Dynasty Defined: Oklahoma Wins Eighth Gymnastics Title

Oklahoma Women's Gymnastics winning their 8th NCAA title, courtesy of Reuters

For the eighth time in program history, and for the eighth time in twelve years, the Oklahoma Sooners are the NCAA women's gymnastics champions!

In a year where many gymnastics fans thought Oklahoma looked beatable and after losing their second conference title since joining the SEC, the Sooners proved that peaking at the right time is everything, and they still own the top spot in the NCAA.

Lily Pederson, courtesy of Brendall Vargas, University of Oklahoma

Oklahoma began the 2026 NCAA Championship on vault, the event where they rank #1 in the nation, and put up a huge 49.6000 to set the tone for the meet. 2026 NCAA vault champion Keira Wells scored a 9.8875, Hannah Scheible received a perfect 10 from two of the six judges for a 9.9625, 2026 NCAA all-around champion Faith Torrez scored a 9.9000, freshman Mackenzie Estep scored a 9.8625, and Lily Pederson scored a near-perfect 9.9875.

After the first rotation, the Sooners led the LSU Tigers, who kept them on their toes, by 0.0875.

Mackenzie Estep, courtesy of Brendall Vargas, University of Oklahoma

On bars, freshman Ella Murphy scored a 9.9125, Estep put up their highest score of the rotation with a 9.9375, Scheible scored a 9.8625, junior Caitlin Smith scored a 9.9000 in just her fifth competitive routine, and Torrez anchored with a 9.8750.

Meanwhile, Kailin Chio put up a perfect 10 on vault for the Tigers. At the halfway point, the Sooners had a one-tenth lead over the Tigers.

Ella Murphy, courtesy of Brendall Vargas, University of Oklahoma

The third rotation, with Oklahoma on beam, is where the meet got interesting. Addison Fatta, an all-arounder only competing on beam due to a wrist injury, had a rough start with a 9.7375. While that is a score that would most likely need to be dropped in order to win the title, her routine was followed by a fall.

"Once an error like that happens, it's a do-or-die situation," said head coach K.J. Kindler. "You have to rise to the occasion. You cannot get up there with worry on your mind, you cannot get there with doubt on your mind, and that's so hard to compartmentalize when you have an error like that."

The Sooners would need to be near flawless to keep their eighth title within their grasp. And the rest of their beam lineup did just that, with Murphy responding with a 9.9375, Pederson scoring a 9.9500, Elle Mueller scoring a 9.8625, and Torrez finishing the rotation strong with a 9.9500.

"Mistakes happen, but you have to move forward, and in that moment, you['ve] got to go big or go home," Pederson said. "Holding back is just gonna make it worse. So going up there, I was really calm and confident, like Ella Murphy was, and kind of our whole team after that."

Going into the final rotation, LSU had a 0.075 advantage over Oklahoma. It was anyone's meet, and both teams would push the other to be perfect.

Faith Torrez, courtesy of Brendall Vargas, University of Oklahoma

Oklahoma needed to have the floor rotation of their lives, and they only counted scores of 9.9+ and put up the highest event score with a 49.6375. Pederson scored a 9.9375, Wells scored a 9.9000, Mueller scored a 9.9375, Estep scored a 9.9125, and Torrez closed out the Sooners' meet with a 9.9500.

Then, it was time to play the waiting game. LSU would've needed a perfect 10 from Chio, a score she achieved five times this season, to win the title. As the crowd and every gymnast had their eyes glued to the screens, waiting for the championship-deciding score, a 9.900 flashed. The Sooners became back-to-back champions! The Tigers finished second, the Gators finished third, and the Golden Gophers finished fourth in their first championship final appearance.

Oklahoma's eighth NCAA title puts them past UCLA and into third all-time, behind Georgia with ten and Utah with nine.

Courtesy of NCAA Gymnastics

Edited by Mithzi Silva