OU All-American to compete at AT&T American Cup in first competition leading up to 2016 Olympics.
March 1, 2013
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Jacob Dalton
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Former OU gymnast and 2012 Olympian Jacob Dalton (2010-12) will compete at
the AT&T American Cup Saturday in Worcester, Mass. The competition is a
World Cup event and features an elite selection of international gymnasts.
The AT&T American Cup is part of the International Gymnastics Federation
World Cup series. It marks the unofficial beginning of the road to the 2016
Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The competition is the first of many international
events in the four years leading up to the Summer Games.
"Jake's getting another opportunity to be at the American Cup," OU
head coach Mark Williams said. "He was third two years ago, which a surprise
to many, but it may have been the start to his build to making the 2012 Olympic
Team. This is fairly early in the new quadrinium towards 2016, but we'd like
to feel like he's one of the best guys in the country on the all-around, and
that he's able to prove that against a pretty stiff group of competition from
an international group that's pretty select this weekend. I think if he has
a good meet he has a chance to win."
Dalton competed at the AT&T American Cup in 2011, where he finished third
in the all-around with a score of 88.497. Dalton came in first on floor with
a 15.766 and tied for first on parallel bars with a 15.066. He was added to
the field on the morning of the competition due to an injury.
Held annually since 1976, OU gymnast Bart Conner won the inaugural American
Cup and again in 1980 and '81. Former Sooner Jonathan Horton is a three-time
American Cup all-around winner, having claimed the title in 2006, '07 and '11.
In addition to Dalton, fellow American and 2012 Olympian Danell Leyva will also
compete. The star-filled international field includes Sergio Sasaki of Brazil,
Jorge Hugo Giraldo Lopez of Colombia, Marcel Nguyen of Germany, Kristian Thomas
of Great Britain, Hiroki Ishikawa of Japan and Oleg Verniaiev of Ukraine.
Dalton is coming off a victory in the all-around at the Winter Cup on Feb. 7
and 9 in Las Vegas. He won the all-around title with a combined score of 173.250
and claimed event titles on floor and rings with two-day totals of 31.250 and
29.650, respectively.
Saturday's competition begins at 10:30 a.m. CT at the DCU Center. NBC will broadcast
the event beginning at 12 p.m. CT, and live scoring, a complete schedule and
general event information can be found at ATTAmericanCup.com.
For complete news and behind-the-scenes updates on the Sooners, follow them
on Twitter at @SoonerGymnasts,
on Facebook at Facebook.com/SoonerGymnasts,
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