| Sunday, March 5 |
Scores | Watch |
| 1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Brown, Yale @ New Hampshire | LINK | FREE |
| 1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Rutgers @ Central Michigan | LINK | FREE |
| 1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Penn State, Bridgeport, West Chester @ Penn | LINK | Ivy $ |
| 1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Western Michigan @ Ball State | LINK | FREE |
| 1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Brockport @ Ursinus | ||
| 1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Southern Connecticut @ Springfield | ||
| 2:00 ET/11:00 PT – [6] Alabama @ [8] Georgia | LINK | SEC |
| 2:00 ET/11:00 PT – [16] George Washington, [24] Eastern Michigan, Pitt @ West Virginia | LINK | FREE |
| 2:00 ET/11:00 PT – Bowling Green @ Michigan State | LINK | BTN+ |
| 2:00 ET/11:00 PT – TWU @ Lindenwood | LINK | FREE |
| 2:00 ET/11:00 PT – Air Force @ SEMO | LINK | FREE |
| 3:00 ET/12:00 PT – [17] Washington @ [9] Oregon State | LINK | P12 |
| 3:00 ET/12:00 PT – Arizona State @ [23] Arizona | P12 | |
| 3:00 ET/12:00 PT – [20] Illinois, Northern Illinois, Illinois-Chicago @ Illinois State | FREE | |
| 3:30 ET/12:30 PT – [3] Florida @ [2] LSU | LINK | SEC |
| 4:00 ET/1:00 PT – [19] Cal @ [4] UCLA | LINK | P12 |
| 5:00 ET/2:00 PT – [22] Utah State @ San Jose State | LINK | FREE |
| 6:00 ET/3:00 PT – Centenary @ Alaska | LINK | FREE |
Alabama/Georgia. The old favorite. Kind of weird that it’s the opening act now. Suzanne in a random cocktail dress for old times sake?
Thanks for the info about the time for UCLA/Cal. That’s very annoying. They had it scheduled perfectly and then changed it after the original schedule release just to make things worse for all of us.
I enjoy that they’re still calling this Friday Night Heights. The Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League meets on Thursdays.
Rotation 1:
Broussard – VT – full – great dynamics and shape, lands a little deep and a hop back. 9.800.
Sims – UB – toe on to Ray, strong catch – legs on bail and throughout – one iffy handstand – whips out DLO, deep landing and a bound forward. 9.850.
Beth Roberts strep throat. Out.
Reynolds – VT – Good choice, nice stick on the full – pretty much, bounce in place – flat off the table.
Mahoney – UB – toe shap, good legs but doesn’t get up to horizontal on the back swing – very clean bail, excellent vertical – also deep and squatty in her tuck full landing with a large step to the side. 9.875.
Scores going high early, particularly bars. We would expect nothing less.
Johnson – VT – excellent dynamics and layout position, small hop.
Jetter – UB – Ray, high but close, the usual – strong bail positions – double front, third deep landing in a row, with a hop back.
Marino – VT – she brings back the 1.5! Necessary for the postseason – hop forward, some legs at the end. 9.800.
Keely McNeer was in a car accident on Thursday! Broken pinkie.
Childers – UB – shap to bail – some legs – late on a 1/2 turn into the dismount but she does pull out the stick, which no one else had done.
Dickson – VT – excellent full, sticks – leans back to salute, not showing control on the stick – a little off to the side but not too much to take.
We missed Winston on bars. “THEY’RE USUALLY SUPPOSED TO WAIT FOR OUR CUE.”
Snead – VT – NEARLY sticks her 1.5, just a small shuffle forward – excellent form and direction. Strong vault.
Winston got 9.925 for the routine we missed.
Bailey – UB – fantastic Jaeger – holds a perfectly vertical bail on bars – hitting casts – full out, hop back. Good one.
After 1: Alabama 49.400, Georgia 49.275
Actually thought the scores were appropriate for Georgia on vault. It looked like they were going high early, but that was fine. I didn’t really think Alabama was appropriately docked for the first three gymnasts having quite weak dismounts, but Bailey did very well. Of course we missed Winston, the best score in the lineup.
DANA AND DANNA ARE SUCH GOOD FRIENDS. Alright, Kyla and McKayla.
“We’ve had quite a…interesting time already.” Holly gets us.
Apparently the winner of Florida and LSU will win the SEC “regular season championship.” Translation: literally nothing.
Ha! I didn’t even notice that they said metatarsal. I would have enjoyed making fun of that!
It wasn’t an all-time program low for Georgia. Just lowest in a long time.
Rotation 2:
Childers – VT – “thrown into the fire” that must hurt – good stick on her full coming into the lineup – not the most distance and clear piking throughout, so it won’t get the huge score, but didn’t give anything away on landing.
Reynolds – UB – catches Jaeger – good pak as well – hitting her handstands, last one questionable – holds the sticks on the DLO, a little squat. Good one. She has some moments of feet in there, but near her peak.
