Metroplex Challenge Evening Session

Recap

The Big Storyline: The Crimson Tide had a standout performance and showed off the full capabilities of its roster, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Sooners who have been stellar all season long. The meet came down to the final routines, as Alabama had a trio of vault event winners to close its night, but Jordan Bowers finished things off for Oklahoma to seal the win. Both Arkansas and Stanford posted new top away totals in 2023, while the Cardinal’s was also good enough for a season high.

Implications: With impressive performances from each team, all scores will be helpful for their NQS that will debut after next weekend. Alabama should see some improvement in its national ranking as well. This also counts as a Pac-12 loss for Stanford against Utah, who competed in the afternoon session of this meet, as the two schools don’t have a dual scheduled against one another this year.

Controversies: The meet did not have streaming or live scoring for fans not in attendance to be able to follow along.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 11 Alabama, No. 16 Arkansas and No. 24 Stanford

Why You Should Cancel Plans for It: Podium meets always make for thrilling competition, and with a session loaded with top 25 teams, this should be no exception. The Sooners have been the best team in the country to this point but will be tested again by the Crimson Tide and Razorbacks, each of who have been trending up, distancing themselves from slow starts, and looking capable of challenging for nationals.

What We’re Watching: So many of the Sooners are on 10-watch, but it’s Audrey Davis and her stellar bars set that’s never reached perfection yet consistently hits 9.975 that you’ll want to keep an eye on. Alabama’s Luisa Blanco enters the weekend after a 10 on beam in her last meet as the senior is starting to get back to top form in the all-around. Norah Flatley is also an all-around threat, helping out the most on bars and helping get the Razorbacks on track to potentially make it back to nationals. Anna Roberts has been leading the Cardinal despite her rookie status.