Gymnastics: OU meets Nebraska tonight

For the third time this season, the Oklahoma men’s gymnastics team will face off against Mountain Pacific Sports Federation rival Nebraska. The sixth-ranked Sooners host the 12th-ranked Huskers Friday, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. at the Lloyd Noble Center. The meet will be a double dual event that also features the No. 6 OU women’s team competing against the No. 12 Nebraska women.

“I hope there’s going to be another good crowd and a lot of energy,” OU head coach Mark Williams said. “This may be the best combination of the men’s and women’s programs we’ve had at the University of Oklahoma.”

Oklahoma has already defeated Nebraska twice in 2008, claiming a 343.550-331.200 victory at the Rocky Mountain Open on Jan. 12 and a 349.700-341.400 win in Lincoln, Neb., on Jan. 20.

Despite the Sooners’ recent dominance of their old Big 8 rivals, the Huskers should provide a lively test. In the teams’ last meeting in Lincoln, Nebraska held a 229.000-228.200 lead over OU through four rotations before the Sooners rallied on high bar and vault to claim the victory.

“They’re a young team on their way up,” Williams said. “Even though we’ve beaten them the first couple of times we met this season, we’re looking at some things long-term in regards to our preparation. We want to put together another good score and having another really good competition.”

Williams plans a few subtle lineup changes for Friday night’s competition. Most notably, freshman Steven Legendre, a two-time MPSF Gymnast of the Week honoree this season, will likely not compete in the all-around for the first time in 2008. Taking his place will be sophomore Ian Jackson, who won the all-around title against in OU’s win over Arizona State and Washington in his only action on all six events last season.