No. 1 Oklahoma Opens Conference Slate at No. 9 Denver

Sunday, January 29

Denver, Colo.

3 p.m.

University of Oklahoma

Denver

Photo by: Matthew Smith

No. 1 Oklahoma Opens Conference Slate at No. 9 Denver

January 27, 2023 | Women's Gymnastics

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NORMAN – The No. 1 Oklahoma women's gymnastics team opens its conference slate with a top-10 showdown at No. 9 Denver on Sunday at 3 p.m. CT. Brad Thompson and Marci Jenkins will be on the call for Altitude TV. Live stats will also be available through Denver's SIDEARM Stats page for fans to follow the action.

The Sooners are undefeated against all top-10 teams (4-0) they have faced this season, including its home opener against then-No. 5 Utah inside Lloyd Noble Center.

SWEET HOME VICTORY

In front of 7,013 fans – the third-best crowd in program history and OU's largest attendance for a home opener – the reigning NCAA champion and No. 1-ranked OU matched a season-high 197.925 to win its home opener against then-No. 5 Utah (197.275) last Sunday night inside Lloyd Noble Center.

The Sooners garnered four out of five event titles with freshman Faith Torrez earning her first career all-around title with a career-high 39.525. Torrez also won a pair of event titles with career highs on bars (first career bars title; 9.900) and floor (second career floor title; 9.950. Sophomore Jordan Bowers was close behind in the all-around with a 39.500 and shared the bars title with Torrez. Both gymnasts finished ahead of 2020 Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Grace McCallum (Utah), who finished third in the all-around with a 39.350.

Super-senior Allie Stern earned her seventh career vault title and first this season with a near-perfect 9.975 to share the vault title with reigning NCAA vault champion Jaedyn Rucker (Utah). The vault lineup is one of two teams (alongside Utah) currently featuring 10.0 start value vaults in all six spots. As a team, the Sooners posted the eighth-best score on vault in program history (49.650), currently tied for the best vault score this season with No. 3 Michigan.

HOW SWEEP IT IS!

For the second time this season, a trio of Oklahoma gymnasts swept the weekly Big 12 Conference honors for week three. Danielle Sievers was named Gymnast of the Week, Allie Stern was Event Specialist of the Week and Faith Torrez was named Newcomer of the Week. Sievers notched her fifth weekly league honor and first Big 12 Gymnast of the Week accolade. Stern earned her second weekly league honor with her last being in 2021. Torrez earned her second weekly conference honor and is the first repeat winner this season.

In their home opener against then-No. 5 Utah, the trio were all instrumental in leading the Sooners to match a season-high 197.925, the second highest score in the nation this season. Stern and Sievers were contributors to the vault lineup (49.650) which earned its eighth-best score in program history and is currently tied with No. 3 Michigan for the best vault score this season.

Sievers has scored 9.850 or higher on every routine (eight total) she's competed this season. Last Sunday night, she led off the Sooners on two of the four events, including a career-high 9.950 on vault and matching season highs on bars (9.875) and floor (9.900).

Stern won her seventh career vault title and first this season, earning a 10.0 from one of the two judges and scoring a near-perfect and season-high 9.975 against the top five Red Rocks last Sunday. The super senior's score of 9.975 was the best mark in the conference on any event over the weekend.

In her second straight start in the all-around, Torrez won her first career all-around title with a career-high 39.525 in Oklahoma's win over No. 5 Utah last Sunday. Torrez also earned a pair of event titles with career highs on bars (9.900) and floor (9.950) to bring her individual title total to four overall. For week three, Torrez led the Big 12 in the all-around and scored the highest among Big 12 freshmen on bars, beam and floor and in the all-around.

VIEW FROM THE TOP

In front of 7,013 fans – the third-best crowd in program history and OU's largest attendance for a home opener – the reigning NCAA champion and No. 1-ranked Oklahoma women's gymnastics team maintained its No. 1 spot after matching a season-high 197.925 against No. 5 Utah on Sunday night inside the Lloyd Noble Center. The Sooners have matched the second-highest score in the nation twice, just behind No. 3 Michigan who posted a 198.125 during its home opener during week two.

The Sooners boast a 197.817 average to hold the top spot nationally, while the top three remains the same with SEC opponent Florida close behind with a 197.633 and Michigan at No. 3 with a 197.500. Utah moved up one spot this week to No. 4 (197.433), while Auburn moved up two spots into the top five (197.350). Fellow Big 12 member Denver (196.950) remains in the top 10 at No. 9.

OU is the only team in the nation to be ranked in the top five on each of the four events. The Sooners are the top vault team (49.500) in the nation and one of two teams (alongside Utah) currently featuring 10.0 start value vaults in all six spots. On Sunday night, the Sooners posted the eighth-best score on vault in program history (49.650), which is tied with for the best vault score this season with the Wolverines, who's vault average ranks second-overall. OU shares second place with UCLA on floor (49.492), notched third place on beam (49.400) and is fifth on bars (49.417).

THE NATION'S BEST

Seven Sooners earned a total of 12 individual top-25 rankings, with at least one gymnast ranked in the top 10 on vault, floor and in the all-around. Three out of six gymnasts that competed on vault, beam and in the all-around are ranked in the top 25 nationally.

Sophomore Jordan Bowers is No. 7 nationally in the all-around with a 39.600 after posting three-straight scores of 39.500-plus, including back-to-back career-highs (39.625) for the first two weeks of the season. Bowers is second nationally on vault (9.933), which is less than a tenth behind 2020 Olympic champion Jade Carey (9.950; Oregon State). She's also 10th on floor with a 9.917, putting her first in the Big 12 on the event.

