Gymnastics: No. 1 Oklahoma Wins Big 12 Again
By OU Media Relations
MORGANTOWN, WV – The No. 1-ranked Oklahoma women’s gymnastics team won all four events, posted its best beam score in program history (49.800) behind senior Ragan Smith’s perfect 10, and registered the best-ever Big 12 Championship score to claim its 10th conference title in the last 11 seasons with a 198.400 in a victory over No. 13 Denver (197.175), host West Virginia (196.225) and Iowa State (193.750) on Saturday evening.
OU scored a 198.500 on the night but was penalized one-tenth of a point for being out of order on bars. The 198.400 still represented the Sooners’ third-best score (tied) and the nation’s fourth-best score of the season, based on totals entering the weekend. OU now owns the nation’s best, third-best and fourth-best scores of 2023, and has topped the 198 mark a nation-leading seven times. The title is the 13th in the tenure of 17th-year OU head coach K.J. Kindler. It also marks the 14th Big 12 team championship in program history and 19th conference title overall.
“The beam team was legitimately on fire,” Kindler said. “From Jenna (Dunn in the leadoff spot) and all the way through to Ragan, simply a magical performance. Team, that’s what it’s all about.”
Big 12 yearly awards were announced following the meet. Freshman Faith Torrez became the 10th OU gymnast to be named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, joining teammates Smith (2020) and senior Olivia Trautman (2019) as current Sooners to have won the award. Junior Katherine LeVasseur became the third consecutive Sooner to win the Big 12 Event Specialist of the Year and 10th overall. This marks the first time LeVasseur earned an end-of-the-year conference honor. Kindler was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year for the 12th time since she took over the Sooners program and the 15th time overall.
In addition to the year-end awards, individual conference champions were recognized after the meet. Six Sooners combined for a total of eight Big 12 individual event titles on the evening, claiming at least a share of every event title and the all-around. Sophomore Jordan Bowers picked up her second and third career Big 12 titles, respectively, with a 9.950 on floor and 39.700 in the all-around. Bowers became the first Sooner to win a conference all-around crown since Maggie Nichols in 2018. The Lincoln, NE, native has earned 20 individual titles this season and now ranks 10th in program history with 40 career titles.
“Jordan has been pumping out great all-around efforts week after week and tonight was no different,” Kindler said. “Incredible performance once again, and a champion.”
Trautman and Smith are both tied (with four other Sooners) for the fifth-most career conference titles with four each. Trautman won her second consecutive Big 12 vault title and earned her first conference bars crown (scored a 9.950 on each; the bars score tied a career high). Smith earned her fourth perfect 10 on beam to move into fifth place in the school record book for career perfect scores. It was her third title on the event this season. Trautman moved into ninth in career vault titles (10) and is currently tied with teammate Bowers, while Smith is now tied for fifth in career beam titles (15) with Anastasia Webb and Haley DeProspero.
Sophomore Danielle Sievers (vault), junior Audrey Davis (bars) and Torrez (floor) also earned conference titles. Sievers won her second career Big 12 crown and first on vault with a 9.950, sharing the title with Trautman and Denver’s Rylie Mundell. The event title was also the first in 2023 for the Gary, SD, native. Davis earned her first Big 12 individual championship on bars, tying Trautman, and ranks fifth in program history with 18 career bars titles. Torrez was the only freshman at the 2023 conference championship to win an individual title. The Bristol, WI, native tied Bowers and Denver’s Jessica Hutchinson.
Opening on floor, the Sooners posted a 49.575 to hold the lead after the first rotation. Denver posted a 49.275 on vault, West Virginia a 48.700 on bars and Iowa State a 47.525 on beam. OU junior Bell Johnson started the meet with a solid 9.875, ending with a stuck double-back to two-feet. Davis followed with another 9.850, while the last four Sooners posted scores of 9.900 or higher. Smith earned a 9.900 and was followed by Bowers’ eighth score of 9.900 or higher this season (9.950). In the fifth spot, Sievers also earned her eighth score of 9.9-plus this season with a 9.925. Torrez anchored with a huge double layout to post a 9.950 for the eighth time this season.
“So proud of the way the team started out on floor,” Kindler noted. “They were aggressive from beginning to end. Just the start we were looking for.”
The Sooners put up six 10.0 start-value vaults with all six athletes performing a Yurchenko 1.5 for a 49.500 in the second rotation. OU had a five-tenth lead over Denver (98.575), which scored a 49.300 on bars, while West Virginia (97.575) followed with a 48.875 on beam and Iowa State (96.700) earned a 49.175 on floor. OU led off and concluded the event with a pair of stuck landings and 9.950s from Sievers (matched career high for third time this season) and Trautman. LeVasseur and Bowers added a pair of 9.875s, while Davis earned a 9.850. In her fifth vault start and first since Feb. 3, Torrez put up a solid 9.850.
“Dani Sievers was exceptional again in the leadoff on vault for us,” Kindler said. “Faith really stepped up and competed her strongest vault of the season in the absence of Allie Stern, who was held out of vault for precautionary reasons. Great to see Olivia put an exclamation point on the event.”
In the third rotation, the Sooners swung strong with a 49.625 on bars. Four of OU’s six Sooners posted scores of 9.900 or higher. The always-dependable Sievers matched a season high with a 9.925 for the fifth time this season. Danae Fletcher and Smith both earned 9.875s after nailing their dismounts. For the second straight week, Trautman matched her career high with a 9.950, which featured a stuck double-layout dismount. For the 11th consecutive time, Bowers earned a score of 9.900 or higher with a 9.925. Davis anchored with a 9.950, showcasing impeccable form and handstands on the event.
“Bars was lights out, sticking six of six dismounts and truly executing at the highest level,” Kindler said. “An out-of-order deduction was taken for an error on my part. I will definitely adjust to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
OU had a sixth-tenth lead over Denver heading into the final rotation, 148-700-148.100. West Virginia was in third with a 147.050 and Iowa State held a 145.375. The Sooners put the meet away by posting the best beam score in the nation with a 49.800 and broke a four-year old program record (49.775 at UCLA in 2018). All six Sooners stuck their dismounts and three of them earned a perfect 10 from at least one judge in the record-breaking rotation.
Senior Jenna Dunn was solid in the leadoff spot with a 9.850, featuring a nailed triple series and nailed gainer full dismount. Trautman stuck her 1.5 dismount to match a career-high 9.950 for the second time this season. Bowers followed with her seventh score of 9.950 or higher this season, earning a perfect score from one judge for a 9.950. In a four-judge panel, Torrez earned a pair of perfect 10s to match a career high and near-perfect 9.975 in back-to-back weeks. In the No. 5 spot, Davis matched a career high with a 9.950 on beam for the fourth time this season. Smith was perfect once again, earning her second 10.0 on beam this season, to anchor the lineup.
The road to the NCAA Championships in Fort Worth will make a journey through Norman and Lloyd Noble Center in 2023. OU is one of four NCAA Regional host sites this season, meaning the Sooners will have a home-floor advantage during the three-day regional competition. This will mark the fifth time since 2011 for the Sooners to host a regional (also in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2022). OU has won all four regional championships held at the LNC.
The NCAA Norman Regional will be held March 29-April 1 and all-session tickets are on sale now for as low as $10 for each of the three sessions. The teams will be announced during the NCAA selection show on Monday at 11 a.m.