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FORT WORTH, Texas — No matter how much they wanted to, the OU women's gymnastics team couldn’t escape the way last season ended.
Saturday, the Sooners fully put the memory of that disappointment to rest, winning the program’s seventh NCAA championship with a 198.0125 at Dickies Arena.
UCLA finished second at 197.6125 while Missouri finished third and Utah fourth.
“We just came all together today and did it for one another,” senior Jordan Bowers said.
The title was OU’s seventh and its third in four seasons.
Last season’s Sooners squad were prohibitive favorites.
OU entered nationals unbeaten and seemed destined to continue their dynasty, especially after posting a 198.950 to set an NCAA scoring record during the Big 12 Championships.
But the Sooners stumbled in the semifinals, scoring just a 196.6625 to finish third and miss the Four on the Floor finals.
“Sure it makes it a little sweeter,” Sooners coach K.J. Kindler said. “But our theme wasn’t redemption this year at all. We did our best to put it behind us. It just was following us everywhere so it was almost impossible every time you look in the rearview mirror, it was just there.
“This team was capable of this last year, we just failed. People fail all the time. They fail every day and we talk about all the time that the glory is in getting back up again.”
More: How OU gymnast Audrey Davis carries father's memory with her on path to NCAA championships
This Sooners team wasn’t undefeated, falling twice to LSU during the season.
But when it mattered most, OU came up big.
Kindler told her team to “compete with freedom” Saturday and leave the arena with no regrets.
Kindler could sense some tightness in her team in Thursday’s semifinals where they scored a 197.55 to win the semifinal and advance but looked far from their best.
“After we advanced and got to today, we were free,” senior Audrey Davis said. “We had no weight on our shoulders. We were free to do our best gymnastics that we do every single day in the gym and I think that’s what we did. …
“We left it all out on the floor. We left it on empty.”
Kindler pointed to Davis’ performances Thursday as an example of competing tight.
In the finals, Davis decided to let loose, saying she had “nothing to lose” in the finals.
“I think we all hold things personally. I take things to heart. I wear my heart on my sleeve,” Davis said. “... Throughout this season, I think we were going amazing gymnastics but people couldn’t let go of what happened last year but I think that’s what made us better was just going through it — learning, growing, doing our best.
“I did put a lot of pressure on myself. I was not free on Thursday. I just put a lot of pressure on myself to do the best I could for my team. … Going out there (Saturday) I was a lot more joyful and present in the moment and surrounded by just the best people I could ever ask for.”
More: OU women's gymnastics team captures seventh NCAA championship as Sooners roll in finals
Davis posted a 9.9 on the beam, a 9.8875 on the floor and a 9.925 on bars to wrap up her collegiate career.
She finished her career with 267 consecutive hit routines, not falling on any event since her freshman season.
Kindler felt good about the way her team responded even in warmups.
The tone was set from the opening rotation, when the Sooners started with four consecutive scores of 9.9 or better on the balance beam.
“You start off like that and it was like a fire was lit under these guys,” Kindler said. “It was mind-blowing. … That fire on the beam, they carried it throughout.”
The beam was the source of OU’s major hiccup in Thursday’s semifinals, when freshman Lily Pederson slipped for a 9.275.
Pederson hadn’t scored less than 9.65 all season before that and had just one score under 9.725.
In the finals, Pederson did an “angry beam” routine.
Pederson stuck her landing then let out a wave of emotion, running toward Kindler to celebrate with her coach before being mobbed by her team.
“Her and I talk a lot about doing angry beam, because when she does angry beam, when she’s really sharp and really sharp and really hard in her finishes, she does better,” Kindler said. “She focuses on that and not so much the moment as much.”
More: How OU gymnastics stars Jordan Bowers, Audrey Davis built lifelong bond through sport
Kindler said Pederson hadn’t fallen from the beam even in practice.
“She’s such a perfectionist,” Davis said. “She holds herself to such a high standard and that ‘oopsie’ on Thursday, she definitely took it to heart. … You can tell she cares so much. Absolutely ate.”
Kindler called Pederson’s bounce-back the biggest moment of the night.
From there, the Sooners were rolling.
UCLA finished the first rotation strong to tie the meet at 49.6125 after one rotation, but from there OU pulled away.
The Sooners posted four scores of 9.9 or better on the floor, including Faith Torrez’s 9.9625.
The third rotation seemed to be the biggest chance for a stumble as OU moved to the vault — an event where stuck landings have been difficult to come by for the Sooners this season and an event where the scores had been significantly lower in the championships across the board than they had been in other events.
But OU turned in a strong first four performances in the event, highlighted by Torrez’s 9.9375 and Addison Fatta’s 9.925, to extend their lead heading into the final rotation.
“Huge,” Kindler said. “Huge to get two sticks. We’ve been waiting for Addison — Lou (Ball, OU assistant) has been waiting for Addison to stick that vault all year. … Just the energy in the first four, they were just rolling and it was hard to get rolling on vault.”
More: Why OU gymnast Jordan Bowers gets her biggest cheers from former Sooner Raydel Gamboa
Here are the final team scores in the NCAA championship finals:
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU women's gymnastics wins NCAA title on Lily Pederson's 'angry beam'
Continue reading...
Saturday, the Sooners fully put the memory of that disappointment to rest, winning the program’s seventh NCAA championship with a 198.0125 at Dickies Arena.
UCLA finished second at 197.6125 while Missouri finished third and Utah fourth.
