Sunday, January 8	Scores	Watch
1:00 ET/10:00 PT – West Virginia @ Maryland	LINK	BTN+
1:00 ET/10:00 PT – UW-Eau Claire, Hamline @ Central Michigan		FREE
2:00 ET/11:00 PT – [5] Florida @ NC State		ESPN3
2:00 ET/11:00 PT – [22] Iowa, Western Michigan, Lindenwood @ Northern Illinois	LINK	NIU TV

Just a brief slate of meets for today, but I do think there’s quite a bit of interest in how Florida is going to look starting off the season, particularly Hundley and Gowey.

That game where no one has any working live scores. AH HA HA HA. Enjoyment. This is fun for me. I like this.

Gymnastics programs aren’t exactly in a safe position these days, so please continue being terrible at providing an informed fan experience and engaging viewers. This is a good idea.

Florida is vaulting Dagen, Chant, Hundley, Baker, Boren, McMurtry. No Slocum is interesting. I thought her vault looked good in preseason and is a 10.0.

Florida:
VT – Dagen, Chant, Hundley, Baker, Boren, McMurtry
UB – Boren, Chant, Gowey, Baker, Hundley, McMurtry
BB – Baker, McLaughlin, Hundley, Boren, Gowey, McMurtry
FX – McLaughlin, Boyce, Hundley, Chant, Boren, Baker

Baker is the floor anchor. I anticipate no complains this year. At least about the floor lineup. The bars lineup, fine.

We still don’t have any scores, but who needs those to follow a meet? Results? This isn’t a sport, so that’s irrelevant. Also, it’s way past meet start time and we have no video yet. Apparently we’re supposed to be forgiving because of extreme weather, but that doesn’t sound like us, does it?

Alright, we have arrived with video. Two Fillards and two Phillipseseses on vault for NC State. This is far too confusing. No help.

Lesson: Yfull starts at a “9.5.” I’M LEARNING SO MUCH.

Tamburro with a piked yfull with a bounce back.

Boren – UB – a little flat on tkatchev but fine – good hip circle – loses legs on bail somewhat – DLO with a large hop back.

C Fillard – VT – good amplitude on her full, large rebound backward out of it.

Chant – UB – this was her weaker event in elite, so i’m interested to see – also quite flat on her tkatchev – clean bail – tuck full dismount, also a larger lunge backward.

A Fillard – VT – less dynamic than her sister (FIGHT) – some piking and a hop to the side.

Gowey – UB – nearly arches first hs but fine – better tkatchev – solid pak OUCH – struggles up with her handstand – tries to fight for it, can’t and just sort of plummets to her back -she was really going for every hs – DLO with a hop.

A Phillips – VT – also good distance on her full and a shoulder-sized step back.

Baker – UB – Happy to see her later in the lineup this year – good amp on Ray – feet but good – very clean bail and good counter on shoot back to high – double front very well controlled landing, small bounce in place. Good one. 9.825. That’s a little tight. Totally would have been a 9.900 at Florida. And by 9.900 I mean 78,000.

P Phillips – VT – also great distance, bounces backward into Kentucky – pretty much off the mat with that landing – it looks like they’re not really focusing on landing control at all yet at this point in the year.

Hundley – UB – good shap to pak combo – lovely positions and control – shap 12 is great – tuck full and just a small shuffle. A very, very good routine. That will get some scores this year.

Knight – VT – full – also a large bounce back.

McMurtry – UB – Ray is fine, a little piked shape but solid – good bail – hitting hs – those piked giants that drive everyone crazy – and a tucked full dismount and stuck. Announcer called her Alec. Oh, Alec.

No. No one wants the rotation scores. That’s fine.

Florida just OK on bars, but it got better as we went. Baker looked strong, Hundley had an excellent debut, and McMurtry did normal McMurtry. Boren and Chant will be fine, their routines don’t have the same smoothness and amplitude as the others, but the big thing was landing control this time. Gowey…because Gowey.

NC State actually has quite a bit of potential on these vaults in the amplitude and dynamics department, but the landings were multi-tenth problems for every single one of them.

Florida 49.125, NC State 48.950
You know that same bars rotation would have scored 49.4 at Florida. NC State’s scores quite high for those landings. If Florida sticks 1.5s, they’ll get 20s.

Rotation 2:
Slocum is doing exo on vault.

