Sooners Return to LNC for Top-Five Showdown

No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 4 Michigan
Feb. 26 | 6:45 p.m. CT | Norman, Okla. | Lloyd Noble Center

MATCHUP AT A GLANCE
	Oklahoma	Michigan
2016 Record	17-1-0	9-2-0
2016 Ranking	No. 1	No. 4
2016 RQS	197.595	196.920
2016 Scoring Average	197.422	196.838
2016 Team High	197.925	197.425

NOTES AND NUMBERS FOR MEET 10

TOP-FIVE SHOWDOWN
The No. 1 Oklahoma women's gymnastics team returns to Norman to host No. 4 Michigan on Friday night in a showdown between two of the nation's best squads. Michigan represents the highest-ranked team OU has faced this season and the fifth in the top 10. The meet is slated to begin at 6:45 p.m. CT inside Lloyd Noble Center. The Sooners lead the all-time series by a 10-9-1 clip and won last season's meeting 197.375-197.250 in Ann Arbor, Mich. At home this season, the Sooners have tallied a 5-0 record and have averaged a 197.517 in their three meets. The Sooners, who have the second-toughest schedule in the nation, close the season with a challenging stretch. After Friday's meet, OU will also take on ranked foes in Arizona (No. 25) and UCLA (No. 6).

RQS BREAKDOWN
This week marked the first time this season that rankings were determined by regional qualifying scores (RQS). RQS is based on a team's six best regular season scores, three of which must be away. The overall high score is eliminated, and the five remaining scores are averaged. RQS scores are used to determine seeding for regional competition at six campus sites on April 2. OU's RQS of 197.595 stands as the best mark in the nation, and it also has the highest total on all four events: vault (49.375), bars (49.475), beam (49.370) and floor (49.420, tied with UCLA). Eight Sooners hold a nation-leading total of 18 individual top-25 rankings, which are also determined by RQS beginning this week. This includes three No. 1 rankings from Chayse Capps (AA, BB) and McKenzie Wofford (UB).

THREE'S COMPANY
Big 12 women's gymnastics fans can look at the top of the individual all-around standings and see the names of three of their own. OU's Chayse Capps and Keeley Kmieciak check in at No. 1 and No. 3 with regional qualifying scores (RQS) of 39.555 and 39.408, respectively, while Denver senior Nina McGee sits in second place with a 39.440 RQS. This season marks the first time Capps has competed on bars and in the all-around, while Kmieciak has not participated on floor since her freshman season. The OU duo has combined for seven all-around titles, with Capps claiming four and Kmieciak winning three.

ROAD WARRIORS
In their six meets away from Norman this season, the Sooners have been consistent and successful, averaging an NCAA-best 197.383 on their way to a 12-1 record. The second-best road average so far this season is a 197.050. In TWU's quad meet on Feb. 5, OU exploded for a season-high 197.925, which stands as the best road score in the nation this year and the second-best overall. The Sooners have snagged 18 team event titles and 22 individual crowns away from the Lloyd Noble Center in 2016.

DANCIN' TO THE TOP
When this week's national standings were released the Sooners found themselves atop the floor rankings for the first time in 2016. Throughout the year, OU has steadily climbed in the floor standings, going from eighth in week three to third in week seven before moving into the top spot this week with an RQS of 49.420, tied with UCLA. Individually, three Sooners are ranked in the top 25 nationally on the event, including Haley Scaman (T-8, 9.915 RQS), AJ Jackson (T-11, 9.905 RQS) and Charity Jones (T-23, 9.875 RQS).

A GLANCE AT NO. 4 MICHIGAN
The Wolverines check in at No. 4 in the overall rankings this week with a 196.920 RQS and are No. 3 on floor and No. 6 on vault, bars and beam. Michigan is coached by 27th-year head coach Bev Plocki and is 9-2 overall and 4-1 against Big Ten competition this season. Nicole Artz and Olivia Karas lead the Wolverines, checking in at No. 7 and No. 8, respectively in the all-around.

CUT TO THE CHAYSE
Chayse Capps has shined in her junior campaign for the Sooners, succeeding on all four events in her first season as an all-around competitor. The Plano, Texas, native holds the top spot nationally in both the all-around and on beam. In her first year in the bars lineup, Capps is tied for fifth nationally and is tied for 14th on vault. She also sits just outside the top 25 in 30th on floor. On Friday, Feb. 5, at TWU's quad meet, Capps put together a stellar performance, claiming the all-around title with a career-high 39.775, which is the best in OU program history, besting the previous mark of 39.700, and matches the highest score in the country so far this season. On beam, Capps nailed her routine for the first 10.0 of her career. The perfect mark was the fourth in school history on the apparatus. She also added a career-best 9.975 on floor that night.

TOPPING 197
In their last eight meets, the Sooners have turned in 197-plus performances, most recently scoring a 197.375 on the road at No. 10 Georgia. The Sooners hold four of the top 10 marks in the nation this season, including the second and third best scores. Their 197.925 from Feb. 5 coming in as the second-highest mark overall and the best road score.

QUICK HITS

• On Feb. 23, sophomore Natalie Brown earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Week recognition for the second time this season, while freshman Nicole Lehrmann received her fourth straight Newcomer of the Week accolade.
• OU boasts a NCAA-best 18 individual appearances in the top 25 of the national rankings. Just two other schools can claim double-digit individual rankings, including Florida (16) and Michigan (10).
• OU was ranked No. 1 in the 2016 NACGC Preseason Coaches' Poll for the first time in program history.
• Junior Chayse Capps set the OU program record in the all-around when she scored a 39.775 in TWU's quad meet on Friday, Feb. 5, besting the previous mark of 39.700. In the meet, she scored her first career perfect 10.0 on beam, which was the fourth in school history on the apparatus.

HOME PROMOTIONS

• Lloyd Noble Leo Night (children 12 and under can enter to win a leo)
• Kids are encouraged to wear their favorite leos to the meet!
• A photo booth, balloon artist and face painter in the Kid's Zone from 6-8 p.m.
• OU women's soccer team set up near Kid's Zone with mini goals
• 300 free T-shirts and 100 free cookies for OU students
• Shining Stars performing pre-meet and Tumble Stars post-meet
• Post-meet autographs

UP NEXT

The Sooners will be back in Norman next Friday, March 4, to face No. 25 Arizona. The meet, which will begin at 6:45 p.m. CT, will be Senior Night for Maile'ana Kanewa, Keeley Kmieciak, Hunter Price, Haley Scaman and Nicole Turner. Tickets are available for purchase online or by calling the OU Athletics Tickets Office at (405) 325-2424 or toll-free at (800) 456-GoOU.