The top-ranked Oklahoma women's gymnastics team headlines a 16-team field that will compete in the inaugural Super 16 presented by Ozone at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Jan. 6-7, 2023. With more than 300 gymnasts, the Super 16 is the largest women's collegiate invitational and will open the 2023 women's gymnastics collegiate season.
"OU is excited to create more hype about NCAA gymnastics and this event checks all the boxes," Sooners head coach K.J. Kindler said. "You have the best of the best in the U.S. coming together to create an incredible field of talent in one location. This is definitely an event fans cannot miss."
The Super 16 will feature programs that have won 23 NCAA championships, including each of the last six. Oklahoma is a five-time NCAA champion, winning titles in 2022, 2019, 2017, 2016 and 2014. Michigan won the 2021 championship, and UCLA, which has won seven titles, took home the 2018 crown. There was no national title awarded in 2020 due to COVID-19.
Fourteen of the 16 teams in the Super 16 are ranked in the top 30 in the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) preseason poll – No. 1 OU, No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Auburn, No. 8 California, No. 10 UCLA, No. 14 Oregon State, No. 17 Stanford, No. 18 Iowa, No. 20 Georgia, No. 21 Washington, No. 22 BYU, No. 24 Arizona State, No. 27 North Carolina and No. 28 Southern Utah.
The two-day podium competition will feature four competitive sessions, with team, all-around and event champions for each session. OU is set to compete on Saturday, Jan. 7, with session groupings and times announced at a later date.
"Our strength of schedule is intense, and the Las Vegas field creates an unbelievable challenge to kick off the 2023 season," Kindler said. "Three former NCAA team champions headline the field as well as a strong Auburn team led by U.S. Olympic All-Around Champion Suni Lee. It will undoubtedly go down to the wire. This is what sport fans live for."
Typically, only used at top championship meets and international competitions such as Worlds and Olympics, podium is when the equipment is placed on a platform several feet off the ground so the gymnasts are elevated from the rest of the individuals on the floor. This allows the gymnasts to be showcased individually, while also enhancing the fan experience.
OU returns eight gymnasts in 2023 who combined for 20 All-America honors last season in seniors Ragan Smith, Olivia Trautman and Allie Stern; junior duo Audrey Davis and Katherine LeVasseur; and sophomores Jordan Bowers, Danielle Sievers and Danae Fletcher.
Trautman and Stern have opted to use their extra year due to COVID-19. In addition to the returners, the Sooners welcome freshmen Faith Torrez and Ava Siegfeldt, who are both former elite gymnasts.
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