Top-Ranked Oklahoma Opens at Home with Top-Five Battle Against No. 5 Utah

Sunday, January 22

Norman, Okla.

6:45 p.m.

University of Oklahoma

Utah

Tickets

Photo by: Matthew Smith

Top-Ranked Oklahoma Opens at Home with Top-Five Battle Against No. 5 Utah

January 20, 2023 | Women's Gymnastics

Meet Program OU Meet Notes Utah Meet Notes Live Stats Watch ESPN Meet Day Policies

NORMAN – The top-ranked Oklahoma women's gymnastics team opens its 2023 home slate with a top-five showdown against No. 5 Utah on Sunday, Jan. 22, at 6:45 p.m. CT inside Lloyd Noble Center.

A trio of former Olympians will be on the call for ESPN with OU great Bart Conner, Kathy Johnson-Clarke and Samantha Peszek announcing. The nationally televised meet marks the second of five showings this season for OU on an ESPN Network.

Live stats will also be available through OU's StatBroadcast page for fans to follow the action. Season tickets start at just $25 and individual meet tickets are as low as $5, and can be purchased at SoonerSports.com/tickets.

GOLDEN NIGHT

Championship Bling: The first 350 fans and 150 OU students will receive replica 2022 national championship rings.
GOALD Standard: In addition to the replica rings, OU students have the opportunity to receive a "GOALD Standard" shirt.
2022 National Championship Celebration: Prior to the meet, OU will honor the 2022 national championship team and reveal the championship banner.
Hoops to Flips: As a thank-you for fan support of OU men's and women's basketball this season, fans have the opportunity to receive $3 admission into Sunday's gymnastics meet if they show their basketball ticket on Sunday at the Lloyd Noble Center box office.

SWEET HOME OKLAHOMA

OU is 126-4 inside Lloyd Noble Center since the arrival of head coach K.J. Kindler in 2007. The Sooners have posted 64 consecutive victories dating back to 2014 and the 2023 senior class is currently undefeated at home.

OU has five regular season home meets in 2023, with two airing on the ESPN family of networks. After tonight, the Sooners will host 2022 NCAA runner-up and No. 1 Florida on March 3 on ESPN2. OU will also host Big 12 opponents Iowa State (Feb. 3), West Virginia (Feb. 24) and No. 20 Arizona State (March 12; Senior Day) inside the LNC.

POWERHOUSE BATTLE

In December 2019, Oklahoma and Utah announced a home-and-home series beginning with the 2021 season. OU posted a home win over the Red Rocks that year inside Lloyd Noble Center before falling in 2022 in Salt Lake City. On Sunday, No. 1 OU hosts No. 5 Utah once again inside the LNC. The two programs have combined for 15 national championships and are two of just seven programs to ever win a national title.

Oklahoma and Utah have met 44 times in program history with OU winning the most recent meeting at the 2022 NCAA Championships en route to its fifth national title. The Sooners are 10-1 against Utah in the last 11 meetings, with nine coming in postseason competition. The programs have met just 10 times in the regular season with the last meeting coming last year inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Utah is 8-2 against the Sooners in regular season competition.

OU has won five of the last seven national championships and finished in the top three in each of the last nine years. The Sooners have claimed 18 conference titles and 14 regional championships, while making 21 NCAA Championships appearances. OU also boasts 17 individual national champions and 192 All-Americans.

A member of the Pac-12 Conference, Utah also boasts a strong gymnastics tradition with 10 national championships, 13 conference titles, 23 NCAA Finals appearances, 30 individual national champions and 389 All-Americans.

LEAVING A LEGACY

Sunday's meet also serves as OU's Alumni Night, with more than 35 of the most accomplished former Sooner gymnasts in attendance and honored before the last rotation.

Out of the program's five national championships (2014, '16, '17, '19, '22), 17 of the alumni expected to attend Sunday's meet earned at least one national title during their OU career, including Sooner legends Maggie Nichols and Anastasia Webb, and three Sooners from the 2022 national championship team, Jordan Draper, Emma LaPinta and Karrie Thomas.

Four of the six Sooners who have garnered the program's 17 individual national titles will be in attendance, including Nichols, Webb, Brenna Dowell and OU legend Kelly Garrison-Funderburk. Garrison-Funderburk (1987, '88), Nichols (2019) and Webb (2021) are also the only Sooners in program history to win the Honda Sport Award for gymnastics.

