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Oklahoma gymnastics: Sooners on threshold of two national championships

By Chip Rouse

Apr 16, 2021; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Stanford Cardinal gymnast Brandon Nguyen flips in the floor exercise event at Maturi Sports Pavillion. Mandatory Credit: David Berding-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 16, 2021; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Stanford Cardinal gymnast Brandon Nguyen flips in the floor exercise event at Maturi Sports Pavillion. Mandatory Credit: David Berding-USA TODAY Sports /
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By the end of the day on Saturday, the Oklahoma gymnastics program could claim not one but a pair of national championship trophies.

Both the OU men’s and women’s squads qualified on Friday for the NCAA Gymnastics championship finals, which will take place Saturday in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Ft. Worth, Texas, respectively.

The No. 2-ranked Sooner women won their semifinal session on Friday, finishing first ahead of second-place Utah, Alabama and LSU.

The top two teams in each of two semifinal sessions advanced to the finals. No. 1 Florida and No. 4 Michigan advanced out of the other semifinal session.

Oklahoma’s team score of 198.0875 in the second semifinal session was the highest score of the two Friday semifinal sessions. OU senior Anastasia Webb took first place in three of the four rotations and was named All-Around champion.

The Sooners are seeking their fourth national title in the last five seasons the women’s championship has been held. Oklahoma is the reigning national championship, having won the title in 2019. The NCAA Women’s Championship was not held last year because of the pandemic.

Oklahoma has won four national championships overall in women’s gymnastics, all coming since 2014, including back-to-back national titles in 2016 and 2017.

OU men are seeking their 13th national championship overall

The top-ranked Oklahoma men will compete against teams from Nebraska, Illinois, Michigan, Stanford and Minnesota in Saturday’s championship finals being hosted by Minnesota. The Sooners finished second in the first semifinal session on Friday. The top three teams in each semifinal competition advance to the finals.

The OU men are seeking history. With 12 national championships in men’s gymnastics, one more would break a tie with Penn State for the most all-time titles. One more national title would give head coach Mark Williams 10 while at Oklahoma, the most of any men’s coach in college gymnastics history.

Heading into the finals on Saturday, the Sooners hold the top team average this season (412.300) and hold a top-three spot in five of six events. Oklahoma ranks first in floor exercise, second on still rings, vault, parallel bars and high bar and fourth on pommel horse.

Oklahoma’s last national championship on the men’s side was in 2018, the last of four consecutive titles.

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