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NORMAN, Okla. -- The University of Oklahoma men's gymnastics team enters the 2013 season ranked No. 3 in the GymnInfo Preseason Coaches Poll.

This is not uncharted territory for the eight-time national champions, who have been ranked in the top three in every preseason poll since 2000.

The Sooners are ranked behind defending NCAA Champion and top-ranked Illinois, and Michigan. Penn State is fourth, followed by Mountain Pacific Sports Federation foe Stanford at No. 5. MPSF members California (No. 6) and Air Force (No. 11) are also ranked in the preseason poll. All four MPSF teams competed at the 2012 NCAA Championship, and OU, California and Stanford all placed in the top five.

Oklahoma, the 2012 NCAA runner-up, heads into 2013 fresh off its 12th-consecutive top-three finish at the NCAA Championships. The Sooners also claimed their 19th conference title in 2012, their 10th in the past 13 years under head coach Mark Williams.

The storylines for the 2013 season undoubtedly will be the team's returning youth and a new team scoring format. With a 17-man roster that includes 10 sophomores and just two seniors, consistency in the new five-up, five-count scoring system will be important.

"My emphasis has been on getting gymnastics that was consistent, and done well," Williams said. "We're trying to put together a team that can build on its difficulty but certainly looking at hit percentages as the most important quality of this team."

Five Up, Five Count

The biggest change in college gymnastics this season will be the new scoring system. In the past, six gymnasts competed at each event, with the top four scores counting toward a team's total. This season, five scores will count, and beginning in March, only five gymnasts will compete for each team. The new format will put a greater importance on consistency, without the benefit of the lowest score being dropped.

"I think it will change things dramatically, where you can't have two misses on an event and still be ok after you drop those scores." Williams said. "In the preseason, it's been a work in progress where certain things have had to either come in or out of routines so that we reach our most consistent high team score. We'll just have to make the most of what we have in terms of doing good gymnastics that guys can do well consistently throughout season and hope we can keep up with the best teams just by our quality of performances.

"I think from a spectator standpoint, it will be much easier to understand who's winning and who's doing well. When somebody falls, it will affect your team right then, and you know you won't have the option to drop a score later."

Sophomore Youth Movement

The OU roster is packed with youth. Nine sophomores and four freshmen lead the way, with two juniors and two seniors serving as the experienced veterans on the squad. What was a group of wide-eyed freshmen last season return more mature a year later, having seen what it takes to reach an elite level.

"The great thing about the sophomores is that they now have the scope of a full season behind them and they understand the whole process of competing throughout the regular season and into the championship rounds and team finals," Williams said. "To understand the processes is the key to having them be a little more prepared for what comes our way throughout the year."

Williams expects Alec Robin on floor, Mike Squires on rings and Mike Reid on pommel horse to play a prominent role in 2013, in addition to Dylan Akers on all-around and returning All-American Danny Berardini on parallel bars and high bar. All five sophomores are coming off impressive freshman campaigns for OU.

Returning All-Americans

The Sooners return four All-Americans from last season. Seniors Troy Nitzky and Chris Stehl earned the honor on rings last season, while junior Presten Ellsworth earned All-American status on vault and sophomore Danny Berardini did so on parallel bars. Nitzky was also an All-American in 2011 on rings.

OU lost three All Americans, led by Jake Dalton's honors in the all-around, floor, rings, vault, parallel bars and high bar. Mike Heredia and Patrick Piscitelli were All Americans on vault.

A Look Inside Each Meet

The 2013 OU schedule consists of 10 regular season meets, including three home meets at the McCasland Field House.

The season begins at the Rocky Mountain Open on Jan. 12. The Sooners will face Nebraska, Arizona State, Washington and host Air Force. Oklahoma heads to the west coast on Jan. 19 for the Stanford Open on Jan. 19.

"The Stanford Open will be a good test against two teams in our conference," Williams said. "Two meets in, we will have competed against our entire conference and have a good understanding of where everybody's at."

The Sooners will be closer to home, at the Metroplex Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, on Jan. 25. OU will see several top collegiate teams, Illinois, Ohio State and Iowa.

"The Metroplex Challenge is new to our schedule this year," Williams said. "It will be a big meet against some strong competition, including defending national champions Illinois."

Oklahoma closes out the first half of its season on the road at Iowa on Feb. 2.

The first of three home meets is slated for Feb. 16 as the Sooners welcome Minnesota to the McCasland Field House. OU hosts MPSF conference foe Air Force the following weekend on Feb. 23. Both meets begin at 7 p.m.

"We look forward to finally getting home," said Williams. "Minnesota is another team that has improved a lot. Air Force will be coming in right after that for a conference meet."

After trips to Nebraska on March 3 and Michigan on March 9, Oklahoma hosts Ohio State on March 23 in the final meet of the regular season. The season-finale is scheduled to commence at 7 p.m.

The postseason begins two weeks later for OU, as the Sooners return to Colorado Springs for the MPSF Conference Championships on April 6. Oklahoma will be competing for its 12th conference title in the last 15 seasons and 20th overall.

The 2013 season concludes on April 19-21 in State College, Pa., at the NCAA Championships. The three-day event is hosted by Penn State, where the Sooners will be competing for their ninth national championship in program history and sixth in the last 12 years.

"The conference and NCAA team finals will be very interesting," Williams said. "In the past, you've had that leniency where you can drop two scores, and now, it's going to be just like the Olympic finals. It's all going to count, and that's definitely a very different way of counting scores than we've done in the past. It's going to make it exciting and interesting, but it's also going to be a very challenging task even for the best teams to put their best day out there and be capable of hitting 30 out of 30 routines."