Sooners Begin NCAA Competition in Iowa City

No. 1 Oklahoma at NCAA Iowa City Regional

Teams: No. 12 Nebraska, No. 13 Arkansas, No. 19 Iowa, Kent State, Central Michigan
April 2 | 4 p.m. CT | Iowa City, Iowa | Carver-Hawkeye Arena

Notes

NOTES AND NUMBERS FOR MEET 14

QUEENS OF THE HILL
For the second consecutive season, Oklahoma is the nation's No. 1 overall seed heading into NCAA competition. OU holds an NCAA-best regional qualifying score (RQS) of 197.920, the best mark in program history. The Sooners began their 2016 campaign as the top team in the preseason rankings for the first time in OU history. After narrowly dropping its season opener, OU climbed back up the standings, claiming the No. 1 slot on Feb. 8, a position it has held since. This marked the fifth straight season that the Sooners have finished within the top two of the regular season national rankings based on RQS.

WIN AND ADVANCE
On Saturday, the Sooners will look to continue their NCAA regional success under head coach K.J. Kindler. Since 2010, the Sooners own six consecutive regional championships and 19 individual event championships. In the 2016 NCAA Iowa City Regional, the Sooners will face No. 12 Nebraska, No. 13 Arkansas, No. 19 Iowa, Kent State and Central Michigan. Last year, OU captured the NCAA Norman Regional title with a 197.625. The Sooners posted the top team score on all four events and secured individual titles on a trio of apparatuses. AJ Jackson won the vault title (9.925), Haley Sorenson tied for top honors on beam (9.9) and Haley Scaman snagged the floor crown (9.975).

ROAD WARRIORS
Oklahoma will look to continue its winning ways away from the Lloyd Noble Center this weekend. In their eight meets away from Norman this season, the Sooners have been consistent and successful, averaging an NCAA-best 197.538 on their way to a 16-1 record. The second-best away average so far this season is a 197.217 for Florida. At the Big 12 Championship on March 19, OU tallied an impressive 198.050, the highest away score in the nation this season and its second-best overall total. The Sooners have snagged 26 team event titles and 35 individual crowns in road and neutral site meets in 2016. OU's road success is nothing new as it finished with the highest road average in both the 2014 and 2015 seasons with marks of 197.679 and 197.531, respectively.

ROTATION ORDER
	VAULT	BYE	BARS	BEAM	BYE	FLOOR
1.	Central Michigan	OKLAHOMA	Kent State	Nebraska	Iowa	Arkansas
2.	Arkansas	Central Michigan	OKLAHOMA	Kent State	Nebraska	Iowa
3.	Iowa	Arkansas	Central Michigan	OKLAHOMA	Kent State	Nebraska
4.	Nebraska	Iowa	Arkansas	Central Michigan	OKLAHOMA	Kent State
5.	Kent State	Nebraska	Iowa	Arkansas	Central Michigan	OKLAHOMA
6.	OKLAHOMA	Kent State	Nebraska	Iowa	Arkansas	Central Michigan

ALL-AMERICA STATUS
Seven Sooners earned a total of 10 regular season All-America honors from the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women (NACGC/W) last week. Oklahoma's 10 awards stand as the second-most nationally, and its four bars honors matches the most in the nation on any event (three first-team accolades on the event are the most named to the first team). In the four years that regular season All-America accolades have been awarded, Oklahoma has totaled double-digit honors three times. Senior Keeley Kmieciak and junior Chayse Capps both earned multiple awards.

HISTORY VS. REGIONAL TEAMS
Of its five opponents in the 2016 NCAA Iowa City Regional field, Oklahoma has faced Arkansas this season, while it will be the first matchup with the other squads. On Jan. 17, the Sooners snagged a 197.050 to 195.900 victory against the Razorbacks in Fayetteville, Ark. The Sooners are a combined 63-66 all-time against teams in the field. OU holds a winning record against Arkansas (13-2), Iowa (16-2), Kent St. (2-0) and Central Michigan (3-1) and trails Nebraska in the all-time series, 61-29. However, the Sooners won the most-recent meeting with the Cornhuskers in the 2015 NCAA Semifinals.

