Utah at Oklahoma

Recap

The Big Storyline: The Sooners rallied after a season-ending leg injury to freshman Audrey Lynn during vault warm-ups to beat the Red Rocks in the teams’ first regular season match-up since 1992. Head Coach KJ Kindler said her team was shaken after Lynn went down. “I could sense some enthusiasm missing. We just weren’t quite ourselves today, to be honest, and that’s OK. This is a very difficult time. We are just starting out this season and there’s a lot of learning to be done, so today we are going to learn from that.” 

Implications: Oklahoma retained its No. 2 ranking while Utah dropped to No. 6. Both teams will be competing largely within their respective conferences or local match-ups for the remainder of the regular season. “To go against No. 3 in your second week is awesome,” Kindler said. “It’s a great opportunity, and at the end of the day we came out with a win.” 

Records: Utah sophomore Maile O’Keefe earned a career high on vault (9.875), as well as in the all around. Oklahoma junior Emma LaPinta matched her career high to take a share of the floor title while senior Jordan Draper earned a career high 9.850 on bars for the second week in a row. Draper—a mainstay of the Sooners’ floor lineup—said: “I am really enjoying it. It’s a dream to be able to compete for the Oklahoma bars lineup.”

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 3 Utah at No. 2 Oklahoma

Why You Should Cancel Plans for It: Utah is one of the most storied programs in NCAA gymnastics history. Oklahoma is the breakout team of the past decade, and the only team with a current head coach with a national title. What more could you want from the current Nos. 2 and 3? This could turn out to be a preview of a clash we’ll see repeated in Fort Worth in April, with Florida thrown in the mix.

What We’re Watching: Both Utah and Oklahoma showed a weaker event in their respective season debuts. Utah struggled on bars relative to its other events, and the Sooners put up some lower numbers than they’d prefer on floor. Both teams will want to clean up those events this weekend. The all around battle is also shaping up to be a fascinating one: Anastasia Webb is the favorite, but Utes Cristal Isa and Maile O’Keefe are right on her heels.

What Else You Should Know Before Tuning In: This could be one of your only chances to easily tune into an Oklahoma meet this season, unless you have access to FSOK, as it’ll be broadcast on ESPN2. It’s also your last chance to see Utah in action until…who knows when? We’re still awaiting the rest of the Utes’—and the whole Pac-12’s—schedule. Don’t let this opportunity go to waste!