OU women's gymnastics: Three takeaways from Sooners' win over Denver in home opener

NORMAN — There’s very rarely drama on the final rotation for OU women’s gymnastics at Lloyd Noble Center.

But in the top-ranked Sooners’ home opener Friday against Denver, OU entered the floor exercise in a very real fight.

Battling nerves and fighting through an off-night, the Sooners finished strong, posting a season-high 49.575 in the floor to knock off the Pioneers 197.775-197.150 in front of a crowd of 8,400.

“They didn’t give up,” OU coach K.J. Kindler said. “They kept pushing their way forward. It wasn’t easy. We missed some landings — a lot of landings.”

Heading into the final rotation, the Sooners had a narrow 148.200-148.175 lead.

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“That’s a tough position to be in,” Kindler said. “I was really proud of how they kept their heads about them and kept pushing forward through that. They didn’t hedge at all.”

The Sooners got started on the final rotation with back-to-back 9.875s from Audrey Davis and Soraya Hawthorne to create a little more breathing room.

By the time the rotation was halfway through, OU had all but sealed the victory.

Kindler said she didn’t say much to her team as things remained tight after a season-low 49.425 on the balance beam but assistant coach Tom Haley did.

“He does a really good job of amping them up before those moments,” Kindler said. “Trust me, he wanted to close this one out for sure on floor. He takes great responsibility and pride in that. Floor is kind of an event where you can let it go, unlike beam. I really try to let them work it out on their own, to be honest.”

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Oklahoma has not lost at home since 2014, running their winning streak to 76 at Lloyd Noble Center with Friday’s victory.

On the back half of the rotation, with the win finally all but in hand, the Sooners looked much more relaxed.

Katherine LeVasseur posted a 9.925. Faith Torrez, who had an uncharacteristic slip in beam, bounced right back with a season-high 9.950. Then Jordan Bowers closed with a 9.975 to wrap up the victory.

The crowd of 8,400 was a program record for a season-opener and the third-highest in program history.

“To me, that says a lot about what’s to come here in the rest of the season,” Kindler said. “I’m excited about what that means for the future and it puts us up there with the best of the best in the SEC in terms of attendance. This is a huge hurdle for our program. I can’t tell you how much these ladies feed off the crowd.”

Here are two other takeaways from the Sooners’ victory:

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Sooners honor NCAA champions

Before the meet, OU unveiled the 2023 national championship banner.

“Just kind of watching it all and just kind of reliving that moment is such a surreal thing,” Jordan Bowers said. “You don’t get to go back to that exact moment so watching those videos … it really got me emotional.”

Kindler said the emotions of the ceremony might’ve played a role in the Sooners’ slow start on vault.

Bowers, in particular, struggled in her vault warm-up, though she posted a 9.850 in the event.

“I’ve never actually seen her do that,” Kindler said. “Things happen, things come out. You see them in practices probably much more often then you see them in a meet but I don’t know that she’s ever done that in practice either. To bounce back and to mentally be able to put that aside, compartmentalize it … kudos to her for having the strength to rely on her discipline.

“What happens when you are nervy is sometimes your worst habits come out. … It wasn’t just her, honestly. It just looked like we were trying to hard and not being real dialed-in and that kind of bled into the competition as well.”

They trailed 49.425-49.175 after the first rotation.

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Audrey Davis starts Sooners off strong

Senior Audrey Davis leads the Sooners off in three events — the vault, beam, and floor exercise.

“There’s a reason she has it,” Kindler said. “She has the confidence. She has the sass, she has the experience, and she’s all in on doing that for the team. To be the starter is heavy. It’s a heavy burden. You have to start the team off in the right direction.”

She’s been particularly steady on the floor, where she’s scored either a 9.875 or a 9.900 in each of the Sooners’ four meets this season.

“I love leading off,” Davis said. “It’s for me to be able to lead off and then after I can stand back and cheer for everybody like extra hard because whenever you’re going in the later spots in the lineup, you kind of want to conserve your energy so that you can do better whenever you’re competing. … Of course, the first few times were a little nerve-racking but I think that I’ve been able to control it a lot and I really enjoy it.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU women's gymnastics team beats Denver in Sooners' home opener