MATCHUPS AT A GLANCE
	OU	Nebraska	Arkansas	Iowa	Kent State	Central Michigan
Record	23-1-0	23-4-0	9-10-0	14-12-1	10-4-0	15-6-0
Ranking	No. 1	No. 12	T-No. 13	No. 19	No. 30	No. 35
RQS	197.920	196.635	196.575	196.330	195.595	195.440
Average	197.588	196.205	195.335	195.456	195.102	194.910
High	198.075	197.350	197.225	196.650	196.125	196.125

IN GOOD COMPANY
Oklahoma is one of only five teams in the nation to advance to the NCAA Championships every season since 2004, along with Alabama, Florida, LSU and Utah. OU will try to extend that streak with a top-two finish in Saturday's Regional meet.

RANKINGS UPDATE
As a team, the Sooners have been ranked first for at least two weeks on each event this season and are currently in the top spot on bars (49.575 RQS), beam (49.445 RQS) and floor (49.575 RQS). OU also sits in a tie for third on vault (49.415 RQS). The Sooners boast a total of 15 appearances in the top-25 individual rankings, joining Florida (16), LSU (12), Georgia (10) and Michigan (10) as the only programs who can claim double-digit rankings.

RETURNING REGIONAL CHAMPS
Of the Sooners on the 2016 squad, four have at least one individual regional title to their names. Senior Haley Scaman has secured a pair of floor honors (2013 and 2015), while sophomore AJ Jackson won vault a year ago. In 2014, senior Maile'ana Kanewa snagged top honors on vault, and junior Chayse Capps placed first on beam.

FAB FIVE
On March 19, Oklahoma secured an unprecedented fifth consecutive Big 12 Conference title, doing so with a meet-record 198.050. Last year, the Sooners became the first squad in Big 12 Conference history to win a fourth straight crown. OU now holds a total of 14 conference titles (five Big Eight, nine Big 12) in its program history and eight Big 12 titles under 10th-year head coach K.J. Kindler.

AAI FINALIST
Senior Haley Scaman is one of six finalists for the prestigious AAI Award, recognizing the most outstanding senior female gymnast in the country. The award is considered one of the highest honors given in the sport of NCAA women's gymnastics. Scaman is joined by five additional finalists, including Caitlin Atkinson (Auburn), Ivana Hong (Stanford), Lindsay Mable (Minnesota), Nina McGee (Denver) and Bridget Sloan (Florida). Scaman is Oklahoma's fifth consecutive finalist for the award, joining Megan Ferguson (2012), Brie Olson (2013), Taylor Spears (2014) and Erica Brewer (2015).

QUICK HITS

• Oklahoma holds half of the top-10 team scores in the nation this season, including three of the top-five marks. OU boasts the second-, third- and fifth-best overall scores, with its 198.075 from Feb. 26 against then-No. 4 Michigan coming in as the second-highest total.
• The Sooners won at least one Big 12 weekly award each week this season, including every Event Specialist accolade, and a total of 20 overall.
• The Sooners have cracked the top 10 in best scores in program history a total of 12 times this season (three times for team scores, four times on bars, once on beam, four times on floor). Their 49.675 bars total against both Arizona and at the Big 12 Championship is the best in school history.

UP NEXT

This weekend's competition begins the Sooners' road to Fort Worth, Texas, and the 2016 NCAA Championships meet. The top two finishing teams from each of Saturday's six regionals will advance to one of the two NCAA Semifinals at the Fort Worth Convention Center. Should Oklahoma qualify to the championship meet, it is positioned to compete in Semifinal II on April 15 with teams from the Salt Lake City and Tuscaloosa Regionals.