The world of gymnastics sat back and watched as No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 2 UCLA pulled no punches in their thrilling dual meet.
Before the meet on March 3, Oklahoma head coach K.J. Kindler described the teams as “two of the very best teams in the history of women’s gymnastics.”
In the end, Oklahoma defeated UCLA 197.775-197.575 to keep its perfect season intact.
After the meet, both squads assembled on the floor and the Lloyd Noble Center’s record crowd of 10,117 watched as the gymnast of the meet award was announced.
Not internet sensation Katelyn Ohashi, who scored a perfect 10 with her viral floor routine. Not “fierce five” member and former Olympian Kyla Ross, who scored a pair of 10s on vault and bars. Not even superstar Maggie Nichols, who anchored Oklahoma on bars with a 9.925 and on beam with a 9.975.
In the most high-profile meet of the season, the gymnast of the meet was OU’s Jade Degouveia.
Junior Jade Degouveia performs on floor Feb. 1.
The junior vault and floor specialist from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, had flown under the radar during her first two years in Norman. Due to nagging health issues, she had only been able to compete in a handful of meets across her freshman and sophomore seasons.
If the Lloyd Noble crowd did not already know Degouveia’s name, they did now.
“She’s been through a lot,” said her mother, Sandy Degouveia. “Her perseverance through the things she’s been through is just amazing. She really is amazing to me.”
But on March 3, none of that mattered. Degouveia, now fully healthy, scored a 9.95 on vault and a 9.9 on floor to help her team fend off one of its top foes and take home the well-deserved gymnast of the meet award.
Nationals loom large for Oklahoma. The Sooners travel to Fort Worth to compete in the NCAA semifinal on Thursday. Should they advance, they will compete in the NCAA finals on Saturday in a potential rematch with UCLA.
Oklahoma had found its next star just in time.
“That’s the great thing about college gymnastics,” said Kindler, who has coached 115 All-Americans and led Oklahoma to three national titles. “You are afforded that opportunity because you can be just as good. Jade does have that in her. She may not have ever believed that, but she does.”
Before she was Oklahoma’s next superstar, Degouveia was a senior at Fort Lauderdale High School, and her future was still uncertain.
“She was going into her senior year without a scholarship,” Sandy said.
Even with no guarantee that college gymnastics was in the cards, Degouveia never stopped working.
“When she got her own car, she had to drive herself to the gym,” said Christy Ramirez, who coached Degouveia at American Twisters in Coconut Creek, Florida. “It was about a 45-minute drive from her house to where we were. She didn’t even have a scholarship yet. She knew what she had to do to get what she wanted.”
This period of struggle was crucial to Degouveia. It instilled in her a work ethic that she still possesses today — one that has rubbed off on her teammates as well.
“One thing that I have learned from Jade: No matter what cards you’re dealt, you have the inner strength to overcome it,” said Brehanna Showers, Degouveia’s roommate. “She had it harder growing up, but she overcame adversity and ended up here at Oklahoma, the best gymnastics school in the country. I think just seeing her fight and her will throughout her entire life — that’s definitely inspired me.”
It would not take long for her hard work to pay off in full, in the form of a phone call from Kindler.
“Jade went outside to talk on the phone with her the very first time,” Sandy said. “Her face when she came back through my door — I will never forget. I think there was just an immediate bond, Jade just immediately bonded with her. She just knew it was the perfect place for her, she felt comfortable.”
The feeling was mutual. From their first interaction, Kindler could feel the connection as well.
“We clicked really well,” Kindler said. “Conversation was super easy. She has a very big personality. She’s a very open and honest person. She’ll say it exactly like it is. She’s very candid and I love that about her.”
From there, Degouveia’s recruitment took off. Besides Oklahoma, she had offers from Georgia, Illinois, California and many more. But according to Sandy, her recruitment began and ended with Oklahoma.
“As soon as she heard Oklahoma, she really had already made her decision,” Sandy said.
