Undefeated oklahoma Sooners arrived in Fort Worth, Texas in the last April as a clear favorite to win the National Championship. He was a two -time defending champion, the top -ranked team throughout the season and was fresh from his latest conference title. A seventh national title – in only 10 years – would strengthen the position of the dynasty of the program and looked well within the access.
But this did not happen.
The team opened its semi -final meat on the vault, an event that they finished regular season at number 1 – and it was almost clear that it would not be a simple meeting. In the lead-off position, Faith Torage, then a Sophomore, reduced his yuchenko 1.5 and failed in his college’s career on the vault.
The crowd pants to the audible.
A few minutes later, competing with a vault similar to the tijori, the then-oriented Jordan Bovers took several deep steps on their landing. Catherine Levasur, a senior, a similar error.
“This is a shocking and destructive,” commentator Elli Rayasman said after the vault of Levasasur on ESPN broadcast.
Sooners recorded 48.325 since 2008 – his lowest vault score – and moved to the second rotation in the final place in the semi -finals. Despite a brave attempt, with each individual, with Torrence and Senior Audrey Davis, each individual adopted individual NCAA titles, so that Suuners could not overcome their start. Two days later, instead of competing for the team title, they returned home in Norman what could happen. This was the first time in 12 years when Oklahoma did not compete in the championship meat.
About 10 months Later, that meeting has taken a new meaning for those, such as Torage, Bovers and Davis, who live with sons. Number 1 was re-ranked at number 1 and an undefined record is against the No. 2 LSU entering Friday’s Must-Met Meet (ET 2) against the No. 2 LSU, Sooners insisted that they only see it as inspiration in the new year.
“This burnt a fire under my butt,” Davis, now a fifth year senior, told ESPN. “I came here and I like, ‘Hey, this is my last year. I am going to go out as the best gymnast that I can be.” And I think the same is the same for the team, everyone feels that we really focus on the details (in the Presiden) and what we know to do. ,
Torage took his positive positive on it after some time to process the results.
“The one who is still still standing for me, is how much we fought after falling. We kept fighting and ‘it did not end until it is not more than the’ mindset ’till the very end.
The disappointing semi -final result had another unexpected effect that it created a vulnerability with both gymnast and coach. Head coach KJ Kindleer said that his employees made “conscious efforts” in team chemistry, promoted relationships and conducted team-building exercises in Presiden. He said that he encouraged everyone to share more with each other beyond the surface level, and it created a belief that they did not have before.
In August, Suuners traveled to the city of Rastic Lakeside in Broken Bo, Oklahoma, for a retreat, about four hours from the campus. Living together in cabins, they spent the weekend in doing team-bonding activities, trying to learn as much as they were trying to include their peers and six new people of the squad.
“” We had a lot of funny small activities that we really did to learn each other on such a deep level, “Bovers, now a senior, told ESPN.” This is the closest team that I have ever lived. Everyone has a back of each other. We are all competing for the same thing, and we are doing it together, which really matters. “
And when the sons know that other people are still talking about their semi -final performance, they did not spend much time to stay on it during the Presiden. They did not need it.
“We are underdog this season,” Kindler told ESPN last month. “We have not been able to tell ourselves in a long time and it is a different mentality, but I think it’s a good. We are rallied around it and believe that we have a lot to prove. … We ourselves what happened, whatever happened we are accountable to what happened. We are a mistake. We make a mistake. We are not humans.” To improve us. “
But when they can call themselves a Dalit person, their results tell a different story.
In the first season competition, a quad, Oklahoma against Obern, Byu and Nebraska, recorded the top score among all the teams of the country with 197.550. Toraz won the all-round title. The redemption mission was officially running.
Davis said after the first meeting, “We are not defending anything, we are not national champions. We are coming this season and we are committing crime.” “We are doing gymnastics that we know how to do. My motto has been my whole life, ‘You are like the other, you are like another, you compete as before,’ and now it’s true and it is working hard to us.”
The next week came up against the Star-Stad Sprouts Kisan Market Collage Quad in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (197.950) National Champion LSU (197.650), California (197.275) and Utah (196.800). The Bovers took Davis (Bars) and Torrence (Beam) home with each winning event title.
“It’s not that Florida or LSU fans liked us first.”
OU head coach KJ Kindleer on attending SEC conference
Kindleer said in the context of the teams’ caliber, meditation and arena setting compared to the National Championship, “(this) is a great experience to be in your pocket.” She was happy to see how her gymnast performed “under such pressure” at the beginning of the season.
Since the victory of that statement, Suuners has started the conference competition. After years of dominating Big 12, Oklahoma joined SEC in sports before the current academic year. The most competitive conference in gymnastics, and regularly for its unruly fans who pack Arenas, Kindleer was excited for the challenge.
Kinder said, “We know that the environment we are going to be unstable, but we are using it and it was equally difficult when we competed against these schools and were not in the conference.” “It’s not that Florida or LSU fans liked us first.”
Oklahoma won his official SEC opener at home against Missouri on 17 January, and defeated Alabama, Arkansas and Kentki since then. After the week 6, Torage, Bover and Davis are all ranked in the top four at the national level. Davis is currently the top ranked gymnasts on bars and Oklahoma is both bar and the number 1 as a team on the beam. Sooners SEC is the only remaining undefined team.
But the team will be the most difficult test of the team facing LSU in the baton Roose and perhaps a regular season’s marquee meat. Tigers have defending NCAA all-round champions in Hail Bryant and have the number 1 ranked team on Walt. Sunis know that it will be a fight, but the Torrence was re -missing the opportunity.
“I am very excited,” said Torches. “I always watch SEC on TV and I love energy levels. Fans are crazy And every meeting always looks like a big meeting. It is enjoying going into those atmosphere. I can’t wait. ,
And the torrence is not alone with that feeling. LSU head coach J. Clarke is also ready for matchup on Friday and is likely to face the team several times every season. “Oklahoma brings a lot to SEC,” Clarke told ESPN. “They are now the standard of gold at the national level for a better part of a decade and models of stability and stability.”
But he could not help, but could add a warning.
“I think it would be a big adjustment for them (compared to other teams at the conference) because we all beat each other after the week,” he said. “They have not yet to run that gountlet yet.”
No matter whether Oklahoma will be focused on redemption against LSU or during any part of the conference schedule. Team people have adopted their position as under-the-warder underdog, even though no one in the country considers them as such, and expects to use them as fuel till the championship again in Fort Worth till the championship on 19 April.
Davis said, “Every day we are pushing ourselves a little better than tomorrow and we are really working hard to do something important.”
It was asked to clarify what is “something important”, Davis did not require a stagnation or a moment to think before answering.
“This is definitely a national championship,” he said. “I mean, the goal of all the top teams is to win one, but when you walk in our (practice) gym, you look at Maggi (Nichols), you see all these incredible gymnasts who have won so many national championships (on the wall) and you are liked, ‘I am going to be like them.” So this is your goal and this is what you want to do.
