OKLAHOMA

IN THE GYM: FIVE THINGS TO KNOW FOR WEEK TWO

1. STRONG START
After posting a program record season-opening score of 197.700 last weekend, the Oklahoma women’s gymnastics team enters this weekend ranked No. 1 in the country. The Sooners will look to capitalize on the momentum of their strong opening effort Friday evening as they open Big 12 competition against Iowa State. Oklahoma holds a 48-13-1 all-time advantage over the Cyclones, with a pair of regular season and conference championship victories last season.

2. SET THE TONE
OU’s returners led the way for its huge effort in last weekend’s win over Georgia, contributing 10 scores of 9.9 or higher while capturing event titles on all four apparatuses and in the all-around. Upperclassmen were particularly key for the Sooners on beam, where junior Rebecca Clark and seniors Taylor Spears and Madison Mooring each posted 9.925 routines to tie for top honors on the event. Junior Erica Brewer hit a 9.925 effort on bars while capturing the all-around title with a 39.450, and sophomore Haley Scaman earned the vault and floor titles with a pair of 9.95 routines.

©Oklahoma Gymnastics

3. FIRST MEET? NO PROBLEM
Oklahoma’s freshman class also provided an undeniable spark to the Sooner lineup against Georgia, displaying plenty of composure in their first collegiate meet. Chayse Capps competed on three events for OU, hitting three of three routines on floor (9.9), vault (9.875) and beam (9.75). McKenzie Wofford showed the big skills she is capable of on bars, swinging her way to a 9.85. Kara Lovan also competed a pair of solid routines in exhibition for the Sooners. Oklahoma is sure to see even bigger contributions from its freshman class throughout the season, with Charity Jones on the rebound from a foot injury and Norman native Reagan Hemry primed for competition as well.
 

4. SEASON-OPENING SWEEP
Following OU’s dominant performance to open the season, it was only fitting that the Sooners would also execute a sweep of the Big 12 weekly honors as well. Brewer took home the season’s first conference Gymnast of the Week award, while Clark was named Event Specialist of the Week and Capps captured Newcomer of the Week accolades. Brewer’s award was the third Gymnast of the Week award of her career, granted to her after she took the all-around title against the Gym Dogs. Clark snagged her first career Big 12 honor after earning the beam title against UGA, while Capps tied for second on floor and made big contributions in the vault and beam lineup to pick up her first career conference award.
 

5. HOME FLOOR ADVANTAGE
With a 1-0 start under their belts, OU will get home floor advantage in the gym again this weekend as it competes in the friendly confines of the Lloyd Noble Center. The Sooners own a 41-2 regular season record in the LNC under head coach K.J. Kindler, including five undefeated home seasons. Oklahoma went undefeated in Norman last year, posting wins over Denver, UCLA, Arizona, North Carolina and Stanford during the regular season. The squad added a first-place regional finish when it hosted the NCAA Norman Regional on April 6, 2013.

via Oklahoma Gymnastics


©Iowa State Athletics

IOWA STATE
The Cyclones are coming off their first win of the season over Illinois State after posting a season-best team score of 194.600 in a tri-meet that also featured No. 7 Michigan. Junior Caitlin Brown continued what looks from the outset to be a breakout season. Brown once again posted a career-best all-around score of 39.125, eclipsing her previous career high of 38.900 set in the season opener against No. 15 Penn State.

 

One of the highlights of Iowa State’s performance in the tri-meet was the Cyclone’s improvement in the floor exercise from the season opener. Four different Cyclones posted scores of at least 9.825 on floor as Iowa State took on Michigan and Illinois State. Kristen DeCosta (9.825), Henrietta Green (9.850), Milan Ivory (9.850) and Caitlin Brown (9.875) led the way, as the Cyclones improved their team score on floor from 48.225 in the season opener to 49.150 in the tri-meet.
via Iowa State