OU’s Webb wins all-around title

FORT WORTH, Texas — Anastasia Webb raised her index fingers toward the ceiling at Dickies Arena on Friday night after wrapping up her floor routine.

She quickly made her way off the mat, where she slapped hands with assistant coach Tom Haley.

OU was on a roll in the third rotation and Webb had taken control.

After finishing up with a championship performance on both the floor exercise and the vault to secure the allaround title with a 39.7875, the topranked Sooners were headed to Saturday’s women’s gymnastics finals and Webb was crowned the all-around champion.

The Sooners posted a 198.0875, the highest score of the day across both semifinals. While OU’s spot in the finals was secure with a strong vault performance to end its night, the second finalist spot from the night came down to the final event, with Utah edging out Alabama 197.600-197.5750 to advance.

Florida and Michigan advanced to the finals from the first semifinal earlier in the day.

When Webb wrapped up her night with a 9.9750 on the vault, she hugged assistant Lou Ball tight.

“I was just so caught up in the

moment,” Webb said. “I was just so happy. … That moment, I’ll never forget it.”

It wasn’t until a few moments later when Webb realized she’d extended the Sooners’ streak of all-around champions.

Webb is the third Sooners gymnast to win the all-around title, joining Maggie Nichols and Kelly Garrison.

Nichols and Garrison each won the all-around twice, Nichols in 2018-19 and Garrison in 1987-88.

In addition to giving the Sooners three consecutive all-around winners, Webb also stretched OU’s streak of champions in vault and floor to three.

“I don’t,” Webb said, pausing to catch herself when asked about joining Nichols and Garrison. “Oh gosh. That is an amazing opportunity and an amazing experience.”

It was a big day for Webb, who earlier in the day found out she’d been accepted into a health administration master’s program that will play a role in whether or not she decides to return for another season.

Webb is a senior but, like all athletes this season, can return for another year because of the NCAA’s blanket waiver due to the COVID-19 pandemic that wiped out the 2020 postseason.

Webb beat Alabama’s Luisa Blanco, who finished with a 39.6500, for the allaround title. OU’s Olivia Trautman finished tied for third with a 39.6250.

Webb’s floor routine keyed a critical event in launching the Sooners into Saturday’s finals.

OU was in second after two rotations, in a tight grouping with 0.1625 separating the top three teams and just two spots available.

But the Sooners blew past LSU in the third rotation with a season-best 49.6275 in the event with five scores of 9.9000 or better.

After Jordan Draper started with a 9.9125, Evy Schoepfer followed with a career-high 9.9375.

Then Emma LaPinta, battling hair ribbons that obscured her vision a bit, posted a 9.9000.

“We’re cutting those ribbons off tomorrow,” Sooners coach K.J.. Kindler said. “They’re going to be short. … I thought getting through that routine was important.”

After Bell Johnson finished her 9.875 routine, Sooners fans in the arena started a chant of “O-U.”

Then Webb gave them even more reason to go wild, with a career-high 9.9625 on the floor, not only helping put the Sooners on top for the night but also putting her in strong position for the allaround.

Kindler said she could tell early on in warmups that her team was locked in.

“I really felt like their minds were in the right place,” Kindler said. “When we walked on the floor today, I really felt a good vibe from them. They were very confident and very relaxed.” That included Webb.

“She tries too hard (sometimes) and she doesn’t need to try hard,” Kindler said. “She just needs to do what she’s trained to do.”

She did that Friday and walked away as the all-around champion.

Webb wasn’t the only Sooners champion crowned Friday.

LaPinta earned the Elite 90 award, which honors the athlete competing in the championship with the highest cumulative grade-point average.

LaPinta, a junior who has a 4.0 GPA, won the tiebreaker of number of credits completed.

MATT STRASEN/AP OU’s Anastasia Webb celebrates with associate head coach Lou Ball after her vault Friday night in Fort Worth, Texas.

AP PHOTO/MATT STRASEN Oklahoma's Anastasia Webb celebrates with her teammates after her vault during the NCAA gymnastics semifinals Friday night in Fort Worth, Texas. Webb won the individual all-around title.