No. 1 Oklahoma Set for Top-25 Showdown at Metroplex Challenge

NORMAN – The top-ranked Oklahoma women's gymnastics team is headed south of the Red River for its second podium meet of the season when it travels to Fort Worth, Texas, for the annual Metroplex Challenge on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CT inside the Fort Worth Convention Center. The top-25 quad meet will also feature a pair of SEC opponents in No. 11 Alabama and No. 16 Arkansas, and No. 24 Stanford from the Pac-12.

"We are always excited to compete in Fort Worth in front of a big crowd and the opportunity to be on podium is just another plus," OU head coach K.J. Kindler said. "It's obvious that (No. 16) Arkansas, (No. 11) Alabama and (No. 24) Stanford have all been having breakout seasons. Alabama coming off the Auburn win and Arkansas bringing Florida to the wire last week. Stanford looked polished and strong out of the gate in Las Vegas. This competition should be one of the greatest Metroplex Challenges yet."

OU has won the previous four Metroplex Challenge titles, including on Feb. 13, 2021, when head coach K.J. Kindler hit a coaching milestone with her 400th win as Sooners head coach.

There will not be a live stream or live stats. Fans can follow @OU_WGymnastics on Twitter for meet updates. Tickets are $35 for both NCAA sessions and may be purchased online through the Metroplex Challenge website.

To keep up to date on event, go to MetroplexChallenge.com or follow it on social media at @metroplexchallenge on Instagram and Facebook.

SECOND STRAIGHT, IT'S 198-PLUS

The No. 1-ranked Sooners won all four events and posted the program's 66th consecutive home victory last Friday night at Lloyd Noble Center, downing Iowa State 198.225-195.875. OU improved to 7-0 on the season by registering the highest home score in the nation.

OU head coach K.J. Kindler improved to 128-4 at Lloyd Noble Center with the win over her alma mater. The Sooners took no less than the top three spots on each event against the Cyclones, finishing in the top six positions on beam and the top five on vault and bars.

Sophomore Jordan Bowers won the all-around for the second straight week and third time of her career with a 39.625, which included a 9.950 on vault, 9.925 on bars and a career-high-tying 9.950 on beam. Bowers shared the vault title with teammate and super senior Allie Stern. It was the second vault title on the season for each (10th in Bowers' career and eighth in Stern's). Bowers also earned her second beam title this season.

For the second consecutive week, junior Audrey Davis was near-perfect with a 9.975 to capture her second straight and 15th overall bars title. Sophomore Danae Fletcher added a season-high 9.950 to win the floor crown, her first this season and fourth of her career.

ROAD WARRIORS

The Sooners will be tested early and often away from home in 2023. On the road, OU will face eight teams currently in the top-25 nationally, including five in the top 10. OU is 5-0 on the road so far, picking up top-15 victories against Auburn, Michigan, UCLA, LSU and Denver, who are all in the top 10 of the current rankings.

After this weekend's Metroplex Challenge in Fort Worth, OU will return to the DFW area the following weekend for a matchup up against Texas Woman's on Sunday, Feb. 19.

Another tough and final road challenge of the regular season awaits the Sooners in Ann Arbor, Mich. OU will face the No. 2 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.

CLEAN SWEEP

For the third time this season, a trio of Oklahoma gymnasts swept the weekly Big 12 Conference honors. Danielle Sievers was named Gymnast of the Week, Danae Fletcher was Event Specialist of the Week and Faith Torrez was named Newcomer of the Week. In front of the fourth-best crowd in program history (6,358) and OU's largest for a conference home opener, the trio was instrumental in leading the Sooners to the nation's highest home score this season with a 198.225 against Iowa State last Friday night. OU is the only team this season to post back-to-back 198-plus scores (198.425 at Denver on Jan. 29 and vs. Iowa State).

Sievers notched her sixth weekly league honor and second Big 12 Gymnast of the Week accolade. She scored a 9.925 on all three of her events and earned top-three finishes on all three in the win. The sophomore led off OU's vault squad for the third straight week with a Yurchenko 1.5 with a 9.925. Her season-high 9.925 bars score also helped OU tie the sixth-highest score in program history with a 49.675, which stands as the best bars score in the nation this season. Sievers has scored 9.850-plus on each of her 14 routines this season.

Fletcher's second-career Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week accolade was her fourth overall weekly league honor and first this season. She won her fourth overall floor title and first this year, earning a season-high 9.950 against the Cyclones. The Philadelphia native opened her routine with a new whip-to-double-back opening pass and displayed sassy choreography. Showing the Sooners' depth on bars, Fletcher competed in an exhibition spot for an impressive 9.875 to match her second-highest score on the event this season.

