Big 12 Gymnastics Week 5 Recap: No. 1 Oklahoma beats No. 2 Cal as Denver hits 198

Week 5 of Big 12 gymnastics brought the intensity and excitement, but it also saw upsets that broke winning streaks.

#19 Iowa State @ Boise State

Final score: Boise State: 196.525 – Iowa State: 195.550

Unfortunately for the Cyclones, their two-meet win streak was broken by the Boise State Broncos on Friday when they lost 196.525-195.550.

“This was a tough one on the road. Not the result that we wanted. But this is a young team, and they have an opportunity to learn from this and use this as fuel.” head coach Ashley Miles Greig said. 

Starting off on bars, Hannah Loyim led the way with a 9.875. This tied for the title on the event. She was also the only all-arounder with a 39.25.

Moving to vault, Josie Bergstrom took the highest score with a 9.925. The Cyclones were tied with the Broncos up to this point with matching 98.05s.

Noelle Adams was the Cyclones’ lead scorer on floor with a 9.9 and reproduced the same score with her magnificent routine on beam to win that title.

The Cyclones will be heading to Colorado on Sunday, February 11 to take on the Denver Pioneers and Southeast Missouri at 4 p.m. ET.

#1 Oklahoma & #2 Cal @ #23 Arizona State

Final score: Oklahoma: 198.375, California: 197.950, Arizona State: 197.250

A big night for the Sooners led to not only a win at but also a perfect 10 from Jordan Bowers on bars, giving her the outright event title. 

Bowers also won the title on floor (9.975) and the all-around (39.675). 

Oklahoma struggled a bit during vault in the second rotation, and the Sooners were trailing behind Cal heading to bars before a nation-leading 49.825 on the event.

Faith Torrez ended the night with the beam title (9.975) to help the Sooners accomplish a final score of 46.65 on the event to seal the win.

The Sooners will take on BYU, Utah State, and Texas Woman’s at home on Friday, February 9 at 7:45 p.m. ET. 

West Virginia @ BYU

Final score: BYU: 196.475 – West Virginia: 193.500

The Newcomer BYU Cougars returned to competition this past weekend and took the win (196.475) over the West Virginia Mountaineers (193.400) on Friday night with a season high.

BYU

The Cougars had a great showing on vault from Kylie Eaquinto, who scored a 9.825 to tie for the event title and help the team achieve a 48.825. On bars, the highest score (9.875) was tied between Linsey Hunter-Kempler and Anna Bramblett, with the Cougars ultimately earning a 49.225 on the event. Moving to beam, Mina Margraf took the title with a 9.875 while the team went 49.1 – a season high. To conclude the night on floor, Sophie Dudley and Sydney Benson both put up 9.9s to tie for the title and contribute to a 49.325 – also a season high.

“It was unbelievable to have our first Big 12 meet in the Marriott Center,” said head coach Guard Young. “It’s exciting for us to see these new teams which we typically haven’t competed against.”

The Cougars travel to Oklahoma to take on the Sooners, Utah State, and Texas Woman’s on Friday, February 9 at 7:45 ET.

West Virginia

Starting the meet on bars, Amber Lowe had the top score for the Mountaineers with a 9.725. Freshman Jurnee Lane was also a standout, making her career debut and scoring one of three 9.675s from the team.

The leading scorer for the Mountaineers on vault was Kiana Lewis (9.825), who tied for the event title. The third rotation on floor saw Lowe once again earn the top score of the team with a 9.825. The last event was beam, where Julia Brown led the Mountaineers with a 9.75.

The Mountaineers head to Bowling Green next to take on the Falcons, Eastern Michigan, and Fisk on Sunday, February 11 at 2 p.m. ET.

Towson @ #10 Denver

Final score: Denver: 198.000 – Towson: 195.600

Starting the meet on vault for the Denver Pioneers, Rylie Mundell had the top score of 9.9, placing first on the event. Moving to bars, there were three 9.975s, scored by Jessica Hutchinson, Kiley Rorich, and Mia Hebinck, with all three tying for first place. 

On beam, there was a two-way tie for first place, with Hutchinson and Mundell both putting up a 9.925. And to cap it off on floor, Hutchinson placed first with a beautiful 9.95 to end the night. Hutchinson also placed first in the all-around (39.7).

Next up: Denver hosts Iowa State and Southeast Missouri on Sunday, February 11.