SEC Opener Set for Friday Night at No. 7 Missouri

NORMAN — The No. 2 Oklahoma women's gymnastics team is set for its SEC opener on Friday night as the Sooners travel to No. 7 Missouri for the first time since 2012. Friday's meet is set for a 7:45 p.m. start on SEC Network with Alex Perlman and former Sooner legend Anastasia Webb on the call.

WEEKEND REWIND
In a meet that came down to a tiebreaker and counting all six scores on every event, it was the Sooners who took home the title in the afternoon session of the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad. Oklahoma and LSU tied for first with a 197.500. With the sixth counting score on all four events, the Sooners came out on top by over a point with a 236.700-235.575 advantage. UCLA finished in third with a 197.000 and Utah finished fourth with a 195.900. Junior Hannah Scheible and senior Faith Torrez earned matching 9.95s on beam to share the title with LSU's Kailin Chio. Freshman Mackenzie Estep shared the floor title with UCLA's Jordan Chiles with a 9.925.

ESTEP HONORED BY SEC
Making her collegiate debut over the weekend, freshman Mackenzie Estep was the named the SEC Freshman of the Week. Estep had an impressive showing at the Sprouts Collegiate Quad, helping lead the Sooners to a 197.500 and victories over three preseason top five teams. The Auburn, Wash., native put up at least a 9.90 on all three events she competed, becoming the first freshman since Maggie Nichols in 2017 to earn all scores of 9.9 or higher in their debut meet, competing at least two events.

ROAD WARRIORS
In the last decade, the Sooners have shown they are a force to be reckoned with away from the friendly confines of Lloyd Noble Center. Since 2015, the Sooners boast a 246-15-1 record on the road, a 94 percent win rate. This includes a 61-6 record at true away competition sites and a 187-9-1 mark at neutral sites.

RIVALRY RENEWED
The Sooners are headed back to a familiar location when SEC competition begins Friday in Columbia, Mo. OU has not been to the home of their former Big 12 foe, Missouri, since the 2012 season. The Sooners are 64-11-1 all-time against the Tigers and have not lost a meet to Missouri since 2004 (28-0). This is the second year in a row that OU and Missouri open SEC competition against each other.

FANTASTIC FRESHMEN
OU's freshmen class made a big impact in the season opener, with five routines going 9.9 or better in the meet. Mackenzie Estep recorded a trio of 9.9-plus scores on vault, bars and floor as one of three Sooners to earn a 9.9 or better on every event competed. Ella Murphy tallied a pair of 9.925s on bars and beam, while Kamila Pawlak debuted on floor with a 9.775. In the opening meet, OU tallied 10 marks of 9.9 or higher with Murphy and Estep combining for half of those.

SCHEIBLE'S REVENGE
After sitting out the 2025 season due to a preseason Achilles tear and subsequent surgery, junior Hannah Scheible is out for revenge in 2026. After 632 days, Scheible returned to the competition floor and made it known she was back. The junior notched a 9.90 in the leadoff spot on bars before an incredible 9.95 on beam. Scheible, who was limited to only vault in 2024, made her collegiate debut on both events and claimed a share of the beam title in her first meet back. Scheible is expected to return to the vault lineup in 2026 as well.

THE RANKINGS ARE IN
With the second highest score in the nation over the weekend, the Sooners are No. 2 after the first week of rankings. Florida leads the way with a 197.725, while LSU is tied with Oklahoma at No. 2. Alabama (197.475) and Michigan (197.225) round out the top five. On the events, the Sooners are No. 2 on bars (49.475) and beam (49.500), No. 4 on vault (49.350) and No. 15 on floor (49.175).

Individually, six athletes earned 13 individual rankings, including a pair of top five rankings. Addison Fatta is No. 6 in the all-around with a 39.450. The sophomore is also No. 6 on bars (9.925) and No. 23 on vault (9.875). Sophomore Lily Pederson joins Fatta in the all-around rankings, coming in at No. 22 (39.250). Freshman Mackenzie Estep is ranked on a trio of events with two top 10 rankings. Estep is No. 6 on floor (9.925), No. 10 on vault (9.90) and No. 18 on bars (9.90). Fellow freshman Elle Murphy earned a pair of top 10 rankings, sitting at No. 6 on bars (9.925) and No. 10 on beam (9.925). Senior Faith Torrez and junior Hannah Scheible are each ranked on a pair of events. Torrez is No. 2 on vault (9.925) and beam (9.95), while Scheible is No. 2 on beam (9.95) and No. 18 on bars (9.90).

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Missouri: The Tigers return thirteen members of the 2025 squad, including 14 of 24 routines. Missouri has four returning All-Americans, tied for most in the country along with Alabama, Oklahoma and Florida. Missouri is 4-0 on the season after a season-opening win over Iowa State and a quad-meet victory at Nebraska last weekend. The Tigers broke the 197 mark in their second meet with a 197.275 and are currently ranked No. 7 in the Road to Nationals rankings.

QUICK FLIPS

The 2026 squad returns 15 routines from the 2025 national championship team, including nine from sophomores Addison Fatta, Elle Mueller and Lily Pederson.
Under head coach K.J. Kindler, OU is 30-3-1 all-time in season openers. OU has not lost a season opening meet since 2016.
Faith Torrez is the No. 1 returning athlete in the all-around and on both beam and floor.
The Sooners are replacing 50 percent of their routines on both bars and floor with the departures of Jordan Bowers, Audrey Davis and Dani Sievers. On vault, the Sooners replace just one routine in Bowers.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Sooners will return to the friendly confines of Lloyd Noble Center for the first time since 2025 on Friday, Jan. 23. OU will welcome No. 8 Georgia to Norman for an exciting night celebrating the 2025 national championship team. Prior to the meet, OU will raise its championship banner. The meet is slated for a 5:45 p.m. start on SEC Network.

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