Erin Long
 

After returning home from an upsetting loss in Gainesville, the #2 University of Oklahoma Sooners will host the #3 LSU Tigers, Sunday, February 9th, at 1:45 pm in the Lloyd Noble Arena for another action packed NCAA shootout. 

 

The Tigers currently hold a 197.225 average on the season, while Oklahoma has the slight upper hand with their average of 197.294. LSU will take on the #11 Arkansas Razorbacks on Friday, February 7th before prowling their way into Norman. Both the Sooners and Tigers have posted consistently high scores this season and are sure to put on an exhilarating show this Sunday.  Fans should prepare themselves for a competition that will come down to the very last tenth. 

 

“We’ve been focusing a lot on the details,” said Oklahoma senior, Lara Albright, “we want to fine tune every little thing that we can.” 

 

University of Oklahoma head coach, KJ Kindler, is anticipating an intense and exciting match up this weekend. “We’ve seen what LSU is capable of, they are a strong and very hungry team,” reports the coach with a look of determination, “our team is going to have to be absolutely flawless to put up a fight against them.” Preparation in practice this week for the Sooners has been focused on perfecting skills and polishing routines. “We’ve been working extremely hard this week to clean up details and to work on our landings,” says Kindler, “that is going to come into play this meet and cleaning up those details is going to have to happen for us.” 

 

 

How will these teams match up in head to head competition? Here’s a breakdown by event.

 

VAULT

The Sooners currently average a 49.4375 on this event. Sophomore, Haley Scaman, still grips onto the season high score with a 9.95. LSU averages a 49.46 and is led by senior, Sarie Morrison, who also has a season high of 9.95. Both schools have posted 49’s on this event at every meet this season.

Advantage: LSU


McKenzie Wofford/ OU Communications

UNEVEN BARS

The Tigers currently hold an uneven bars average of 49.2 for the season. Morrison also leads the team on the bars with a season high of 9.95. OU has a season average of 49.2875, giving them a slight edge on this event. They are led by junior, Erica Brewer, and senior, Taylor Spears, who both have season highs of 9.925. Multiple athletes in Oklahoma’s bars line up are capable of scoring a 9.9 or higher, including sophomore, Keeley Kmieciak, and freshman star, McKenzie Wofford. Stuck landings on dismounts will be a key factor in bar scores for both teams.

Advantage: OU

 

BALANCE BEAM

LSU has scored in the low 49’s on this event at every meet this season resulting in a 49.15 average. Both Jessie Jordan and Rheagan Courville have scored 9.925’s on the balance beam this year. The Sooners currently hold a beam average of 49.28 and are led by Madison Mooring, Rebecca Clark, and Taylor Spears, who all have season highs of 9.925. 

Advantage: OU

 

FLOOR EXERCISE

Oklahoma averages a 49.28 on the floor exercise heading into Sunday. Sophomore, Haley Scaman, continues to hold the team high with a 9.95. The Tigers average a 49.4125 on this event and are led by crowd favorite, Lloimencia Hall, who has scored a perfect 10.0 already this season. Hall is known for her charismatic choreography and breathtakingly powerful tumbling skills. 

Advantage: LSU

 

 

 

Follow the Action!

Courtney Boggs of Gymnastike will be on-site in Norman providing video coverage of this event.