The Ohio State Buckeyes finished second to Oklahoma in the Norman regional round two session two semifinal, 197.925-197.350. Both will advance to Saturday’s regional final with session one advancing teams Kentucky and Alabama, where they will compete for a berth to nationals in Fort Worth.
The Buckeyes started the day on floor, where an energetic and clean rotation garnered a 49.525, the sixth-best mark in Ohio State program history and its best in the NCAA postseason. Ohio State had been focusing on starting the day with “fire” on floor, head coach Meredith Paulicvic said, and she was pleased to see things get off to a strong start.
The Buckeyes led after one rotation, surpassing the Sooners’ 49.475 on beam despite a 10.0 for Oklahoma’s Ragan Smith on the event.
To Paulicivic, that lead was a sign of belonging and a confidence-builder for her young team. She acknowledges that in 2021—the last time the Buckeyes advanced to the regional final—as well as in previous appearances in the Big Ten championship night session, her squad was starstruck.
“We couldn’t do gymnastics the second day,” she said. While the Buckeyes knew they still had three rotations to go, and anything can happen in gymnastics, they proved that they can compete with Oklahoma, even…