Armbrecht – VT – also good control on her landing, small shuffle forward. Also lacks some of the distance and extension of the others, but good landing.
Sanders – UB – hecht mount – arches up first handstand with loose great – strong distance on piked jaeger – some legs, not quite vertical on bail – stalder to double tuck, “sticks” but has to lean enough to hold the stick that it’s no different than a step –
Winston – VT – fab height and shape, but she doesn’t have the stick with a hop back.
Johnson – UB – hecht mount for her as well – shortish early handstands – high gienger as usual but some legs – bail – short final cast – hop forward on the DLO, not a big hop but that’s the highlight of the routine so they want a stick there from her.
“Up to a five-tenth deduction” LOLOOLOLOLOL.
Guerrero – VT – one of her stronger 1.5s. Very good landing, basically a stick. Mushy knees throughout.
Snead – UB – Tkatchev, smooth, not the biggest – holds the handstand on the bail but does arch it, good save – not her most precise set – sticks the DLO well, small pike down at the end but a great landing.
Bailey – VT – a hop forward on the Y1/2 this time, so not the stick from last week – small hop and excellent shape in the air.
Dickson – UB – good height on tkatchev, close catch though – solid overshoot – ooo very short final cast hs – squatty landing on DLO, tries to sell the stick but it wasn’t, with a step back to salute.
Desch – VT – sticks a 1.5! Her best vault of the season – serious leg form throughout the vault, but that’s a fab landing.
Schick – UB – nice piked jaeger – fractured thumb and is like…I’m still doing bars what – clean on bail – forward on the DLO landing with a hop –
After 2: Georgia 98.700, Alabama 98.675
Scoring-wise, I thought the standard maintained of realistic scoring on vault and highly unrealistic scoring on bars. Close one, which is fun, but some real gifts handed out on bars there. Georgia’s bars landings were stronger than Alabama’s, but Alabama was cleaner on the bars in the handstand department this time, which Georgia missing some in several routines.
Kupets all bragging about Baby and Hot Husband. Baby is on Suzanne’s lap. Uh oh. Is she going to put her in the fat group? Suzanne is def giving that baby extra morning workouts.
Dana Duckworth’s wisdom of the week: “Absorb. Sell.”
Rotation 3:
I’m sure Maddie Desch is enjoying that closeup right now.
Vega – BB – smallest lean working out of loso series but nothing – aerial to beat jump – side somi with a couple significant swims to save it – strong leaps – side aerial to full, stuck.
Trend: commentators not knowing what anchoring the lineup is.
Guerra – FX – solid double tuck – 1.5 to layout to stag, the stag covers up the lack of control ont he landing, but it was there – strong height on leaps – a little chest on double pike but controlled.
Sanders – BB – hits loso series, a little tight – switch side, crooked – overturns her full turn and makes it a 1.25 turn – hits that standing front tuck to beat, very very deep on landing but hit – punch front full, small hop.
Childers – FX – nails full in, good control, chest but well controlled – facial expression city – front tuck to 2/1 – split jump 1.5 to split 1/2, good 180s – rudi to double stag, flatish but fine.
Dickson – BB – switch to split 1/4, tight on that split position and then a wobble landing it – secure on loso series – aerial to beat – bhs 1.5 with a hop forward.
Desch – FX – solid double arabian, she has worked that pass out, it still looks like she’s going to butt-a-arabian it every time, but no trouble on the landing – 1.5 to half to split to front tuck – switch ring and split full, pulls that around – double tuck, chest.
Broussard – BB – one-armed bhs to loso – switch to split 1/4, tight back leg, which often happens on the 1/4 – I agree with Kupets about the SEC regular season champion, that’s nothing – falls on side aerial. Oh, Broussard.
Bailey – FX – solid landing on the double arabian, small squattiness – front lay to front full, good height – switch ring to split full, short on split full it appeared from this angle – rudi a little slide.
Babalis – BB – aerial to loso series, hit – switch to split, hits 180s – check on full turn – kickover front to beat, another check – punch layout full, some knees and a hop/slide on landing, tiny.
Winston – FX – DLO, high, laid out, controlled well – front lay to front full – switch ring and switch 1/2, awesome – nails double tuck. Strongest routine of the lineup so far.
Schick – BB – check on loso series but keeps it minor – aerial to split 1/4, not the quickest combination but individual execution is good – switch with a check – adds split to wolf – side aerial, another small check – gainer full.
Sims – FX – large lunge back out of the double pike this time – switch and split, excellent – 1.5 to front lay, whips around that front lay, barely, doesn’t get the punch – she’s off on her tumbling today – double tuck was better. Still 9.825. Somehow.
Yay! Love that Danna is explaining the problem with Schick’s score to the viewing audience. Don’t be afraid to get technical. Also she’s like, “we’ll see what the judges do…” Yeah, they need to start her from 9.8. That’s what they’ll do.
