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The UCLA gymnastics team is coming off a huge win last Saturday at the Metroplex Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, which included besting #2 ranked LSU. UCLA will welcome the #1 Oklahoma Sooners to Pauley Pavilion this Sunday at 1:00 PM PT, and it will be the first regular season meet ever televised by ESPN.
The Sooners are coming off a road loss to Florida, but their score of 198.125 allows them to retain the #1 spot in the country. They are one of the first two teams in the country to break the 198 mark, and currently have a season average score of 197.733. As a team, OU is ranked in first place on three of four events, including vault (49.467 average), bars (49.475) and beam (49.417), and jumped two spots to second place on floor (49.375). With an extremely deep roster, eight Sooners are ranked in the top 25 on at least one event.
Oklahoma sophomore Maggie Nichols holds the top spot in the all-around (39.700 average) and is tied for the top on vault (9.925). She also ranks second of bars (9.942). Several other Sooners are nationally ranked in the top 10, including freshmen Anastasia Webb, Evy Schoepfer, and Carly Woodard, sophomore Bre Showers, juniors Brenna Dowell and Nicole Lehrmann, and senior A.J. Jackson.
Additionally, UCLA will be honoring the survivors of sexual assault that have recently come forward in the gymnastics community. According to UCLA:
At the conclusion of Sunday’s meet, UCLA will pay tribute to sexual assault survivors and the brave women who recently came forward to help cultivate change. Teal pom poms for the first 5,000 fans in attendance and teal “Together We Rise” wristbands for the first 1,000 fans will be distributed.
Go Bruins!