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OU’s 198.400 is the top score nationally this weekend, the third-highest in the country this year (it also posted a national-best 198.575 three weeks ago) and tied for the seventh-best total in program history. Today’s floor score is also tied for second best in the country this season.
“So excited about our floor performance tonight,” head coach KJ Kindler said. “Not only did they perform with more confidence, but the energy from Bell (Johnson) to Dan (Sievers) was electric. Ragan (Smith) and Bell (Johnson) really stood out to me tonight at that event.”
OU recorded six personal bests on the day, including three on floor alone. The Sooners also swept the individual rankings in all four events and the all-around. LeVasseur’s vault title was the 12th of her career, 12th best in OU history and fourth this season.
“Kat shows incredible awareness on vault, and when she hits it, it really lights a fire under the team,” Kindler noted.
Second year student Jordan Bowers and super parent Olivia Trautman shared the bar title with the 9.950 pair. The points were a career high for Trautman and a season high for Bowers. Smith won a pair of individual titles on beam and floor with scores of 9.975 each. His floor score matched a career high. Freshman Faith Torrez captured first career beam title (shared with Smith).
Bowers also captured the seventh overall crown of her career and sixth this season with a score of 39.625. That moved him to eighth on the OU record for single-season total games and sixth for a career. His third consecutive score of 39.500-plus in the all-around this season and fourth overall, junior Audrey Davis finished second with a score of 39.500.
OU opened the meet with a 49.525 vault, highlighted by LeVasseur’s perfect score and the junior Sheridan Ramsey at the exhibition site. Sophomore Dani Sievers and super parent Allie Stern started the Sooners with a 9.875s and followed LeVasseur’s 10.0. Trautman added her fourth straight 9.900-plus this season with a 9.925, followed by Bowers and Davis with 9.850 and 9.825. With an opening score of 9.950, Ramsey put Yurchenko at a full career high of 9.900.
The Sooners continued their momentum on bars with a pair of Sievers and Torrez to start the round with a 9.875. The Sooners posted three straight scores of 9.900 plus from Smith (9.900) and 9.950 from Trautman (career high) and Bowers (season high). Davis anchored the round with a 9.875 as a freshman Ava Siegfeldt made her collegiate bars debut at the show venue with a score of 9.825.
“Faith stepped up to Danae (Fletcher) on bars and swung really hard and didn’t hold back at all,” Kindler said. “I loved his mentality.”
The Sooners stuck all six of their Rays loose while facing some adversity in the event. Their performance was highlighted by the pair of Smith and Torrez’s 9.975 (career high). In his Senior Day solo performance Jenna Dunn led the Sooners with a 9.850. After falling to Trautman in No. 2, Bowers performed under pressure to land a double twist and score a 9.875. Davis added her fifth score of the season with a 9.900 or higher on the 9.900 event. LeVasseur appeared on the show floor and posted a 9.775.
“When you have a foul, as a coach you want to see them continue to compete aggressively,” Kindler said. “On the beam, they did just that, and Ragan ended with an exclamation point.”
OU finished strong to take home its 69th straight home win and keep the senior class undefeated. The Sooners posted the second-highest score in the nation this season with a 49.750. All six participants in the floor received at least 9,900 and four of them at least 9,950.
Johnson returned to the floor lineup and began the final round with a career-high 9.950. Davis earned a 9.900 before Smith reached a personal best of 9.975 with a powerful twirl and energetic dance. Bowers followed with a 9.950, as did Torrez, the seventh time she recorded that score this season on the event. Sievers anchored the floor lineup for the first time this year, posting a 9.925, her seventh 9.900 or higher this season.
After the meet, OU recognized its four seniors, Dunn, Smith, Stern and Trautman, for their outstanding contributions to the program and college gymnastics.
“Our senior class (is made up of) incredible women with huge hearts,” Kindler said. “It’s been an honor to coach them.”
The Sooners open the postseason Saturday when they compete in the Big 12 Championship in Morgantown, W.Va. The meeting, which will be held at the WVU Coliseum at 6:00 PM CT, will be televised on ESPNU. Oklahoma is vying for its 14th Big 12 title and 13th under a 17th-year head coach. KJ Kindler.
OU will host the NCAA Norman Regional March 29-April 1 at the Lloyd Noble Center. The teams will be announced during the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, March 20. All-session tickets for the NCAA postseason event are on sale now. A click here to buy your ticket.
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