Torrez was the only freshman performing for the Sooners against Iowa State and returned to the all-around, which was highlighted by a career-high 9.900 on vault, 9.925 on floor and 9.875 on beam. Following a fall on bars, Torrez showed mental fortitude on the toughest event to perform under pressure, the balance beam, with an impressive 9.875. She anchored the floor lineup with a 9.925 on Friday night with difficult tumbling, including a double layout on the opening pass and a front tuck thru to double back on her combination pass.

STAYING AT THE TOP

Oklahoma entered the week holding the nation's top spot with the only 198-plus average (198.020) this season. The Sooners are followed by Michigan, which jumped to No. 2 (197.775), No. 3 Florida (197.735). No. 4 Utah (197.695) and No. 5 Auburn (197.385) and No. 6 UCLA (197.350). The Sooners, Wolverines and Red Rocks are the only teams to surpass the 198 mark this season. Fellow Big 12 member Denver (197.155) sits at No. 8 after earning a season-high 197.500 last Sunday afternoon.

For the second straight week, OU is the only team in the nation to be ranked in the top three on each of the four events and holds the highest marks on bars (49.675) and as a team (198.425). The Sooners rank second on all four events this week: 49.525 on vault, 49.515 on bars, 49.495 on beam and 49.485 on floor.

IN THE POLLS

Nine Sooners earned a total of 17 individual top-25 rankings, with at least one gymnast ranked in the top 10 on vault, bars, beam and in the all-around. At least four out of six gymnasts that competed on vault, beam and floor are ranked in the top 25, including five that have performed on beam this season.

Sophomore Jordan Bowers ranks in the top 20 in three of the five individual events (includes all-around), including two top-10 rankings. In a stacked field, Bowers remains sixth in the country in the all-around with a 39.625 and has posted five consecutive scores of 39.500-plus this season, including a 39.625 to take her second-straight all-around crown last Friday night. Bowers moved up two spots to share the fourth spot nationally on vault with a 9.930. She is also tied 18th on bars (9.905), 23rd on floor (9.900) and 24th (9.890).

Junior Audrey Davis is 11th in the all-around nationally with a 39.500, while moving into the top 10 on bars (T-8th, 9.925) after earning back-to-back 9.975s and titles on the event this season (Jan. 29 and Feb. 3). Her second title on the season last Friday night marked the 15th career bars title for Davis. She is also No. 23 on floor with a 9.900 average.

Three Sooners rank in the top 10 on beam nationally with junior Katherine LeVasseur and super-senior Olivia Trautman tied for fourth with 9.925 averages after earning scores of 9.900-plus for the second straight week. Against the Cyclones, LeVasseur earned a 9.925 on beam while Trautman (9.900) led off the beam squad for the first time this season and made her home debut in 2023. Senior Ragan Smith sits in the top 10 at No. 9 nationally on beam with a 9.920 average. Her 9.925 on Friday night was her third consecutive 9.900-plus score of the season. Senior Jenna Dunn remains ranked on beam at No. 22 with a 9.894 average.

On vault, LeVasseur is tied for eighth with a 9.915 average and sophomore Danielle Sievers is 13th nationally with a 9.905. Super-senior Allie Stern jumps into the top 20, tied for 19th in the nation on the event with a 9.885. Stern earned her second career vault title this season and eighth overall. Joining Bowers, Davis, Sievers and freshman Faith Torrez are tied for 23rd on floor with a 9.900 average in the current national standings.

TO 198 AND BEYOND

Oklahoma has totaled 56 scores of 198 or better in program history, including 48 scores since 2016. Of those 48, only 19 have been earned at home with the other 29 all coming at road or neutral sites. Seventeen of those scores have come in regional or national competition, including a 198.500 mark against Florida on March 6, 2015, which is the top score in program history. Last season, OU matched an NCAA record with 10 scores of 198 or better in a single season, which the Sooners first accomplished in 2018.

OU currently holds the top spot with the only 198-plus average (198.020) this season and is the only team to earn back-to-back scores in the 198-plus mark in 2023. The Sooners hold the highest road and home scores this season with a 198.425 at Denver on Jan. 29 and a 198.225 vs. Iowa State last Friday. OU, No. 2 Michigan and No. 4 Utah are the only teams to hit 198-plus this season, with the Sooners and Wolverines reaching that mark twice.

