No. 1 OU women’s gymnastics (35-1-1) won the 2026 NCAA national championships, the program’s fourth title in five years. The Sooners defeated LSU, Florida, and Minnesota in the final, 198.1625-198.0750-197.6875-197.3750.
OU led through its first two rotations on vault and bars before running into trouble on beam, where the Sooners fell behind LSU. They staged a late comeback on floor, posting their fourth-best score of the season on the event, to beat the Tigers by less than a 10th of a point.
Hot start
The Sooners got out to a hot start, holding a lead of only a 10th-point lead after the first two rotations.
Sophomore Lily Pederson scored a career high 9.9875 on vault, leading the Sooners in that event. Junior Hannah Scheible scored 9.9625 to raise OU’s score to 49.6, the highest of the meet. The Sooners also performed well on bars with a 49.4875, where freshman Mackenzie Estep led the team at a 9.9375. Junior Caitlin Smith, after not competing for a majority of the season, scored a 9.9 on bars.
“I can personally tell you, as can everyone at the table here, those were the best bar routines (Caitlin’s) ever done,” head coach K.J. Kindler said.
Third rotation trouble
OU ran into trouble early on beam, their third rotation of the championship.
Addison Fatta scored 9.7375 in her only routine of the meet after suffering a hand injury before nationals. OU’s second gymnast, junior Keira Wells, fell during her routine, only scoring a 9.05. The Sooners needed the rest of the rotation to step up to stay in contention, and it happened. Pederson and senior Faith Torrez both scored 9.95, with freshman Ella Murphy getting a 9.9375 to keep OU competitive despite the early stumbles.
“Mistakes happen, but you have to move forward,” Pederson said. “In that moment, you have to go big or go home; holding back is just going to make it worse.”
The Sooners surged back into the meet on floor, scoring 49.6375 and winning the event during the meet. All five scoring OU gymnasts went over a 9.90. Torrez closed out the meet with a 9.95, while Pederson and sophomore Elle Mueller scored 9.9375. LSU was not as strong on its final beam rotation with a fall and two scores below a 9.9, allowing OU to complete the comeback.
Strong individual performances
Multiple gymnasts had strong all-around performances that played into OU’s win.
Pederson won the all-around during the meet, scoring 39.725. In addition to her high score on vault, she scored 9.95 on beam and 9.9375 on floor. NCAA all-around champion Torrez was not far behind at 39.675. She posted the highest floor score of the meet and tied with Pederson at 9.95 for the highest beam score of the meet. Estep also played a major role in the victory with her high score on bars and a 9.9125 on floor.
After losing the Southeastern Conference championship to Florida, the Sooners stormed back, going on a perfect run through regionals and nationals to capture their eighth national championship.
“You can break due to adversity, or you can break records due to adversity,” Kindler said. “And that kind of was our theme as we walked through the door.”
This story was edited by Joshua McDaniel.
