OU Ready for Metroplex Challenge

¹ Oklahoma

⁵ Alabama

⁴ Denver

¹⁸ Georgia

Saturday, Jan. 25 / 7 p.m. CT / Fort Worth, Texas / Fort Worth Convention Center

FloGymnastics / Meet Notes

NORMAN – The Sooners will travel to Fort Worth, Texas, for the annual Metroplex Challenge Saturday at the Fort Worth Convention Center. The podium quad meet will feature No. 5 Alabama, No. 4 Denver and No. 18 Georgia. The meet is slated to air on FloGymnastics with Meg McDonald and former OU gymnast Natalie Brown on the call.

NOTES AND NUMBERS FOR MEET FIVE

HOME SWEET HOME
OU hosted No. 19 Arkansas in its home opener on Monday, Jan 20, earning a 198.175-196.550 victory over the Razorbacks. With the victory, OU improved to 103-4 inside Lloyd Noble Center since the arrival of head coach K.J. Kindler in 2007. The Sooners have posted 27 consecutive victories dating back to 2014 and the 2020 senior class has never lost a home meet in their career. Senior Maggie Nichols earned a perfect 10 on vault for the second straight meet and added a 9.95 on bars and 9.975s on beam and floor to earn a 39.900 all around score. Senior Jade Degouveia notched a career high 9.95 on bars in just her fourth meet competing the event. Sophomore Emma LaPinta tallied a 9.900 on floor for a career high, while junior Karrie Thomas added a career high 9.95 on bars.

KINDLER VS. THE SEC
Head coach K.J. Kindler has proven the Sooners are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to battling their foes in the SEC. In 14 seasons, Kindler is 47-8 against the SEC and posted a perfect 10-0 record against the conference in 2019. The Sooners faced seven of eight SEC teams last season, defeating Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU and Missouri. Auburn was the only SEC school OU did not face in 2019. This season, the Sooner are 2-0 against teams from the SEC with wins over Alabama and Arkansas. OU will face Alabama and Georgia this weekend at the Metroplex Challenge.

KINDLER VS. THE BIG 12
In 14 seasons, Kindler is 74-3 against current and former members of the Big 12 (not including regionals and NCAA Championships). Against current members of league (Denver, Iowa State, West Virginia), Kindler is undefeated in the regular season with a 35-0 record. At the Big 12 Championship, she is undefeated against current members with a 13-0 record against Iowa State, 7-0 record against West Virginia and 4-0 over Denver. OU will host all three Big 12 schools at Lloyd Noble Center in 2020. The Sooners will face Iowa State on Jan. 31, West Virginia on Feb. 14 and Denver on Feb. 29.

FAMILIAR FACES
The Sooners are seeing Alabama for the second time in eight days as they defeated the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 17. OU earned a 198.250-197.400 victory as Maggie Nichols scored her first perfect 10 of the season on vault. OU will face Denver for the first of three times in 2020. The Sooners will host the Pioneers in Norman on Feb. 29, before the two teams meet at the Big 12 Championship in March. The Sooners faced Georgia in the Athens Regional in 2019. OU posted the highest away score in NCAA history at the meet.

CLOUD 9.9
The Sooners have posted 45 scores of 9.9 or higher through the first four meets of the season. With 95 routines competed, that means 47.3 percent of the routines scored at least a 9.9. OU has put up double-digit scores of 9.9 or higher three times, including a season best 15 at Alabama on Jan. 17. Through five meets in 2019, the Sooners had also put up 45 scores of 9.9 or higher, but with one more routine competed (96).

SWAGGIE MAGGIE
Senior Maggie Nichols had an incredible weekend, earning eight scores of 9.9 or higher, including five scores of 9.975 or better. Nichols posted her second-highest career all-around score with a 39.900 against Arkansas. Days after being the first gymnast in 2020 to post a score of 39.800 or better, Nichols became the first gymnast this season to break 39.900.
Nichols is the only gymnast to eclipse 39.900 since Courtney Kupets (Georgia) notched a 39.900 in 2009. Nichols has posted four scores of 39.900 or better with her highest being a 39.925 in 2017. She is the only gymnast in NCAA history with multiple scores of 39.900 or better.

