March 31, 2008

Norman, OK (UWIRE) -- The women's gymnastics team's dream season nearly turned into a nightmare Saturday at the Big 12 Championships at Lloyd Noble Center as three gymnasts fell on the first event. OU clawed its way back up, however, in a comeback victory that was sealed only with the final vault.

The Sooners earned the crown with a score of 195.875, barely besting Iowa State's 195.775 silver performance.

After an undefeated regular season, the No. 9 OU team had been the heavy favorite to win the conference title over No. 14 Nebraska, No. 18 Missouri and unranked Iowa State. To have the three seniors Caitlin Hinkins, Stephanie LoPiccolo and Kiara Redmond-Sturms all fall on uneven bars was nothing short of disastrous.

"We put the 'M' in meltdown," second-year head coach K.J. Kindler said. "To have falls from three seniors was totally unexpected. They had an amazing warm-up, so it wasn't anything I could have predicted."

The team was feeling the tension in Lloyd Noble, Redmond-Sturms said.

"You could cut it with a knife," she said. "It was intense. Everybody was nerve-racked, and you could tell. We wanted the title."

After hit routines from juniors Mary Mantle (9.775) and Ashley Jackson (9.850), Hinkis missed her Tkatchev release move, rattling nerves with her 9.175 score.

"Once the first mistake was made," Kindler said, "everybody tightened up and we fell apart a little bit. Actually, we fell apart, period."

LoPiccolo then missed her transition move to the low bar, bringing in a 9.050. Sophomore Hollie Vise delivered a stunning routine (9.900), but anchor Redmond-Sturms provided a bigger shock by falling on her transition (9.400).

"Honestly, in two years, even in practice, I've never seen her do that," Kindler said.

With each team able to drop its low score, the three falls meant OU would have to count Redmond-Sturms' 9.400 and Hinkis' 9.175 to the team total. After the first rotation, a shocked OU was a full point behind Nebraska.

"It was complete devastation," Kindler said. "They felt like everything we worked for was down the tubes."

Kindler and assistant coaches Lou Ball and Tom Hale held a huddle and laid it on the line.

"We said, 'Do NOT give up. It is NOT over,'" she said. "We had to pull them out of it and say 'This is not even close to over, and what are you going to do to redeem yourself?'"

What OU did was respond with one of the biggest comebacks in Sooner sports lore. With the unforgiving four-inch wide beam next in the rotation, the Sooners began with Jessica Kinder's 9.800 and built on that score with each subsequent routine: 9.825s from Redmond-Sturms and Jackson, 9.850 from LoPiccolo, 9.875 from Vise and a near-perfect 9.900 from junior Haley DeProspero.

"They hit it out of the ballpark on beam," Kindler said.

The only team not to fall from beam Saturday night, OU sent a message that with two events left, the nerves were gone, and the Sooners were not giving up. Still, the team trailed Missouri, 97.925-97.400.

On floor exercise, sophomore Kristin Smith began with a 9.8 and Kinder earned a career-high 9.85. The team was able to drop third-up Mantle's 9.650, which was followed by 9.775 from DeProspero, 9.875 from sophomore Jackie Flanery and a 9.900 from anchor Redmond-Sturms.

After three events, the Sooners trailed Iowa State by two tenths of a point. Iowa State was ending on the uneven bars, one of its best events, and OU was staring down the long runway at vault: the only event in which the Sooners weren't ranked nationally in the top 10. Additionally, OU's vault lineup was still missing the powerful Jackson, who suffered a knee injury Feb. 22 against Missouri.

"They knew they had to be perfect and have the best vault performance of the year," Kindler said. "We told them, 'You're going to have to be near perfect - stuck landings and incredible form. You have to keep your head on your shoulders."

With the conference title on the line, Flanery and DeProspero earned 9.800s, and Kinder (9.825) and freshman Melanie Root (9.875) stuck when it counted. Mantle brought in 9.825, setting up anchor Redmond-Sturms.

Iowa State - Kindler's alma mater - hit its uneven bars routines, meaning Redmond-Sturms needed a 9.875 to win or a 9.850 to tie.

"Everyone else knew what I needed to get on vault to win, but I had no idea," Redmond-Sturms said. "I was nervous, and I don't usually get nervous. They told me, 'Relax, and do what you always do and as hard as you can.' I went behind the curtain and prayed for a little bit before. I worked so hard for this."

Redmond-Sturms stuck her vault for a 9.950, giving OU its seventh conference victory by a mere one tenth of a point.

"It was so exciting," Kindler said. "It was the best crowd we've ever had, a totally interactive crowd. They were so into it."

Redmond-Sturms, who plans to open her line of surf wear after she graduates, was named Big 12 Gymnast of the Year. Kindler was named Big 12 Coach of the Year.

"We couldn't have done it without her or the rest of the coaching staff," Redmond-Sturms said. "We needed the whole team to dig ourselves out of the hole. Everybody did their job in the lineup."

Kindler said she could not sleep Saturday night following the competition, because she was reliving every minute of her team's come-from-behind victory.

"It was such a great thing to be part of. It was exhilarating," she said.

OU must finish in the top two of the South Central Regional Championships to advance to the national championships in Georgia.

"We can't lay off," Redmond-Sturms said. "We need to go in like we're the underdogs, even though we're 22-0."

Redmond-Sturms and the two other seniors will have one more shot at the bars in front of a home crowd on April 12 when OU hosts the NCAA regional meet.

(C) 2008 Oklahoma Daily via UWIRE