OU Begins NCAA Championships Friday

THE MEET

• No. 1 Oklahoma will compete for a national championship this weekend at the NCAA Championships at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Sooners begin their quest for a 13th national title at noon CT on Friday in the first qualifying session against No. 4 Nebraska, No. 5 Penn State, No. 8 Air Force, No. 9 California and No. 12 William & Mary.

• The meet will be televised on ESPN+ with Bart Conner, Brody Malone and Lauren Sisler calling the action. Individual apparatus streams will also be available on ESPN+.

• The top three teams from each qualifying session will advance to NCAA Finals, which will be held at 5:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, April 19, on ESPN2, with apparatus streams available on ESPN+. The second qualifying session, to be held at 5 p.m. CT on Friday on ESPN+, will consist of host and No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Stanford, No. 6 Illinois, No. 7 Ohio State, No. 10 Navy and No. 11 Army.

STICKS

• The Sooners have won 12 NCAA team championships, including nine since the 2000 season. OU's last national title came in 2018, and since, Oklahoma has finished second three times (2019, '21, '22), fourth (2023) and third (2024). OU has reached the NCAA Finals in 24 straight years and finished among the top 3 in 22 of the last 23 NCAA Championships held.

• Oklahoma's 12 NCAA team titles is tied for the most nationally (tied with Penn State), and OU's nine national championships since the 2002 season is two more than Stanford's seven in that span. The Sooners and Cardinal have combined to win 16 of the last 22 NCAA team championships, while Michigan has three, Penn State has two and Illinois has one in that time.

• Oklahoma has registered five of the top 14 and six of the top 18 team scores nationally this season. Its 330.700 against Illinois on Jan. 25 is the third-highest collegiate men's team score in the four-up, four-count meet format introduced for the 2025 season (and was the highest recorded until mid-March). OU also has notched team scores of 329.250 (MPSF Championship), 329.100 (Feb. 8 vs. Stanford/Greenville), 327.700 (Feb. 15 vs. Michigan/Simpson) and 327.200 (Jan. 18 at the Rocky Mountain Open). The Sooners are ranked No. 1 for the 11th straight week and the 12th time in 13 weeks this season. OU has been ranked No. 1 at some point in every season since 2001.

• Oklahoma has compiled an 8-0 overall record this season against teams in its qualifying session. The Sooners have topped Air Force three times: 318.200 to 299.000 in the Jan. 12 season opener in Norman, 327.200 to 311.550 at the Rocky Mountain Open and 329.250 to 313.350 in the MPSF Championship. OU has beaten Cal twice (in Berkeley, Calif, on Feb. 28 [323.100 to 308.500] and in the MPSF Championship [329.250 to 315.450]) and Nebraska twice (at the Rocky Mountain Open [327.200 to 320.450] and in Berkeley, Calif., on Feb. 28 [323.100 to 317.100]). OU also defeated William & Mary on March 15 in Williamsburg, Va. (325.250 to 311.550). Oklahoma has not faced Penn State this season.

• Senior Emre Dodanli is one of seven finalists for the prestigious Nissen-Emery Award, which is presented annually to the year's outstanding senior collegiate gymnast, and is a nominee for the CGA Gymnast of the Year award. A senior captain at Oklahoma, Dodanli was the 2024 CGA Specialist of the Year, a five-time All-American and nine-time Regular Season All-American and a 2024 Olympian. Dodanli is one of the most consistently high-performing gymnasts in the country over the last two years. He is one of only two gymnasts nationally ranked among the top 10 on three events (he is the only one in the top 7 on three events), and he was the only gymnast ranked among the top 8 nationally on three events at the end of the 2024 campaign. He has notched 13 scores of 14.000 or better in the new code of points this season, and he has recorded all 13 of his 14s in seven meets (26 total routines). He competed at the 2024 Paris games with his native Turkey.

• Dodanli was named a Regular Season All-American on three events and a total of six Sooners earned CGA Regular Season All-America honors. Dodanli received All-America recognition on floor exercise, vault and horizontal bar. Junior Ignacio Yockers was named an All-American on pommel horse, senior Matthew Burgoyne, sophomore Tas Hajdu and freshman Francisco Velez Belendez were named All-Americans on still rings and junior Kelton Christiansen was named an All-American on horizontal bar. Regular season All-Americans have been recognized by the CGA since the 2020 season. The top eight-ranked gymnasts and ties on each event and in the all-around, based on four-score average, receive CGA Regular Season All-America accolades.

