OU Weekly Sport Notes

A weekly look at some news and notes surrounding Oklahoma Sooner athletics.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Last Week: Courtney Paris became the University of Oklahoma's first three-time consensus women's basketball All-American with the announcement of the junior to the State Farm Coaches All-America Team Saturday, April 5, in Tampa, Fla.

This Week: Paris continues the awards circuit as one of four finalists for the Naismith Trophy, presented in Tampa on Monday, and is one of five finalists for the Wooden Award, presented in Los Angeles on Saturday.

Notes: Paris is the first player to earn both the Coaches and Associated Press First Team All-America honors in each of her first three seasons ... Paris is also the first three-time Wooden All-American.

Web: http://soonersports.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/040508aaa.html

BASEBALL (22-10-1 overall, 3-5-1 Big 12)

Last Week: The OU baseball team posted a 2-2 record last week to finish off an eight-game home stand.  OU was 5-3 during the longest home stand of the season.  The Sooners began the week with an 8-4 victory over Dallas Baptist on Tuesday, sweeping the season series (2-0).  Over the weekend, the Sooners suffered a 2-1 series loss to No. 14 Texas.  OU took game two, 5-3, but lost the opener (10-7) and the series finale (13-7).

This Week: The Sooners will have two days off before returning to action on Wednesday, April 9 at No. 11 Wichita State.  Then the Sooners continue the five-game road trip at No. 19 Texas A&M.  The three-series will mark the fourth consecutive Big 12 weekend series against a ranked opponent.  OU concludes the road trip at TCU on April 15 before returning home to host No. 4 Missouri (April 18-20).

Notes: Prior to the Texas series, OU’s previous season high for runs allowed was eight … The No. 14 Longhorns posted 10 runs in the series opener and 13 in the finale to record the series victory … Freshman Casey Johnson upped OU’s team home run total to 29 over the weekend … Both of Johnson’s homers were solo shots against the Longhorns and 16 of OU’s round trippers this season have come with zero runners on base … Senior Jake McCarter recorded saves No. 8 and No. 9 last week and leads the Big 12 in that category, while ranking in the top five nationally … McCarter’s nine saves this season is the fourth highest total in a single season by a Sooner and is tied for fifth on the OU career list … Jamie Johnson extended his season-high hitting streak to seven games on Sunday against Texas … Johnson has hit safely in 12 of the last 13 games and has driven in a run in five of the last seven games.

Web: http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-basebl/okla-m-basebl-body.html


SOFTBALL (32-8, 6-0 Big 12)

Last Week: The No. 11 Sooners opened the week with the first installment of Bedlam last Wednesday in Stillwater.  OU owned the 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second when the game was postponed due to heavy rains.  The two teams will resume the game at the exact same point on Tuesday, April 22 at 6:30 p.m. in Stillwater.  Oklahoma finished the week with a sweep of Missouri last weekend at the OU Softball Complex and is now 6-0 in Big 12 play.  The Sooners run ruled the Tigers on Saturday with an 8-0 win in six innings and completed the sweep with a 4-3 win on Sunday.

This Week:  The Sooners open the week with a doubleheader against Arkansas on Monday in Fayetteville.  The first game of the twin bill is slated for 4 p.m. with the second set to begin at approximately 6 p.m.  Oklahoma will return to Big 12 action on Thursday with a doubleheader against Texas Tech at the OU Softball Complex.  The doubleheader will begin at 5 p.m.  The Sooners will follow that with a road trip to College Station, Texas, as the Sooners will face the No. 6 Texas A&M in a two-game series.  The series will begin on Saturday with a 2 p.m. contest and conclude on Sunday with a 12 p.m. game. 

Notes:  Oklahoma is 6-0 in the Big 12 for the first time since 2002 … Junior Samantha Ricketts recorded the game-winning walk-off RBI single in OU’s 4-3 win over Missouri … Sophomore Amber Flores hit .714 in the Nebraska series with a .857 slugging percentage … Oklahoma and Texas A&M are the only teams in the Big 12 with a perfect conference record … Flores is hitting .545  through six games in Big 12 play this season … Junior pitcher D.J. Mathis has also been solid in Big 12 play with a 4-0 record and 0.29 ERA.

Promotions: Thursday Night is OU Faculty and Staff Night.  The first 500 fans will receive OU mini helmets.

Web: http://www.soonersports.com/sports/w-softbl/okla-w-softbl-body.html


TRACK & FIELD

Last Week: Latoya Greaves and Buck Sullivan became OU’s latest record breakers at the Texas Relays with top marks in the 100-meter hurdles and hammer throw, respectively.  Jessica Eldridge and Catherine Odell both recorded NCAA Regional qualifying times in the 1,500-meter run at the Stanford Invitational.  In action at both meets, Oklahoma athletes notched 15 regional-qualifying marks.

This Week: The Sooners host the first of three outdoor meets this season, the 2008 John Jacobs Invitational.  The high school portion of the event runs all day Friday beginning at 8:30 a.m. while the collegiate athletes compete on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m.  All action is at the John Jacobs Track & Field Complex.  Admission is free.

Notes: One day after finishing third in the long jump with an NCAA Regional qualifying mark, senior Toni Smith took second in the A section of the women's triple jump, recording a legal wind-aided jump of 43-5.00 (13.23), a regional qualifying mark … The women's 4x200-meter relay of Missy Barnes, Leslie Cole, Scottesha Miller and Jalesa Walker finished third with a time of 1:34.37, less than one second behind first-place Texas A&M's 1:33.46 … Miller also finished sixth in the women's 100-meter dash, but more importantly ran a regional qualifying time of 11.58, just off her personal best of 11.57 … OU women's javelin record holder Amy Backel finished second in the B section of the event with an NCAA Regional Qualifying mark of 160-2 (48.82).

