The #1 ranked Oklahoma Sooners traveled to North Carolina to face the Tarheels and Ball State in a tri-meet. The Sooners had to compete without their junior star Maggie Nichols, who is nursing a bruised heel. Starting off on bars, sophomore Kerrie Thomas made an impressive competitive debut, scoring a 9.9. Sophomore Anastasia Webb and senior Nicole Lehrmann also scored 9.9s to help the Sooners take an early lead with a 49.4 rotation score.
Balance Beam was the best event of the night for Oklahoma, with a pair of 9.925s from sophomore Carly Woodard and senior Brenna Dowell, and Webb anchored for a 9.95 to lead the 49.575 rotation. Floor was a struggle for Oklahoma, with the Sooners having to compete without a few of their usual stars. Freshman Olivia Trautman was stunning as always, just missing perfection with a 9.975! Dowell notched a 9.925 for her powerful tumbling, but with two falls the Sooners only totaled a 48.85 on the event. Ending on vault, Oklahoma did not seem like its usual self with a few uncharacteristic landing errors, but Dowell anchored with a great vault for a 9.925. An exhibition vault from Allie Stern was the highlight of the vault rotation, so expect to see her back in the competition lineup soon. Dowell’s AA score of 39.625 is a career high and won her the all-around title, and the Sooners won the team competition with a 197.0.
Brenna Dowell on floor Photo: GymShark
North Carolina finished a little under two points behind the Sooners with a 195.15, relying on a strong floor rotation to push them over 195. North Carolina went six for six on beam and floor, and was able to overcome a fall on vault and bars with five other hit routines. The highlight of the meet was a very impressive floor routine from Khazia Hislop, scoring a 9.925 and leading a huge 49.175 rotation that was the highest floor score of the night!
Ball State had a consistent competition scoring a 193.6 and not having to count any falls! The standout event for Ball State was floor, where all six gymnasts nailed their routines and Kaitlyn Menzione scored a 9.825! Ball State kept the energy up the entire competition and should be super exciting to watch the rest of season!
Tags: Allie Stern, Anastasia Webb, Ball State, Ball State Cardinal, Brenna Dowell, Carly Woodard, Kaitlyn Menzione, Kerrie Thomas, Khazia Hislop, Maggie Nichols, Nicole Lehrmann, North Carolina, North Carolina Tar Heels, Oklahoma, Oklahoma Sooners, Olivia Trautman