FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Oklahoma’s redemption arc is complete.
The Sooners returned to the top at the NCAA women’s gymnastics championships on Saturday, cruising to their seventh national title a year after a stunning flameout in the semifinals.
Oklahoma’s team total of 198.0125 was four-tenths better than runner-up UCLA, which capped a resurgent season behind three-time Olympic medalist Jordan Chiles. The Bruins’ second-place finish was the program’s best since their last national championship in 2018.
Missouri capped off its best season in its history by finishing third just ahead of Utah, which was seeking its 10th title but first since 1995.
The Sooners have won three of the last four NCAA championships and four out of the last six.
“Oh my gosh, truly a fairy tale ending,” said Oklahoma senior Jordan Bowers, who also won the NCAA all-around title on Thursday. “You do not want to go out any other way … (and with) everything we’ve carried for the last year too, it just means so much.”
Two days after topping their semifinal session — the same session in which defending champion LSU was surprisingly eliminated by Missouri — Oklahoma might have been even better in the finals.
Led by Bowers, the Sooners hardly looked nervous while starting on the balance beam. Oklahoma coach K.J. Kindler had challenged her team to post a team score of 49.6 on an event where a single wobble can carry a major impact. The Sooners posted a 49.61 to tie UCLA, which started on floor exercise.
Oklahoma moved ahead in the second rotation, with Faith Torrez’s 9.9625 score while serving as the anchor propelled the Sooners to a lead they never threatened to give away.
The Sooners clinched the title on uneven bars, where Bowers — who committed to Oklahoma at 13 — delivered a 9.8875 in the final routine of her career to end a season in which the Sooners didn’t have to be reminded about what happened in 2024.
“This was a group that sacrificed for one another, went out on a limb for one another,” Kindler said. “You could see it in their chemistry, it changed us and that’s why we’re here.”
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