TO 198 AND BEYOND
For the third year in a row, the Sooners became the first team in the country to reach a score of 198 or better with a 198.250 on Jan. 17 at Alabama. OU reached 198 once again with a 198.250 on Jan. 20 against Arkansas. In each of last two seasons, the Sooners have posted at least eight marks of 198 or higher. Since 2016 OU has totaled 28 scores of 198 or better and has 35 such scores in program history. Of those 35, only 12 have been earned at home with the other 23 all coming at road or neutral sites. Nine of those scores have come in regional or national competition, including the 198.475 mark at the 2019 NCAA Athens Regional which is the top road score in NCAA history. In 2018, OU set the NCAA record with 10 scores of 198 or better in a single season. OU has more scores of 198 in the last five years than any other program has in their entire history.

LONE STAR SOONERS
When OU hits the road for Fort Worth, four Sooners will be making a trip home for the weekend. Jordan Draper (Bedford), Erin Hutchison (Plano), Emma LaPinta (Frisco) and Ragan Smith (Lewisville) all hail from the state of Texas. Draper trained at Empire Gymnastics, Hutchison at WOGA, LaPinta at Kurt Thomas and Smith at Texas Dreams.

STILL ON TOP
After being the first team in the nation to break the 198 threshold, the Oklahoma women's gymnastics team remained at No. 1 for the third week in a row. The Sooners posted the top score in the nation with a 198.250, becoming the first team to break 198 for the third consecutive year. OU is averaging a 197.758 to hold onto the top spot. Florida remained in second (197.100) while UCLA jumped from fifth to third (196.933). Denver dropped to fourth (196.900) and Utah and Alabama are tied for fifth (196.713). Oklahoma is the top team on vault (49.392) and bars (49.508), second on beam (49.425) and third on floor (49.433).

ROAD WARRIORS
The Sooners have had a tough start to the 2020 season with four of their first five meets coming on the road. OU opened the year at the Collegiate Challenge in Anaheim, Calif., where they picked up wins over UCLA, Cal and Stanford on Jan. 4. The Sooners then headed to Tempe, Ariz., on Jan. 11 for a meet against Arizona State which also saw a Sooner victory. The three-meet road swing ended with a win in Tuscaloosa, Ala., over No. 9 Alabama. The Metroplex Challenge will mark the final road meet in January.

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 regular 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
The Crimson Tide is currently 0-2 on the season after dropping meets to Auburn and Oklahoma. Alabama boasts the third-highest score this season (197.400), despite not having a win yet. Alabama is currently tied with Utah at No. 5 in the team rankings and is ranked No. 4 on floor, No. 6 on vault and bars and No. 14 on beam.

SCOUTING DENVER
Denver is 5-0 on the year after picking up three victories at the Collegiate Challenge in Anaheim, Calif., and wins over Minnesota and Arkansas. The Pioneers are No. 4 in the nation and boast the No. 3 bars team and No. 4 beam team. On vault and floor, Denver comes in at No. 11 on both events. Maddie Karr and Lynnzee Brown are both in the top five in the all-around with Karr coming in at No. 3 and Brown at No. 4.

SCOUTING GEORGIA
Georgia is 4-1 on the season with their only loss coming to LSU in the second meet of the season. Georgia has wins over Bridgeport, Iowa, Oregon State and Iowa State on the season. The GymDogs are No. 18 in the nation, with a No. 4 ranking on floor and No. 5 ranking on beam. Georgia is No. 14 on vault and No. 45 on bars.

UP NEXT
The Sooners return to the Lloyd Noble Center Jan. 31 as Iowa State makes the trek to Norman. the Big 12 foes will face off at 6:45 p.m. on Fox Sports Oklahoma.

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 FIVE

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jade Degouveia

Jordan Draper

Erin Hutchison

Emma LaPinta

Maggie Nichols

Ragan Smith

Karrie Thomas

Olivia Trautman

Anastasia Webb

Carly Woodard

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics