FORT WORTH, TEXAS – APRIL 17: University of Oklahoma celebrate during a floor routine during the … More
The Oklahoma Sooners women’s gymnastics team returned to the top of the collegiate ranks on Saturday, capturing the national championship at the ‘Four on the Floor’ finals. Oklahoma edged out runner-up UCLA, with Missouri and Utah finishing third and fourth, respectively.
Official Results
- Oklahoma: 198.0125
- UCLA: 197.6125
- Missouri; 197.250
- Utah: 197.2375
Rotation One:
This marks the Sooners’ seventh national title, with all seven coming under Head Coach K.J. Kindler. With their win, they tie the UCLA Bruins with total championships.
Broadcast live on ABC and Disney+, this final four field was unprecedented. No. 7 Missouri made its first appearance in the final in program history, alongside three of the winningest programs in gymnastics: Utah, UCLA, and Oklahoma.
“We need to compete with more freedom,” said K.J. Kindler in Thursday’s post-meet presser. The Sooners did just that in Fort Worth, leading from start to finish.
Missouri started the meet on vault, Utah on bars, Oklahoma on beam, and UCLA on floor. The Sooners and Bruins were lights out on their respective events to tie for the lead after one. Oklahoma stuck five of six landings, while Olympic Champion Jordan Chiles posted a massive 9.975 on floor, the highest score this week in Fort Worth.
The Utah Red Rocks struggled to find their landings throughout much of the rotation, but delivered key 9.9+ routines from Ella Zirbes and 2021 Olympic silver medalist Grace McCallum.
Though Missouri improved on their vault total from Thursday’s semifinals, they only found one stuck landing from senior Amari Celestine.
After One Rotation: 1-T. UCLA: 49.6125 1-T. Oklahoma: 49.6125 3. Utah: 49.450, 4. Missouri: 49.200
Rotation Two:
In rotation two, the Sooners headed to floor, an event where they are the No. 1 team in the nation. UCLA went to vault, one of their weaker events, Utah to beam, and Missouri to uneven bars.
After their stellar start, the Sooners kept the ball rolling on the floor with another huge rotation. All six athletes hit, and no routine went below 9.85. Faith Torrez capped off the rotation with a near-perfect 9.965, a score that would have tied with UCLA’s Brooklyn Moors for the event title on Thursday.
Over on vault, the Bruins looked to minimize the damage of competing on their weakest event. While sticks were rare, with the only one coming from star senior Chae Campbell, the Bruins posted a 49.2875, good enough to secure the second spot.
After struggling through the event on Thursday, the beam woes continued for Utah. The team posted just a 9.6-score in the leadoff, then incurred a surprising fall from McCallum. Late lineup edition Elizabeth Ganter delivered amidst the pressure, helping stop the bleeding to hold third place.
On bars, Missouri continued to miss their landings despite strong routines on the bars. Amari Celestine was a highlight once again, delivering a team-high 9.8625.
After Two Rotations: 1. Oklahoma: 99.200 2. UCLA: 98.900, 3. Utah: 98.6375, 4. Missouri: 98.3750.
Rotation Three:
At the halfway point, the Sooners started to pull away, but the Bruins continued to hang on, just three tenths back. In rotation three, the Sooners would face vault, their 2024 nemesis.
While K.J. Kindler said the 2024 dragon ‘has been slain,’ today’s rotation would be the real test. Torrez was a highlight once again, sticking her Yurchenko 1.5, to redeem her 2024 vault error. While Torrez’ vault was the only stick, the Sooners stayed on their feet to deliver a hit rotation. Bottom line – vault was behind them.
Over on bars, the UCLA Bruins couldn’t strike the 9.90 threshold until the last routine. After a subpar 9.7 score from one of their top bar workers, UCLA needed a huge hit from Jordan Chiles, the newly minted uneven bars champion. Chiles delivered, sticking her massive double layout dismount for a 9.965 to keep the Bruins in the hunt.
The Utes nailed their floor routines during Thursday’s semifinals for a 49.5625, but weren’t quite as precise today in Fort Worth. Utah went 49.475, with the highlight coming from freshman phenom Avery Neff’s 9.9125.
The Tigers knocked out the No. 3 Gators on Thursday after a spectacular performance on beam. They would need another stellar rotation to keep themselves in the hunt. Though the sticks weren’t as contagious today for Mizzou, NCAA Beam Champion Helen Hu was spectacular again, posting a 9.965 and bringing all four fanbases to their feet in Dickies Arena.
After Three Rotations: 1. Oklahoma: 148.6475, 2. UCLA: 148.300, 3. Utah: 148.1125, 4. Missouri: 147.725
Rotation Four:
Heading into the final rotation, it was Oklahoma’s title to lose.
With just over a three-tenth lead, the Sooners could clinch their seventh NCAA title with a hit bar rotation. UCLA rotated to one of their best events, balance beam, while Utah finished on vault and Missouri on floor.
They had the advantage, but the Bruins have the national record on beam. If the Sooners slip up, UCLA could be poised to pounce.
However, senior Danielle Sievers stuck her full-twisting double tuck in the leadoff spot without a flicker for a 9.865. Four more routines, and the title would return to Norman. Though the Sooners continued to hit, they did not strike 9.9+ until the routine from 2024 NCAA bars champion Audrey Davis.
After stepping out of her dismount on Thursday, Davis nearly stuck the skill, earning a 9.925 from the judges and clinching the title for the Sooners. The title was theirs before NCAA all-around champion Jordan Bowers’ final routine.
With the pressure off, Bowers hit her routine with a small step on landing, bringing the Sooners fanbase to their feet. Though their competition wasn’t perfect, it was more than enough to clinch the crown.
On the opposite end of the arena, UCLA made things interesting with a trio of huge hit exercises from Chiles, Emma Malabuyo, and Emily Lee. However, two error-filled routines kept the program’s eighth title out of reach.
The Bruins will finish as Runner-Up, their best finish since winning the title in 2018, and their best finish under Head Coach Janelle McDonald.
While Utah initially secured third place, a late video review bumped the Missouri Tigers over the Utes. With their third-place finish, Mizzou secured its best women’s gymnastics result in program history. The result was disappointing for Utah after they posted the top score in the semifinal round.
After Four Rotations: 1. Oklahoma: 198.0125, 2. UCLA: 197.6125, 3. Missouri: 197.250, 4. Utah: 197.2375.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolineprice/2025/04/19/oklahoma-sooners-win-2025-ncaa-gymnastics-championship/