Redmond Perfect On Vault, OU Wins

NORMAN, Okla. Junior Kiara Redmond scored a perfect 10 on vault and the eighth-ranked Oklahoma women's gymnastics team took the team title in Saturday's quad meet against Texas Woman's University, Centenary and George Washington in Denton, Texas.

OU finished with a team total of 195.600, besting runner-up TWU by over four points. GW was third (190.050), while Centenary came in fourth with a 187.950.

Redmond took the all-around title with a 39.350, her first of the year, but her perfect vault was easily the highlight of the evening.

“It was an awesome moment seeing her face when she stuck the vault,” OU head coach K.J. Kindler said. “That was a bright spot in the meet. A 10 is perfect and it's hard to do. I've only seen two in my 14 years from teams that I've coached. It was really exciting tonight when that happened.”

Redmond's score tied the OU vault record and is the first perfect score recorded in the Big 12 this season.

Final Scores

The Sooners swept every event in the team competition and also had the individual champion on each apparatus. In addition to her all-around and vault titles, Redmond also finished first on the floor exercise with a 9.875. Senior Lori Winn took the balance beam (9.875) and classmate Brittney Koncak-Schumann won the uneven bars, tying her career high with a 9.9.

Koncak-Schumann, a two-time Big 12 Gymnast of the Week this season, finished second in the all-around, despite being limited by a minor knee injury sustained in OU's Jan. 19 home-opening win over Missouri and Central Michigan.

The Sooners were also without bars specialist Caitlin Hinkis, who missed the meet due to a death in the family, and freshman Kristin Smith who was out with a groin pull.

Freshman Mary Mantle stepped in for Smith on the floor, scoring a career-high 9.8 and took Hinkis' spot on bars, posting a 9.725. Winn also competed on the vault for the first time this season.

“Missing Caitlin and Kristin, and seeing Brittney really struggle through the week it was great to see her come through for the team,” Kindler said. “It was awesome to see people like Lori in the vault lineup and Mary in the bars and floor lineup who haven't had an opportunity to compete in those events. That was a real bright spot for us and it's going to make us deeper down the road. We're going to have more people ready to go, more people with experience, and that can be an awesome thing when you're in a tight spot.”

The Sooners are back in action Friday, Feb. 2 against the seventh-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers. The dual meet is scheduled for a 7 p.m. (CST) start from Lincoln, Neb. It will be Oklahoma's second meeting with a Big 12 Conference foe this season. OU defeated then-No. 22 Missouri in Norman on Jan. 19.

“We need to be a little more detail-oriented in our gymnastics if we're going to go up to Nebraska next weekend and really challenge them,” Kindler said. “That's something we need to really focus on this week being sharp in our competitive performance, especially on beam and floor. If beam and floor can improve I see us having a great shot against Nebraska.”

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