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"We weren't perfect, that's about it" - Coach KJ Kindler gets real as Oklahoma Sooners wins seventh NCAA Championship Title
Coach KJ Kindler shared her thoughts about Oklahoma Sooners' championship victory at the NCAA Gymnastics Championships. The female gymnasts from Oklahoma State University outpaced their counterparts from UCLA, the University of Michigan and the University of Missouri to win their seventh NCAA title after two years.
The Oklahoma Sooners had won the NCAA title in 2023. However, they were eliminated in the Regionals the following year, and the LSU Tigers won the NCAA Championships. Sooners bounced back to win their seventh championship in the last 11 years.
Kindler talked about how her team managed to achieve this in the post-match interview. In her words,
"We weren't perfect, that's about it. But consistency wise, this team has been incredibly consistent. Specially considering the amount of freshman routines, and even new teams that were competing, which I think says a lot for the future."
KJ Kindler has been supervising the Oklahoma Sooners since 2006. She had previously served the Iowa State Cyclones as the coach, before taking charge of the Oklahoma Sooners. Under Kindler's leadership, the Oklahoma Sooners had won the NCAA Championships in women's gymnastics for the first time in 2014, and have never looked back since.
KJ Kindler reveals her thoughts about the backlash the Oklahoma Sooners received after their early exit last year
![KJ Kindler opens up about the backlash received last year [Image Source : Getty]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/04/29ae3-17451165768062-1920.jpg)
2024 was a forgettable year for the Oklahoma Sooners. Like the LSU Tigers, they were the defending champions of the NCAA Championships, and were expected to complete a hat-trick of NCAA titles, having won the NCAA Championships two times in a row in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
However, the NCAA Championships semifinals [Regionals] didn't go as planned, and the Oklahoma team crashed out. The head coach, KJ Kindler talked about the backlash they received after the unexpected exit.
In a conversation with Olympics.com, Kindler said,
“It’s been a long 364 days. And I don’t ever want to see TV footage of Oklahoma falling over and over again on vault. That dragon is slayed and we’re past it. I do think they had a heavy weight on their shoulder, not from their teammates, not from themselves so much, but the public and the media.”
Kindler further added,
“It’s been tough to have that kind of criticism coming at you every week, weekend and week out for these 18 to 22 year olds. Maybe our staff can handle it, but I do think that the level of hate that has come their way is really disappointing,” she added.
The Oklahoma Sooners dominated the first round of the NCAA Championships finals to emerge as the table toppers, qualifying for the main final in style. They overcame the UCLA Bruins by a narrow margin in the balance beam category to win the NCAA Championships.
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