Oklahoma Sooners-Women's gymnastics Collegiate quad-meet

OU women's gymnastics head coach K.J. Kindler during the Collegiate quad meet against LSU, Cal and Utah on Jan. 11.

 Bob Nguyen/OU Daily

No. 2 OU women’s gymnastics (4-0-1) defeated No. 5 Georgia (2-1) on Friday by a score of 198.425-196.875.

OU posted its best performance of the season during the meet and was the first team in 2026 to break 198 points. The Sooners outscored Missouri on all four events and held the lead for the entire meet.

Here are three takeaways:

Floor excellence

After losing out on the floor to Missouri and LSU in their first two meets, OU faced a Georgia team that entered the meet ranked No.1 in the country on floor. The Sooners rose to the occasion with their best performance of the season in the event, scoring a 49.650, the highest score on floor nationally in 2026. Freshman Kamila Pawlak led the team with a 9.950, the highest score of her collegiate career. 

After not having a gymnast score above a 9.875 on floor last week against Missouri, OU showed more consistency against Georgia, with all six gymnasts scoring a 9.925 or higher.

“I love the depth we have. Keira (Wells), Kelsey (Slade), they could’ve gone in a heartbeat and would’ve been really close to those scores as well,” head coach KJ Kindler said. “We’re really just building an army here, and I love that we have nine, ten, available on those events.”

Star all-arounders

OU’s win was driven by performances from all-around gymnasts. Sophomores Addison Fatta and Lily Pederson competed in all four events for OU.

Fatta scored a 39.750 across her four events with 9.95 scores on both vault and beam. Pederson scored a 39.450, with a best of 9.925 on floor. Freshman Mackenzie Estep also made a big impact for OU on vault, bars and floor. She scored a 9.925 or higher on all three events and led the meet with a 9.975 on vault in her home debut.

“It was so cool having the crowd there, and you could definitely feel the energy kind of oozing out of the crowd,” Estep said. “I think as a team, we did a great job of creating our own energy as well.”

New heights

Despite the weather forecasts, thousands of people filled the Lloyd Noble Center to watch OU’s home opener, giving the team a true home advantage despite the conditions. 

“Sooner fans, you killed it tonight. That’s so awesome that everyone made the trip out,” Kindler said. “Georgia’s an exceptional team ranked fifth in the country, and we definitely needed that crowd behind us.”

The energy of the crowd pushed the Sooners past their previous bests in 2026. OU’s 198.425 marks the highest score in the country so far this season. The Sooners also hit national highs on vault, beam and floor, reinforcing their status as one of the top-ranked teams in the country.

Next, the Sooners will face Kentucky at 5 p.m. on Friday in Lexington, Kentucky, on SEC Network.

This story was edited by Laurie Jones.

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