Launching her senior season at long last after battling a lingering knee injury, senior Oklahoma stalwart Olivia Trautman propelled off the beam with flair and stuck her landing.
Earning a 9.9 on the event, Trautman’s long-awaited return assisted No. 2 OU (10-1, 1-0 Big 12) in its Feb. 19 victory at the Metroplex Challenge in Fort Worth. Washington (4-6, 1-4 Pac-12) placed second with a 196.825, while No. 19 Stanford (3-7, 2-4 Pac-12) and No. 12 Denver (5-3, 2-1 Big 12) placed third and fourth with a 195.450 and a 195.050.
Following the victory, OU’s next meet against No. 3 Florida is vital, head coach K.J. Kindler said. However, the Sooners’ travel to Gainesville may be postponed or canceled due to winter weather in Norman.
OU hopes to face Florida and break the 198.000 mark to help bolster its National Qualifying Score, thus improving its postseason seeding. The National Qualifying Score is calculated by six meets and three away meets, with the team’s highest score omitted and the remaining five meets averaged.
The Sooners have tallied 198.175, 197.900 and 196.650 in road meets thus far. The last two marks came from a less-than-spectacular quad meet win on Jan. 22 in Tucson and an upset loss at No. 4 Utah on Jan. 14.
“We need the away score,” Kindler said. “We definitely have to find a way, even if we’re in our snowshoes heading there on foot.”
Ahead of Friday’s contest, Trautman stepped in for the first time this season and immediately contributed. She helped the Sooners attain a 49.600 on beam, reaching the 49.600 mark on the event for the third time this season.
With freshman Jordan Bowers struggling in warmups, Trautman replaced her on beam despite her knee not being completely healed, according to Kindler. But, rest assured, Trautman’s expertise saw her perform an “impeccable” routine, Kindler said on Wednesday’s media availability via Zoom.
“It certainly wasn’t planned,” Kindler said. “But, in the moment, my gut was telling me it was the right thing to do … .”
Trautman’s return further cements the talent on beam for the Sooners. The Champlin, Minnesota, native rejoins junior Ragan Smith, who notched two perfect 10s on beam this season, and fifth-year senior Carly Woodard, who has also tallied a perfect beam routine this winter.
Despite holding a top-5 spot on the event nationally, beam is seemingly the Sooners’ event for most improvement. As Trautman is reintroduced, OU hopes to hone in on its routines there.
“It wasn’t like we walked away going ‘Gosh, that was the best night ever’ … so, that just means we can score even higher, we can be even better, we can be more competitive on a national level,” Kindler said of the Metroplex Challenge.
Trautman and the Sooners will need to score even higher and be even better should they get to take on the Gators (9-0, 6-0 SEC) at 5:45 p.m. CT on Friday, Feb. 25 in Gainesville, Florida.
In Trautman’s career, she has tallied two flawless scores on vault and one on floor. Her presence on beam has been a welcome sight already, but she’ll be looking for more opportunities on different events soon.
“She’s definitely preparing to come back on bars … I don’t know that we will use her yet, but she’s getting close,” Kindler said. “Beam, an option, and she’s working her way back into vault in the slowest way we can.”
