The rekindling of the Ohio State men’s gymnastics program in Rustam Sharipov’s fifth season as coach can be traced to his six years as an assistant at Oklahoma.
Sharipov was on the staff when the Sooners won NCAA team championships in 2006 and ’08. He is a big admirer of Oklahoma coach Mark Williams, who has won six national titles since 2000, including last year.
“He has built a system, and it’s producing good results with small tweaks here and there,” said Sharipov, who coached under Williams from 2005 to '11. “The culture of their program — the environment inside their gym — is important.