OU women's gymnastics assistant Ashley Kerr misses NCAA final to give birth to daughter
FORT WORTH, Texas — OU's celebration on the floor of Dickies Arena on Saturday was missing one important piece.
Instead of standing in a shower of confetti, OU women's gymnastics volunteer assistant coach Ashley Kerr was in a Fort Worth hospital after the birth of her baby daughter Saturday morning.
Kerr, who was due April 24, thought she had plenty of time.
But her water broke around 5:30 a.m.
Kerr didn’t want to wake Sooners coach K.J. Kindler, and decided to drive herself to the hospital.
Up I-35, Mark Daigneault, Kerr’s husband, was hurrying for an unexpected drive on very little sleep.
More: ICYMI: Relive OU women's gymnastics' best highlights from run to sixth NCAA championship
Daigneault was in Minneapolis on Friday night, coaching the Oklahoma City Thunder in what proved to be their season finale.
Daigneault arrived home around 3 a.m., but quickly shook off the fatigue and hit the road, arriving in Fort Worth around 8:30 a.m.
About an hour later, Kerr gave birth to the couple’s second child.
“It was a pretty incredible story,” Kindler said.
Kindler was anxious to share the moment with Kerr.
“I’m sure she was watching on TV mortified that she wasn’t here, holding an infant,” Kindler said.
More: How did OU women's gymnastics coach K.J. Kindler's shoe superstition fuel NCAA title run?
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder's Mark Daigneault, OU's Ashley Kerr welcome baby daughter
