Oklahoma’s Ragan Smith reacts during the second semifinal of the 2023 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships. (© Matthew Smith)
FORT WORTH, Texas – Hours before the Oklahoma Sooners edged the Florida Gators for the 2023 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championship the team already knew Saturday, April 15 would be a special day for years to come.
“Today started out very exciting,” Oklahoma Head Coach KJ Kindler said after the Sooners’ win. “One of our assistant coaches [Ashley Kerr] went into labor at 5:30 a.m. and had her baby by 9:30.”
A few hours later, the Sooners gave their newest fan the best birthday gift they could when they won the national title for the second-straight year with a 198.3875 – 0.150 over the Gators’ 198.2375. The win marks OU’s sixth title in nine seasons. Utah was third with a 197.9375, and LSU was fourth with a 197.525.
“I’m sure [Kerr] was watching on TV mortified that she wasn’t here while holding an infant,” Kindler said. “I can’t imagine the scene at the hospital, so shoutout to Ash Kerr. We miss you.”
Unlike their semifinal performance, Oklahoma grabbed the lead in the first rotation and never relinquished it, even when a surging Florida squad posted the second-highest rotation total of the meet with a 49.7125 in the fourth.
Vault still wasn’t perfect for the Sooners, who are typically known for finding their landings, but the hops were smaller and the vaults more controlled than on Thursday. NCAA vault champion Olivia Trautman was the highlight of the group with another nearly perfect Yurchenko 1.5 to score a 9.95. The tenth improvement – a 49.4625 to a 49.5625 – proved crucial in the end, giving the Sooners the slightest bit of breathing room.
“I advised her to retire this year after the injury [last] fall, and she was not having it,” Kindler said of fifth-year senior Trautman. “So obviously I was wrong… I’m really proud that she didn’t listen to me, and what she’s done for this program is incredible.”
While the Sooners started strong on an event they were looking to improve, the other three teams were slower out the gate.
LSU couldn’t find its landing on bars and didn’t break the 9.9 mark until Haleigh Bryant went 9.95 in the anchor spot. Florida’s Ellie Lazzari fell on beam in the second position, but the Gators were able to rebound with a hit from Kayla DiCello and four scores above 9.9, ultimately dropping the 9.0125. Utah recorded an identical 49.500 to its winning semifinal performance on floor but only one score of 9.925 or better, missing out on pivotal hundredths that added up over four rotations.
In the second rotation, Oklahoma found stick after stick to earn the second-best bars score of the meet with a 49.6375. Sophomore Danielle Sievers led the team off with a 9.925 and all counting scores were 9.9125 or higher.
On vault, Utah was led off by NCAA all-around champion Maile O’Keefe, who landed with a low chest and hop on her Yurchenko full to earn a 9.7375. The Utes had only one 9.9, with the rest of their scores being 9.8375 or lower to earn a 49.15 – their third-lowest vault total of the season.
Over on beam, LSU started with a 9.475 after a major balance check from Elena Arenas. The Tigers were ultimately able to drop Arenas’ score, but the rest of the rotation scored in the mid-to-low 9.8s before Finnegan broke through with a 9.925 in the anchor spot.
Floor was the Gators’ biggest challenge of the day. The team was able to drop Leanne Wong’s 9.7250 after she went out of bounds on her opening double Arabian, but their scores peaked at 9.9s from DiCello and Rachel Baumann.
After two, Oklahoma had extended its lead to more than two-tenths, with the Gators in second and Utah and LSU both more than half a point back.
Oklahoma was vulnerable on beam. Kindler called the team “a little nervy” on the event, but she also highlighted two “10.0 routines on the beam” from Audrey Davis and Jordan Bowers, whose only visible errors were on their dismounts. The duo led the lineup with a 9.95 and 9.9125, respectively, as the Sooners recorded a 49.5125 – their lowest rotation score of the meet.
The Gators’ resurgence came on vault, where the team recorded the best vault total of the meet with a 49.575. The rotation was highlighted by the final perfect 10 of Trinity Thomas’ illustrious career. Despite being limited to two events this week due to injury, Thomas stuck her Yurchenko 1.5 and tied the NCAA all-time record with 28 perfect 10s.
Utah was clean on bars, but not like during the semifinal when it earned a 49.675. The Red Rocks scored 0.125 lower than Thursday, earning a 49.55. The rotation was highlighted by two 9.9375s from Olympic silver medalist Grace McCallum and Sage Thompson.
LSU redeemed itself after a rusty beam rotation with three scores of 9.925 or above on floor, easily one of the highlights of the Tigers’ day. Haleigh Bryant continued her standout performance with a 9.9375.
After three, Florida had closed the gap slightly, but Oklahoma led by nearly two-tenths heading into the final rotation.
Realistically, the Gators were the only team capable of catching the Sooners in the fourth. Utah and LSU remained more than half a point back.
A true beam team to the end, Utah recorded its third-highest beam total of the season, earning a 49.7375 and dropping a 9.8875. All counting scores were 9.9125 or better, with a 9.95 from super senior Cristal Isa in the final gymnastics routine of her career, a 9.9625 from Abby Paulson, and the second-straight perfect 10 on beam for NCAA champion O’Keefe.
LSU closed on vault, where the team’s counting scores consisted of mostly mid-to-high 9.8s. Arenas earned a 9.9 for a stuck Yurchenko full, and Bryant was nearly perfect with her trademark front pike half to earn a 9.9875 and win the all-around for the meet with a 39.7250.
Florida stuck all of its landings on bars and did everything in its power to usurp the Sooners, earning a 49.7125 – its second-best bars total of the season. The whole rotation was simply superb. The Gators opened with a 9.95 from Sloane Blakely, dropped Victoria Nguyen’s 9.9, and closed with scores of 9.975 (DiCello), 9.9125 (Thomas), 9.975 (Wong), and 9.925 (Riley McCusker).
Oklahoma closed in style with a 49.675 on floor – its best rotation score of the meet and the highest total of the four teams on the event. All scores were 9.9 or better, with the team dropping the 9.9. By the time Sievers walked onto the mat to close the rotation, the Sooners had already secured the title with a 9.95 from Bowers. Sievers still earned a 9.95 for an exclamation point on the win.
“I’m just really proud of the way that they finished off this meet,” Kindler said. “I couldn’t be prouder as a coach; I know our whole staff feels the same way. These are pretty amazing women. I heard people [were] wearing t-shirts that said ‘Anyone but Oklahoma’ out in the audience, so that’s fun. But you know… it’s okay. You take it.”
