No. 1 OU women’s gymnastics (26-1-1) won the NCAA Lexington Regional second round 197.875-196.550-196.300-196.175 against Ohio State (entered 10-6), Rutgers (entered 13-7) and No. 16 Kentucky (entered 2-17-1)
The Sooners dominated throughout the meet, beating Kentucky for the third time this season and solidly outperforming Ohio State and Rutgers, who finished sixth and eighth in the Big 10 Championships this season, respectively. OU won overall during the meet, while Ohio State took vault with its highest score on the event since 2003.
Bars success
Two Sooner gymnasts elevated the team’s performance on bars.
Freshman Ella Murphy had her second straight meet with a career high on bars, scoring 9.95.
She scored highest for the Sooners in the event, along with sophomore Lily Pederson, who tied her career high on bars at 9.95.
OU finished the event with a team score of 49.525 despite entering the postseason ranked No. 4 nationally on bars.
Addison Fatta in the all-around
Sophomore Addison Fatta faced stiff competition in the all-around, with six other gymnasts competing for the title.
Fatta, a regular season All-American in the all-around, matched up against gymnasts from the three schools OU faced, along with individual qualifiers from Illinois and Central Michigan. She performed well with a high score of 9.900 on the vault, but she struggled on floor, only posting a 9.750, which caused her to drop down the rankings, finishing in a tie for third place in the all-around.
Looking ahead
OU, along with second place Ohio State, will advance to the regional final on Sunday, where they will face Missouri and Arkansas.
The Sooners are familiar with the Tigers and Razorbacks, having defeated both teams in the SEC Championships. The Sooners also beat the Razorbacks twice in the regular season and Missouri once. The top two teams from the regional final will advance to the national semifinals, held April 16 in Fort Worth.
