Crimson Clash in Tuscaloosa Friday

¹ Oklahoma

9 Alabama

Friday, Jan. 16 / 8 p.m. CT / Tuscaloosa, Ala.

NORMAN – The Sooners are set for an 8:00 p.m. CT meet at No. 9 Alabama. The meet will be held inside Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The meet will be air on ESPN2. Bart Conner (play-by-play) and Kathy Johnson-Clark (analyst) will be on the call.

NOTES AND NUMBERS FOR MEET THREE

LOOK BACK AT IT
The Sooners continued their three-meet road swing with a victory at Arizona State on Jan. 11. OU posted a 197.675-194.600 win to move to 4-0 on the season. Maggie Nichols won three of four event titles, plus the all-around, as she posted marks of 9.95 on vault, 9.975 on beam and 9.925 on floor. Ragan Smith earned the bars title with a 9.925. Brooke Weins made her collegiate debut with a 9.825 on vault. Jenna Dunn set a career-high with a 9.825 on beam, while Smith notched a career high on floor with a 9.9.

STILL ON TOP
For the second week in a row, the Oklahoma women's gymnastics team posted the top score in the nation to continue its hold on the top spot in the country. The Sooners were one of just two teams (Florida) to break the 197 threshold as they posted a 197.675 on the road at Arizona State.

Through the first two weeks, the Sooners are averaging a 197.513. Florida moved in to second after their first week of competition with a 197.350. Denver is ranked third (196.725), followed by Utah (196.713) and UCLA (196.688). OU holds the No. 1 spot on bars (49.475 average), the No. 2 ranking on vault (49.275) and beam (49.388) and comes in at No. 3 on floor (49.375).

NATIONAL RANKINGS
Four Sooners earned 12 individual national rankings this weekend. Senior Maggie Nichols is ranked on every event and in the all-around with three top-five appearances. The Little Canada, Minn., native is No. 3 in the all-around (39.688), tied for second on vault (9.912) and tied for third on bars (9.938). Nichols is also seventh on floor (9.925) and 11th on beam (9.913).

Junior Anastasia Webb is also in the top 10 of the all-around, coming in at No. 9 with a 39.488 average. Webb is also ranked 13th on both bars (9.875) and floor (9.900). Freshman Ragan Smith is No. 18 in the all-around (39.275). Smith is tied with Nichols on bars at No. 3 with a 9.937 average. The Lewisville, Texas, native is ranked 23rd on beam (9.887). In her first year competing on bars, senior Jade Degouveia is tied with Webb for 13th with an average of 9.875.

NICHOLS, SMITH HONORED BY BIG 12
Senior Maggie Nichols and freshman Ragan Smith repeated as the Gymnast and Newcomer of the Week, respectively. The honor is the 20th of Nichols' career and the second for Smith. Nichols was named the Big 12 Gymnast of the Week for the 12th time in her career after posting the best all-around score in the nation with a 39.750. Nichols took home three event titles plus the all-around title as she notched a 9.95 on vault, a 9.975 on beam and a 9.925 on floor. The Little Canada, Minn., native led the Sooners to the top score in the nation and their fourth win over a ranked opponent this season.

Smith competed on three events for the Sooners, posting at least a 9.875 on all three. The freshman took home the bar title with a 9.925, her second week posting a 9.9 or better on the event. Smith also tallied a career-high 9.9 on floor. On beam, the Lewisville, Texas, native added a 9.875 to finish off a strong night for the Sooners.

ROAD WARRIORS
The Sooners will start the season with three consecutive road meets and four total in the month of January. After opening the season in California, OU will head to Tempe, Ariz., for a matchup with Arizona State on Jan. 11. The Sooners will close out their road swing on Friday against Alabama.

The final road trip of January will be to Fort Worth, Texas, and the Metroplex Challenge. The quad-meet will feature OU, Alabama, Denver and Georgia on Jan. 25.

CLUB 197
The Sooners have posted a 197.000 or higher in 62 of their last 63 meets. Currently, the Sooners' streak is at 28 meets and 15 of those have featured a score of at least 198.000. In 2019, OU was one of just two teams who posted a 197 or better in every single meet (UCLA).

WE TOO DEEP
The Sooners return 11 gymnasts from the 2019 NCAA Championship squad, all who competed extensively last season in seniors Jade Degouveia, Maggie Nichols and Bre Showers; juniors Jordan Draper, Evy Scheofper, Karrie Thomas, Carly Woodard and Anastasia Webb; and sophomores Emma LaPinta, Allie Stern and Olivia Trautman.
All 11 returners appeared in at least five meets and came up with clutch performances to help OU to an undefeated season. Of the 11 returning, seven appeared in at least one lineup during the NCAA Finals.
Webb is the only Sooner on the current roster to appear in every meet of her career. Webb has hit 84 of 88 routines, good for a .954 average.

QUICK HITS

OU was ranked No. 1 in the WCGA preseason coaches poll, the sixth-straight season the Sooners have been ranked in the top two to begin the year.
Twelve of Oklahoma's 13 regualr season opponents are ranked in the preseason coaches poll.
OU will face six preseason top-10 opponents during the 2020 season including No. 4 UCLA, No. 6 Michigan, No. 7 Denver, No. 8 Georgia, No. 9 California and No. 10 Alabama.
Oklahoma returns seven previous NCAA All-Americans who own 23 total accolades: Jade Degouveia (VT, FX), Maggie Nichols (AA, VT, UB, BB, FX), Bre Showers (VT, AA), Karrie Thomas (UB), Olivia Trautman (FX), Anastasia Webb (UB, FX), Carly Woodard (BB).
The Sooners will be featured on ESPN networks four times during the regular season: at Arizona State (ESPNU), at Alabama (ESPN2), Denver (ESPNU) and the Big 12 Championship (ESPNU).

SCOUTING ALABAMA
Alabama checked in at No. 9 in the WCGA rankings after posting a 196.025 in its opening meet of the season.
The Crimson Tide fell to No. 20 Auburn in the season opener, their first loss to the Tigers since 2016 when Auburn snapped a 117-meet losing streak. In its first meet, Alabama posted a 49.025 on vault, 49.175 on bars, 48.525 on beam and 49.300 on floor.

UP NEXT
The Sooners will open their home slate on Monday, Jan. 20, at 1:30 p.m. CT against Arkansas. Season tickets for the 2019 season are currently available for purchase. Tickets are available for $40 for general admission and $60 for reserved seating, which will reserve a seat location for the entire season. Youth (6-18) and senior (55+) season tickets will be $30. Discounted tickets are available for $5 for groups of 10 or more. Group tickets must be purchased at least 24 hours prior to the event. Fans can order online through SoonerSports.com or over the phone at (405) 325-2424 or toll-free at 800-456-GoOU.

NOTES AND NUMBERS FOR MEET THREE

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jade Degouveia

Jordan Draper

Jenna Dunn

Emma LaPinta

Maggie Nichols

Ragan Smith

Allie Stern

Karrie Thomas

Olivia Trautman

Anastasia Webb

Brooke Weins

Carly Woodard

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