CLOUD 9.9

Through five weeks of the season, the Sooners have posted 62 scores of 9.900 or higher. With 120 routines competed, that means 51.7 percent of the routines have scored at least a 9.9 this season. OU has put up double-digit marks of 9.9 or higher in four of five meets this season, including a season-best 16 vs. Iowa State last Friday.

KINDLER VS. THE SEC AND PAC-12

SEC: The Sooners have proven to be a force when it comes to battling their foes in the Southeastern Conference. Seventeenth-year OU head coach K.J. Kindler is 64-9 against the SEC, including 36-1 since Jan. 26, 2018. Soon, this season's SEC opponents will be yearly competition as Oklahoma is set to join the SEC on July 1, 2024. Five SEC teams are on OU's 2023 regular season schedule, and the Sooners are 2-0 against the league with victories on the road over then-No. 5 Auburn (Jan. 7 in Las Vegas) and then-No. 13 LSU (Jan. 16). The Sooners will face three more SEC opponents this season, including No. 11 Alabama and No. 16 Arkansas on Saturday at the Metroplex Challenge, and No. 3 Florida on March 3 in Norman.
Pac-12: Kindler is 76-23 against the Pac-12 Conference as OU's head coach, including 41-2 over the last six seasons. Over the past four years, the Sooners are 26-1 against Pac-12 schools. OU earned a victory over Pac-12 opponent and then-No. 4 UCLA on Jan. 7 during the season opener at the Super 16 and defeated No. 4 Utah on Jan. 22 in front of 7,013 fans, the third-largest home crowd in OU history.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION

NO. 11 ALABAMA: The Sooners and Crimson Tide have faced off every year since K.J. Kindler's arrival in 2007. Under Kindler, the Sooners are 22-10 all-time against Alabama and have won 18 straight meetings dating back to the 2013 Super Six. The two programs have combined for 11 national championships and are two of just seven programs to ever win a national title. Part of the Southeastern Conference, Alabama boasts a strong gymnastics tradition with six national championships, 10 conference titles, 33 NCAA Finals appearances, 29 individual national champions and 396 All-Americans. A 10-time Crimson Tide All-American and member of back-to-back NCAA Championship teams, Ashley Priess Johnston is in her first season as UA's head coach. The Crimson Tide are ranked ninth nationally on beam and floor, holding the highest score in the nation on floor this season with a 49.700 after winning the "Iron Bowl" of gymnastics against then-No. 6 Auburn 197.850-197.700 in front of a sold-out Coleman Coliseum last Friday. Senior Luisa Blanco earned her second career perfect 10 on beam.
NO. 16 ARKANSAS: Olympic gold medalist Jordyn Wieber is in her fourth season as the head coach of Arkansas and guided the Gymbacks to their 18th consecutive regional appearance and second straight regional final in 2022. In 2021, Arkansas earned its first-ever spot in the night session of the SEC Championship. Three out of four members of the coaching staff are Olympians, including Wieber and assistant coaches Chris Brooks, a 2016 Rio Olympian and two-time NCAA champion with the OU men's gymnastics team, and former UCLA Bruin Kyla Ross, a member of the "Fierce Five" U.S. Olympic women's gymnastics team with Wieber. Arkansas is led by five seniors, including graduate student Norah Flatley, who transferred from UCLA where she was a three-time All-American and four-time All-Pac-12 honoree. The Razorbacks have been ranked in the top 10 nationally on floor back-to-back weeks this season (currently sixth with a 49.370 average) and set a program-high team score in defeating then-No. 8 LSU 197.475-197.250 on Jan. 27, the first time since 2012.
NO. 24 STANFORD: 2001 world bronze medalist and 14-time Stanford All-American Tabitha Yim is in her sixth season as the head coach of the Cardinal. In 2022, Stanford finished No. 14 nationally, moving up 38 spots from the 2021 season. In a competitive Pac-12 Conference, Stanford sits in fourth place with a 2-1 conference record. It is 6-1 overall and has earned three top-20 wins this season over Arizona State, Georgia and Oregon State. Stanford ranks in the top 25 on two events and overall (No. 20 on floor, No. 24 overall and No. 25 on vault). Individually, newcomer Anna Roberts is ranked in the top 20 on vault at No. 18 with a 9.890.

LOOKING AHEAD

OU will return to the Dallas-Fort Worth area next weekend for a matchup against Texas Woman's on Sunday, Feb. 19. The meet is slated for 2 p.m. CT in Denton, Texas.

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