• Mark Williams is in his 26th season as Oklahoma head coach. He has led the Sooners to 604 victories (605-58-1 [.912]), nine national championships and 19 MPSF conference titles since his first season in 2000.

NATIONAL RANKINGS NOTES

• Oklahoma remained No. 1 in the final national rankings, based on NQA, following its MPSF Championship. OU's National Qualifying Average is 327.700. Michigan (326.838), Stanford (326.813), Nebraska (324.538) and Penn State (322.700) round out the top five.

• Oklahoma is ranked in the top 5 on all six events and leads the nation on floor exercise (55.213) and high bar (54.775). OU ranks second on pommel horse (54.650) and still rings (55.088), and ranks fifth on vault (56.100) and parallel bars (53.425).

• Emre Dodanli (14.100) and Kelton Christiansen (13.900) rank second and third nationally on horizontal bar. Matthew Burgoyne (14.025) and Tas Hajdu (14.025) are tied for second nationally on still rings.

• Dodanli (13.975) ranks sixth, Brigham Frentheway (13.850) ranks eighth and Fuzzy Benas (13.713) ranks 11th on floor exercise. Ignacio Yockers (14.313) ranks sixth on pommel horse and Zach Nunez (13.625) ranks 13th.

• On vault, Dodanli (14.188) ranks seventh while Benas (14.100) sits 16th. Colin Flores (13.463) ranks 15th on parallel bars. Brandon Zepeda-Orth (13.538) is ranked 11th on high bar.

• In all, the Sooners hold eight spots in the top 10 on the six apparatus, 13 spots in the top 15 and 18 spots in the top 20. Dodanli is ranked among the top 7 in three of his events, Burgoyne ranks among the top 20 on three of his events, Frentheway is ranked among the top 24 on three of his events, and Benas and Tyler Flores are ranked in the top 20 on two of their events.

LAST TIME OUT — MPSF CHAMPIONSHIP

• Emre Dodanli and Fuzzy Benas won individual conference titles to lead Oklahoma to the program's 20th MPSF Championship on April 5 at the U.S. Air Force Academy. The top-ranked Sooners posted a 329.250 team total to edge Stanford (328.950) and defeat California (315.450) and Air Force (313.350).

• Dodanli won the high bar title with his 14.300, while Benas won the parallel bars title by scoring 14.100. Tas Hajdu clinched the team victory with a 14.050 still rings score in the final routine of the meet.

• The win marked Oklahoma's first MPSF Championship since 2021. All 20 of its MPSF titles have come since the 1999 season, and OU has won 19 of those championships under head coach Mark Williams, who is in his 26th season leading the Sooners (he was an assistant coach when OU won its first MPSF title in 1999). It was also Oklahoma's 28th all-time conference championship, including eight Big Eight titles between 1977 and 1996.

• Oklahoma entered the final rotation with a lead of 1.8 points and closed the meet on still rings, while Stanford finished on vault. When the Cardinal completed its vault rotation, OU needed at least at 13.8 on its final routine to finish in front. Hajdu turned in a strong rings set for his 14.050.

• Benas totaled 69.150 on his five events, which was the third-best individual total among all gymnasts, including the two all-arounders. He placed second on floor exercise (14.200) and third on high bar (13.850). He also tied for fifth on vault (13.950) and scored 13.050 on still rings. Hajdu placed second on rings while Matthew Burgoyne placed third (14.000). Dodanli's four-event total of 55.850 ranked fifth among all gymnasts at the meet and best among those who competed four events. In addition to his 14.300 on high bar, he scored 13.900 on floor exercise, 13.900 on vault and 13.750 on p-bars.

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 23 NCAA Championships, and have reached 24 consecutive NCAA finals, or every championship held since 2000 (does not count the 2020 championship canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). OU has finished among the top 3 in 22 of the last 23 NCAA Championships held, dating back to the 2001 season.

• Mark Williams has led Oklahoma to nine national titles and 19 MPSF conference titles over the course of his nearly 26 full 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), then claimed second place in three straight championships: 2019, '21 and '22.

THE MEET

STICKS

NATIONAL RANKINGS NOTES

LAST TIME OUT — MPSF CHAMPIONSHIP

HISTORY AND TRADITION

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Fuzzy Benas

Matthew Burgoyne

Kelton Christiansen

Emre Dodanli

Colin Flores

Tyler Flores

Brigham Frentheway

Tas Hajdu

Zach Nunez

Francisco Velez Belendez

Ignacio Yockers

Brandon Zepeda-Orth

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics