The Sooners are undefeated and ranked first in the country heading into the annual Perfect 10 Challenge on Friday, Feb. 15. That being said, not everything is falling the Sooners’ way.
Head Coach K.J. Kindler used 12 different gymnasts last week, including all 8 of her underclassmen, in a win at No. 7 Denver on Sunday. Kindler did this not to show off, but out of necessity.
“That’s a product of the situation we’re in right now. We just have a lot of little nagging injuries, and then we had an injury in the warmup and we had to pull an all-arounder,” said Kindler. “When that happens, you have to bring up your depth basically, bring your bench in and know that they’re prepared.”
Coach Kindler put her faith in her bench and it paid off in full. Not only did the Sooners defeat Denver 197.700-197.400 and remain undefeated, but Kindler may have discovered a pair of budding new stars.
Sophomore Evy Schoepfer and freshman Emma LaPinta each stepped up for the Sooners in a big way on Sunday.
Schoepfer delivered a 9.875 on balance beam and a 9.750 on vault in her Sooner debut.
“I was really proud of Evy, the way she stepped into the beam lineup. Beam is a very tough event to compete, and not only did she compete hard, she was near flawless for her. She did probably one of the best routines she could have done in that moment,” Kindler said. “I feel really confident in her now.”
LaPinta stepped into the 4-spot on the floor exercise and impressed with a career-high 9.800.
“Emma I think really stepped up on floor,” Kindler said. “I really think she’s coming along and she’s grown a lot. I would say that Emma definitely earned a spot in the lineup.”
The Sooners will be facing No. 18 Washington, No. 19 Arizona State and George Washington in this year’s Perfect 10 Challenge. The venue for the meet will be the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, which gives the Sooners a massive proximity advantage.
“This is one of our most highly-attended meets all year every year. It’s a challenge for them anytime we go away from the Lloyd Noble Center because that’s our home, but it’s definitely an advantage to have your crowd behind you.”
The meet will be held at 6:45 p.m. CT on Friday, Feb 15.
