buckeyes won the third national championship in program history.
ALL-AMERICAN RETURNEES
Three 2014 All-Americans return to the squad this year in Melton (all-around, high bar, parallel bars, vault), Martin (all-around, vault) and Johnson (high bar). In addition, Danny Steiner is a two-time All-American on floor exercise (2013 & 2012).
TEAM WELCOMES 10 NEWCOMERS
Ohio State welcomes the addition of nine freshmen for 2015: Wilson, Williams, Samuel DeWitt, Cody Teaney, Evan Bluemel, Seth Delbridge, Josh Hurwitz, Brandon Jacoby and Ryan Lemezis. In addition, Evan Eigner, a junior, transferred from Temple.
UP NEXT
Ohio State travels to University Park, Pa., for the 2015 Big Ten Championships March 27-28.
