Two Sooners Pick Up Awards After OU Records Third-Best Score In School History

After helping the No. 1 Oklahoma women's gymnastics team to its third-best score in program history, freshman Maggie Nichols and junior Stefani Catour have received weekly accolades from the Big 12. Nichols has been named the Big 12 Gymnast of the Week, while Catour is the Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday.

Nichols and Catour were instrumental in OU's impressive showing at the GymQuarters Mardi Gras Invitational in St. Charles, Mo., last week. The Sooners posted a 198.350 to take first place over No. 2 LSU, No. 10 Georgia and No. 15 Missouri. Nichols and Catour were part of OU's bars (49.600) and beam (49.625) lineups that posted season-best totals, both of which stand as the fourth-best in program history on the events.

In the meet, Nichols bested her own program record all-around total with a huge 39.925. According to records from RoadtoNational.com dating back to 1998, the score is the best by a freshman. Nichols concluded the meet with a 10.0 on beam, her fourth overall perfect score this season and her second in the event. Her four 10.0s are the second most in an OU career behind Haley Scaman (five total, two on vault and three on floor).

Nichols also recorded a trio of 9.975s on floor, vault and bars and she grabbed at least a share of all four individual titles and picked up her seventh straight all-around title. Currently, Nichols is ranked first in the nation in the all-around and on all events.

Catour impressed in the competition, matching her career highs on both bars and beam with scores of 9.925 and 9.95, respectively. Out of 24 competitors, Catour finished fourth on bars and tied for second on beam at the meet. Catour is currently ranked on both events based on regional qualifying score, coming in tied for fourth on bars and holding a share of 20th on beam.

In 2017, the Sooners have earned 17 total awards from the Big 12. This marks Nichols' eighth overall recognition and third gymnast of the week accolade. Nichols' eight honors are the most in Big 12 history for a single season. Catour has now earned the specialist honor twice. This season, OU has received at least two awards from the Big 12 every week.

The Sooners will face Georgia for a second straight meet when they host the No. 7 Gymdogs for Senior Night. The contest will begin at 6:45 p.m. CT on Friday, Feb. 24, inside Lloyd Noble Center.