OU men's gymnastics remains on strong path after losing key freshman ahead of Michigan meet

NORMAN — The No. 1-ranked OU men’s gymnastics team (7-1, 3-0 MPSF) is in the middle of another impressive season coming off the USA Gymnastics Winter Cup in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Sooners’ only loss came on the road against Illinois 407.200-406.650 on Jan. 28.

As OU prepares to face No. 4 Michigan (10-1, 1-1 Big Ten) at noon Saturday, The Oklahoman spoke with head coach Mark Williams about his Sooners’ season thus far and what’s ahead:

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Sooners strong at Winter Cup

Redshirt sophomore Fuzzy Benas earned a U.S. Men’s Senior National Team nod Sunday following the Winter Cup.

Benas tied for fifth in the all-around event, completing a two-day score of 163.600. His total included a 29.050 vault score.

Former OU star Yul Moldauer took home the all-around title, his fourth at the Winter Cup. Moldauer was announced as a national team member on Aug. 26. A current or former OU gymnast has won the men’s senior all-around title at the Winter Cup in nine of the last 15 years.

For their performances at the Winter Cup, Benas and fifth-year all-around Jack Freeman were named MPSF Gymnasts of the Week.

“(It was) overall pretty good,” Williams said. “Fuzzy Benas made the national team and so that was a win. And Yul Moldauer, one of our alumni, won the event so that's pretty cool. But Colin Flores tore his ACL so that's a bummer.”

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Fuzzy Benas’ journey from injuries to national team

Following injuries that left him sidelined for an entire year, Benas was the highest-ranked NCAA athlete at the Winter Cup.

“That was pretty amazing,” Williams said. “He put together a pretty steady meet all the way through. The first day he was hanging in the top five until we got to pommel horse, which was the last event. Had a fall there so really needed to have a good second day and he came through. Did a great horse set, finishing tied for fifth in the all around and securing a national team squad. Just really proud of how he's come back from all the adversity and injuries from last year.”

Williams watched for a year as Benas rehabbed and worked diligently to get back to competing at the highest level with his teammates.

“It's difficult when you don't get to compete and be out there with your teammates,” Williams said. “You miss the fun of traveling and the brotherhood we have as a team. When you have one injury, you're looking forward to getting back but when you have two and three, you probably have some worries that you maybe won't have the opportunity to get back out there.

“So, to finally get through that and get back to that level, I'm sure it was a great relief to him and I’m thrilled that he's resumed his career.”

OU gymnast Colin Flores tears ACL

Colin Flores, one of the Sooners’ surprises this season, will miss the rest of the year after tearing his ACL on vault during day one of the Winter Cup.

Before his injury, Flores, a freshman from Mountain House, California, was expecting to provide a significant challenge at the Winter Cup.

“As a freshman, he made the lineup and had been ranked in the all-around,” Williams said. “He exceeded my expectations as far as how confident and steady he was in competition and I was hoping that this weekend he was going to be somewhere in the top 15 in the all-around and catch the bug that he could be working towards making the national team in the future.”

In the 2023 Winter Cup, Flores placed fourth on the high bar, sixth in the all-around and seventh on the pommel horse.

“The injury is devastating because it sets him back almost a year with getting surgery and the rehab and all that,” Williams said. “So, we'll just have to refocus the way he progresses and hope that he's able to take care of himself and come back stronger.”

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Sooners have work to do facing Michigan

The Wolverines present the toughest test since OU’s loss to the Fighting Illini.

“They've got two world team members in Paul Judah and Fred Richard who are tremendous athletes and have done amazing things so far,” Williams said. “Being at Michigan, it's a relatively small venue and they always make it a challenge for the opposing team. So, we're going to have to rise to the occasion. I'd like to feel like we go in there and we can compete really confidently and have a strong performance.”

Williams will have to adjust his lineup due to Flores’ injury and mull resting Benas during the all-around since he’s been through a grueling week at the Winter Cup.

“Maybe we don't have our strongest team there,” Williams said, “but I'm still hoping that we can put up a good score.”

The Sooners take on Navy for their final home meet at 5:45 p.m. on March 9 at McCasland Field House before heading west for the final meet of the season against No. 2 Stanford and No. 8 California on March 16.

OU won’t be at full strength then either as Benas was invited to compete in Germany that weekend. However, Williams is confident in the depth of his team and believes it’ll show before the postseason ramps up.

“I feel like we've been steadily doing what we need to do,” Williams said. “We've had some inconsistency through the last few weeks but overall I do feel like we have a good team when we put everything together. You can just have a little bit of that up and down that goes with any season but I still feel like we're on track to go into March knowing that the meets that really matter will be at the beginning of April with the conference championships and then the NCAA's.

“So, just hoping to continue to develop our depth and to just be competing consistently and hopefully giving the best out on the floor in April.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU men's gymnastics remains best in country heading into Michigan