In addition Becky Switzer, the second head coach in program history, will be in attendance. Switzer coached the Sooners for 18 seasons and won five conference championships. The program placed in the top three in the Big Eight all 18 years. In her last season as head coach in 2001, Switzer led the program to its first NCAA appearance (OU finished 10th overall). She is the wife of famed former OU and Dallas Cowboys football head coach Barry Switzer.

LEVASSEUR HONORED BY BIG 12

For the third time in her career, junior Katherine LeVasseur was named the Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week for week two.

In a challenging road environment that featured more than 12,000 fans at LSU, LeVasseur recorded a season-high 9.925 to help the Sooners to a win over the then-13th-ranked Tigers. It was her fourth career title on vault and first this season. LeVasseur has earned nine career event titles.

A three-time All-Big 12 honoree (vault, bars and beam) and 2022 Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection, it marked LeVasseur's third career weekly conference honor and seventh overall Big 12 accolade.

BATTLE-TESTED IN THE BAYOU

In a tough road environment that featured more than 12,000 fans, the reigning NCAA champion Oklahoma women's gymnastics team edged then-No. 13 LSU, 197.600-197.450 on Monday inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La. The Sooners won their eighth consecutive matchup against the Tigers.

Sophomore Jordan Bowers had another strong meet, posting back-to-back career-highs on beam (9.950) and in the all-around (39.650). Bowers won the beam title and finished second in the all-around, only 0.025 behind LSU's Haleigh Bryant. In her first career all-around appearance, freshman Faith Torrez posted a 39.325, which ranks third in the Big 12 this season behind Sooner teammates Bowers and Audrey Davis (39.500).

Headlining a vault lineup with six 10.0 start values, Katherine LeVasseur added her fourth career title on vault and first of the season with a 9.925. Senior Ragan Smith added her fourth career bars title and 28th overall with a career-high 9.950. Bowers and Smith also added a pair of 9.925s to finish second on floor.

KINDLER VS. THE PAC-12

In 17 seasons, K.J. Kindler is 75-23 against the Pac-12 Conference, including 40-2 over the last six seasons. Over the past four years, the Sooners are 25-1 against Pac-12 schools.

OU earned a victory over Pac-12 opponent and fourth-ranked UCLA on Jan. 7 during the season opener at the Super 16 and will face three more Pac-12 teams during the regular season, including No. 5 Utah on Sunday.

HOLDING STEADY

Prior to their meet at LSU, the Sooners remained steady at the top of the national rankings for week two with a 197.925. After scoring three perfect 10s in its conference opener, Florida was less than two tenths behind at No. 2 (197.788), while 2021 NCAA champion Michigan moved up to No. 3 (197.763) after posting the first 198-plus score of the season (198.125) in its home opener. Pac-12 opponents UCLA (197.563) and Utah (197.513) round out the top five at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. The Sooners posted a win over UCLA in their season opener at the Super 16 in Las Vegas on Jan. 7, while OU will face Utah on Sunday. Fellow Big 12 member Denver (197.063) moved up to eighth. OU is ranked in the top five on all four events, including three top two finishes on vault (49.425), beam (49.525) and floor (49.525). The Sooners are also fourth on bars with a 49.450.

THE NATION'S BEST

Seven Sooners earned a total of 14 individual top-25 rankings, with at least one gymnast ranked in the top 10 on all four events and in the all-around. Four out of six OU gymnasts that competed on beam and floor are ranked in the top 25 nationally.

Jordan Bowers retained the nation's best score on vault (9.975) and is ranked fourth in the all-around (39.650), sixth on beam (9.925; tied) and 25th on floor (9.900; tied). Audrey Davis ranks fifth on bars (9.950), 13th in the all-around (39.500) and 25th on floor after posting a career-high score of 9.900 during the season opener at the Super 16 on Jan. 7.

Newcomers Ava Siegfeldt and Faith Torrez registered top-15 scores on beam. Siegfeldt moved to sixth after scoring 9.925 in the season opener and Torrez posted a 9.900 to rank 15th. Torrez is also tied for the third-best floor score in the nation with a 9.950.

Junior Katherine LeVasseur is ranked 11th on vault (9.900) and sophomore Danae Fletcher is ranked 20th on bars (9.900). Senior Jenna Dunn is also ranked 15th on beam after scoring 9.900 during the season opener on Jan. 7. Fletcher is also ranked seventh nationally on floor with a 9.925.

