Gymnastics: Oklahoma Rides Clutch Performances to Pull Off NCAA Rally

By OU Media Relations

NORMAN — In third place after two rotations, the No. 1-ranked Oklahoma women's gymnastics team rallied Saturday to yet another NCAA Regional Championship.

OU turned in clutch performances on floor exercise and vault to win the NCAA Norman Regional and advance to the NCAA Championships semifinals for the 22nd time and 16th straight season under head coach K.J. Kindler.

The Sooners finished the meet with a 198.050 score — their nation-leading eighth score of 198-plus this season — and advanced along with second-place Kentucky, which scored a 197.850 as the No. 9 overall seed. No. 16-seed Ohio State finished in third with a 197.750 and No. 8-seed Alabama took fourth with a 197.650.

Highlighted by junior Katherine LeVasseur's perfect 10.0 on vault, OU gymnasts won all four events and the all-around Saturday in front of 5,187 fans at Lloyd Noble Center. It marked the Sooners' fifth time to host an NCAA regional, and their fifth home title.

Oklahoma started the regional final on uneven bars and put up a huge 49.675, sticking all six landings and setting a program scoring record for NCAA regional competition.

Sophomore Danielle Sievers began the meet with a 9.900 and was followed by sophomore Danae Fletcher's 9.875. Super senior Olivia Trautman tied a career high with a 9.950 in the No. 3 spot before senior Ragan Smith notched a 9.900. Sophomore Jordan Bowers was near perfect in the No. 5 position with a 9.975, good for her third bars title of the season and 11th of her career. Junior Audrey Davis capped the rotation with a 9.950, her 10th score of the year at least that high. The Sooners held a one-tenth lead over Kentucky (49.575 on beam) after the first rotation, while Ohio State was in third (49.475 on floor) and Alabama in fourth (49.275 on vault).

Following falls by senior Jenna Dunn (9.100) and Trautman (9.300) in the first two beam routines, the Sooners rebounded with four stellar performances.

Bowers was the first of four straight scores above a 9.900, posting a 9.925 in the No. 3 position. She was followed by freshman Faith Torrez, who won her second career beam title with a career-high-tying 9.975. Davis maintained OU's momentum with a 9.925 and Smith anchored with a 9.950. The Sooners' 49.075 gave them a 98.750 score at the meet's halfway point and dropped them into third place behind Kentucky (98.950) and Ohio State (98.850), and ahead of Alabama (98.675).

"Things can happen when you have mistakes on beam," Kindler said. "Your team falls apart or your team rises up. I really felt like those last four were heroines in that moment and went after every tenth and were not afraid because they know what the consequence of this meet is. This is either your last meet of the year or you move on. So that was incredible to watch."

OU carried its energy into the third rotation and notched a 9.900 or higher in all six positions for a 49.675, tied for the best NCAA postseason score in program history.

Davis got OU's floor party started with a 9.900, just shy of her season high. Smith continued her strong night with a 9.925 before the Sooners posted consecutive 9.950s by Bowers, Sievers and Torrez, all tying for the event title (Sievers' and Torrez's scores tied career highs). Fletcher, competing on floor for the first time in five meets, closed out the rotation with a 9.900. The Sooners' floor performance thrust them back into the top position with a 148.425, just ahead of Kentucky (148.400). Ohio State was third (148.275) while Alabama was fourth (148.100).

Needing a strong effort on vault to seal a trip to Fort Worth in two weeks, OU capitalized on the opportunity.

Led by LeVasseur's perfect score in the No. 3 position, it was her third 10.0 on vault this season and fourth of her career. She was preceded by Sievers (9.875) in the leadoff spot and super senior Allie Stern (9.900) in the No. 2 position. Bowers followed LeVasseur with a 9.850 before Davis registered a 9.875, her best score since Feb. 19 at Texas Woman's University. In her final routine at Lloyd Noble Center, Trautman emphatically closed the day for the Sooners with a 9.975, tied for her second-highest vault score of the season. As a team, the Sooners earned their second-highest vault score in NCAA regional competition with a 49.625.

"I couldn't be prouder of the whole team," said Kindler, who will be looking to direct OU to its sixth national title in the last nine seasons. "It was a team effort from top to bottom. The crowd, though not huge in numbers, was incredibly impactful and very loud. I think they knew when they needed to be loud and how to be loud, and that was really great."

Bowers won the all-around for the eighth time this season with a 39.700, just shy of her career high of 39.750. Davis posted a career-high 39.650 to tie for second place in the all-around.

The Sooners will compete in the NCAA Championships semifinals on Thursday, April 13 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, against Kentucky, No. 4 seed UCLA and No. 5 seed Utah. The top two teams will advance to the NCAA Four on the Floor on Saturday, April 15, along with two other squads.

OU has finished in the top four of the NCAA Championships in each of the last nine seasons and in 11 of the last 12. It has finished in the top two in each of the last six seasons and eight of the last nine.

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