Web: http://soonersports.com/sports/c-track/recaps/040508aaa.html; http://soonersports.com/sports/c-track/recaps/040508aac.html


MEN’S GYMNASTICS

Last Week: Senior Jonathan Horton won his third conference all-around title and second-ranked Oklahoma came from behind to claim the program’s fourth consecutive MPSF Championship on April 5 in Lincoln, Neb.  The conference crown is the Sooners’ ninth in 10 years.  OU finished with a team score of 359.150, besting No. 1 Stanford (357.200), No. 4 Cal (356.050), No. 9 Nebraska (337.750) and No. 15 Air Force (328.500).  The top-ranked Cardinal had been the only team to defeat the Sooners in the regular season, claiming a 361.650-359.800 victory at the Pacific Coast Classic on Feb. 23.

This Week: Oklahoma takes two weeks off to prepare for the 2008 NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships, April 17-19 in Stanford, Calif.

Notes: In addition to his all-around win, Horton also won the rings title with a 16.000.  With the two event wins, the senior co-captain upped his career conference crown total to 10 … Freshman Steven Legendre also won an event title for the Sooners, scoring a 15.800 on the floor exercise to earn his first career conference title.  Legendre, the nation’s top-ranked gymnast on the event, matched his program and career-high score … OU gymnasts set or tied 10 career highs at the event … The 12-team field for the 2008 NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships will be announced on April 8.

Web: http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-gym/recaps/040508aac.html; http://gostanford.cstv.com/sports/m-gym/08-ncaa-tournament-central.html


WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS

This Week: The Big 12 Champion Sooners host four top-25 squads at the 2008 NCAA South Central Regional at the Lloyd Noble Center on April 12 at 6 p.m.  Headlining the field traveling to Norman is fourth-ranked Alabama, while No. 16 Boise State, No. 19 Arizona State, No. 24  Illinois and Southeast Missouri State round out the meet. The top two teams from Saturday's event will advance to the NCAA Championships, held April 24-26 in Athens, Ga.

Notes: Tickets for the event are $10 for adults and $5 for youth and are available through the OU Athletics Ticket Office.  Fans can purchase tickets online through SoonerSports.com or call [phone] or toll-free (800) 456-GoOU. Groups of 10 or more can order $5 tickets by calling 405-325-7513.

Promotions: http://www.soonersports.com/sports/w-gym/archive/2008_ncaa_regional.html

Web: http://www.soonersports.com/sports/w-gym/archive/2008_ncaa_regional.html

MEN'S GOLF

This Week: The Sooners return to the links this Saturday at the 54-hole ASU Thunderbird Invitational in Tempe, Ariz.

Notes: Oklahoma is in search of its fourth top-five finish of the year at the three-day event which concludes on April 13.

Web: http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-golf/sched/okla-m-golf-sched.html

WRESTLING

Last Week: The Sooners held their annual end-of-the-year banquet last Friday, April 4, at the Postal Service Training Center in Norman.  The Oklahoma coaching staff handed out five awards to select wrestlers, as well as recognized 2008 lettermen and seniors.

This Week: The squad prepares for the upcoming International freestyle competitions.  This weekend, April 10, will mark the first event for select Sooners at University Nationals in Akron, Ohio.

Notes: Senior Joshua Weitzel was handed the Most Outstanding Wrestler award at the Friday evening banquet and Joey Fio was named Most Outstanding Freshman.  Redshirt freshman Jeff James was honored as the Most Improved Sooner grappler this season and senior Max Dean was named the Outstanding Sooner Scholar Athlete.  Redshirt freshman Zack Bailey was awarded the Jimmy White Award, given to a select wrestler on the basis of athletic ability, team contribution, individual achievement and team spirit ... Weitzel, Dean, Brad Farmer, Blake Allen and two-time All-American Joel Flaggert were also recognized as graduating seniors.

Web: http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-wrestl/spec-rel/040408aaa.html

MEN'S TENNIS

Last Week: The Sooners (7-10, 0-3 Big 12) were defeated by No. 17 Texas Tech (17-2, 2-0 Big 12) on Friday night, 7-0, at the Headington Family Tennis Center.

This Week: Oklahoma hosts Oral Roberts on Monday, April 7.  The match is slated for a 1 p.m. start.

Web: http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-tennis/recaps/040408aaa.html; http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-tennis/spec-rel/040608aaa.html

WOMEN’S TENNIS

Last Week: The University of Oklahoma women's tennis team (9-8, 2-4) played host to Iowa State on Friday, April 4, and the University of Nebraska on Sunday, April 6.  The Sooners began the weekend with a 7-0 win over the Cyclones, before falling 4-3 to Nebraska. 

This Week: The Sooners hit the road next weekend as they travel to Waco, Texas, on Friday April 11, to take on the Baylor Bears.  While in Texas, OU will stop in Lubbock on Sunday, April 13 to face the Texas Tech Red Raiders. 

Notes: Freshman Ana-Maria Constantinescu was No. 89 in the latest (April 1), ITA rankings.  The Romania native improved her record to 12-3 on the season, earning wins against Iowa State and Nebraska.

Web: http://soonersports.com/sports/w-tennis/recaps/040608aaa.html; http://soonersports.com/sports/w-tennis/spec-rel/040508aab.html