In the world of men’s gymnastics, Oklahoma does not associate with the term “underdog” very often, if at all. 

The Sooners know their place in the sport, even calling themselves “GymU” on social media, and it’s not hard to understand why. The Sooners are tied with Penn State for the most national championships with 12, their most recent title coming in 2018. OU has also claimed 27 total conference titles as well as produced 335 All Americans. 

However, with their sights set on the MPSF championship at 2 p.m. on Saturday at McCasland Field House in Norman, OU has embraced that “underdog” title. The Sooners haven’t lost in McCasland in 17 straight years, yet they believe they are not the favorites to walk away as MPSF champions Saturday afternoon. 

Why do the Sooners suddenly feel like underdogs in their own building? Stanford. 

The Cardinal have won four straight national championships and are the favorite to win another championship this season. In three of those instances, OU has finished runner up to Stanford. 

“Stanford is our biggest competition right now,” senior captain Jack Freeman said on Thursday. “We know the challenge we have ahead of us, and we know that it’s a daunting one.”

The Sooners saw the Cardinal for the first time in their last meet of the regular season on March 16 in Palo Alto, California. The Sooners fell to Stanford 421.150-410.400, and the Cardinal claimed victory over OU in every event. 

“Stanford is a good team and they had a bit of an advantage over us with that meet being at (their) home,” head coach Mark Williams said. “But we’re not that far off and we had a pretty good meet.”

Williams and Freeman share the same confidence in their team, a piece that is vital in the puzzle of beating Stanford. And while the challenge may seem daunting, both the Sooners’ captain and head coach believe there is a recipe for beating the Cardinal. 

The Sooners expect to have sophomore Fuzzy Benas back in the lineup, a key piece who didn’t compete the first time they matched up against Stanford. Williams also expects a better performance out of his team on high bar, an event where OU had some mistakes in its March 16 loss. 

“We had some mistakes on high bar that we’re going to have to correct.” Williams said. “We’re just going to have to be incredibly consistent across the board on Saturday if we want to have a chance.”

When facing a team at the level of Stanford, both Williams and Freeman know how costly any mistakes can be. 

“For us to win this weekend we’re going to have to go 100% and we’re going to need to have around 12 to 13 sticks,” Freeman said. “On their best day and on our best day, I think they’re a little bit better than us. But if they can make a couple of mistakes and we can capitalize on those then we’ll have a shot at the end.”

There’s no better place for the Sooners to pull off an upset than in the friendly confines of McCasland Field House. OU has had unparalleled success at McCasland throughout the past decade and a half, and the Sooners hope that success can propel them past the Cardinal. 

Williams has been adamant on social media trying to persuade fans to come and support the Sooners on Saturday. His team thrives off of energy from the home crowd, and Williams believes they need all the help they can muster. 

“Our crowd can be an advantage to us by sharing the energy and sharing the noise,” Williams said. “We want to make it difficult for the other teams. And if we can fill the Field House up, then my guys will thrive on that.”

Stanford has had a cardinal-colored shadow draped over men’s gymnastics for the past four years. Stanford has been the standard, and the Sooners recognize that. But, the Sooners know how to win and they know what it takes to get back to the top of the mountain.

Before the Stanford run began, the Sooners had their own crimson shadow cast on the sport. GymU didn’t just appear out of thin air. Now, the Sooners are ready to reset the gymnastics hierarchy, and Saturday is set to serve as the first challenge for the Sooners to reclaim their top spot. 

“We understand what we’re up against,” Williams said. “They’ve won four straight national championships and we won the four before that. At some point, the reign ends, and maybe that’s our time to do it this Saturday.”

Story Reflection: This story was one that also got published on the OU Daily website during my time covering the team in the Spring of 2024. This was my first time writing a true preview story for a singular event, and I had fun writing this one. This story served as material that OU gymnastics fans could read before their conference championship in which they were competing against an opponent they hadn’t beat in over four years. This story has elements of reflection within it as well as players and coaches acknowledging what they need to do to come out victorious in their upcoming meet.