2012 Dowell started her senior career in 2012. In March at the
City of Jesolo Trophy in Jesolo, Italy, Dowell finished seventh all-around, second on uneven bars, and eighth on vault. In June at the Visa Championships, Dowell was ninth all-around. Following the Visa Championships Dowell was invited to compete at the 2012 US Olympic Trials. In July Dowell competed at the U.S. Olympic Trials. At Trials Dowell was ninth all-around and eighth on uneven bars. Dowell was not named to the 2012 Olympic Team. In October, Dowell travelled to the World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium with Team USA. Dowell was selected and was intending to be a balance beam and uneven bars specialist. However, Dowell did not compete. Dowell was demoted to team alternate after teammate and 2012 Olympic Gold medalist,
McKayla Maroney was selected to compete as an All-Around competitor. According to FIG rules, each country may only have 3 competitors on each apparatus. Following the World Championships, Dowell declined invitations to attend the Mexican Open in
Acapulco, Mexico and two other World Cup events.
2014 In February 2014, Dowell was selected as a last minute replacement for World Champion
Simone Biles to compete in the 2014
American Cup. Dowell competed alongside teammate
Elizabeth Price, who was also chosen as a replacement for the event following the withdrawal of 2012 Olympic Gold medalist
Kyla Ross due to injury. Dowell placed second, winning the silver medal behind Price. Dowell competed on uneven bars only at the 2014 Secret U.S. Classic in Chicago, Illinois. She scored 11.200, placing 14th on that event and 16th overall. Dowell was selected as the non-traveling alternate for the
2014 World Championships.
2015 University of Oklahoma In January 2015, Dowell began competing with the
University of Oklahoma gymnastics team. Dowell had a stand-out first season at Oklahoma and found action for the Sooners on VT, UB and FX during the regular season. She scored season highs of 9.925 (VT), 10.00 (UB) and 9.975 (FX). She helped her team come in third place at Super Six Finals. She was Floor champion at the Big-12 Championships and was later crowned Big-12 Newcomer of the Year. On June 9, 2015, it was announced that Dowell would be deferring for the 2015–16 season to compete elite again.
Secret U.S. Classic On July 25, Dowell competed at the Secret U.S. Classic where she only competed on uneven bars and balance beam. On bars, she included her Tweddle release in combination with a half turn transfer (Ezhova). She fell on her toe-on Shaposhnikova (Maloney) and dismounted with a full-twisting double layout. Despite the fall, she scored a 14.350 and finished 8th on the event. A mistake and fall on beam scored an 11.800 and she finished 18th on the event.
P&G Championships On August 13 & 15, Dowell competed at the P&G Championships where she competed in the all-around for the first time since 2013. She finished in 11th with a 2-night score of 113.700, including a 15.150 on uneven bars. She was named to the Senior National Team and was invited to the 2015 Worlds Selection Camp in September.
World Championships On October 8, Dowell, alongside Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Madison Kocian, Maggie Nichols, Aly Raisman, and Mykayla Skinner, was once again chosen to represent the United States of America at the 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, in Glasgow. She struggled with nerves but competed floor, vault, and bars in team qualification. During her floor performance in qualifications, her music did not play. She still competed a solid routine without music, and went along with the clapping from the audience. On floor, she performed a piked double front salto. This was the first time the skill had been performed at the World Championships, and thus it was named after her in the Code of Points. She performed a solid vault afterward. She also competed on the uneven bars. The team won gold.
2016 In early 2016, Dowell attended the U.S Olympic Team Summit, an event for potential U.S Olympic Team members to meet with the media and do promotional work. She attended with fellow 2015 World Championships gold medalists,
Simone Biles,
Aly Raisman.
Gabby Douglas,
Madison Kocian,
Maggie Nichols and
MyKayla Skinner. In April, Dowell was chosen to compete at the
2016 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships in Everett, Washington. On Day 1, Dowell hit all four of her events, which helped team USA take the gold medal. She had the fourth-highest score in All-Around, 58.850, behind U.S teammates
Aly Raisman,
Simone Biles and
Laurie Hernandez. But because of the two-per-country rule, Shallon Olsen of Canada officially placed fourth. Dowell also qualified in second place to the Uneven Bars final, after displaying an impressive set on the first night of competition. Also, after
Simone Biles, was withdrawn from event finals, Dowell also earned a spot in the Floor Exercise final. In event finals, Dowell fell on a release move in the Uneven Bars final, incurring a deduction and placing her 5th with a score of 14.000. She earned a silver medal in floor finals with a score of 14.825 behind Raisman, the reigning Olympic floor champion. At the 2016 P&G championships, Dowell was named to the National Team and earned a berth to the 2016 Olympic Trials in San Jose, California. She was not named to the Olympic team.
2017 In 2017, Dowell continued her gymnastics career at the University of Oklahoma for her sophomore season. ==Eponymous skill==