SOONER BORN, SOONER BRED

Both stories of perseverance, Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy products Jenna Dunn and Bell Johnson started off as walk-on athletes for the Sooners and have earned full-ride scholarships to compete for the OU squad this season. Both local products were part of OU's fifth national championship in 2022 and runner-up finish in 2021.

Dunn, a senior, has probably been one of the biggest surprises for the Sooners since her very first start at the Collegiate Challenge in Anaheim, Calif., in 2020, when she was only slated to be the alternate but jumped into the leadoff position on beam and never looked back. As the leadoff, Dunn sets the tone for OU's beam squad with a solid and confident routine highlighted by her triple series (back handspring, back handspring, layout stepout). Competing in all 16 meets in 2022 on beam, Dunn matched a career-high 9.925 and hit 100% of her beam routines.

For the starting floor position, Johnson is an easy pick. The junior competed in every meet in 2022 as a floor specialist and posted a career-high-tying 9.925 against Texas Woman's. She's the definition of "Sooner born, Sooner bred," as many members of her family graduated from OU, including her parents, Kim and Derrick. This season, she performs an entertaining and upbeat floor routine to music from her favorite artist, Harry Styles.

SCOUTING THE RED ROCKS: NO. 5 UTAH

A program with rich gymnastics tradition, No. 5 Utah boasts 23 NCAA Finals appearances, including 10 national championships and a third-place finish at last year's NCAA Championships in Fort Worth, Texas. The Red Rocks enter Sunday's competition with the highest score on any event this season with a 49.675 on beam, and they rank No. 1 nationally with a 49.575 average on the event. Utah is also ranked fourth on vault (49.350), fifth as a team (197.513), eighth on bars (49.288) and ninth on floor (49.300).

The Red Rocks boast three Olympians from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on their roster. They are U.S. silver medalist Grace McCallum and Amelie Morgan, who helped Great Britain to its first podium finish (bronze) since 1928, and U.S. Olympic team alternate Kara Eaker. Two-time NCAA champion and 11-time All-American Maile O'Keefe brings depth to a stacked Utah squad. At last week's Rio Tinto Best of Utah, Eaker recorded her second career 10.0 on beam in just her ninth career beam routine. She and O'Keefe share the top spot in the nation on the event. McCallum led the Red Rocks in the all-around at the Best of Utah with a 39.675 and has only scored higher in the all-around once (39.775 at Washington in 2022).

CHALK TALK

The 2023 Oklahoma roster returns 21 routines from the 2022 squad, including eight gymnasts who combined for 20 All-America honors in seniors Ragan Smith, Olivia Trautman and Allie Stern, junior duo Katherine LeVasseur and Audrey Davis and sophomores Jordan Bowers, Danae Fletcher and Danielle Sievers.
With COVID-19 derailing the end of their sophomore seasons and being granted an extra year of eligibility, Stern and Trautman return for a final season in 2023. A full-scholarship athlete each of the last four years, Stern came back as a walk-on for the 2023 season in her last year of eligibility.
The Sooners will be featured on ESPN networks five times during the season: at LSU (Jan. 16), vs. Utah (Jan. 22), vs. Florida (March 6), at Michigan (March 6) and at the Big 12 Championship (March 18).
Eleven of OU's regular season opponents are ranked in the top 25 of the current RoadToNationals standings, including all the other teams in the top five and six of the top 10.

MEET DAY POLICIES

OU Athletics' clear bag policy will be in effect and walk-through metal detectors will be utilized. The approved clear plastic tote size is a maximum of 12 inches x 6 inches x 12 inches or a one-gallon clear plastic freezer bag. Even those bags are subject to search.

Arena doors will open to the public one (1) hour prior to meet start. The general public can utilize the north and east entrances. No pass or payment is required for any parking at the LNC. Full details on OU's meet day policies at Lloyd Noble Center can be found here.

SEASON TICKETS ON SALE

Season tickets for the 2023 season are currently available for purchase. Reserved season tickets are $50 each. General admission season tickets cost $25 for adults, while senior (55+), youth (6-18), OU faculty/staff and letterwinner season tickets cost $20. Discounted tickets are available for $3 for groups of 10 or more. Group tickets must be purchased at least 24 hours prior to the event. Fans can reserve their seats online through SoonerSports.com or contact the OU Athletics Ticket Office by phone at (405) 325-2424. More information can be found here.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Sooners will travel to No. 8 Denver for a conference clash next Sunday afternoon, Jan. 29, at 3 p.m. CT. The meet will broadcast on Altitude Sports TV.