Sooners Set For West Virginia Road Trip

NOTES AND NUMBERS FOR MEET THREE

MEET BASICS

The No. 2 Oklahoma women’s gymnastics team will travel east for the first Big 12 matchup of the season when they take on West Virginia Friday in Morgantown. The meet is set for a 6 p.m. CT start on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

This is the first of back-to-back meets against the Mountaineers for the Sooners. The two teams will face each other in Norman on Jan. 31.

LOOK BACK AT IT

The Sooners knocked off No. 3 Utah on Sunday with a 197.025-196.550 victory inside the LNC. OU won three of four event titles with senior Anastasia Webb taking home vault, freshman Audrey Davis taking home bars and Emma LaPinta earning a share of the floor title. Davis set a career-high on bars with a 9.9, while LaPinta tied her career high on floor with a 9.9. Katherine LeVasseur earned a career best on vault with a 9.875 and Jenna Dunn added a season-high 9.9 on beam.

STEADY AS SHE GOES

The Sooners remained steady as the No. 2 team in the country with a 197.238 average after the first two weeks of competition. Florida remained at No. 1 with a 197.375 average. Michigan (197.225) and Minnesota (197.025) made their debut in the top five after competing for the first time in 2021 over the weekend. LSU (196.913) rounded out the top five teams. OU holds the No. 2 spot on bars (49.363), the No. 3 spot on beam (49.313), the No. 4 spot on vault (49.238) and ranks sixth on floor (49.325).

KINDLER VS. THE BIG 12

In 15 seasons, Kindler is 78-3 against current and former members of the Big 12 (not including regionals and NCAA Championships). Against current members of league (Denver, Iowa State, West Virginia), Kindler is undefeated in the regular season with a 39-0 record. At the Big 12 Championship, she is undefeated against current members with a 13-0 record against Iowa State, 7-0 record against West Virginia and 4-0 over Denver.

SEEING DOUBLE

Due to the Big 10 and SEC choosing to compete within conference only, the Sooners will see a handful of teams multiple times in 2021. OU and West Virginia will go back-to-back, competing against each other on Jan. 22 in Morgantown and Jan. 31 in Norman. The two teams will meet for a third time at the Big 12 Championships in late March.

The Sooners will face the Pioneers of Denver three times as well. OU will travel to Denver on Feb. 7 with the Pioneers making the return trip on Feb. 26. OU and TWU will also do a home-and-home with TWU coming to Norman on Feb. 26 and the Sooners traveling to Denton, Texas, on March 7.

WEBB HONORED BY THE BIG 12

After picking up a win over No. 3 Utah on Sunday afternoon, senior Anastasia Webb has been named the Big 12 Gymnast of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday.The honor is the 12th total of Webb’s career and her fifth Gymnast of the Week honor.

Webb played a pivotal role in OU’s defeat of No. 3 Utah. Her season-high 9.925 on vault secured her fourth event title of the season and first on vault. The Morton Grove, Ill., native also posted a team-best 9.900 on beam and a 39.525 in the all-around. Webb notched matching 9.850s on bars and floor to help lead the Sooners to their 39th-consecutive meet with a score of 197-plus.

ROAD WARRIORS

The Sooners will compete away from the LNC for the first time in 2021 when they travel to West Virginia Friday. 2021 marked the first time since 2017 that the Sooners did not start the season on the road.

Though the trip is the only away meet for OU in the month of January, the Sooners will spend much of February and March away from home. OU will face West Virginia, Denver (Feb. 7), Iowa State, Centenary and TWU (Feb. 13), NC State and George Washington (Feb. 19), TWU (March 7) and Iowa State (March 14) on the road.

The Sooners will be away from Norman for the first three weekends in February. In March, the Sooners will be at home for the final time on March 5, before spending the remainder of the season on the road. 

QUICK HITS

• OU was ranked No. 2 in the WCGA preseason coaches poll, the seventh-straight season the Sooners have been ranked in the top two to begin the year.
• Head coach K.J. Kindler is just seven victories away from reaching her 400th win as the head coach of the Sooners. Kindler is also 13 wins away from tallying her 500th win as a head coach as she spent six seasons as the head coach at Iowa State.
• Oklahoma’s roster this season features 12 returning gymnasts from the 2020 squad including three who combined for seven All-America honors in senior Anastasia Webb, junior Allie Stern and sophomore Ragan Smith.
• The Sooners will be featured on ESPN networks twice during the regular season: vs. Utah (Jan. 17) and vs. West Virginia (Jan. 31).

SCOUTING REPORT

West Virginia has yet to compete in 2021 and will opening their season on Friday when OU heads to Morgantown. In 2020, West Virginia was 6-1 at home and 5-7 away from Morgantown, finishing 11-8 overall. The Sooners are 19-1 against the Mountaineers and haven’t lost since to WVU 1990.

UP NEXT

The Sooners will host West Virginia on Sunday, Jan. 31, at the LNC. The meet is slated for a 7 p.m. CT start on ESPNU.