The top-seeded Oklahoma Sooners took over the during the floor routine and went on to win their second NCAA women's gymnastics national championship over the weekend.
The Sooners shared the national title in 2014 with Florida, and with this year's outright win denied the Gators a fourth-straight championship. The title capped a magical 38-1 overall season record for the Sooners, who were Big 12 champs this year for the fifth straight time.
The #Sooners reflect on their national championship night. WATCH ➡️ https://t.co/Y4XY0ngl8P #madeitcOUnt #GymU pic.twitter.com/7ori4594Gj
— Oklahoma Women's Gym (@OU_WGymnastics) April 17, 2016
Oklahoma had a strong performance on the balance beam, getting a 9.9375 from Chayse Capps and a 9.925 from Natalie Brown. But they didn't seal the championship until their final event, the floor routine.
In that final rotation, Natalie Brown started the floor exercise with a 9.9 for Oklahoma, followed by Capps, who turned in a 9.9125. After Charity Jones scored 9.9 and Keeley Kmieciak got 9.8625, OU sophomore AJ Jackson put the Sooners in the lead with a 9.9125. It turned out that sealed it for the Sooners – even before Haley Scaman submitted the best floor score of the night at 9.95 to finish her collegiate career.
The Oklahoma floor routines beat back a strong surge by LSU, which was seeking its first national title, and finished second with 197.450, just behind Oklahoma's winning total score of 197.675. Alabama was third with 197.4375, and defending champions Florida finished fourth with 197.3500.
"Everyone in that room has worked hard, but this group in particular has a little extra something when it comes to their chemistry that I can’t really describe," Oklahoma Coach K.J. Kindler told reporters afterward. "I’ve always believed that chemistry wins championships. They certainly are technically good. They certainly executed well. But, I really feel like that heart and that chemistry is what put them over the top at the end."
It was OU's sixth top three finish in the nation in the last seven seasons.
#madeitcOUnt – Oklahoma Wins its Second NCAA Title in Program History. RECAP/HIGHLIGHTS/PHOTOS: https://t.co/t1AFSpvtBI #GymU
— Oklahoma Women's Gym (@OU_WGymnastics) April 17, 2016
The No. 2 Gators started slow on the beam and had a couple of mistakes on vault that kept them from winning what would have been a fourth consecutive title.
For Florida's Bridget Sloan, the day was bittersweet – her team didn't win a fourth straight title, and it was her final collegiate competition. But she nailed her performance. Sloan won her second career NCAA all-around title with a 39.6500, including an impressive meet-best 9.9375 on the bars, a performance for which one judge gave her a perfect 10.
LSU had its best-ever finish in second place, after falling in the semifinals last year and failing to make the last weekend of competition. The Tigers had the best scores on the vault (49.5250) – with All-American Ashleigh Gnat getting a 9.950 on her vault – and were second best in the floor routine (49.4625). But they got their third lowest-score of the season on the bars and just couldn't catch Oklahoma in the end. Most of LSU's team returns to Baton Rouge next year – and the team also has a solid recruiting class, making the Tigers an early favorite as a title contender next year.
Oklahoma's men also won the national championship this year in gymnastics, making OU the first school to win both in the same year.
