By Charlie Gaasch
The Sooners took the breath away from all in the LNC and the ink out of my proverbial pen as there was simply too much to write about on Friday night. The Oklahoma women’s gymnastics team took on the seventh ranked Michigan Wolverines Friday in Norman. This was the second matchup between the two programs this season and once again, the Wolverines will return to Ann Arbor having been beaten by the stacked OU team.
Fans who keep up with the back-to-back defending National Champions will remember that last week against West Virginia was nothing short of historic. The meet against Michigan matched and even surpassed that meet in many ways if remotely possible. Last week, OU set their program record with a total score of 198.675 and they followed that performance nearly missing topping that score with a 198.650. The night began for OU on vault as always in Norman.
The vault saw a top score of 9.975 from Katherine LeVasseur at the 5th position with Faith Torrez and Keira Wells going over 9.900 as well. LeVasseur and fans felt slighted by the judges however despite the fantastic score as the arena echoed chants of “Ten, ten, ten!” Despite a slower start from Audrey Davis with a 9.800 on the vault, the overall event score finished with a great 49.525 as the Sooners nursed a .025-point lead heading to the bars.
The Sooners love the bars here in Norman and not just the ones that lie on Campus Corner. Once again, no gymnast failed to make the 9.900 mark on the bars and Danielle Sievers received her share of “ten” chants before ultimately leading the team off with a 9.950. LeVasseur followed Sievers and had the crowd furious, receiving another 9.975 on the night, once again leaving the fans upset with the judges on the mat. That would not be the last of the consistent theme of the night as Audrey Davis nailed her routine, dismounted in a remarkable twist, and wound up with a 9.975 as well. The bars stunned the crowd against West Virginia, compiling a 49.700 overall event score but the Sooners surpassed that with a 49.725 on the night. This event gave the Sooners breathing room at the halfway point as the Wolverines struggled on vault with multiple scores in the 9.700 range and the separation would only grow further.
The third event brought OU to the beam where Ragan Smith made history last week with her seventh perfect score on the beam, and the Sooners gaining a 49.800 overall, both tying program records. Expectations were sky high for this rotation and the Sooners came to play. Audrey Davis received her second 9.975 of the night, a career high on beam, and a growing frustration at the missing .025 points was present in the arena. Faith Torrez also got the nearly perfect score on the beam, also her career high 9.975, riling the crowd up to their boiling point. Ragan Smith in the anchor spot nearly blew up the LNC with her beam routine and anticipation soared awaiting her score after another majestic performance. As electric as her perfect score was last week, tonight’s was a full-on storm. The arena erupted as at last, the scoreboard showed a 10.000 for the sixth-year senior, adding an 8th to her collection of perfection on the beam.
Lastly, the Sooners walked over to the floor routine with a comfortable lead and confidence glowing. Five out of the six gymnasts recorded scores of 9.900 or higher including a team high on the night of a 9.950 for Jordan Bowers in the anchor spot. Bowers’ routine left fans speechless and claimed the life of my pen as there was too much to write for the Sooners on their historic night. Notably on floor, Ragan Smith and Katherine LeVasseur both scored an exceptional 9.925.
Overall, it was a marvelous night all around for the gymnasts in crimson and cream and finding fault in the routines is difficult even for the trained eye. Ragan Smith certainly had a fantastic night for herself and adds another thing to celebrate to the grocery list that is her resume. However, Katherine LeVasseur is my gymnast of the meet after achieving her career high score in the all-around of a whopping 39.775. She was steady all night and put-up numbers that teams like Michigan could only dream of. The senior recorded a 9.975 on the vault, 9.975 on the bars, 9.900 on beam, and a 9.925 on the floor to wrap up her night. LeVasseur is leaving her mark on the LNC and more importantly the program as a whole and tonight was just another step on the trail.
The Sooners finished off Michigan on March 1st by a score of 198.650 to 197.325, never removing their foot from the gas. The ranking of 7 for Michigan was only a reminder to the star-studded Oklahoma team of what they are chasing and should ultimately get: a 7th national title. March Madness begins with OU gym this year.
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