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SPORTS
• Monday, January 23, 2012
Wrestling
OU wrestlers slam Sun Devils Oklahoma comes back strong after sluggish Big 12 win Greg Fewell Sports Editor
Oklahoma won eight out of its 10 matches and earned bonus points in seven of those matches to easily defeat Arizona State by a score of 33-7 Sunday afternoon at the McCasland Field House. The Sooners bounced back in a big way after what the team considers a somewhat disappointing 19-16 victory over Iowa State on Friday. Oklahoma only won five matches Friday against the Cyclones and was only able to pick up bonus points in three of those matches. “A win is a win and we will take it,” coach Mark Cody said after the match. “I’m definitely disappointed in the fact that several individuals on our team could have wrestled harder.” The head coach did not have the same complaints after his team’s most recent outing on the mat. The Sooners looked solid all the way down the lineup. Cody attributes the success to his team being more prepared both mentally and physically after the hardfought battle against Iowa State just two days prior. “I knew after the Iowa State
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dual they’d have a rest and they’d feel a lot better coming in here today,” Cody said. “And we wanted to score a lot of points in a lot of these matches, so I’m happy with them.” The sooners scored early and often. Junior Jarrod Patterson started out the match for Oklahoma with a solid 19-8 major decision over Arizona State’s David Prado. Patterson, the No. 7-ranked 125 pounder in the country, had five takedowns and two nearfalls in the opening match of the dual. Then, in the 133-pound match, OU senior Jordan Keller put on a clinic en route to a 10-1 major decision and an early eight-point lead. The Sooners continued to roll as top-ranked Kendric Maple bounced back from his first loss of the year with a 16-6 major decision in the 141-pound bout. After 157pounder Matt Lester pinned his opponent just 1:24 into the bout, the Sooners held a commanding 22-0 lead. Oklahoma built up a sizable lead against Iowa State, too. However, the Cyclones were able to make a run by competing in the later bouts. This time, Oklahoma never took its foot off the accelerator. OU junior Patrick “Bubby” Graham recorded the most dominant win of the night, winning the 165 bout
ricardo patino/the daily
Sophomore Kendric Maple grips his Iowa State opponent in his first loss of the season Friday. Maple lost the bout 11-9 in sudden death overtime.
by a score of 22-8. “Bubby Graham has faced such brutal competition all year long, and he’s wrestled probably eight of the top nine guys and comes out and wrestles with that same intensity,” Cody said. “It’s very good for him. The tough schedule’s starting to really pay off for him.” Arizona State did show signs of a spark after Graham’s dominating performance, winning both the 174- and 184-pound matches.
However, the Sooners closed the match out in the same fashion they began it. Junior Keldrick Hall gave OU yet another major decision and then freshman heavyweight Kyle Colling recorded the biggest victory of his young career in the heavyweight bout, upsetting No. 9-ranked ASU junior Levi Cooper 4-3. The win came off an escape by Colling with just seconds to go, sealing the win in dramatic fashion. “The guy he just beat beat
the No. 1 guy in the country, and that guy’s beaten a lot of really good people so we’re really happy with that win,” Cody said. “That’s a big win for him, and it’s something that he needed because he’s very capable of beating everybody.” The No. 11 Sooners enjoy a few days off before hosting Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. Saturday at Lloyd Noble Center as part of OU’s annual “Beauty and the Beast” event.
Gymnastics
Oklahoma posts NCAA-best score The OU women’s gymnastics team erased any doubt it would respond to a loss to Oregon State on Jan. 13, its first regularseason loss since 2009, by posting an NCAA-best score during the TWU quad meet Saturday in Denton, Texas. Oklahoma’s 197.450 was the highest team score by any program in the country this season as OU handily defeated TWU (192.425), Utah State (192.325) and Centenary (191.450) to improve to 6-1 this season.. The Sooners combined for 10 career-high scores and nine season-highs while sweeping all eight event titles, led by sophomore Taylor Spears’ 39.200 to win the all-around competition. Senior Megan Ferguson won a pair of event titles with a season-high 9.9 on beam and a career-high 9.95 on floor. Junior Brie Olson also had a career-high 9.95 to win bar, and senior Sara Stone collected the vault title with a season-high 9.925. “I felt our seniors stepped up in a big way,” OU coach K.J. Kindler said. “The leadership is going to be important for us down the road.” James Corley, Night Editor
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TO TUESDAY, JANUARY 31 Mauro Vieira, Brazilian Ambassador to the U.S., has been detained to a high-level meeting in Washington, D.C., but will be featured at the President’s Associates Dinner,which has been moved to Tuesday, January 31. His Excellency Mauro Vieira, Brazilian Ambassador to the United States, will speak about urban development in Brazil. His career includes diplomatic assignments and domestic roles in Brazil. Prior to being appointed Ambassador to the United States, Vieira was the Brazilian Ambassador to Argentina from 2004 to 2009.
6 p.m. - Reception 6:30 p.m. - Dinner and Keynote Address Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
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