Oklahoma Hits the Road for Top-Two Showdown at Michigan

NORMAN – The No. 1 Oklahoma women's gymnastics team will hit the road for its final road trip of the regular season, traveling to No. 2 Michigan for another anticipated matchup of the 2023 season. It marks the first time the Sooners will compete in Crisler Center since March 9, 2019.

The Sooners and Wolverines will square off on Monday for a rematch of the 2021 NCAA Championships which saw the Wolverines win its first national title, coming down to the final rotation and routine of the meet. Since then, OU won its fifth national championship in 2022 and has earned nine consecutive top-three finishes at the NCAA Championships.

The top-two showdown will air live on ESPNU at 4:30 p.m. CT with Bart Conner and Kathy Johnson Clarke on the call and Samantha Peszek as the sideline reporter. The meet marks the fourth of five this season for OU on an ESPN Network and the second on the road. Live stats will also be available through Michigan's StatBroadcast page for fans to follow the action.

MARQUEE MATCHUP

On Friday night, No. 1 Oklahoma hosts No. 2 Florida for the first time since March 1, 2019, a meet that was held in front of an OU-record crowd at the time (5,082). The two programs have combined for an incredible eight NCAA team championships in the last decade (five by OU).

Oklahoma and Florida have met 31 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, who are coming off a school-record 198.575 performance in a win over West Virginia last Friday, are 8-3 against Florida in the last 11 meetings, with six coming in postseason competition.

The two powerhouse programs have combined to win 29 conference postseason championships. A total of 18 Sooners and Gators have combined for 44 individual national titles, including the last seven NCAA all-around champions. The programs have combined to produce 481 All-America honors.

FOUR PERFECT10N

Oklahoma has registered four perfect 10s this season, all by different gymnasts on three of the four events. Senior Ragan Smith earned her third career 10.0 in Oklahoma's conference victory at then-No. 9 Denver on Jan. 29. Smith, who became the first Sooner to earn a perfect 10 in 2023, won her first beam title of the season and 13th overall on the event. Last season, she earned back-to-back perfect scores on beam against Texas Woman's (Feb. 6) and George Washington (Feb. 11). Smith is up to fifth in program history for career perfect 10s (three) and is tied with NCAA individual champions Brenna Dowell and Nicole Lehrmann.

Sophomore Jordan Bowers (floor) and Katherine LeVasseur (vault) were two of 11 perfect 10s nationally during week eight of the season, including the only two from the Big 12 Conference. Bowers and LeVasseur's second career perfect 10s against West Virginia on Feb. 24 tied them for eighth in program history for career perfect 10.0 scores with Chayse Capps and Kiara Redmond. Bowers earned OU's first perfect 10 on floor since teammate Olivia Trautman on Feb. 15, 2019. The other time LeVasseur scored a perfect score was in last season's home opener against Alabama on Jan. 9, 2022.

For the first time since Smith last season, the Sooners earned perfect 10s in back-to-back weeks. Following Bowers and LeVasseur on Feb. 24, Trautman was perfect on vault as OU won against No. 2 Florida last Friday. The 10.0 was Trautman's first since the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional Final on April 3, 2021. It also marked Trautman's fifth career perfect 10 and fourth on vault. She is now tied for second in program history for career perfect 10.0 scores with Haley Scaman and 2021 NCAA vault champion Anastasia Webb. Trautman also took home her first vault title this season and eighth overall, tied with teammate Allie Stern for the 10th best career titles on the event.

ROAD WARRIORS

The Sooners are being tested away from home often in 2023. On the road, OU will face eight teams currently in the top 25 nationally, including five in the top 10. OU is 9-0 on the road so far, picking up top-15 victories against Auburn, Michigan, UCLA, LSU, Denver and Alabama. Five of the six teams listed above are in the top 10 of the current rankings.

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 in 2023 on Monday. The Sooners will face Michigan inside Crisler Center for the first time since 2019.

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.

