PHOTO ESSAY: NCAA National Championships Team Final

April 21, 2019 College Gym News Event Coverage, Featured Carousel, Features, NCAA WAG, Recap

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It was a feat in and of itself for Denver to make it to the national final, and while it put up a good fight, it couldn’t match the performances the other squads had. Nevertheless, the Pioneers finished a historic fourth to cap off a record-breaking season. (Photo/Emily Howell-Forbes, [email protected])

UCLA wasn’t on its A-game from the start Saturday, suffering little bobbles and balance checks that added up from some of its normal rocks in junior Madison Kocian (pictured) and senior Katelyn Ohashi. (Photo/Emily Howell-Forbes, [email protected])

The Sooners started their night off with a bang, tallying 49.4500 to lead the field after one despite it being their lowest event total of the night. The success continued on beam, thanks in part to junior Maggie Nichols’ 9.9625 to anchor the lineup. On day one, no gymnast scored above a 9.9500 on any event. (Photo/Emily Howell-Forbes, [email protected])

The minor troubles continued on floor for the Bruins where a couple of out of bounds deductions forcing the team to count a lower-than-normal score. An injury was even submitted for Hano’s instance, but it was ultimately rejected. (Photo/Emily Howell-Forbes, [email protected])

In the final routine of her career, senior Katelyn Ohashi performed her viral routine one last time, scoring a 9.9500 to keep UCLA in the meet and bring its rotation total to 49.3000 despite the earlier mishaps. (Photo/Emily Howell-Forbes, [email protected])

The Sooners showed a blip of weakness on floor when sophomore Evy Schoepfer had an unfortunate fall on one of her passes. However, the remaining competitors all scored 9.8875 or above, including Trautman’s 9.9500 to anchor, to bring still finish with a huge 49.6500 event total. (Photo/Emily Howell-Forbes, [email protected])

Coming into the meet, many thought the story would be about Oklahoma and UCLA, meaning LSU flew somewhat under the radar. But the Tigers settled into second and found a nice groove on beam to finish with a 49.4625. Sophomore Sami Durante (pictured) hit a 9.8750 in the four-hole to contribute. (Photo/Emily Howell-Forbes, [email protected])

Sarah Finnegan nailed one final beam routine of her career for a huge 9.950. The senior won the unofficial all around on Saturday with a 39.7625, a number higher than the winning total from a day ago. (Photo/Emily Howell-Forbes, [email protected])

Oklahoma, the only team showing six 10.0 start value vaults in Fort Worth, annihilated every landing on the event on Saturday. Senior Nicole Lehrmann only learned her Yurchenko one and a half this season but has a knack for sticking it cold. She did so here for a 9.9000. (Photo/Emily Howell-Forbes, [email protected])

With the Bruins almost certainly out of the title chase, the final rotation was about capping off the meet as best they could. Junior Kyla Ross, who had a lackluster performance in the semifinals on bars, redeemed herself, scoring a 9.9500. (Photo/Emily Howell-Forbes, [email protected])

With the Bruins’ meet done and the team sitting in third, Valorie Kondos-Field took in every last moment on the floor. At the beginning of the season, the longtime UCLA head coach announced that this year would be her last. (Photo/Emily Howell-Forbes, [email protected])

Oklahoma couldn’t have ended its meet in a better way. Senior Brenna Dowell, in her last performance ever, drilled her vault landing, receiving the highest single score of the championships with a 9.9875. (Photo/Emily Howell-Forbes, [email protected])

Despite being unable to catch Oklahoma, LSU’s McKenna Kelley performed her heart out on floor for what is potentially her final routine as a Tiger. The senior, who is still deciding whether to come back for a fifth year, was the lone final competitor in the arena of 8,000-plus fans, scoring a 9.9500 to end on a high. (Photo/Emily Howell-Forbes, [email protected])

The Sooners had to wait for the official word, but it was all but guaranteed that they would claim the 2019 national title with their massive score of 198.3375. The team was untouchable from the word go and ultimately cruised to victory in Fort Worth. (Photo/Emily Howell-Forbes, [email protected])

The reality finally set in that Oklahoma would win its fourth national title, and the gymnasts finally gave into their emotions. Another of the team’s championships also occurred in Fort Worth. (Photo/Emily Howell-Forbes, [email protected])

Oklahoma head coach KJ Kindler gives a few final words after the team is named the 2019 national champion. Kindler has transformed the program in Norman, leading it to its fourth title in six years. (Photo/Emily Howell-Forbes, [email protected])

After a rough start to the season, being upset by both Auburn and Kentucky, the Tigers’ ability to make it to this point was in doubt. But the team worked hard to iron out the kinks and tied for its highest finish ever at a national championship. (Photo/Emily Howell-Forbes, [email protected])

One of the greatest overall gymnasts in LSU history and a part of the most decorated class the program has ever seen, Sarah Finnegan officially says goodbye to gymnastics after receiving one final message from head coach D-D Breaux. (Photo/Emily Howell-Forbes, [email protected])

Oklahoma outpaced the rest of the field by a whopping 0.5125 after narrowly losing out on the title by 0.0275 in 2018, which inspired the team’s hashtag #pztsf. LSU placed second, followed by UCLA and Denver. (Photo/Emily Howell-Forbes, [email protected])

As the colored confetti fell to the ground and the arena slowly emptied, the gymnasts danced to celebrate the end of another NCAA gymnastics season. (Photo/Emily Howell-Forbes, [email protected])

Photographs by Emily Howell-Forbes, essay by Elizabeth Grimsley

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