On Facebook
On Flipboard
On Twitter
It’s another national championship for Oklahoma.
The Sooners and coach K.J. Kindler added to their incredible NCAA women’s gymnastics dynasty on Saturday with a dominant, wire-to-wire victory in Fort Worth.
The talent gathered at Dickey’s Arena was formidable, but No. 2-ranked OU, competing in the championship finals for the 11th time in the last 12 years, looked comfortable and confident as the Sooners outscored UCLA, Utah and Missouri to secure the program’s seventh national championship.
OU finished with a 198.0125.
Since 2016, OU has won six national titles: 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2025.
Oklahoma jumped to the pole position on the first rotation, tying with UCLA for first with a score of 49.6125 on balance beam (the Bruins opened on the floor exercise).
The Sooners were fantastic across the board as Audrey Davis and Addison Fatta both opened with 9.9000, followed by Lily Pederson’s 9.9375 — a score that Jordan Bowers duplicated. That left it open for Keira Wells, who scored 9.8500, and Faith Torrez, who stuck a 9.9375.
In the second rotation, OU moved to floor and gained some separation with a stellar 49.5875 (UCLA stayed in second with a 49.2875 on the vault).
The veteran Davis again led off for Oklahoma with a 9.8875. Daniel Sievers followed that up with a 9.9125, and Elle Mueller continued the streak with a 9.9000. After Fatta’s 9.825, the Sooners truly separated with a 9.9250 by Bowers and a 9.9625 by Torrez.
At the midway point, OU built a substantial lead — 99.2000, ahead of UCLA’s 98.9000, Utah’s 98.6375 and Mizzou’s 98.3750. That wasn’t enough for K.J. Kindler’s squad, who scored a series of sub-9.9s on vault in Thursday’s semifinal but attacked the apparatus this time.
After Pederson opened with a 9.8625, Torrez slammed down a 9.9375, Wells dropped a 9.9000, and Fatta carded a 9.9250. That left plenty of cushion for Mueller, who took a big step on her landing and scored 9.8125. It was then up to Bowers to score big on her vault and all but clinch the title with one rotation left, but Bowers also had a huge hop on the landing and recorded a 9.7375.
Despite the two unexpected stumbles, OU actually extended its lead after three rotations, scoring 49.4375 on the vault and building a 0.3375-point lead over the Bruins, 149.6375 to 148.3000. That sent the Sooners and Bruins to arguably their best events — OU to the parallel bars and UCLA to the beam.
Sievers got things going for OU on the final rotation with a 9.8750, and Pederson laid down a 9.8000. Fatta was next and came up with a 9.8375.
Meanwhile, UCLA started strong on the beam with a 9.9250 from Emily Lee, but Katelyn Rosen scored a 9.7250. Jordan Chiles scored big on her routine with a 9.9375, putting pressure on the rest of OU’s athletes.
Torrez came up with a 9.8500 for OU, and Chae Campbell scored a 9.6875 for the Bruins, placing all hopes on the final two gymnasts.
OU’s Audrey Davis executed a captivating routine with plenty of air on her release, then nearly stuck her landing to score a huge 9.9250, while UCLA’s Ciena Alipio took a big hop on her dismount and scored 9.7875 — clinching it for the Sooners with their best gymnast still to go.
Bowers knocked it out of the park with a 9.8875, plenty to take home the trophy. That pushed the Sooners to a 49.3750, while UCLA scored a 49.3125.
More must-reads:
- Bills GM says James Cook decision was 'disappointing'
- Rams share worrisome Matthew Stafford update ahead of preseason opener
- The 'NFL mascot names' quiz
Breaking News
Trending News
Customize Your Newsletter
+
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!
