Oklahoma Wins Eighth National Title Behind Another Strong Performance From Faith Torrez

Mackenzie Estep finished her floor routine and sprinted toward her teammates watching to the side at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

There was still a routine to go, but by the time Estep wrapped up her 9.9125 performance, Oklahoma’s eighth national championship seemed well in hand.

The top-ranked Sooners came back from a deficit after three rotations to come out ahead of LSU 198.1625-198.075 to win their second consecutive title and fourth in the last five years.

The Sooners are now tied for third-most titles in NCAA women’s gymnastics history.

Even with Estep’s performance, Oklahoma still needed a strong performance from Faith Torrez — competing in the floor for just the second time this season — and had to wait through LSU’s Kailin Chio’s routine on the balance beam to end the night.

Torrez posted a 9.95 in her performance to push the Tigers to the brink.

“It’s muscle memory,” Torrez said on ABC following the win. “I love floor. You can’t fall off the floor, so you’ve got to go aggressive.”

Needing a near-perfect performance of 9.9875 to give her team at least a share of the title, Chio was excellent through most of her routine but shifted slighting during her landing, costing her as she finished with a 9.900 to give the Sooners the title.

The Sooners led after each of the first two rotations, but fell behind on the third, with LSU taking a 148.600-148.525 lead heading into the final rotation with Oklahoma on the floor and LSU on the balance beam.

The door was opened for the Sooners in the final rotation after LSU’s Lexi Zeiss fell in the No. 2 spot on the balance beam, earning a 9.2375.

The Tigers’ Amari Drayton (9.875) and Kaliya Lincoln (9.8375) slipped a bit on their landings and the Sooners took advantage.

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After Ella Murphy’s 9.875 to open the event, the Sooners turned in five consecutive 9.9s or better on the floor.

Lily Pederson followed Murphy with a 9.9875, Keira Wells posted a 9.9 and then Ella Mueller’s 9.9375 put Oklahoma in position to take over.

Estep and Torrez then put it away.

The Sooners jumped ahead early, thanks in large part to Pederson’s 9.9875 and Hannah Scheible’s 9.9625 on the vault in the first rotation.

Oklahoma then extended its lead in the second rotation with Estep’s 9.9375 leading the way.

The Sooners slipped up a bit on the balance beam, with Addison Fatta starting with a 9.7375 and Wells a 9.0500 in the No. 2 spot to put Oklahoma in desperation mode.

K.J. Kindler’s team came through in a big way, with Murphy following with a 9.9375, Pederson a 9.95, Mueller a 9.8625 and Torrez a 9.95 to give the Sooners a chance to come back in the final rotation.

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