Soon after, Degouveia’s decision became official.
“I committed to OU without visiting the campus, so it really didn’t take that long,” Degouveia said.
After training all summer and fall in preparation for her Sooner debut, Degouveia was diagnosed with mono just two days before Oklahoma’s intrasquad night, which is the Sooners’ annual preseason exhibition.
“To train the whole summer and all the way through the preseason, and then right before the season started she got mono,” Ramirez said. “It was devastating because she was so ready.”
“I had put together full routines, and then because I couldn’t do gymnastics for three weeks right before the season started, I lost everything that I had done over the summer,” Degouveia said. “I had no endurance, and I didn’t have a lot of confidence.”
Degouveia was forced to watch the first half of her freshman season from the sidelines, but she did not let that stop her from enjoying her first year in Norman.
“Every Monday night freshman year, we used to have dance parties in our dorm room,” Showers said. “She loves music. She taught me how to dance, 'cause she’s really good at dancing, too.”
After several weeks of recovery, and many dance parties, Degouveia managed to return to Oklahoma’s vault lineup and became a key contributor in the second half of the season.
“I eventually broke into the vault lineup,” Degouveia said. “So I did get to compete at NCAA’s my freshman year.”
Not only did Degouveia compete, she contributed immensely, scoring a 9.825 in the semifinal, and a 9.8375 in the Super Six, helping the Sooners to their third national title.
After ending the season on a high note, Degouveia was launched into preparation for her sophomore campaign more determined than ever.
“She put so much work into her second year, being a sophomore and coming back after not having a full season the year before,” Ramirez said.
After competing in vault and floor for the first two weeks of her sophomore season, Degouveia was preparing for Oklahoma’s first major test of the season — a road meet at No. 5 Florida in Degouveia’s home state.
“She was definitely excited to compete in Florida,” Ramirez said.
One day before the team departed for Florida, Degouveia tore her plantar fascia in her foot. Another full offseason of preparation thrown away by bad luck. Without Degouveia, the Sooners left Florida with their first loss of the season.
“She was really upset,” Sandy said. “That was the only meet I ever went to. And by the time I got there, she was on crutches. Yeah, that was really difficult.”
The injury seemed all too familiar for Degouveia. A second-straight season partially lost to health issues sent her into disarray.
“Honestly, she went through a pretty bad time,” Kindler said. “She really disengaged a little bit. We had national championships in April and there was time for her to get back, but I think that injury really hurt her mentally a lot. She stopped believing that she could get back into that lineup by the end of the year.”
“That was probably the saddest I’ve ever seen her,” Ramirez said.
Through the many ups and downs she has faced throughout her career, one thing has remained consistent: Degouveia never gives up.
If a lack of scholarship and a 45-minute drive to the gym could not keep Degouveia from achieving her goals, it should come as no surprise that an injury, or an illness, would stand no chance.
“She really didn’t compete again until the national championship,” Kindler said. “And she competed fabulously, she had an amazing performance for us on vault, and we needed it. That was a testament to her — that even if something bad happens, she can rebound, she can get back, she can come around. It just took her a little longer to believe that was actually possible.”
Despite Degouveia’s efforts, Oklahoma came up just short. The Sooners could only watch as UCLA’s Christine Peng-Peng Lee scored a perfect 10 on beam to steal the national championship from Oklahoma’s grasp.
According to Kindler, another strong performance at nationals was exactly what Degouveia needed as she prepared for her junior year.
“It catapulted her into her summer and into this season,” Kindler said. “I feel like she’s really switched her mindset and is more of a positive thinker versus a realist. I think ending on that note, she really became more optimistic, more directed, more inspired.”
As Degouveia shifted her sights to year three, she could not help but feel some deja vu.
“I would definitely say that I'm the type of person to dwell on the past a little bit,” Degouveia said. “So going into this season, I was just super eerie, I was hoping that nothing bad would happen and that everything would work out.”
