Down go the champs! The two-time defending champion Oklahoma Sooners women’s gymnastics team failed to advance to Saturday’s final after finishing in third-place in yesterday’s second semifinal session.
Oklahoma had been ranked No. 1 for the entire season and has taken part in the NCAA Championship meet since 2013. The juggernaut Sooners finished behind both Utah and Florida.
Utah won the second session with an impressive score of 197.9375. The Utes were followed by the Gators, who scored 197.8750. The back-to-back champion Sooners came up just a bit short with a score of 196.6625. Utah and Florida will compete against LSU (198.1125) and California (197.7125) — the two top teams from the first semifinal — on Saturday for a chance to win a National Championship.
“It wasn’t as we scripted it, but we’ve taken great pride in winning and we’ll take great pride in losing,” Oklahoma coach K.J. Kindler said. “This was character-building for this team — they fought back hard — and it was emotional, and I give them all the credit for gutting it out through the whole end of it. It was tough.”
Both California and LSU will be competing for their first National Championship, while Florida is attempting to win its fourth title. Utah has won nine National Championships — the second-most all-time — but is looking for its first triumph since 1995.
