Norman — Oklahoma and Alabama have been trading the top spot in the women’s gymnastics rankings back and forth much of the season and it’s about to be traded again.
Friday night at Lloyd Noble Center the No. 2 Sooners knocked the No. 1 Crimson Tide 197.950-197.275.
In front of a record crowd of 2,529 theater-seated fans, the Sooners broke their old team tally best mark of 197.725. Simply put, if you believe the judges, it was the finest performance ever by an OU women’s gymnastics team.
“If you’re going to (set a school record), tonight’s the night,” OU coach K.J. Kindler said. “I can’t imagine a better night to do it than against the No. 1 team in the country.
“Alabama is solid … I believe we rose to the level of their gymnastics. We rose to the occasion and captured the moment tonight.”
The Sooners won three of the four disciplines, posting team scores of 49.5 on the vault, 49.45 on the beam and 49.625 on the floor.
OU captured no worse than a share of the best score, individually, on all four disciplines.
Mary Mantle posted 9.925 on the vault. Hollie Vise matched Mantle on the vault and posted the night’s best score, 9.95, on the beam. Jackie Flannery was the high scorer on the floor, posting 9.975.
Kindler thought the difference came on the floor, where the Sooners had struggled of late. Sara Stone, Kayla Nowak and Megan Ferguson were the first three to take to the mat.
The trio had “been rough on the floor the past few weeks,” Kindler said. “Going into the floor, we needed those three to build up to the end of the lineup and they did just that.”
Stone received a 9.825 from he judges, Nowak a 9.875 and Ferguson a personal best 9.925.
It was the Sooners’ last apparatus of the night and those three scores went a long way toward securing victory.
OU owns a perfect 12-0 dual mark this season and is 4-0 against top 10 opponents. Now 27-2 at home since Kindler took over the program, the Sooners play host to Washington March 12.