CHAMPIONSHIP REMATCH

In front of 9,541 fans – the second-best crowd in program history and OU's largest for student attendance – the top-ranked Sooners edged then-No. 2 Florida in a rematch of the 2022 NCAA Championships and one of the most anticipated meets of 2023, 197.950-197.700, Friday night inside Lloyd Noble Center.

In a close matchup, the Sooners and Gators tied on bars and beam with totals of 49.525 and 49.475, respectively. The Sooners captured the event titles on vault (49.600) and floor (49.350). OU is now 13-0 this season including 4-0 at home and 9-0 on the road.

Super senior Olivia Trautman earned her first perfect 10 on vault in 2023 to win her first vault title in 2023. Sophomore Jordan Bowers shared the beam title with Florida's Sloane Blakely for matching 9.950s. The Score marked her sixth-straight score of 9.9-plus and eighth overall. Freshman Faith Torrez tied Florida's Leanne Wong for the floor title with a career-high 9.950.

PERFECT SWEEP

For the fourth time this season, a trio of Oklahoma gymnasts swept the weekly Big 12 Conference honors, the conference announced last Tuesday. Jordan Bowers was named Gymnast of the Week, Katherine LeVasseur was Event Specialist of the Week and Faith Torrez was named Newcomer of the Week.

Bowers notched her 11th weekly league honor and sixth Big 12 Gymnast of the Week accolade. LeVasseur's second Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week recognition marked her fourth weekly league honor and second this season. The most for a single gymnast this season, Torrez earned her fourth consecutive weekly conference honor and sixth overall. Torrez (six), Bowers (four), LeVasseur (two) and sophomore Danielle Sievers (two) are the only Big 12 gymnasts this season to earn multiple weekly conference accolades.

For week eight, Bowers led the Big 12 on beam, floor and in the all-around. She earned her first perfect 10 on floor on Feb. 24 while matching a career-high 9.950 on beam for her fifth title on the event. Bowers captured her fifth straight all-around crown and eighth consecutive score of 39.500 or higher this season. In LeVasseur's only event against West Virginia, she nailed a gorgeous Yurchenko 1.5 for her first perfect 10 this season on vault and led the conference on the weekend. Torrez tied career highs on floor (9.950) and beam (9.900), and added a 9.875 on bars to finish as the top freshman in the conference on all three events during week eight.

PERFECT COMEBACK

Coming back from injury year after year throughout her career and always looking better each season, super senior Olivia Trautman is the definition of perseverance and leadership.

After missing Oklahoma's first three meets this season, Trautman was originally slated to compete in the exhibition spot on beam at then-No. 9 Denver on Jan. 29. Instead, Trautman made her season debut in the No. 5 spot and wowed with a career-high-tying 9.950 on beam to win Big 12 Specialist of the Week on Jan. 31. Her beam performance fueled OU's 49.725 score, which represented the third-best in program history and currently the second-best score in the nation this season on the event.

Trautman was also instrumental in helping the Sooners to the best score in the nation this season (program-record 198.425) in front of the fifth-largest home crowd in program history on Feb. 24 vs. West Virginia. She returned to vault for the first time this season, and after a perfect score from teammate Katherine LeVasseur followed with a stellar effort of her own, a near-perfect 9.975 on her Yurchenko 1.5. The Champlin, Minn., native also registered a career-high 9.925 on her first bars routine since last year's NCAA Championships finals. She capped off her night on beam with her fifth consecutive 9.900-plus mark on beam (9.925).

In front of the second-best crowd in program history, Trautman was perfect on vault for the first time in 2023 as OU topped No. 2 Florida last Friday on the national stage. She won her first vault title this season, taking home her 22nd career individual title. Trautman also went back-to-back weeks with scores of 9.900-plus on bars (9.900) and added a 9.825 on beam for her sixth appearance on the event this season.

TO 198 AND BEYOND

Oklahoma has totaled 59 scores of 198 or better in program history, including 51 scores since 2016. Of those 51, only 20 have been earned at home with the other 31 coming at road or neutral sites. Seventeen of those scores have come in regional or nationals competition, including a 198.475 mark at the 2019 NCAA Athens Regional Final. The Sooners surpassed their own nation's-best score this season with a program-record 198.575 against West Virginia last Friday night. 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. They have done it five times this year.

