No. 1 Sooners Host Cyclones Friday

¹ Oklahoma

¹⁶ Iowa State

Friday, Jan. 31/ 6:45 p.m. CT / Norman, Okla. / Lloyd Noble Center

NORMAN – The Sooners are back at home to host Big 12 rival Iowa State Friday at 6:45 p.m. The meet is slated to air on Fox Sports Oklahoma Plus.

NOTES AND NUMBERS FOR MEET SIX

HOME SWEET HOME
OU is 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. OU already has one home meet victory under its belt in 2020 with a win over Arkansas in the home opener on Jan. 20.

KINDLER VS. THE BIG 12
In 14 seasons, Kindler is 75-3 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 36-0 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.

CLOUD 9.9
The Sooners have posted 55 scores of 9.9 or higher through the first four meets of the season. With 119 routines competed, that means 46.2 percent of the routines scored at least a 9.9. OU has put up double-digit scores of 9.9 or higher four times, including a season best 15 at Alabama on Jan. 17. Through six meets in 2019, the Sooners had put up 62 scores of 9.9 or higher in 120 routines.

SWAGGIE MAGGIE
Senior Maggie Nichols has had an incredible start to her season, earning a pair of perfect 10s on vault in back-to-back meets. She tallied her first against Alabama on Jan. 17 and the second against Arkansas on Jan. 20.

Nichols posted her second-highest career all-around score with a 39.900 against Arkansas on Jan. 20. 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.

STILL ON TOP
For the fourth week in a row, the Oklahoma women's gymnastics team remained the No. 1 team in the country. The Sooners posted a 197.525 at the Metroplex Challenge Saturday night to improve to 9-0 on the year. OU is averaging a 197.795 through five meets to continue their hold on the top spot. Florida remained in second (197.525) with UCLA in third (196.933). Utah moved into fourth (196.825) and Denver dropped to fifth (196.819).

Oklahoma is the top vault (49.435) and bars (49.535) team in the nation. The Sooners rank third on beam (49.380) and floor (49.445).

NATIONAL RANKINGS
Eight Sooners earned 18 individual national rankings with at least one gymnast ranked in the top 10 on vault, bars, beam, floor and the all-around. The Sooners have five gymnasts ranked on bars, including a pair in the top 10.

Senior Maggie Nichols is ranked in the top 10 on every event. The Little Canada, Minn., native is No. 1 in the all-around (39.775) and on vault (9.960). She is No. 3 on floor (9.95), sixth on bars (9.935) and eighth on beam (9.920).

Junior Anastasia Webb is also in the top five of the all-around, checking in at No. 5 with an average of 39.555. The Morton Grove, Ill., native is No. 11 on vault, No. 12 on floor, No. 20 on bars and No. 22 on beam. Senior Jade Degouveia is ranked on a pair of events, coming in at No. 8 on bars (9.910) and No. 16 on beam (9.875). Freshman Vanessa Deniz is also ranked on two events as she is No. 16 on floor (9.900) and No. 21 on bars (9.875).

Freshman Ragan Smith is ranked 21st in the all-around with a 39.275 average. Sophomore Olivia Trautman is No. 17 on bars (9.883) and junior Carly Woodard is No. 22o n beam (9.875). Sophomore Allie Stern rounds out the ranked Sooners at No. 25 on vault (9.860).

WEBB, DENIZ HONORED BY BIG 12
Junior Anastasia Webb was named the Big 12 Gymnast of the Week for the second time in her career, while freshman Vanessa Deniz earned her first career Newcomer of the Week honor. The recognition was the ninth of Webb's career as she was a seven-time Newcomer of the Week selection in 2018.

Webb won a share of the all-around title at the Metroplex Challenge as she was the only all-around competitor to score a 9.9 or better on all four events. Webb won a share of the beam and floor titles as well with matching scores of 9.9. The Morton Grove, Ill., native tallied a 39.650 in the all-around, just .025 off her career high of 39.675.

Deniz came up clutch for the Sooners as she filled in on three events in her collegiate debut. The Millstone Township, N.J., native had yet to appear in a lineup for the Sooners before Saturday night when she competed on bars, beam and floor. Deniz notched a career-high 9.875 on bars and added a career-high 9.9 on floor. The freshman was a last-minute addition to the floor lineup, filling in just before the rotation began. As the anchor, she earned a share of the floor title and helped clinch the meet for the Sooners.

CLUB 197
The Sooners have posted a 197.000 or higher in 65 of their last 66 meets. Currently, the Sooners' streak is at 31 meets and 17 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). This season, 13 teams have posted a score of 197 or better through the first four weeks. In 2019, only seven teams had done so through week four.

THE ROAD TO FORT WORTH RUNS THROUGH NORMAN
The road to the NCAA Championships will make a journey through Norman and Lloyd Noble Center in 2020. OU is one of four host sites this season, meaning the Sooners will have a home-floor advantage during the three-day regional competition.
This will be the fourth time since 2011 that the Sooners will play host as they hosted in 2011, 2013 and 2015. OU has won all three regional championships in the LNC and will look to make it four in April.

A LEAGUE OF HER OWN
Head coach K.J. Kindler is in a league of her own in 2020. With the retirement of long-time UCLA head coach Valorie Kondos Field at the end of the 2019 season, Kindler is now the only active head coach to win a national championship. Kindler is still the only coach in NCAA history to take two different programs to the NCAA Finals (Iowa State, 2006; Oklahoma, nine times).

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 IOWA STATE
The Cyclones are 3-2 on the season with victories over Rutgers, Western Michigan and West Virginia. Both losses have been narrow, as the Cyclones fell 195.950-195.750 at Arizona and 197.325-196.625 at Georgia. Iowa State started the year at No. 20 in the rankings, before climbing as high as No. 12. The Cyclones are currently 16th in the country. The Cyclones come in at No. 11 on bars, No. 14 on vault, No. 15 on beam and No. 26 on floor.

TICKETS

Season tickets for the 2020 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.

UP NEXT

The Sooners will head back down to Texas to take on Texas Women's University on Sunday, Feb, 9, at 2 p.m. CT.

NOTES AND NUMBERS FOR MEET SIX

TICKETS

UP NEXT

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Players Mentioned

Jade Degouveia

Vanessa Deniz

Maggie Nichols

Ragan Smith

Allie Stern

Karrie Thomas

Olivia Trautman

Anastasia Webb

Carly Woodard

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics