Trio of Sooners Earn Big 12 Weekly Awards

NORMAN – For the third time this season, a trio of Oklahoma gymnasts swept the weekly Big 12 Conference honors, the conference announced Tuesday. 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.

Sievers notched her sixth weekly league honor and second Big 12 Gymnast of the Week accolade. Fletcher's second Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week accolade is her fourth weekly league honor over and first this season. Torrez earned her third weekly conference, the most for a single gymnast this season. Oklahoma's trio of Sievers (two), Torrez (three) and sophomore Jordan Bowers (two) are the only gymnasts this season to earn multiple weekly conference accolades.

In front of the fourth-best crowd in program history (6,358) and OU's largest attendance for a conference home opener, the trio were all instrumental in leading the Sooners to the nation's highest home score this season with a 198.225 against Iowa State Friday night. OU is the only team this season to post back-to-back 198-plus scores – Denver (Jan. 29; 198.425) and Iowa State (Feb. 3; 198.225). The Sooners improved to 7-0 on the season, remaining the only undefeated team in the conference.

All three Sooners were contributors to the floor lineup which earned its fifth straight 49.400-plus on the event (49.425) Friday night. Sievers' 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 and Torrez are both members of an OU vault squad featuring 10.0 start value vaults in all six spots.

Sievers scored a 9.925 on all three of her events and earned top-three finishes on all three in a win over Iowa State on Friday. The Gary, S.D., native earned season highs on bars and floor where she tied for third and second, respectively. Sievers led off OU's vault squad for the third straight week with a near-stuck Yurchenko 1.5 and tied for third with a 9.925.

Sievers has scored 9.850 or higher on every routine (14 total) she has competed this season. Sievers is ranked 13th nationally on vault with an average score of 9.905, which puts her third in the conference behind teammates Bowers and Katherine LeVasseur. She has also moved into the top 25 nationally on floor for the first time this season, sharing the 23rd spot nationally and second in the conference with a 9.900 average.

Fletcher won her fourth overall floor title and first this season, earning a season-high 9.950 against Iowa State Friday night. The Philadelphia native opened her jazzy funk 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 in the all-around, which was highlighted by a career-high 9.900 on vault, 9.925 on floor and 9.875 on beam. She was the best freshman on all three events during Friday night's meet. Following a fall on bars, Torrez showed mental fortitude on the toughest event to perform under pressure, the balance beam. She bounced back with an impressive 9.875 on the event, displaying difficulty from start to finish with a side-aerial-to-back-layout stepout series and ended with a double-back dismount. Torrez anchored the floor lineup with a 9.925 on Friday night with difficult tumbling, including a double layout for the opening pass and a front tuck thru to double back for her combination pass.

On the season, Torrez has scored 9.850 or higher on 15 out of 21 routines she has competed this season. The Bristol, Wis., native is currently the best freshman in the Big 12 on all four events and the all-around. She is tied for second in the conference on floor and sixth on beam and in the all-around. Torrez is also ranked 23rd nationally on floor.

Oklahoma heads to the Lone Star State on Saturday, Feb. 11 at the Metroplex Challenge in Fort Worth. The meet, which also features No. 11 Alabama, No. 16 Arkansas and No. 24 Stanford, is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. CT. 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.

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