Oklahoma Repeats as NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Champion, Trinity Thomas Makes History

Rafael De Los Santos April 16, 2023 Gators Gymnastics, Gymnastics, NCAA Tournament, SEC 1,016 Views

For the second time in as many years, the Oklahoma Sooners have been crowned NCAA Women’s Gymnastics champions.

Despite valiant efforts from Florida late in the meet, the Sooners led after every rotation of the championship. All six Oklahoma gymnasts earned 9.9+ scores on their last floor rotation, with Jordan Bowers and Danielle Sievers each earning a meet-high 9.95.

Florida finished just .150 points behind the Sooners, while Utah took third at .450 back and LSU took fourth at .862 back. Haleigh Bryant recorded a near-perfect score of 9.9875 on vault in LSU’s final event, while Trinity Thomas and Utah’s Maile O’Keefe had perfect 10.0s, on vault and beam, respectively.

Sooners Start Strong

Oklahoma and Florida came out of the gate swinging as they sat in first and second place, respectively, following the first rotation of the NCAA gymnastics team final.

Oklahoma started out on vault and had a stellar performance from Olivia Trautman with a 9.95, with three other Sooners with 9.9+ scores (Faith Torrez, Allie Stern and Jordan Bowers).

Trinity Thomas’ participation headlined all the buzz around the Gators coming into the meet. Thomas did not compete on the beam as Riley McCusker notched a team-high 9.9375 for the Gators.

The Gators, whose lowest scoring event in the semifinals came on beam, sat .038 back from the Sooners at the end of the first rotation.

One Hand on the Title

The second rotation was all Sooners as they began to show why they were the number one seed. Five Sooners notched 9.9+ scores on bars.

Florida looked to close down the Sooners’ lead on the floor, led by outstanding 9.90’s from Rachel Baumann and Kayla DiCello.

Utah struggled with the second vault event as just Abby Brenner received a 9.9 score. After competing on beam, the Utes remained third with LSU fourth.

Olivia Trautman scored a team-high 9.9500 for the Sooners, while Jordan Bowers closed out the rotation with a 9.925. With that, Oklahoma increased its lead on Florida by .250.

Enter Trinity Thomas

Having sat out the first two rotations, the stage was set for Florida’s Trinity Thomas. With history and the meet on the line, Thomas did what she does best as she tied the all-time NCAA perfect 10.0 record with her vault. The perfect score was the first 10.0 of the championship meet.

The Gators came out strong on the back of Trinity Thomas’ 10.0, which completed the fifth gym slam of her career.

Headed into the final rotation the Gators trailed Oklahoma by .188 as they faced the uneven bars and Oklahoma took to the mat.

Two Hands on the Title

Thomas’ 10.0 made the final rotation a nail biter worthy of the sell-out crowd in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Gators were lights-out on bars, with all scores above 9.900. Kayla DiCello and Leanne Wong each earned a 9.975, and Trinity Thomas a 9.912 for another incredible routine.

Utah finished on beam, its best event, with another 10 from Maile O’Keefe and a 9.9625 from Abby Paulson. LSU finished fourth but ended on a high note with a 9.9875 for Haleigh Bryant on the vault.

The Sooners would live up to their top ranking, winning their second consecutive national title by .150 as Audrey Davis started them off on the floor with a 9.900. Jordan Bowers earned the top score of 9.950 with a captivating routine topped by a high double pike.

Exit a NCAA Gymnastics Legend

The fifth-year senior from York, Pennsylvania, Trinity Thomas came into Saturday’s final with a perfect 10.0 in a routine 27 times throughout her storied career at UF. She picked up her 28th on the vault to tie the record.

Thomas’ 28 perfect 10.0s tied her for most in NCAA history alongside UCLA’s Jamie Dantzscher and Kentucky’s Jenny Hansen.

Though Florida will wonder what could’ve been if Thomas had been healthy enough to compete in all four events, one thing is certain; no one has been more perfect in NCAA gymnastics history than Trinity Thomas.

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About Rafael De Los Santos

Junior studying Journalism - Sports & Media at the University of Florida

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