Oklahoma's Daniel Furney posted a strong performance to help the host Sooners defeat Ohio State by less than a point at the National Collegiate Men's Gymnastics Championships April 5.

For the Sooners, who were upset by Ohio State last year, the victory was especially satisfying. The title is Oklahoma's fourth overall and first since 1991.

Despite the continued high scores by Oklahoma's Furney, Jock Stevens, and Quinn Rowell, Ohio State's all-around champion Raj Bhavsar kept the Buckeyes in contention throughout the meet. In the fifth rotation, the Buckeyes made up considerable ground by scoring 36.700 on the pommel horse while the Sooners compiled 35.675 on the parallel bars. But even Bhavsar's 9.750 on the rings in the Buckeyes' final rotation could not close the gap completely. Oklahoma finished with 219.300 points to Ohio State's 218.650.

California, led by Zhang JinJing, accumulated 217.650, followed by Michigan (215.050) and Iowa (213.225).

"Winning the national championships at home is amazing," said Oklahoma coach Mark Williams. "As a coach, I thank my players for the effort that they gave. The heart they showed down the stretch was amazing."

In the individual event competitions, Clay Strother of Minnesota repeated as champion on the pommel horse and floor exercise.

"It's just so much harder out there without the team pushing you," said Strother, whose fellow Gophers did not qualify for the team finals. "I had a lot to live up to there (being the defending champion on those two events), but I thought I handled it well."

Stanford's Marshall Erwin and Dan Gill won the rings and vault, respectively. California's Cody Moore won the parallel bars and Daniel Diaz-Luong of Michigan won the high bar event.

"I wanted to finish my career with a great ending," Diaz-Luong said. "This entire experience has been incredible. I couldn't be happier."

TEAM RESULTS

1. Oklahoma, 219.300; 2. Ohio St., 218.650; 3. California, 217.650; 4. Michigan, 215.050; 5. Iowa, 213.225; 6. Stanford, 212.775.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

All-around: 1. Raj Bhavsar, Ohio St., 55.875; 2. Zhang JinJing, California, 55.200; 3. Daniel Furney, Oklahoma, 55.050; 4. Daniel Diaz-Luong, Michigan, 54.525; 5. Cody Moore, California, 54.375; 6. Clay Strother, Minnesota, 54.300.

Floor exercise: 1. Clay Strother, Minnesota, 9.612; 2. Kerry Adderly, Ohio St., 9.312; 3. Guillermo Alvarez, Minnesota, 9.287; 4. Dick Huntwork, Ohio St., 8.925; 5. Kevin Donohue, Penn St., 8.875; 6. Josh Landis, Oklahoma, 8.650.

Pommel horse: 1. Clay Strother, Minnesota, 9.775; 2. Cody Moore, California, 9.512; 3. Don Jackson, Iowa, 9.500; 4. Peter Shostchuk, Illinois, 9.437; 5. Raj Bhavsar, Ohio St., 9.412; 6. David Eaton, California, 9.350.

Rings: 1. Marshall Erwin, Stanford, 9.825; 2. Kevin Tan, Penn St., 9.525; 3. Shannon Carrion, Oklahoma, 9.425; 4. David Henderson, Oklahoma, 9.375; 5. J.G.Ketchen, Illinois, 9.350; 6. Conan Parzucho, Michigan, 9.250.

Vault: 1. Dan Gill, Stanford, 9.487; 2. Jock Stevens, Oklahoma, 9.437; 3. Daniel Furney, Oklahoma, 9.425; 4. Kevin Donohue, Penn St., 9.287; 5. Raj Bhavsar, Ohio St., 9.275; 6. Clay Strother, Minnesota, 9.237.

Parallel bars: 1. Cody Moore, California, 9.125; 2. Everette Bierker, Oklahoma, 9.000; 3. Daniel Diaz-Luong, Michigan, 8.875; 4. Clay Strother, Minnesota, 8.825; 5. Kevin Tan, Penn St., 8.812; 6. Graham Ackerman, California, 8.575.

Horizontal bar: 1. Daniel Diaz-Luong, Michigan, 9.612; 2. Quinn Rowell, Oklahoma, 9.337; 3. Everette Bierker, Oklahoma, 9.287; 4. Daniel Furney, Oklahoma, 9.262; 5. Dave Durante, Stanford, 9.062; 6. Randy Monahan, Ohio St., 9.025.