Sooners using upset as fuel for future
All Oklahoma could do was wait.
With sophomore Maggie Nichols’ 9.9625 on the bars, the Sooners had completed every rotation at the NCAA Championships and were leading the field of six.
Just a few feet away, UCLA was nearing the end of its night with just one gymnast left to do her beam routine.
Circled up, the Sooners tried to concentrate on their coach’s words and each other.
“We weren’t really watching (UCLA), but we were all probably thinking about it,” Nichols said. “Just waiting for the score to pop up.”
When the score finally posted on the big board, they knew it was over.
With a perfect 10.0 — her second of the night — UCLA fifth-year senior Christine Peng Peng Lee pushed the Bruins past OU to win the national championship by 0.0375 points.
“It just kind of unfolded right in front of our eyes,” OU coach KJ Kindler said. “Which is also hard because a lot of times when you’re competing, you don’t see those things happening. We had a front-row seat.”
With the loss, Oklahoma just barely missed out on winning its third consecutive title and suffered only its second loss of the season.
“You get into a groove, and you feel like your program is at a certain place, and you just start to expect that all the time, and that’s a good thing,” Kindler said. “But it doesn’t mean it’s always going to go your way.”
Kindler is no stranger to excruciating waits in the sport.
In 2014, the Sooners also had to wait for the final results of the last rotation. That time, however, they came out in first place.
Saturday night, the wait didn’t end with elation.
“It hurt pretty bad,” said Nichols, who won her first individual all-around title on Friday night. “That was probably one of the worst ones. OU is pretty dominant, so we don’t have many upsets.
"Having this one be in the last meet and the biggest meet, probably the closest meet that there’s been, it hurt pretty bad just because we put in the hard work in the gym and to miss it by a hair, it’s hard."
While the loss was gutwrenching, Kindler said she believes it can be the catalyst for future success.
After coming in third in 2015, the Sooners rebounded with championships in 2016 and 2017.
“I can’t think of an experience that would drive them more than the one we just experienced,” Kindler said. “I can’t think of a moment that will flash in their heads in preseason training next year more than that one.”
In the aftermath of the second-place finish, Nichols and some of her teammates were already planning to come back stronger next year.
When she arrived in Norman on Sunday morning, Nichols was ready to get started on her quest for another team title.
“I think it definitely built a fire inside of us,” she said. “Definitely inside of me. I just want to go in the gym right now and start working for next year.
“I just want to help the team out as much as I can and help them win a few more titles when I’m here.”