“We just came all together today and did it for one another,” senior Jordan Bowers said.
The title was OU’s seventh and its third in four seasons.
Last season’s Sooners squad were prohibitive favorites.
OU entered nationals unbeaten and seemed destined to continue their dynasty, especially after posting a 198.950 to set an NCAA scoring record during the Big 12 Championships.
But the Sooners stumbled in the semifinals, scoring just a 196.6625 to finish third and miss the Four on the Floor finals.
“Sure it makes it a little sweeter,” Sooners coach K.J. Kindler said. “But our theme wasn’t redemption this year at all. We did our best to put it behind us. It just was following us everywhere so it was almost impossible every time you look in the rearview mirror, it was just there.
“This team was capable of this last year, we just failed. People fail all the time. They fail every day and we talk about all the time that the glory is in getting back up again.”
More: How OU gymnast Audrey Davis carries father's memory with her on path to NCAA championships
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This Sooners team wasn’t undefeated, falling twice to LSU during the season.
But when it mattered most, OU came up big.
Kindler told her team to “compete with freedom” Saturday and leave the arena with no regrets.
Kindler could sense some tightness in her team in Thursday’s semifinals where they scored a 197.55 to win the semifinal and advance but looked far from their best.
“After we advanced and got to today, we were free,” senior Audrey Davis said. “We had no weight on our shoulders. We were free to do our best gymnastics that we do every single day in the gym and I think that’s what we did. …
“We left it all out on the floor. We left it on empty.”
Kindler pointed to Davis’ performances Thursday as an example of competing tight.
In the finals, Davis decided to let loose, saying she had “nothing to lose” in the finals.
“I think we all hold things personally. I take things to heart. I wear my heart on my sleeve,” Davis said. “... Throughout this season, I think we were going amazing gymnastics but people couldn’t let go of what happened last year but I think that’s what made us better was just going through it — learning, growing, doing our best.
“I did put a lot of pressure on myself. I was not free on Thursday. I just put a lot of pressure on myself to do the best I could for my team. … Going out there (Saturday) I was a lot more joyful and present in the moment and surrounded by just the best people I could ever ask for.”
More: OU women's gymnastics team captures seventh NCAA championship as Sooners roll in finals
Davis posted a 9.9 on the beam, a 9.8875 on the floor and a 9.925 on bars to wrap up her collegiate career.
She finished her career with 267 consecutive hit routines, not falling on any event since her freshman season.
Kindler felt good about the way her team responded even in warmups.
The tone was set from the opening rotation, when the Sooners started with four consecutive scores of 9.9 or better on the balance beam.
“You start off like that and it was like a fire was lit under these guys,” Kindler said. “It was mind-blowing. … That fire on the beam, they carried it throughout.”
The beam was the source of OU’s major hiccup in Thursday’s semifinals, when freshman Lily Pederson slipped for a 9.275.
Pederson hadn’t scored less than 9.65 all season before that and had just one score under 9.725.
In the finals, Pederson did an “angry beam” routine.
Pederson stuck her landing then let out a wave of emotion, running toward Kindler to celebrate with her coach before being mobbed by her team.
“Her and I talk a lot about doing angry beam, because when she does angry beam, when she’s really sharp and really sharp and really hard in her finishes, she does better,” Kindler said. “She focuses on that and not so much the moment as much.”
More: How OU gymnastics stars Jordan Bowers, Audrey Davis built lifelong bond through sport
You must be registered for see images
Kindler said Pederson hadn’t fallen from the beam even in practice.
“She’s such a perfectionist,” Davis said. “She holds herself to such a high standard and that ‘oopsie’ on Thursday, she definitely took it to heart. … You can tell she cares so much. Absolutely ate.”
Kindler called Pederson’s bounce-back the biggest moment of the night.
From there, the Sooners were rolling.
UCLA finished the first rotation strong to tie the meet at 49.6125 after one rotation, but from there OU pulled away.
The Sooners posted four scores of 9.9 or better on the floor, including Faith Torrez’s 9.9625.
The third rotation seemed to be the biggest chance for a stumble as OU moved to the vault — an event where stuck landings have been difficult to come by for the Sooners this season and an event where the scores had been significantly lower in the championships across the board than they had been in other events.
But OU turned in a strong first four performances in the event, highlighted by Torrez’s 9.9375 and Addison Fatta’s 9.925, to extend their lead heading into the final rotation.
“Huge,” Kindler said. “Huge to get two sticks. We’ve been waiting for Addison — Lou (Ball, OU assistant) has been waiting for Addison to stick that vault all year. … Just the energy in the first four, they were just rolling and it was hard to get rolling on vault.”
More: Why OU gymnast Jordan Bowers gets her biggest cheers from former Sooner Raydel Gamboa
NCAA women's gymnastics championships
Here are the final team scores in the NCAA championship finals:
- 1. Oklahoma: 198.0125 (Beam: 49.6125 | Floor: 49.5875 | Vault: 49.4375 | Bars: 49.3750)
- 2. UCLA: 197.6125 (Floor: 49.6125 | Vault: 49.2875 | Bars: 49.4 | Beam: 49.3125)
- 3. Missouri: 197.25 (Vault: 49.2 | Bars: 49.175 | Beam: 49.35 | Floor: 49.4875)
- 4. Utah: 197.2375 (Bars: 49.45 | Beam: 49.1875 | Floor: 49.475: Vault: 49.125)
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU women's gymnastics wins NCAA title on Lily Pederson's 'angry beam'
Continue reading...
