WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS
Sooners win 33rd home competition in bout with Arizona State
NORMAN—As she walked down the Lloyd Noble Center tunnel to be introduced before Sunday's
OUwomen' s gymnastics season opener, there were no chills running down Anastasia Webb's spine this year.
Those chills, especially last year, came from hearing the roar of the crowd as introductions got underway. A socially distanced crowd of 1,792 lacks the same effect.
But once the comp e tition got underway, things settled back into something resembling normal, and the results bore that out as the No .2 Sooners rolled to a 197.450- 195.725 win over No .21 Arizona State to stretch their home winning streak to 33.
Webb played a big part in that, winning the all-around with a 39.600.
Her most impressive event was the balance beam, not only for her 9.950 score — the highest of the day in any event — but that she turned in that performance taking over the anchor role in that event from Maggie Nichols, one of the top collegiate gymnasts of all-time whose career wrapped up after the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season.
“It's nerve-wracking. But being able to conquer that skill in a last position and in the first meet and having pressure, I'm pretty proud of myself.”
As Webb went through her routine, Nichols stood watch nearby in her first meet as a volunteer assistant coach.
“Anastasia is beautiful to watch,” Sooners coach K.J. Kindler said. “She is special and a different kind of athlete — powerful but also graceful.
“Not a whole lot of people have t hat combination. … Sometimes she doesn't know how great she is, but I think today was a really great start for her season.”
Webb added a switch-switch in her beam routine over the offseason, raising the difficulty level in the event as she moves into the critical role there.
Her execution of the move was the highlight of her night.
“It's nerve-wracking,” Webb said. “But being able to conquer that skill in a last position and in the first meet and having pressure, I'm pretty proud of myself.”
Webb scored at least a 9.850 in every event, including a 9.925 in the floor exercise.
The Sooners also got strong performances from their large group of walk-ons and freshmen.
The most notable of t he walk-on performances came from Carly Woodard, who had
Oklahoma Sooners gymnast Anastasia Webb
spent the last three years as a beam specialist for the Sooners.
Sunday, she added floor exercise to her resume, with a 9.825.
“It's a lineup that I've been wanting to crack for four years now and to be able to go out there and do it tonight was amazing,” Woodard said. “It was super exciting.”
While the beam is a show of artistry, floor is more about showing off explosive power.
“To show that I have that skill set too is really cool,” Woodard said.
Among the freshmen who made their OU debut was Katherine LeVasseur, who won the bars with a 9.925 and Audrey Davis, who competed in every event but floor and had a 9.875 on bars.
“Her gymnastics is so pretty,” Woodard said of Davis. “She has beautiful lines, she has beautiful toe-point and coming from an incredible elite career, I think she is going to be a superstar in the NCAA and I cannot wait to see what she does over the next four years.”