Lexington, KY – Oklahoma and Arkansas posted the two highest scores of Sunday’s Lexington Regional Final and will be among the eight teams in the National Championship Semifinal on April 16.
The top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners posted a 198.350, its highest total since Jan. 23. Arkansas went 197.450, placing second in the region and sixth in the national rankings.
Missouri and Ohio State, who went 197.225 and 196.700, respectively, were eliminated from National Championship contention.
After posting the highest scores of their respective Regional Semifinals on Friday, the Sooners and Razorbacks raised their standards by going even higher on Sunday.
Oklahoma’s victory was helped by a season-best beam rotation that scored 49.750. Every gymnast scored 9.900 or higher, with three 9.950s and a perfect 10 by Faith Torrez.
“We did not have one balance check. We did not have one step on one landing. As a coach, that’s your absolute dream beam performance from top to bottom,” Oklahoma head coach KJ Kindler said.
“Everybody just started cheering around me, but I was just glad to go out there and do a better performance than last time,” Torrez said about her perfect score. The senior fell on the apparatus during Friday’s semifinal, recording the team’s lowest score. Sunday’s perfect ten on beam was the third of her career and second over the last three competitions.
On floor, the team matched its SEC Championships total, 49.600. The Sooners didn’t count a score below 9.900, with three 9.900s to start and back-to-back 9.950s from Elle Mueller and Mackenzie Estep to end the day.
Estep had a career night, going 9.950 on two out of her three routines. Since the start of the season, the freshman has made a valuable impact on a team that is looking to win its second straight national title.
“I can’t wait to go to nationals and be there with this team. I’m so honored and grateful. I feel like ecstatic would be my word,” Estep, who took home a share of the SEC Freshman of the Year honor, said.
Also representing the SEC at nationals will be Arkansas, whose beam rotation broke open what was a tight margin above Missouri.
Heading into the final rotation, the Razorbacks and Tigers were separated by a quarter of a point. In that rotation, Missouri’s last three vaults went 9.850. The back half of Arkansas’ beam lineup had two 9.900s and a 9.950, securing its National Championships berth.
“This is literally the exact reason why I chose to come to Arkansas for my last season – to go to NCAA nationals and put out a statement,” Morgan Price said. The senior went 9.900 in three out of four events on Sunday.
Just one year after being the only team left out of the SEC Championships, the Razorbacks look forward to their second nationals appearance in the Jordyn Wieber era.
“That was something last year that made us stronger. And I think that’s led a lot of them to have that continued fight in them this year,” Wieber said.
“I think the work that we put in as a team, the way we bonded as a team to move forward, is what put us on top,” Frankie Price said.
This will also be the first time that Morgan and Frankie Price will compete on the national stage alongside each other. The sisters have had abnormal college journeys, with Morgan spending her first three years at Fisk University and Frankie suffering two injuries in her five years with the Razorbacks.
“They both have had such different journeys, but their hearts and their passion and their work ethic is so similar,” Wieber said. “They’ve been great leaders for our whole team.”
Oklahoma and Arkansas are placed in a field with UCLA and Minnesota. The top two teams in that session will compete against the advancing teams from the other side of the bracket, which includes LSU, Stanford, Florida and Georgia.
The NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships will be held in Fort Worth, TX from April 16 to April 18.