Dagen – VT – no, lady, that was not a Tsuk – yfull – a little piking but good control on landing.

Wild – UB – tkatchev – random Russian-style giant 1/2 – good position on the bail – short on a couple hs – very short on giant 1/1, and then a step back on double tuck.

Chant – VT – Tsuk full – larger bounce back – just a bit of piking, but nice, good potential for this lineup.

P Phillips – UB – crazy legs on her gienger – a little short on bail and a couple hs in here – sticks a staggered-leg tuck full.

Hundley – VT – just doing the full – too much power to control it, as somewhat expected, pikes down at the end to try to land it and then a bounce.

Tamburro – UB – short hs as well – some loose knees in the jaeger and some very loose legs in the bail – goes for a DLO 1/1 dismount, squatty landing and a side step, but good.

KBakes – VT – 1.5 – larger bounce forward out of it than we usually see from her, but otherwise normal.

Brooker – UB – toe on to toe shap – loses her legs on the back swing and then on the bail – can’t cast out of the bail and comes off the baill – close on toe shoot to high – DLO with a little too hollow, step back. Rougher third and fourth routines from NC State.

Boren – VT – 1.5 NEARLY stuck, great landing with just a small shuffly step. One of her best vaults. 9.950. (They said that score was for Baker, but I can’t imagine. It has to be for Boren.)

A Fillard – UB – late giant 1/2 into gienger with excellent legs, quite nice to see – short hs thorughout like all of them – whippy DLO with a hop.

McMurtry – VT – only the full – not the DTY – a bit short on the landing with a hop forward, which in uncharacteristic for her, maybe evidence of her time training the DTY. “She has scored a 10.0 with her double full before.” No.

Knight – UB – best rhythm so far – a little floppy on the bail – good amplitude on tkatchev – going for hs (sometimes a little too much) solid shape on DLO with a small hop back.

Slocum does Exo, handspring pike 1/2, just a small hop in place. Yeah, so, why is that not in the lineup? It should be.

So, I might be the only one on this, but I’m digging Jenny’s new hair. Obviously, these are the important issues.

We’ll wait on scores for this. Like the landings on vault, NC State should get dinged quite heavily for the handstands on bars as most gymnasts were short on all of them. Not a ton short, but not vertical yet at this point in the year.

Florida’s vault highlight was Boren (and the exhibition from Slocum), with a very solid landing. The rest of the landings were a little tenthy, but that’s not weird at this point in the year. If Hundley can work her way up to normal difficulty and Slocum gets into the lineup for Dagen (although Dagen vaulted quite well), we’re looking at a lineup of six 10.0 starts, which would be a major asset.

We got to see Kennedy Baker stick a warmup Dos Santos, so it’s all fine.

Florida goes 49.400 on vault. 9.950 for Boren. 9.900 for Baker, both receiving deductions only on landings. McMurtry still got a 9.875 in spite of landing short, so…fun?

Rotation 3:
Alexis Beucler – BB – wobble on straddle 1/4, falls on loso series – huge break on a cartwheel – gainer full

McLaughlin – FX – small lack of control on opening pass – leap series looked short but we also have a very high angle which is going to emphasize any lack of 180, rudi with a touch of ragged legs – back 1.5 to front pike.

P Phillips – BB – hits loso series – kickover front is secure – switch leap to switch side, check at the hips on switch side – bits of legs – “she has a tendency to sweat.”

Boyce – FX – she’s back here, we’ll hope to see beam soonish? – front 2/1 mount, very undertwisted with a stumble sideways and OOB – rough opening, but it’s her first routine back – slightly wonky on double turn – 1.5 to front pike was better, that usual dance out of it – bounce back out of rudi.

C Fillard – BB – better loso series form than the others, check to the side though – deep ladning on kickover front with step forward – gainer full –

Oh honey, we’ve been saying they’re going to downgrade the gainer full for about 75 years. Hasn’t happened.

Hundley – FX – whip double tuck, not doing the DLO, just a little lowish – front layout to full, whippy on front layout – solid straddles – double pike, pretty well controlled landing, just a bit chest down – she looks not quite there on the leg events right now, not showing full difficulty, not looking Hundley-confident on these landings yet.

A Fillard – BB – pretty three series – very deep on kickover front with a larger bend to the side, could be 3 tenths if they want to – gainer full, small slide.

