“People understand what a perfect 10 is…” Olivia Dunne posted on X on January 26, which sparked an intense debate in the gymnastics world about scoring this year. Her words drew backlash. Critics accused her of caring more about entertainment than fairness. But Dunne didn’t budge a bit! And now it seems she isn’t alone in questioning the NCAA’s new scoring system. Rather, someone seems to be really frustrated and angry!

Oklahoma Sooners’ head coach K.J. Kindler, frustrated and furious, has now spoken out. And this time, it’s not just about perception, but it’s about what she calls outright injustice. The NCAA’s new scoring system was supposed to bring more fairness with tighter rules, clearer deductions, and fewer inflated scores. The judges were expected to reward precision, not just performance. But instead of balance, it has sparked a controversy!

“Let’s talk facts, OK? Because I can talk facts,” Kindler said in a post-meet press conference after the Florida Gators match on February 22, responding to a question about whether the scoring differences between this year and last have been more drastic than expected.

Kindler, whose side posted a 198.075-196.625 win over Florida, wasn’t happy with the scoring. Especially of Audrey Davis and laid out some facts: “Audrey Davis got the lowest bar score of her entire career today from one of the judges. And she is the best she’s ever been. And she is the national bar champion. And a 9.85 is injustice,” Kindler continued. “And she has how many over a 9? You have the stats. It’s like 38, no, 57.“

She caught herself—“It’s a lot. 38 and 50-something are totally different. It’s 38 over a 9.95 and 58 over a 9.90.” And yet, despite that resume, Davis received a 9.85 for a stuck bar routine. “From this impeccable human, the best bar swinger in the country,” Kindler emphasized. “And then she has to, I’ll be honest, she has to weather that emotion because she’s disappointed.”

There was no time to dwell on it. Davis had to move straight to beam, where she led off for Oklahoma. “That takes a very strong person,” Kindler said. “She had to shake it off… But I’m sure she was holding on to it a little bit…. the same thing happened on the beam. So I just, I can’t make sense of it.” Oklahoma Sooners coach concluded.

Yet, despite the frustration. Oklahoma kept its focus, and in the final rotation, the Sooners delivered a masterclass. How did it play out? Audrey Davis set the tone on the floor with a 9.925. Lily Pederson followed with the same score before Elle Mueller posted a career-best 9.950, which also earned a 10 from one judge. Freshman Addison Fatta matched Davis and Pederson with a 9.925, and Jordan Bowers came even closer to perfection with a 9.975, also receiving a 10 from one judge.

Then came Faith Torrez and with the energy peaking, she took center stage. A deep breath. The music hit, and Torrez moved with the confidence of a gymnast who knew the moment was hers. Would this be the perfect 10 she had chased all season? As she landed her final tumbling pass, the arena knew. The scoreboard confirmed it a perfect 10, the first for OU this season. It sealed a 49.775 team score on the floor, tying the third-best in program history and locking in a 198.075-196.625 victory over Florida.

And with that, Sooners are at the peak!

Oklahoma Sooners Continues to Lead NCAA Gymnastics Points Table

Oklahoma has been dominant this season, with consistent scores above 197, securing major wins against top-ranked teams like Florida, LSU, and Utah. Their only loss came in a close match against LSU on February 14 and as we are coming to the end of the eighth consecutive week, KJ Kindler’s Oklahoma women’s gymnastics continues its reign at No. 1 in the national rankings, now determined by the National Qualifying Score (NQS). The Sooners lead the nation with an NQS of 197.765 on daily rankings as they push toward the postseason.

Last week marked the first time the rankings have been based on NQS, which considers a team’s six best regular-season scores, three of which must come from away meets. The highest score is dropped, and the remaining five are averaged to determine seeding for NCAA regionals.

Beyond the overall ranking, the Sooners also hold the top spot on bars (49.425) while ranking second on vault (49.750), beam (49.400), and floor (49.775). With consistency across all four events, Oklahoma remains the team to beat as the season progresses!