TODAY'S BEST
'This Group Has Been Great': New Indiana Basketball Culture Rooted in Energy, Enthusiasm
OKC Thunder Forward Impressing at EuroBasket
The Oklahoma City Thunder are set to embark on an important season when it comes to making a decision on the No. 11 pick of the 2022 NBA Draft, Ousmane Dieng. Dieng enters the final year of his rookie contract and is set to be a restricted free agent following the 2025-26 campaign. The Thunder have rarely allowed players to hit restricted free agency after their rookie deals, often trading them before they get the chance –– most recently with former No. 6 overall pick Josh Giddey, who was shipped to the windy city last summer in favor of Alex Caruso, who eventually re-signed in Bricktown last December. This summer, the still just 22-year-old will head overseas to take part in EuroBasket with Team France. There is no question that this is a massive opportunity for Dieng, even to just practice with and play in the exhibition stage against the high-quality NBA players around him all August. For the exhibition play of EuroBasket, Dieng is flanked by ten other players with NBA experience, headlined by youngsters Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher. At a practice for Team France, Dieng was filmed sinking multiple half-court shots at the end of the team's shoot-around. The young wing appears confident and comfortable in this environment, which has a chance to make him tangibly better next season. Dieng would be far from the first player to come back from an international summer competition a better player. This could go a long way in Dieng defining himself as an NBA player long-term and perhaps sticking around Bricktown longer than most peg him to. Team France EuroBasket Schedule Aug. 4 vs. Montenegro Aug. 8 vs. Great Britain Aug. 14 vs. Spain Aug. 16 vs. Spain Aug. 24 vs. Greece Aug. 28 vs. Belgium Aug. 30 vs. Slovenia Aug. 31 vs. Israel Sept. 2 vs Poland Sept. 4 vs. Iceland It is unclear what Dieng's role will be with Team France, especially once they leave exhibition play, but the Oklahoma City Thunder forward should be able to gain plenty from this experience competing for his country. This marks a busy year for Dieng, who saw his NBA commitment span from October until late June and now will be involved in Eurobasket until September with NBA training camp opening up at the end of that month for an ever-important 2025-26 campaign for the former lottery pick. The Eurobasket will offer basketball fans another avenue to get their fix of hoops during the NBA offseason with plenty of high-profile competing throughout the event.
Aaron Boone addresses Alex Rodriguez’s criticism of Yankees
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone responded Sunday, one day after Alex Rodriguez suggested his team lacks discipline and accountability. On FOX’s MLB pregame show Saturday, Rodriguez questioned the “accountability” of the Yankees after Boone did not pull Jazz Chisholm from Saturday’s loss to Miami after the infielder made a brutal baserunning blunder. Rodriguez suggested that the Yankees do not face consequences for such mistakes, and that it has contributed to further errors. “If any one of us made a mistake, we would be sitting our butt right on the bench,” Rodriguez said. “I see mistake after mistake, and there’s no consequences.” Boone took issue with those remarks when asked about them on Sunday. He said he accepts that the Yankees will always face added scrutiny, but that he disagreed with the substance of Rodriguez’s remarks. “I would disagree a little bit with the accountability factor, but the reality is, we’re focused every day on being the best we can be,” Boone said, via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. “That’s how we have to do it. But I understand when it doesn’t happen, or we don’t have the record that I think we should have, or certainly people think we should have — that comes with the territory.” Boone is known for keeping things positive publicly, even when things are going poorly for the Yankees. That has led to some criticism from fans, who feel that he goes too easy on his players when they are underperforming. The team’s recent stretch of mediocre play combined with a lack of consequences for errors like Chisholm’s have reinforced those critiques. The Yankees lost again on Sunday and were swept by the Marlins, dropping them to 60-51 on the season. Until the team starts consistently winning again, Boone is going to hear more comments like Rodriguez’s.
