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A year ago, the OU women's gymnastics team was stunned in the NCAA semifinals.
Entering the event, the Sooners were the prohibitive favorites.
Instead, they were eliminated before the finals for the first time since 2012.
Thursday, though, the second-ranked Sooners had no such issues, advancing to Saturday’s NCAA Finals with a 197.550 in the All-SEC semifinal at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
Missouri edged out Florida for second, 197.300-197.200 to advance to their first NCAA finals.
Saturday’s finals will begin at 3 p.m. and will be televised on ABC.
In the evening session, top-ranked and defending champion LSU was stunned, finishing third with a 197.525, behind Utah’s 197.7625 and UCLA’s 197.7375.
The Tigers were the only team to beat OU this season, winning Feb. 14 in Baton Rouge and then again March 22 in the SEC Championships in Birmingham.
Here are three takeaways from the Sooners' victory:
More: How OU gymnast Audrey Davis carries father's memory with her on path to NCAA championships
OU senior Jordan Bowers became OU’s first NCAA all-around champion since Anastasia Webb in 2021.
Bowers posted a 39.7125, beating out Utah’s Grace McCallum, who posted a 39.675 in the evening session.
Bowers came up big from the start Thursday, with a 9.9375 on the uneven bars to help the Sooners post a 49.400 in the first rotation to take the lead.
The biggest test for the Sooners came in the second rotation, after Lily Pederson’s fall left her at 9.275 to put OU in a tough spot with three more routines to go.
But Bowers steadied the ship with a 9.9375 to help the Sooners still post a 49.350 in the event to hold onto their lead.
Bowers then scored a 9.95 in the floor exercise and finished her day with a 9.8875 on the vault to keep the lead.
In addition to Webb, Maggie Nichols won back-to-back all-around titles in 2018-19 and Kelly Garrison won all-around titles in 1987 and 1988.
More: How OU gymnastics stars Jordan Bowers, Audrey Davis built lifelong bond through sport
Bowers and Torrez had closed the floor exercise strong all season.
They did it again in the event Thursday, scoring back-to-back 9.95s to close the event for the Sooners and all but seal the Sooners’ finals berth.
Torrez finished with a 39.6375, behind only Bowers and McCallum in the all-around.
It was just Torrez’s eighth-best all-around score of the year but on a night where the scores were low across the board — the only score higher than a 9.95 in any event was the 9.9875 posted on the balance beam by Missouri’s Helen Hu — Torrez’s score was more than enough to help lift OU.
Torrez posted a 9.85 in the final rotation on the vault.
A year ago, the Sooners fell apart on the vault with three falls in what was the opening rotation to dig themselves into a hole they could never emerge from.
This time, there was no such drama.
The Sooners posted six scores between 9.825 and 9.8875 to stay well ahead.
By the time Bowers ended OU’s rotation, the Sooners had already clinched the berth in the finals.
More: How OU gymnastics turned the uneven bars into low-key driver of success | Carlson
About the only drama entering the final rotation — absent a collapse by the Sooners — was who would advance with them to the finals.
It came down to the final spot on the final rotation, but Missouri held off Florida by a tenth of a point to advance to its first NCAA finals appearance.
The Tigers also made the semifinals in 2022 and 2010.
The four-team final will feature two SEC teams.
Thursday’s semifinal was the first since the current format was adopted in 2019 where all four teams in a semifinal were from the same conference.
Utah is in the finals for the fifth consecutive year while Florida’s streak of four consecutive finals was snapped.
OU is searching for its seventh national title and its third in four seasons in women’s gymnastics.
UCLA has won seven titles, the last in 2010.
Utah has won 10 titles, but hasn’t won one since 1995.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU women's gymnastics: Jordan Bowers captures NCAA all-around title
Continue reading...
Entering the event, the Sooners were the prohibitive favorites.
Instead, they were eliminated before the finals for the first time since 2012.
Thursday, though, the second-ranked Sooners had no such issues, advancing to Saturday’s NCAA Finals with a 197.550 in the All-SEC semifinal at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
Missouri edged out Florida for second, 197.300-197.200 to advance to their first NCAA finals.
Saturday’s finals will begin at 3 p.m. and will be televised on ABC.
In the evening session, top-ranked and defending champion LSU was stunned, finishing third with a 197.525, behind Utah’s 197.7625 and UCLA’s 197.7375.
The Tigers were the only team to beat OU this season, winning Feb. 14 in Baton Rouge and then again March 22 in the SEC Championships in Birmingham.
Here are three takeaways from the Sooners' victory:
More: How OU gymnast Audrey Davis carries father's memory with her on path to NCAA championships
Jordan Bowers wins all-around title
OU senior Jordan Bowers became OU’s first NCAA all-around champion since Anastasia Webb in 2021.
Bowers posted a 39.7125, beating out Utah’s Grace McCallum, who posted a 39.675 in the evening session.
Bowers came up big from the start Thursday, with a 9.9375 on the uneven bars to help the Sooners post a 49.400 in the first rotation to take the lead.
The biggest test for the Sooners came in the second rotation, after Lily Pederson’s fall left her at 9.275 to put OU in a tough spot with three more routines to go.
But Bowers steadied the ship with a 9.9375 to help the Sooners still post a 49.350 in the event to hold onto their lead.
Bowers then scored a 9.95 in the floor exercise and finished her day with a 9.8875 on the vault to keep the lead.
In addition to Webb, Maggie Nichols won back-to-back all-around titles in 2018-19 and Kelly Garrison won all-around titles in 1987 and 1988.
More: How OU gymnastics stars Jordan Bowers, Audrey Davis built lifelong bond through sport
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Faith Torrez not far behind
Bowers and Torrez had closed the floor exercise strong all season.
They did it again in the event Thursday, scoring back-to-back 9.95s to close the event for the Sooners and all but seal the Sooners’ finals berth.
Torrez finished with a 39.6375, behind only Bowers and McCallum in the all-around.
It was just Torrez’s eighth-best all-around score of the year but on a night where the scores were low across the board — the only score higher than a 9.95 in any event was the 9.9875 posted on the balance beam by Missouri’s Helen Hu — Torrez’s score was more than enough to help lift OU.
Torrez posted a 9.85 in the final rotation on the vault.
A year ago, the Sooners fell apart on the vault with three falls in what was the opening rotation to dig themselves into a hole they could never emerge from.
This time, there was no such drama.
The Sooners posted six scores between 9.825 and 9.8875 to stay well ahead.
By the time Bowers ended OU’s rotation, the Sooners had already clinched the berth in the finals.
More: How OU gymnastics turned the uneven bars into low-key driver of success | Carlson
You must be registered for see images
Missouri holds off Florida for second spot
About the only drama entering the final rotation — absent a collapse by the Sooners — was who would advance with them to the finals.
It came down to the final spot on the final rotation, but Missouri held off Florida by a tenth of a point to advance to its first NCAA finals appearance.
The Tigers also made the semifinals in 2022 and 2010.
The four-team final will feature two SEC teams.
Thursday’s semifinal was the first since the current format was adopted in 2019 where all four teams in a semifinal were from the same conference.
Utah is in the finals for the fifth consecutive year while Florida’s streak of four consecutive finals was snapped.
OU is searching for its seventh national title and its third in four seasons in women’s gymnastics.
UCLA has won seven titles, the last in 2010.
Utah has won 10 titles, but hasn’t won one since 1995.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU women's gymnastics: Jordan Bowers captures NCAA all-around title
Continue reading...