After all her struggles, all her work, for the first time in Degouveia’s Sooner career, everything did work out.
In the first meet of the season, Degouveia scored a 9.825 on floor and a career-high 9.95 on vault.
“That was the first time I had successfully put together a floor routine where I hit all three passes," Degouveia said. "I had competed (on) floor twice my sophomore year, but I had a couple mistakes within those two routines I did. So I finally got to hit a solid floor routine and it was just a good feeling.”
From there, Degouveia has only improved, both in confidence and in execution with each passing week.
“She was very determined to make this year her best year yet,” Ramirez said. “She keeps on pushing through, she’s becoming a leader of her team. She’s taking it one day at a time, one meet at a time, one week at a time. It’s been a great year for her. Even though she’s had those setbacks in the past, she’s always been able to push through. She knows that she can get through anything as long as she just keeps going at it.”
This year, when No. 2 Florida came to Norman, Degouveia finally got her chance at the Gators. She scored a 9.9 on vault and a 9.975 on floor to lift the Sooners over Florida.
And when a second No. 2 team, UCLA, came to challenge the Sooners in Norman, Degouveia performed even better, outshining even the brightest of stars.
Wowwwwww @OU_WGymnastics this routine is everything 😫🙌🏼 Jade Degouveia absolutely killed this. I'm obsessed 💞 pic.twitter.com/F2Yxjbotz4
— Gaybach Music (@bodegafruit) March 6, 2019
As Degouveia performs, especially on floor, her face says it all. Every ounce of determination shines through. She possesses a unique intensity, an intimidating ferocity, and that makes an impact on her teammates and opponents alike.
“Jade has had a phenomenal season thus far,” Kindler said. “She’s shown great leadership. She shows great confidence on the floor. I think her teammates thrive off her confidence. She can really make her team rise. They know every time she steps up on the floor she’s gonna nail it. I just love seeing that from her. I think it definitely gives our team the vibe that they need.”
And at the regular season’s end, Degouveia earned her greatest honor yet — the Big 12 Event Specialist of the Year award.
“The season she’s had, the success she’s had on vault and floor and how much we have grown to depend on her in those events, has been huge for her and for us,” Kindler said. “We would not be able to do it without her. I’m not surprised at all that she received that honor — she’s totally deserving.”
Now, Degouveia and the rest of the Sooners have their sights set firmly on one thing — getting back to the national championship.
For Degouveia, the path to nationals has been different in her first full season.
“Either way you’re as invested as you can be, whether you’re on a bunch of events or not,” Degouveia said. “But being on two events and contributing as much as I am just makes this season feel a lot more special. It’s extremely memorable, and I’m just extremely happy that I can contribute to my team as much as I can.”
The Sooners are one of eight teams left standing. On Friday, they will face Georgia, Denver and Oregon State in the semifinals.
But whether the Sooners advance on Friday or not, Degouveia is far from done in Norman.
“Jade is capable of competing in the all-around,” Kindler said. “I think that should become a goal of hers. She’s doing amazing on floor and vault for us but there’s even more in her. She’s not just a strong, powerful athlete — she’s also beautiful and graceful. She definitely has more in the tank. This year, I think, has really helped her confidence. I think she’s really enjoying herself and that was hard to do when you’re sitting on the sidelines, just watching. I’m just really proud of the way she’s pushed through this season. Honestly, her consistency has been remarkable. She’s definitely our most improved athlete this year.”
Despite the many obstacles that have paved Degouveia’s Sooner career, she has arrived now, and she would not have it any other way.
“I always tell her how proud I am of her,” Ramirez said. “It doesn’t fail to put a smile on my face when I watch her compete. I get so excited because I know she’s worked so hard to be where she’s at. She's finally getting what she deserves. And then when she tells me everything about gymnastics and how she's so very happy that she’s at OU — she wouldn’t have had it any other way. I’m glad it worked out for her that way. She can look back when she’s older and be happy that everything turned out this way.”
