Two Oklahoma Gymnasts Land Big 12 Honor
By OU Media Relations
After helping the Sooners to the highest score at a neutral meet in the nation (198.125) this season and earn their third consecutive 198-plus score, sophomore Jordan Bowers and freshman Faith Torrez were named the Big 12 Gymnast and Newcomer of the Week, respectively, the conference announced Tuesday.
Bowers was named the Big 12 Gymnast of the Week for the fifth time in her career and notched her 10th weekly league honor. Torrez earned her fourth weekly conference, the most for a single gymnast this season, and is the first gymnast to earn back-to-back weekly honors in 2023. Oklahoma's trio of Torrez (four), Bowers (three) and sophomore Danielle Sievers (two) are the only gymnasts this season to earn multiple weekly conference accolades.
The duo was instrumental in leading the Sooners to their fifth straight Metroplex Challenge title in Fort Worth. OU earned the victory over three top-25 teams – then-No. 11 Alabama (198.000), then-No. 16 Arkansas (197.125) and then-No. 24 Stanford (196.725) in a podium meet – to improve to 10-0 on the season.
With the Sooners trailing the Crimson Tide after the first and third rotations Saturday night, Bowers and Torrez contributed to a pair of 49.675s on bars and floor, respectively. The bars score matched the sixth-highest score in program history and shared the highest score in the nation on the event. On floor, the team tied the fourth-best mark in program history.
Bowers had the meet of her life, earning her third straight all-around title and fourth in her career with a career-high 39.750 at the Metroplex Challenge. She is the only gymnast in the conference to boast a score of 39.750 or higher in the all-around this season. Bowers won her second floor title this season and seventh overall with a career-high 9.975, while also capturing her third beam title with a 9.925. She also added a season-high 9.950 on bars and 9.900 on vault. For week six, Bowers led the Big 12 in the all-around and on beam and floor.
For the season, Bowers leads the Big 12 on vault (9.925) and in the all-around (39.646) and is second in the conference on bars (9.925) and floor (9.913), and fourth on beam (9.896). Nationally, Bowers ranks in the top 20 on all four events and in the all-around, including two top-10 rankings. In a stacked field, Bowers is ranked sixth nationally in the all-around for the third consecutive week. She is also tied for fourth on vault, ranked No. 15 on floor, No. 17 on bars, and No. 20 on beam.
In only her second podium meet in her collegiate career, Torrez competed on three events at the Metroplex Challenge and was the top freshman in the Big 12 over the weekend on bars (career-high 9.975), floor (matched career-high 9.950) and beam (9.825). Her bars score also led the Big 12 overall for the weekend. Trailing the Crimson Tide by 0.025 going into the final rotation, Torrez handled the pressure in the floor anchor spot to help OU clinch the team victory after matching a career-high on the event. Torrez’s 9.825 on beam helped the Sooners to a 49.400, the best beam total in the Big 12 for week six.
In the current rankings this season, Torrez is the top freshman in the Big 12 on all four events and the all-around – floor (9.908), beam (9.870), vault (9.850), bars (9.796) and all-around (39.283). She has scored 9.850 or higher in 17 out of 24 routines she has competed this season. Alongside teammate Audrey Davis, she owns the best score on bars (9.975) in the Big 12 this season. Torrez ranks fourth in conference on floor and is tied for 20th nationally on the event.
OU is back in action Sunday at Texas Woman's University. The meet is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. in Denton, TX. The Sooners' next home meet is Friday, Feb. 24 against West Virginia at 6:45 p.m.