“Questionable Low Scores”: Despite Oklahoma’s Victory, Rounds of Debate Around Scores in NCAA Gymnastics Circle the Internet

Oklahoma Sooners’ are entering the 10th year since they haven’t lost at home, and marching on undefeated, the 2023 NCAA Gymnastics champions beat the No. 12 in a conference matchup inside Lloyd Noble Center. Led by the brilliance of Ragan Smith, Faith Torrez and junior Jordan Bowers, along with a bastion of other gymnasts, Oklahoma scored 197.775 to Denver’s 197.150. It was an easy victory for Sooners’ but the vault routine of freshman Hannah Scheible sparked a massive debate on the internet.

While some believed Hannah received a deserving score, others digressed. The bone of contention, of course, was the point deduction system, which long has been in discussion on social media. However, questions also arose about the judges’ decisions, which were anything but unanimous.

Hannah Scheible’s vault routine is deconstructed under the microscope

Hannah Scheible led the way for Oklahoma on the vault with a mesmerizing 9.75-point routine. But before that, she was awarded a score of 9.675, which left many amused. “Damn the OU vault judges must not have been vibing with Scheible’s front pike 1/2 because they gave this a 9.675 when I saw the live score yesterday I thought she almost fell or something“, a gymnastics enthusiast expressed her concerns with what seemed to her, and a lot other a disappointing judgment.

The NCAA point deduction system then became the center of attention. For a perfect routine, 10 is awarded, but if there’s a slight inconsistency in height, distance, chest height, or feet on landing or if the gymnast touches the floor, points are accordingly deducted. While the rules are the same for every college championship, slight differences have been recorded in SEC and NCAA judging.

Divisive opinions on the NCAA gymnastics point deduction galore

At first sight, Hannah Scheible’s routine seemed perfect. A good initial run, perfect jump and uplift, and a near-perfect landing. But looking for the second time, the deduction could be easily understood. “height, distance, low chest, feet clearly apart on landing, hop… im happy that this went 9.675 because we all know it would have went 9.85 in the SEC“, a gymnastic enthusiast expressed.

As the discussion took to championships, a fan who was satisfied with the 9.675 added, “I think the score was appropriate but i just wish all college scoring was appropriate and then people wouldn’t question when scores like this came up. I’m sure this girl will hit better vaults in the future.”.

In addition to Hannah’s routine, similar things were noticed in other routines as well. “There were some questionable low scores for every event in that meet”, a fan questioned the Oklahoma University judging.

READ MORE: Wrapping Up 2023 – Top NCAA Controversies of the Year

Some implied that the reason behind the point deduction was because the Oklahoma freshman’s hands seemed to be touching the ground. However, the debate sparker replied, “Hands almost touching the ground” is not a deduction in itself”.

While the debate may rage on, Oklahoma Sooners’ continues to dominate the college gymnastics milieu. The team will next line up against Arizona State and California on February 2nd.

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