Oklahoma gymnastics: Sooners fall short in fight to finish
By Chip Rouse
The national title bid by the women’s Oklahoma gymnastics team fell just a hair short as the Sooners finished runner-up to Michigan in the 2021 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championship.
The championship literally came down to the final competitor in the fourth and final rotation, with the Lady Wolverines doing just enough on the beam event to pull ahead of the Sooners and win that school’s first ever NCAA women’s gymnastics championship.
OU scored a 49.4875 team score on beam and trailed Michigan by just a tenth of a point heading into the final event of the championship
Oklahoma fought from behind through the first three rotations, but briefly moved into the top spot in the final event on the heels of a pair of sensational floor routines by senior Anastasia Webb, who posted a meet-best score of 9.9625 and a 9.9375 by junior Olivia Trautman in the anchor spot. Webb’s high score in floor exercise earned her the individual championship in that event.
Michigan was able to total just enough points in its final rotation to overcome the Sooners and hold on to its lead at the top of the standings.
Oklahoma posted the highest team score on bars, finished second on vault, tied for second on beam and were third in floor exercise.
The Sooners ended the season with a record of 30-2, their only two losses coming in the Big 12 Championship and in the NCAA Championship finals.
Oklahoma’s bid for a fifth national championship in women’s gymnastics came up just short, but it was their eighth consecutive top-three finish in the NCAA Championship finals.