Chant – FX – DLO is strong, step back but stays in, good height and chest position – solid amplitude on leaps – front tuck through to double back, I like this pass, chest down more than usual on double tuck but fine – somewhat uncontrolled L turn finish – bouncy on double pike and goes OOB.

Grantham – BB – better kickover front – so she obviously has to fall on her loso series – counting a fall now – switch to side aerial, wasn’t intended to be a side aerial to side position but it was – short of 180 on switch side – nearly sticks a high 1.5.

Boren – FX – full in – minor shortness on landing with a hop to the side, which means it will be taken since uncontrolled step – 1.5 to layout – two steps back out of double back dismount – good passes, good chest positions, just a little steppy on those landings, which will take away a big, big score. 9.850.

Knight – BB – smooth and extended walkover – confident loso series as well – best form on the team – switch to straddle 1/4 – attitude turn – stag – side aerial – sticks gainer full, excellent.

Baker – FX – nails Dos Santos, steps forward but a controlled step – chest down on double tuck, small step forward – 1.5 to layout 1/2 to straddle is quite strong. A good one.

Alexa Phillips is an “exhibitionist” on beam. I don’t think that word means what you think it means. Stumbles while landing her 1.5 dismount. Ankle struggles? Looks like it. Shame.

Slocum exhibition on floor – also not doing full difficulty with a double pike mount – good double pike out of middle pass, very secure – rudi is fine – so…I also think this should be in the lineup…?

Florida goes 49.125 on floor. 9.925 from Baker the highlight score. NC State 48.575 on beam.

Rotation 4:
KBakes – BB – wolf turn single so it’s fine – walkover to bhs series very smooth and precise – excellent amplitude on straddle jump, a little hesitant on switch 1/2 – side aerial to full dismount – small shuffle. No, it’s not “very unique.”

Tamburro – FX – double tuck, gigantic stumble backward out of it and OOB – short wolf – 1.5 to 1/2 to straddle – good control on double pike dismount, just flexed feet.

McLaughlin – BB – pleased to see her on this event – walkover to bhs, a little slow in combination but she’ll get credit – sissone – beat jump to double stag with a wobble – large wobble on side aerial, oh Grace – gainer full stuck.

A Phillips – FX – she’s back after that weird beam ankle – deep landing on double arabian but gets it around and controls it – 1.5 to layout, just stays on her feet after coming in very short, step back – slide back on rudi –

Hundley – BB – walkover to sissone, very good amplitude – bhs loso series is secure – switch side – tentative on that full turn – side aerial to full, smallish step. Good one, very few deductions – only a touch of Mary Lee PTSD on that full turn, but not much at all.

C Fillard – FX – full in – I’m liking this difficulty from NC State, but steps OOB – actually was a controlled step, but she goes OOB because she took it right to the corner – 1.5 to front pike deep landing –  another step OOB on the double tuck.

Boren – BB – standing kickover front is fun to see – loso series – quick and confident – leaps almost there – gainer loso solid – full turn – gainer full, hop feet together.

“I’m here to take her shoes.” BUT WHAT THOUGH.

Grantham – FX – tuck full in first pass – a little short with a step forward – nice leaps, good 180 – 1.5 to front pike with a bounce – very very short on double tuck final pass to her face.

Gowey – BB – good switch leap – two loso series, very strong – walkover, smallest check – full turn – small hop on gainer full. OK, we got a good one from Gowey. It’s all OK.

Knight – FX – Atttitude turn – round off right to double pike, and good power on it for not having a bhs – 1.5 to front layout, small shuffle but does well to keep that shuffle in bounds – double turn to wolf jump – rudi, a bit ragged in the legs but should be another good score. She has had an excellent meet.

McMurtry – BB – good series – switch to swing down to hip circle – full turn – high 2/1 dismount that’s stuck and excellent.

P Phillips – FX – nice double arabian, not much cowboying and control on landing – back 1.5 to front layout – rudi dismount, legs.

Amanda Cheney is doing exo on beam. had a nice three series going, checks working out of it, which she probably didn’t need to do – side aerial to full dismount.

Florida does break 197 with a 197.100. NC State with a 194.925 final. Big vault and beam scores for Florida. Average bars and floor scores. Landings landings landings. I see potential in the power events for NC State as we go. Much better dynamics than a lot of their peer teams.

Baker’s 39.500 is the top AA total for the meet.