Sooners Set for Saturday Night Session at Inaugural Super 16 in Las Vegas

NORMAN – The defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Oklahoma women's gymnastics team will headline the Saturday night session at the inaugural Super 16 presented by Ozone inside the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Jan. 7, event organizers announced Friday.

OU will face 2021 NCAA champion and No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Auburn, which is coming off a fourth-place finish at the 2022 NCAA Championships, and No. 10 UCLA, which has won seven NCAA titles. The Saturday night session is set to start at 8 p.m. CT.

The star-studded session features three programs that have won 13 NCAA championships, including each of the last six. Oklahoma is a five-time NCAA champion, winning titles in 2022, 2019, 2017, 2016 and 2014. Michigan won the 2021 championship, and UCLA, which has won seven titles, took home the 2018 crown. There was no national title awarded in 2020 due to COVID-19. Also, all four teams are ranked in the top 10 in the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) preseason poll, including three in the top five.

In addition, the session also features 2020 Tokyo Olympians Suni Lee (Auburn) and Jordan Chiles (UCLA), who brought home team silver medals for Team USA. Individually, Lee won the all-around gold medal and became the fifth straight American to win the all-around crown at an Olympic Games. Recently, Chiles helped Team USA to its sixth consecutive World team title, while picking up a pair of silver medals on vault and floor. Both Lee and Chiles have indicated interest in pursuing a berth to the 2024 Olympics.

With more than 300 gymnasts, the Super 16 is the largest women's collegiate invitational and will open the 2023 women's gymnastics collegiate season. The two-day podium competition features four competitive sessions, with team, all-around and event champions for each session.

The 16 universities and the sessions in which they compete are listed below. All times are subject to change and TV broadcast times will be announced at a later date.

Session	Date	Time (All times CT)	Teams
Session 1	Friday, Jan. 6, 2023	4 p.m.	No. 21 Washington, No. 27 North Carolina, No. 28 Southern Utah, Fisk
Session 2	Friday, Jan. 6, 2023	10 p.m.	No. 14 Oregon State, No. 17 Stanford, No. 20 Georgia, Rutgers
Session 3	Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023	2 p.m.	No. 8 California, No. 18 Iowa, No. 22 BYU, No. 24 Arizona State
Session 4	Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023	8 p.m.	NO. 1 OKLAHOMA, No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Auburn, No. 10 UCLA

The meet will provide OU with a chance to compete on podium ahead of the 2023 postseason. Typically, only used at top championship meets and international competitions such as Worlds and Olympics, podium is when the equipment is placed on a platform several feet off the ground, so the gymnasts are elevated from the rest of the individuals on the floor. This allows the gymnasts to be showcased individually, while also enhancing the fan experience.

OU returns eight gymnasts in 2023 who combined for 20 All-America honors last season in seniors Ragan Smith, Olivia Trautman and Allie Stern; junior duo Audrey Davis and Katherine LeVasseur; and sophomores Jordan Bowers, Danielle Sievers and Danae Fletcher.

Trautman and Stern have opted to use their extra year due to COVID-19. In addition to the returners, the Sooners welcome freshmen Faith Torrez and Ava Siegfeldt, who are both former elite gymnasts.

SUPER 16 SINGLE-SESSION TICKETS ON SALE

Single-session tickets go on sale to the public Friday for the inaugural Super 16 meet at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Single-session tickets range from $30 to $55 (plus taxes and fees) while all-session tickets range from $79 to $291 (plus taxes and fees). Both ticket options may be purchased online through the Orleans Arena website. Discounted tickets will be available through participating gym clubs. For group or gym club ticket information, email gymnationtickets@gmail.com.

To keep up to date on event, go to Super16gymnastics.com or follow it on social media at @super16gym on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube.

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For updates, follow @OU_WGymnastics on Twitter and Instagram, or like Oklahoma Women's Gymnastics on Facebook.