CHICAGO, April 21, 2018 – The University of Oklahoma won its fourth-straight title tonight at the 2018 NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships at UIC Pavillion in Chicago. Oklahoma’s Yul Moldauer, who is a U.S. champion and World bronze medalist, won the all-around, floor, vault and parallel bars titles.
After trailing for the first three rotations, Oklahoma rallied to win the team crown with a 414.858 total. The University of Minnesota recorded a 411.923 to place second, followed by the University of Illinois in third (411.689). Stanford University was fourth (408.725), with the University of Nebraska (403.589) finishing fifth and Pennsylvania State University placing sixth (401.991)
The Sooners entered the final rotation leading Illinois by 4.636 points. In the anchor position, Genki Suzuki capped off a strong high bar rotation with a stuck full twisting double layout dismount to earn a 13.533. Oklahoma’s 66.531 total on high bar secured the national title, marking the 97th straight victory for the team. OU is the third program in NCAA history to win four consecutive national championships. The title is program’s 12th overall, which ties Penn State for most in NCAA history.
“It was a nail-biter. I’m just really proud of them because halfway through the meet it didn’t look like we were going to finish this,” said Mark Williams, head coach for Oklahoma. “Four in a row is just an unbelievable accomplishment.”
Oklahoma posted the top team scores for vault (72.566) and parallel bars (69.832). Nebraska had the highest floor exercise team score at 70.099, with Illinois taking team honors for pommel horse (68.965) and still rings (67.832). Penn State topped the field on high bar with a 70.066 team total.
Moldauer clinched all-around title in dominating fashion with his 87.298. Shane Wiskus of Minnesota finished second at 83.064, followed by Ohio State’s Alec Yoder (82.631). Moldauer also claimed the trophies for the floor, vault and parallel bars with scores of 15.166, 14.900 and 14.733, respectively. The other event champions were: still rings – Alex Diab of Illinois, 14.500; pommel horse – Stephen Nedoroscik of Penn State, 14.666; high bar – Robert Neff of Stanford, 14.766.
“Yul has been amazing, and he won the all-around by almost four points,” said Williams. “He was obviously the difference between our winning and being second. When it’s go-time he is a fierce competitor and I’m just so impressed when he goes out there and has days like today."