The Sooners currently hold the top spot with back-to-back NQS' above the 198-mark and four straight 198-plus averages this season. Before last Friday's Florida meet, OU earned five consecutive scores of 198 or higher. OU holds the best scores nationally at home (198.575), on the road (198.425 at Denver on Jan. 29) and at a neutral site (198.125 at the Metroplex Challenge on Feb. 11). Seven teams have hit 198-plus this season, including all teams in the top four. Three of OU's opponents have posted multiple scores of 198 or higher, including No. 2 Michigan with three and No. 3 Florida and No. 4 Utah with two each.

CLOUD 9.9

Almost through nine weeks of the season, the Sooners have posted 122 scores of 9.900 or higher. With 223 routines competed, that means 54.71 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 eight of nine meets this season, including a season-best 17 vs. West Virginia on Feb. 24. Against the No. 2 Gators, the Sooners posted 9.9-plus in four of the six spots in the lineup on bars.

KINDLER VS. THE BIG TEN

In 17 seasons, Kindler is 63-5 against current members of the Big Ten Conference. Three of the five losses were to Nebraska before they entered the Big Ten and were still a Big 12 foe, with one of the losses in postseason competition. OU has only lost to a Big Ten team in the regular season twice under Kindler, both to Nebraska. Facing the Wolverines twice during the regular season, the Sooners have already earned a victory over the Maize and Blue on Jan. 7 at the Super 16 in Las Vegas.

THE ROAD TO NATIONALS

The road to the NCAA Championships in Fort Worth, Texas, will make a journey through Norman and Lloyd Noble Center in 2023. OU is one of four host sites this season, meaning the Sooners will have a home-floor advantage during the three-day regional competition. This will be the fifth time since 2011 that the Sooners will play host as they hosted in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2022. OU has won all four regional championships in the LNC and will look to make it five in April.

SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES: NO. 2 MICHIGAN

As a rematch of the 2021 NCAA Championship, Monday's matchup has been touted as a meet to watch during the regular season, entering as the top-two teams in the nation.

With their own gymnastics pedigree, the No. 2 Wolverines boasts 11 NCAA Finals appearances, including a national championship in 2021 and two runner-up finishes. Michigan has been a dominant force in the Big Ten Conference, owning 26 conference championships and most recently earning their eighth regular season conference title in the past 11 years.

The Wolverines enter Monday's competition ranked in the top-five nationally on all four events and as a team. Michigan holds the highest score in the nation on vault with a 49.750 and is ranked third overall with a 49.490 NQS. The Maize and Blue is also ranked second overall and on floor (49.565 NQS), fourth on bars (49.520) and fifth on beam (49.450).

Three Michigan senior gymnasts are ranked in the top 10 nationally on two of the four events and the all-around. Sierra Brooks is fourth on vault (9.925) and 9th in all-around (39.595), 2019 NCAA beam champion Natalie Wojcik is eighth on beam (9.935) and Gabby Wilson tied for eighth on vault (9.915).

CHALK TALK

The 2023 Oklahoma roster returns 21 routines from the 2022 squad, including eight gymnasts who combined for 20 All-America honors in 2022 — 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 are being featured on ESPN networks five times during the season: at LSU (Jan. 16), vs. Utah (Jan. 22), vs. Florida (March 3), at Michigan (Monday, 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 six and eight of the top 10.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Sooners return to Oklahoma for their final home meet of the regular season. OU will host Pac-12 opponent and No. 14 Arizona State in Lloyd Noble Center on Sunday, March 12. The meet will stream on SoonerVision on ESPN+ at 1:45 p.m. CT. As part of the Senior Day festivities, four members of the senior class — Jenna Dunn, Ragan Smith, Allie Stern and Olivia Trautman — will be honored in a post-meet ceremony.

FOLLOW THE OKLAHOMA SOONERS

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