OU Gymnastics: Oklahoma Enjoys Record-Setting Victory over WVU
By OU Media Relations
NORMAN — The top-ranked Oklahoma women's gymnastics team made history Friday night by scoring school-record 198.575 in a win over West Virginia in front of 6,200 fans at Lloyd Noble Center.
OU's score is the best in the nation this season and is tied for the fifth-best in NCAA history. The Mountaineers tallied a 195.675.
The Sooners, who improved to 12-0 on the year with their fifth straight score of at least 198.000, registered nine individual career-high performances on the night, including perfect 10s from junior Katherine LeVasseur on vault and sophomore Jordan Bowers on floor. Their previous program-high score was a 198.500 vs. Florida at home in 2015.
OU moved to 129-4 at home under head coach K.J. Kindler and hasn't lost at Lloyd Noble Center since 2014. It has beaten 67 straight opponents there.
“This was just a quick turnaround from Sunday to Friday, which is always difficult,” said Kindler. “When you are competing on Sunday and then competing on Friday, you have very little workout in the middle, and it can be very tiring, which I could see a little when we were warming up. I could see a little bit of fatigue to be honest with you, but I thought they did a good job of kind of flipping a switch when we went back to the locker room and coming back out with a lot of good energy. I do think Kat's 10 really lit the team up because when that happens it's energizing. So I feel like that moment was definitely a turning point for the whole team.”
Jordan Bowers
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
The Sooners got the meet off to a strong start by scoring a 49.625 on vault, their second-highest score of the season on the event. Their performance was highlighted by LeVasseur and her second-career perfect 10 (also on vault last season vs. Alabama) on an exquisite Yurchenko 1.5 in the No. 3 spot. It was OU's second perfect 10 of the season (Ragan Smith on beam at Denver) and the 65th in program history (28th on vault). LeVasseur also notched her sixth career vault title and third this season. In her first vault of the season, senior Olivia Trautman followed LeVasseur with a stellar effort of her own, a near-perfect 9.975 on her Yurchenko 1.5.
With a vault lineup displaying six Yurchenko 1.5s, the rest of the OU scores were a 9.875 by sophomore Danielle Sievers in the leadoff spot, a 9.900 by senior Allie Stern, a 9.875 by Bowers and a 9.600 by junior Audrey Davis, while junior Sheridan Ramsey notched a 9.800 for her Yurchenko Full in an exhibition vault.
The Sooners widened their lead following the second rotation thanks to a 49.650 effort on bars, which tied for their third-highest score of the year on the apparatus. The Sooners had six consecutive sticks on the event beginning with Sievers’ season-high tying 9.925. Freshman Faith Torrez followed with a 9.875 and Smith tied a career-high with a 9.950. Trautman registered a career-high 9.925 in her first bars routine since the Sooners won their fifth NCAA championship in 2022. Bowers scored a 9.900 in the No. 5 position and Davis anchored with a 9.950 before junior Bell Johnson tallied a 9.125 in her first exhibition performance on bars this season.
Katherine LeVasseur
BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN-USA TODAY NETWORK
Thanks to five 9.900-or-higher performances, OU led by more than two full points after the third rotation, 148.900-146.800, as it posted its third-highest beam score of the year with a 49.625. Senior Jenna Dunn led the Sooners off, displaying a gorgeous triple series for a 9.900 before Trautman scored a 9.925. Bowers and Davis led OU on the event, each tallying a 9.950. Davis went back-to-back weeks tying a career-high on the event. Torrez also matched her career best with a 9.900 and Smith rounded out the team scoring with a 9.725. In her first collegiate beam performance, Sievers stuck her dismount and notched a 9.850 in an exhibition routine.
The Sooners closed the night in grand fashion with their season-high-tying 49.675 on floor, which included four scores that tied or set career bests. Johnson tied a career high 9.925 in the leadoff spot with her Harry Styles-inspired routine and was followed by Davis' 9.775 and Smith's 9.850. Then OU kicked it into overdrive. Sievers and Torrez each registered a 9.950, both tying career highs, before Bowers anchored with her first perfect 10 on floor. It was Bowers' second career 10, as she also notched one on vault last season vs. Michigan.
Bowers also won the all-around with a 39.725, which is just shy of her career high (39.750). It was her sixth-career all-around title and fifth this season. She has posted eight consecutive scores of 39.500 or higher this season.
The Sooners will look to carry their momentum to next weekend when they host No. 2 Florida on Friday at 7:45 p.m. The teams finished first and second, respectively, at last year's NCAA Championships and have combined for eight national titles over the last decade.
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