Oklahoma gymnastics: Reigning national champs off to strong three-peat bid
By Chip Rouse
The two-time defending national champion women's Oklahoma gymnastics squad is making a strong statement early in the 2024 season that it isn't about to settle for anything less than a three-peat.
In the first two weeks of 2024 competition the Sooner women have gone up against six ranked opponents -- No. 3 LSU, No. 5 Utah, No. 6 Michigan, No. 9 Kentucky, No. 11 Michigan State and No. 12 UCLA -- and OU has come out on top of all six.
On Saturday, OU competed in the inaugural Sprouts Farmer's Market Collegiate Quad in West Valley City, Utah, finishing on top of LSU, Utah and UCLA with a winning score of a season-best 197.900. It was the second week in a row that OU scored better than 197.000. The week before, in the Mean Girls Super 16 Gymnastics Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada, the reigning national champions scored 197.850 in defeating Michigan, Kentucky and Michigan State.
In the Sprouts Farmer's Market Quad on Saturday, the OU women grabbed the lead in the first rotation, scoring 49.450 on vault and never let up. UCLA was a close second after the first rotation. The Sooners scored an identical 49.450 on bars in the second rotation and led by .300 over UCLA and .525 over third-place LSU.
Oklahoma widened its lead with a strong 49.500 on beam and closed out the meet title with a team score of 49.475 on floor for an overall score of 197.900. LSU finished second at 197.150, UCLA dropped to third with a final score of 197.100 and host Utah was fourth with 196.975.
OU senior Audrey Davis finished second in the all-around in Saturday's competition in Utah and senior Katherine LeVasseur was third. Junior Jordan Bowers shared the individual title on beam with an outstanding score of 9.950.
The Sooner women travel to Denver next weekend for as tri competition against Big 12 foe Denver, UCLA again and Stanford.