No. 1 Sooners lead from start to finish

FAYETTEVILLE — Juggernaut Oklahoma posted a pair of perfect scores and led from start to finish to hand the No. 12 University of Arkansas gymnasts their first home loss of the season on Sunday.

The No. 1 Sooners (24-0) got 10s from Jordan Bowers on the floor exercise and Ava Siegfeldt on the balance beam en route to a 198.35 to 197.275 win over the Razorbacks before an announced crowd of 9,771, the third-largest in school history, at Walton Arena.

Arkansas (7-6-1) managed five podium finishes, with Leah Smith and Lauren Williams tying Oklahoma’s Hannah Scheible for the the vault title with 9.925s, Frankie Price notching second place on the floor (9.95) behind Bowers’ perfect score, and Smith and Williams tying for third on the floor at 9.925.

The Razorbacks, as usual, nailed it on the floor exercise with a 49.6, which allowed them to tie Oklahoma’s balance beam effort in the final rotation.

“Obviously the crowd was fantastic,” said fifth-year Arkansas Coach Jordyn Wieber, who guided the Razorbacks to their school-record seventh 197 or better this season. “So much energy in here. I love how the fans continue to show up for this program and this team as it continues to grow.

“We had a fun night. Obviously there are definitely places we see that we can clean up and start the competition a little better, but oh my gosh the finish on floor was fantastic, so it was a lot of fun.”

The Razorbacks could not get back into school-record scoring range they have been pushing in recent weeks due to a couple of low scores on the uneven bars coupled with a fall that led to a 49.025.

“We just told the team that on an average night we can be in the low-to-mid 197 range but we all know there’s so much more inside of them,” Wieber said.

Oklahoma’s Danielle Sievers and Katherine LeVasseur opened the meet with a 9.9 and a 9.925 on the uneven bars to grab an early lead the Sooners would never relinquish by posting a 49.6 on that rotation compared to a 49.35 by the Razorbacks’ vaulters.

Oklahoma had to count only three scores of less than 9.9: a 9.875 and a 9.85 on the floor exercise and a 9.85 on the beam.

The Sooners, headed to the SEC next season, have won back-to-back national championships and six of the last nine NCAA titles. They have only lost four times against their last 87 opponents over the last three years.

Arkansas will only have to leave the confines of Walton Arena once the rest of the season in an effort to return to the NCAA finals.

The Razorbacks host Nebraska on Friday in their regular-season finale, then compete at the SEC championships in New Orleans (March 23) before hosting the NCAA Fayetteville Regional on April 3-6.