Oklahoma gymnastics: No. 3 Sooner women off to impressive start in season opener
By Chip Rouse
The four-time national champion women’s Oklahoma gymnastics team opened the 2022 season with a victory over No. 6-ranked Alabama.
Last season’s national runner-up, the Sooners won three of the four events against the Crimson Tide and tied in the floor exercise competition. The overall competition was highlighted by back-to-back perfect scores on vault by Sooners Katherine LaVasseur and Allie Stern. LaVasseur is a sophomore and Stern a senior.
The Sooners’ 197.400-195.875 winning margin over Alabama was the third highest score of the weekend in NCAA women’s gymnastics and one of just five scores of 197.000 or better. Oklahoma trails reigning national champion Michigan and Florida in the national rankings after the opening week of competition.
The first competition of the season always comes with a lot of nerves and anxiety, says OU head coach K.J. Kindler, who is in her 16th season guiding the OU women’s squad. “It was really a day of learning for us. like in general learning about our team,” she said in a press release issued by the OU athletic department.
In addition to co-winners LaVasseur and Stern on the vault apparatus, other Sooner event winners included sophomore Audrey Davis with a score of 9.95 on the uneven bars, Davis was also the all-around champion with a cumulative score of 39.325.
Senior Carly Woodard scored a 9.95 to win the beam event.
For the second consecutive season, the Sooners are without one of their best gymnasts in senior Olivia Trautman. She is out for the first part of the season after undergoing a knee procedure in the spring.
In terms of national standing, OU ranks No. 2 as a team on bars, No, on floor, No. 5 on vault and No. 7 on beam.
The Sooners will meet another top-10 opponent when they travel to Salt Lake City, Utah, for a dual competition against the No. 4-ranked Utah Utes on Friday.