Junior Audrey Davis is ranked-11th with a 39.500 all-around score, while also remaining in the top 20 on bars (9.892) and floor with a 9.900 (No. 19). Competing for the second straight week in the all-around freshman Faith Torrez ranks in the top 20 at No. 15 with a 39.425. Torrez is also tied for 19th on beam (9.883) with teammate Jenna Dunn.

Junior Katherine LeVasseur moves in the top 10 on vault at No. 6 (tied; 9.917) and sophomore Danielle Sievers is 11th with a 9.908. Beam anchor and senior Ragan Smith ranks 16th-nationally with a 9.892 and is tied with Oregon State's Carey on the event.

VAULTING TO THE TOP

All six vaulters from the 2022 NCAA Championships squad – Jordan Bowers, Danae Fletcher, Katherine LeVasseur, Danielle Sievers, Allie Stern and Olivia Trautman – return for the Sooners, yet vault has received the biggest upgrade in 2023. OU possesses the difficulty, power and amplitude on this event and is currently the best in the nation on the event with a 49.500 average. With eight to nine potential 10.0 start values, the depth is impressive and should assure a lineup that can be shifted weekly.

Four of the six from the 2022 NCAA Championships vault lineup have earned perfect 10s on the event, including three last year (Bowers, LeVasseur and Stern), while Trautman has earned multiple perfect 10s. Each member of that quartet earned All-America honors on vault last season, with Stern placing third at the 2022 NCAA Championships.

Both competing Yurchenko 1.5s, junior Audrey Davis and freshman Faith Torrez have also been consistent contributors in the vault lineup this season with Davis competing every meet on the event and Torrez in two out of three meets.

Looking to break into the lineup, freshman Ava Siegfeldt adds another Yurchenko 1.5 to the Sooner squad and junior Audrey Lynn, who was sidelined with an injury in the second meet of the 2021 season competes a unique 10.0 start value front-entry vault (pike front half).

Currently, the Sooners are one of two teams (alongside No. 4 Utah) currently featuring 10.0 start value vaults in all six spots. Last Sunday night, the Sooners posted the eighth-best score on vault in program history (49.650), which is tied with for the best vault score this season with No. 3 Michigan, who's vault average ranks second-overall (49.475).

KINDLER VS. THE BIG 12

In 17 seasons, K.J. Kindler is 89-5 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 46-0 record. At the Big 12 Championships, she is undefeated against Iowa State (15-0) and West Virginia (9-0) and 5-1 against Denver.

ROAD WARRIORS

The Sooners will be tested early and often away from home in 2023. On the road, OU will face 11 teams currently in the top-25 nationally, including seven in the top 10. OU is 4-0 on the road, picking up top-15 victories against Auburn, Michigan, UCLA and LSU, who are all ranked in the top-10 in the current rankings. The Sooners will have another big road test to open conference play at No. 9 and 2021 Big 12 champions Denver on Sunday at 3 p.m. CT inside Magness Arena.

OU looks to defend its title at the Metroplex Challenge inside the Fort Worth Convention Center on Saturday, Feb. 11. OU will return to the Dallas-Fort Worth area the following weekend for a matchup up against Texas Woman's on Sunday, Feb. 19.

Another tough and last road challenge of the regular season awaits the Sooners in Ann Arbor, Mich. OU will face the No. 3 Wolverines for the second time Monday, March 6. It will be the first time since 2019 for the Sooners to face Michigan inside Crisler Center.

The Big 12 Championship will also be held on podium at West Virginia on Saturday, March 18. The Sooners will be vying for their 14th Big 12 title.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS: NO. 9 DENVER

In her 25th season, Denver head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart holds a 449-206-5 record entering Sunday's meet with No. 9 Denver holding a 5-2 record on the season. In front of the second-highest home opening crowd in program history (4,494), the Pioneers (196.925) won their tri-meet against Penn State (195.875) and Texas Woman's (191.975).

The Pioneers also finished second in a tri-meet at Michigan and quad meet at Oregon State. In Ann Arbor, Mich., Denver used a school record on vault (49.550) in the final rotation to secure a 197.200 behind then-No. 4 Michigan (198.125), but ahead of Fisk (184.800), which is in its inaugural season. Most recently, the Pioneers (196.725) finished second behind Oregon State (197.200), led by 2020 Olympic champion Jade Carey.

In the national rankings, Denver is top-10 in three of four events, including No. 7 on vault (49.267) and a pair of 49.258 averages on beam (No. 8) and floor (No. 9). The Pioneers are also ranked No. 23 on floor with a 49.167. Individually, junior Jessica Hutchinson holds 9.900 averages on beam (tied for 10th) and floor (tied for 19th), while junior Rosie Casali is tied for 22nd on vault (9.883). One of the most decorated gymnasts in program history, sixth-year and graduate student Lynnzee Brown, returned in 2023 after a season-ending 2022 injury and should make an immediate impact for the Pioneers on Sunday.

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 seven of the top 10.

LOOKING AHEAD

No. 1 Oklahoma continues Big 12 play at home on Friday, Feb. 3, at 6:45 p.m. CT, against Iowa State inside Lloyd Noble Center. Season tickets start at just $25 and individual meet tickets are as low as $5, and can be purchased at SoonerSports.com/tickets.