Oklahoma Sooners Reclaim NCAA Gymnastics Glory in Fort Worth
Apr 19, 2025, 08:27 PM ET
FORT WORTH, Texas — The Oklahoma Sooners had a full year and a day to reflect on their unexpected early exit from the 2024 NCAA gymnastics championships. The sting of missing out on a three-peat lingered, but it also fueled their determination. Fast forward to Saturday, and the Sooners have officially reclaimed their throne atop the college gymnastics world. With a final score of 198.0125, they edged out runner-up UCLA by 0.4 points to win the NCAA women’s title.
This victory marks the Sooners’ third NCAA team title in four years and their seventh since 2014. The triumph was particularly sweet given the disappointment of the previous season. However, head coach K.J. Kindler emphasized that the team wasn’t focused on redemption as they entered the final at Dickies Arena, even if everyone else was.
“Our theme wasn’t redemption this year at all,” Kindler shared with reporters shortly after the team celebrated with the trophy. “We did our best to put it behind us. It just was following us everywhere and so it was almost impossible. Every time you look in the rearview mirror, it was just there.”
Kindler continued, “And so does it make it sweet? Yes, but this team was capable of this last year. We just failed. And people fail all the time. They fail every day. And we talk about [it] all the time that the glory is in getting back up again.”
The Sooners set the tone for an impressive afternoon by opening the meet on the balance beam. Freshman Lily Pederson, who had a fall during the semifinals, delivered one of her best performances with a 9.9375. With six gymnasts competing on each event and the top five scores counting, Oklahoma didn’t have to include a score under 9.90. Their 49.6125 tied them with UCLA, which opened on floor, for the early lead.
From there, the Sooners took control, establishing a .300 lead over the Bruins at the halfway mark and never looking back.
“We did exactly what we do at the gym every single day,” said fifth-year senior Audrey Davis. “We didn’t change it, we didn’t try and be different. We went out there and we did our gymnastics. We left it all out on the floor, we really did. We ended on empty. And that was a big thing for our team, to really go out there and just do our normal, not to be any different, not to put too much pressure on ourselves [and] to really just enjoy it. And it started on beam. We fricking did that and then we went on and on and on and it was just amazing.”
By the time Oklahoma finished its third rotation on vault, further extending its lead, the team was visibly jubilant, dancing as they prepared for their final event.
The final rotation on uneven bars felt more like a victory lap. The Sooners waited to formally celebrate until the final scores were posted, but their excitement was evident. Despite strong performances by UCLA on beam, including 9.9375 scores by Jordan Chiles and Emma Malabuyo, the deficit was too much for the Bruins to overcome.
While UCLA didn’t achieve the result it wanted, the team still had its best finish since 2019 with a second-place result. Chiles had the best all-around score in the competition with a 39.7750.
Utah initially appeared to finish third, but a last-minute score inquiry boosted Missouri’s total, placing the Tigers in third for their best-ever result in their first final appearance. Utah ended in fourth, with many of the Red Rocks, including star senior Grace McCallum, visibly emotional during the trophy presentation.
In stark contrast, the Sooners led a “Boomer Sooner” chant and danced to DJ Khaled’s “All I Do Is Win” as confetti rained down.
The 2024 result served as motivation throughout the preseason and regular season. Despite being ranked No. 1 for much of the season, Kindler and the Sooners referred to themselves as “underdogs” and felt they had something to prove. After falling in the semifinals last season due to landing errors on vault, Oklahoma felt relief after advancing this year, with Kindler expressing gratitude that “the dragon had been slayed.”
With that burden lifted, and perhaps aided by the shocking semifinal elimination of LSU, the defending national champions, the Sooners focused on their performances Saturday. Kindler had emphasized the need to figure this out after their semifinal.
“After advancing, and we got to today, we were free,” Davis said. “We had no weight on our shoulders. We were free to do our best gymnastics.”
Senior Jordan Bowers, who won the individual all-around title Thursday, added, “We were all very present, too. I would say that’s something our coaches have really talked to us about, especially this weekend, [just] being present and not thinking too far ahead or in the past.”
While Kindler and the Sooners might not have been focused on redemption, they achieved it with their remarkable turnaround from a year ago.
With seven team championships, Oklahoma ties with UCLA for third all-time, trailing only Georgia (10) and Utah (9). Although the Sooners are losing Davis, Bowers, and Danielle Sievers, they remain strong contenders for the 2026 title. They return several star underclassmen, including junior Faith Torrez and Pederson. Danae Fletcher, a senior sidelined since the first meet of the 2024 season due to ACL tears, announced she would return for a fifth year.
- Oklahoma Sooners win NCAA women’s gymnastics title with a 198.0125 score.
- UCLA finishes second, marking its best result since 2019.
- Missouri achieves its best-ever result with a third-place finish.
- Utah ends in fourth place after a score inquiry.
Originally Written by: D’Arcy Maine
