OU women's gymnastics: Sooners battle back from falls to win NCAA Regional

Things looked bleak for OU's women's gymnastics team.

Jenna Dunn fell off the balance beam in the leadoff spot in the second rotation of Saturday’s NCAA Regional Finals at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman.

Then Olivia Trautman, usually rock-solid, fell as well, and the top-ranked Sooners were in dire straits.

Forget winning the regional, it was going to be a major feat just for OU to make the NCAA Championships.

But if any team could survive despite having to count a fall in the regionals, it’s the Sooners.

After Dunn’s 9.1 and Trautman’s 9.3 put the Sooners’ string of 17 consecutive berths in the NCAA Championships in question, OU finished strong on the beam to minimize the damage then stormed back in the floor exercise to capture their 13th consecutive regional title with a 198.050.

“Things can happen when you have mistakes on beam. Your team either falls apart or it rises up," Sooners coach K.J. Kindler said. "I really felt like those last four were heroines really in that moment, and going after every tenth not afraid because they know what the consequences of this meet is. You know this is either your last week of the year or you move on, so that was incredible to watch.”

Ninth-ranked Kentucky also advanced to nationals, finishing second at 197.850. No. 16 Ohio State finished third at 197.725 and No. 8 Alabama fourth at 197.650.

The championships will be held April 13 and 15 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Here are four takeaways from the regional final:

More: OU gymnastics team advances to NCAA Regional final along with Ohio State, Kentucky & Alabama

Beam steadies after falls

When Dunn — who was out of the beam lineup in Thursday’s regional semifinals — fell in the leadoff spot on the beam, ESPN-Plus analyst Samantha Peszek was definitive.

“No team can advance after having to count a fall,” Peszek said.

Even before Trautman’s routine started, Peszek walked that back a bit, saying the Sooners were the only team nationally who could battle back from having to count a fall to advance.

She was right.

Trautman slipped too, earning just a 9.3, and the Sooners’ backs were against the wall.

But OU steadied itself, finishing with a 49.075 after being forced to count its first fall of the season.

"I, personally, was doing math in my head the whole time," Kindler said. "So each score that came up, I'm like, 'OK, .125,' and I'm adding to O's (Trautman's) score. ... Because I knew if we got over a 49 even with the fall, I knew that we were in it."

The Sooners hadn’t scored below a 49.325 in any event this season before Saturday.

The Sooners’ strong bars performance in the first rotation and its solid finish to end the beam, kept OU within striking distance.

"Obviously that's a stressful moment," Jordan Bowers, who posted a 9.925 immediately after Trautman's fall, said. "But you just have to take a deep breath and do what you do every single day in practice. It's no different."

OU entered the third rotation in third place at 98.75, behind Kentucky’s 98.950 and Ohio State’s 98.85.

Kindler said Dunn woke up sick, throwing up, around 4 a.m., leaving her status for Saturday doubtful.

“She really, really felt like she could do it and I know she absolutely did her best but I would say she wasn’t 100%.”

More: 'Can I just have a chance?': How OU gymnast Olivia Trautman overcame injury for last run

Floor lineup dominates

It didn’t take long at all for the Sooners to get back on top.

A dominating floor performance, highlighted by back-to-back-to-back 9.95s from Jordan Bowers, Danielle Sievers and Faith Torrez helped boost the Sooners to a 49.675 on floor.

"After beam, we were like, 'All right, let's get this thing going. We still have a chance. We're in this. Let's finish this,'" Bowers said. "We've worked way too hard not to be there."

It was tied for the fifth-best floor score in program history and second-best this season.

After the third rotation, OU was already back on top, leading Kentucky 148.425-148.4.

Kindler altered the floor lineup a bit, as Danae Fletcher competed there for the first time since March 6.

Kindler opted to put Fletcher last, to give Bowers, Sievers and Audrey Davis a bit extra time to recover from their floor routines before moving to vault.

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Sooners improve on landings

In Thursday’s regional semifinals, the Sooners struggled with landings, sticking just three of 18 possible landings.

But OU was much better Saturday, showing the difference from the start, as shown by a 49.675 in the uneven bars in the first rotation.

Bowers, who had a 10 Thursday, delivered the highlight of the rotation with a 9.975. Audrey Davis anchored the lineup with a 9.95 and Trautman had a 9.95 as well.

“We started off on bars hot and it was essential,” Kindler said. “We just didn’t know how essential it was.”

The Sooners’ score was tied for its sixth best in the event all-time, and was the third time OU had posted that number this season.

The Sooners are the top-ranked bars team in the nation this season.

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LeVasseur goes perfect

By the time Katherine LeVasseur came up third in the vault rotation, the Sooners were already firmly back in command.

But LeVasseur put the exclamation point on the comeback with her third perfect 10 of the season in the event.

LeVasseur had perfect 10s against West Virginia on Feb. 24 and Arizona State on March 12 and had one last year.

"Ending on vault, it's such a fun event to end on because it's just a power event and we get to just let it all out," LeVasseur said.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU women's gymnastics bounces back from two falls to win NCAA Regional