Carly Woodard and coach KJ Kindler embraced, both knowing the fifth-year senior gymnast’s 9.95 on beam had sealed Oklahoma’s 12th-straight NCAA Regional on Saturday night in Norman.
Woodard effectively bookended the Sooners’ 198.250 performance, their second best of the season, only behind their 198.475 against then-No. 1 Michigan on March 4. Her 9.9 on floor jumpstarted a run of eight straight scores on floor and vault at or above 9.9, during which OU built a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
Doing so at the Lloyd Noble Center was even more special.
“Having regionals here,” Woodard said, “especially after thinking we had our final senior night, it was something that was so exciting because we were supposed to host in 2020 and we never got that opportunity. So getting to have that opportunity as a fifth year now is something that I'm extremely grateful for and it was an experience of a lifetime.”
OU didn’t count a score below 9.8 en route to running away from Minnesota, Cal and Arkansas. The Golden Gophers scored 197.725 to place second and also advance to the semifinals. The Golden Bears and Razorbacks scored 197.300 and 196.675 to place third and fourth, respectively, and end their seasons.
At the heart of Oklahoma’s scorching stretch was freshman Jordan Bowers. The Lincoln, Nebraska, native scored a 9.95 on floor and vault for one of the best freshman postseason performances in Sooners history. Over the two days of regional competition, five of her scores were 9.95 or better. The only one below that mark was a 9.9 she posted on bars on Saturday.
“She has grown tremendously,” Kindler said. “At the beginning of the season, she had some hiccups on vault and she had some things here and there, but she was really just settling into college gymnastics, figuring it out, learning how to handle the pressure of it, and to embrace the pressure of it.”
Bowers’ regional performance rivaled that of OU legend Maggie Nichols’ freshman regional performance. In only one day of regionals in 2017, Nichols had three 9.95s and a 9.9. Nichols went on to lead Oklahoma to its third national championship, scoring a perfect 10 on beam in the finals.
“She's just really embraced the moment, and that's what's made the biggest difference,” Kindler said. “She's reveling in those moments, and that's so exciting to see for a freshman and someone who is performing at that high of a level in her very first year. I would say we have tremendous confidence when she goes up. She's made a huge difference for us.”
Freshman Jordan Bowers during the NCAA regional finals against Arkansas, Minnesota and California on April 2.
Now, Bowers will have a chance to play a Nichols-esque role alongside one of OU’s deepest rosters in years.
Bowers and Oklahoma’s 2022 depth came from a roster that made few major mistakes and reached its healthiest point of the season in April.
The Sooners’ only slip up on Saturday came when junior Ragan Smith fell on bars, marking her first blemish on the event in 2022, and the Sooners only regional fall. However, she rebounded with a 9.975 on beam and improved the Sooners’ score that Woodard had just sealed for the final performance of the night.
Oklahoma’s health showed in its abundance of scores at or above 9.9 alongside Bowers and Woodard’s performances. Freshmen Danielle Sievers and Danae Fletcher each scored 9.9 on floor, and Smith added a 9.95 there to start the meet. Senior Allie Stern and sophomore Katherine LeVasseur put up 9.9s on vault to pair with a near-perfect 9.975 from senior Olivia Trautman to continue the Sooners’ momentum.
Sievers kept the momentum rolling with a 9.925 and sophomore Audrey Davis contributed a 9.9 on bars. Junior specialist Jenna Dunn added a 9.9 on beam and Trautman added a stellar 9.95 to cap the plethora of high scores.
Another unique factor for the Sooners was their absence of all-arounders. Davis was the last gymnast to compete in the all-around on March 6 against Texas Woman’s University and Air Force, but because of the team’s healthy depth, having an all-around competitor hasn’t been necessary.
“We've been talking a lot with the team about what your role is,” Kindler said. “Everyone has a specific role, even (though) you may not be competing, but you have a role and a reason to be here and you are pushing this team in a direction. Whatever your role is, whether it's a bar specialist or three-event athlete or to train the all-around and be ready to go if you are called upon, they have embraced their roles.”
Sophomore Audrey Davis during the NCAA regional finals against Arkansas, Minnesota and California on April 2.
Woodard and senior Karrie Thomas’ roles are unique as the lone fifth-year seniors on the Sooners’ squad. The duo thought they had their senior night on March 4 when OU upset then-No. 1 Michigan 198.475-197.900.
However, they got one more chance to compete in the Lloyd Noble Center, and didn’t waste the moment. Both were sentimental after the meet, telling each other they wouldn’t cry. They kept their word, as neither shed a tear immediately afterwards.
Even with the sentiment of a final performance in Norman clearly present, both have another more pressing goal: a national championship.
“I'm more focused on, ‘What do I have to do for my team to get to the next step?’” Thomas said. “I mean, we already had our “last” here, so I was more focused on what's to come.”
What’s to come may include Oklahoma’s vaunted depth getting one more shot in the arm as it heads to the semifinal competition at 1 p.m. on April 14 in Fort Worth. Thomas is preparing to return on beam for the first time since Jan. 14 against Utah.
“Spoiler alert, she’s training beam right now,” Kindler said.
“My mom doesn’t even know,” Thomas responded to shock and laughter from Woodard and Kindler.
Thomas didn’t stick the dismount on beam in the 2021 Tuscaloosa Regional, injuring her knee and ending her fourth season. She chose to exhaust her final year of eligibility granted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and has focused on bars since the middle of January.
The opportunity to return to beam and to compete at the national level in her final season has presented Thomas with one last crack at the event that nearly ended her career, while aiming for what she, and the rest of the roster, desire most.
“In that moment (in Tuscaloosa), I was like, ‘I'm coming back for a reason,’” Thomas said. “I learned that in that moment. And sitting here now, it's definitely awesome.”