Green Bay Packers: Jordan Love’s ‘Fiery’ Response to Wife’s Take on Franchise’s Timeless Tradition
Green Bay Packers star quarterback Jordan Love and his wife, Ronika Stone Love, are truly in, well, love. The couple just got married in June, and with the Packers deep into their preparation for the upcoming 2025 NFL season, Ronika shows full support for her husband. In a social media post on Instagram, Ronika shared a series of photos from last Saturday’s Packers Family Night at Lambeau Field. The first photo on the post shows a happy Ronika in the arms of the former Utah State Aggies star signal-caller. “My version of a Lambeau Leap,” Ronika wrote as a caption. Last season, Love played in 15 games, throwing for a total of 3,389 passing yards to go along with 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. That year was considered a down one for Love, but many expect him to come up with a bigger performance in 2025, as Green Bay looks to surpass its 11-win total in 2024. Fans react to Jordan Love’s wife’s Green Bay Packers Lambeau Leap Apart from Love, many others reacted to Ronika’s heartwarming post. Here are some of them: “Two Green Bay 10’s right there,” said a fan. Another one said: “Hair looks amazing” From a commenter: “Awhhhh y’all are so cute!! And I’m obsessed with the hair it’s giving SZA!! ” “Love the Loves!,” a social media user posted. Via a different commenter: “your outfit is adorable” Said another: “I love the fit! Both of yall ”
Milwaukee Brewers: Nestor Cortes Gone, Standout Rookie 3B Has Emerged as Gem from Would-Be Lose-Lose Trade
Starting pitcher Nestor Cortes was the centerpiece of the Milwaukee Brewers‘ return haul from trading co-closer Devin Williams to the Yankees last December. Eight months later, Cortes is a member of the Padres, logging all of two starts in Milwaukee before injuries sapped his season. Over in New York, Williams lost his closer’s job, got it back, and has had one good month en route to a 5.04 ERA. Without the other part of Milwaukee’s incoming package, then minor-league third baseman Caleb Durbin, the trade would look at this juncture like a lose-lose scenario. Thanks to Durbin, it’s been anything but for the Brewers. Caleb Durbin is Milwaukee Brewers’ diamond in the rough Durbin didn’t make the spring training cut. Instead, the Brewers went with fellow rookie Oliver Dunn as the team’s starting third baseman. Durbin went down to Triple-A Nashville. Dunn didn’t last. After he struggled through the first three weeks of the season, he and Durbin switched places and the latter hasn’t squandered his shot. Following a slow start, he’s turned up the heat at the dish while playing outstanding defense. He’s had an OPS around .800 for over two months now and has his season slashline up to .263/.344/.372. His 2.2 WAR in 86 games played is tied for 10th among all third basemen, making him one of the position’s more valuable players. The Brewers saw plenty of promise in Durbin when they traded for him, coming off a strong season with New York’s Triple-A affiliate. Even though he didn’t, he was a decent candidate to make the team out of spring. The team likely didn’t see a legitimate Rookie of the Year candidate, which he is. By WAR, he and Braves catcher Drake Baldwin have contributed the same value to their teams, more than any other NL rookies. Cortes, on the other hand, was supposed to be a consistent cog in the rotation. Last year for the Yankees, he made 30 starts and recorded a 3.77 ERA. Instead, he’s still making his way back from injury ahead of start number three this season. In San Diego. Of course, Milwaukee did turn him into outfielder Brandon Lockridge, who will provide depth while Jackson Chourio is hurt. To dump Cortes’ salary, however, they had to attach a prospect, infielder Jorge Quintana. Neither Cortes nor Williams has been what the receiving team hoped. Both will be free agents this offseason. Only the Yankees, however, are at risk of walking away empty-handed. With years of team control remaining, the Brewers have in Durbin what looks to be their third baseman of both the present and future. The trade didn’t deliver according to expectations, but it’s hard to be too upset with the results.
PRIVACY POLICY EDITORIAL POLICY CONTACT US
ABOUT YARDBARKER TERMS OF SERVICE
Use of this website (including any and all parts and
components) constitutes your acceptance of these
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
This site is for entertainment purposes only.
There is no gambling offered on this site.
Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