Although I will say gymnasts need to be aware of their requirements, so if she broke that switch series, she needs to know that she has to go back and repeat that skill.
9.725 for Schick right now, which is too high. One judge is still 9.8 even though she should have started from 9.8.
After 3: Alabama 148.175, Georgia 147.850
Alabama moves ahead after Georgia was meh on beam with the fall and the checks and the SV. Scores are going way high on floor, so get ready for that when Georgia gets there. It’s going to be silly if it continues at this rate. But so is beam. It’s getting real. And by real aI mean entirely fictional.
Rotation 4:
Armbrecht – BB – aerial to beat jump, not pleased with the speed of that connection with a lean – check on turn – lean on loso series landing – split to sheep, solid on the sheep shape but another lean to the left, basically every skill – sticks great high 1.5. Endured but not comfortable. 9.875. Oh brother, here we go. She had literally three obvious balance checks in there, minimum.
Reynolds – FX – front 2/1, hot high but solid – 1.5 to layout, great 1.5 but too whippy on the layout, needed more height – switch side to popa, solid positions – secure rudi.
Sims – BB – leaps, fab, obviously, the end – extended and comfortable in the loso series – switch – split to straddle 1/4 – it’s smart of them to make this as much about leaps as possible. Minimum acro. Double tuck dismount, good, step back.
Babalis – FX – ooooh, Georgia team is doing the team chalk drop now. Oklahoma copyright infringement – great double tuck, chest up – front lay to front full, lunges forward out of that, uncontrolled – split 1.5 to split 1.25? Ish? – good extension but very indistinct landing position – huge bound back on her double pike. So like…9.975 then?
Childers – BB – solid loso series – that full turn – split to sheep, not the best closure on the sheep – kickover front to scale, not the most comfortable scale but she did it – 1.5 dismount, didn’t get the best set – some legs and a hop to the side.
Vega – FX – whip to double tuck, a little bouncy but it’s a better choice than the full in – 1.5 to layout, good extension and height but a little lungey – solid double pike as well, slide – just a little lack of control in each pass.
OSU and Washington has started.
OSU: McMillian – VT – larger bound forward out of 1.5 this week, and some legs –
Wash: Copiak – UB – Church is strong – not quite hitting her verticals – final cast handstand was closer – sticks staggered tuck full.
Desch – BB – aerial to bhs series – overturns her full turn and corrects into 1.25 – side aerial – two bhs to a stuck 1.5. Strong.
OSU” Dessaints – VT – squatty landing on 1.5 with a hop forward, so not her strongest but a fine one.
Wash: Duranczyk – UB – jaeger to overshoot, good jaeger, some legs in overshoot – giant lunge backward on DLO dismount, shame. Elise is like, “crap.”
OSU 49.250, Washington 49.100
Snead – FX – Back to floor! – bounces back out of double tuck and a slide back out of double pike, but she’s getting there – switch and splits, nice positions – rudi, fine, but not all the way back yet.
Winston – BB – split and split 1/2, check – aerial to bhs, also tight and slow in combination – full turn – great double tuck, high, excellent shape, small step back. 9.925. OK SURE. HAVE FUN.
Dickson – FX – secure double pike, somewhat staggered in landing – 1.5 to layout, a little flat on layout – switch side and popa, hit – slide back double tuck.
Guerrero – BB – two loso series, no trouble – switch to straddle, strong shapes – full turn – 1.5 dismount, stuck.
Marino – FX – DLO, good, extended – 1.5 to layout, excellent straight position and set – short on double pike with a lunge forward. Great until the end. 9.950. With that last pass. NOTHING MATTERS FRIENDS.
FINAL: Alabama 197.700, Georgia 197.325
FUN WITH SEC SCORING. But progress for both in performance. They’ll take both the scores and the results.
I also can’t believe they didn’t fix the Schick beam score. There was no question there. It’s just wrong.
OSU: Jacobsen – UB – tight first hs – nice height and toes on tkatchev – struggling with her cast handstands – and then sits her double front – off from the start –
Wash: Riley – VT – lands pretty lock-legged on her y1/2 again – some piking in the air – step forward.
BUT WHO WILL BE THE REGULAR SEASON SEC CHAMPION?
LSU and Florida beginning. DD is even golder than usual.
Rotation 1:
Finnegan – VT – lovely full, smallest step back and will probably get hit for distance, but pretty.
Boren – UB – solid hs and tkatchev – clear hip to bail, legs – borderline final hs – better DLO landing, just a hop in place.
Hambrick – VT – 1.5, one of her better ones – still comes in a little short with a step back – but not a fall. I love when I type things as Kathy says the exact same thing. We get each other.
Chant – UB – tkatchev, not much counter – a little arch in a cast handstand – YIKES – flung her dismount out like crazy and landed face-first. She’s fine. Worst part was that coach Owen also stepped on her as he was jumping to her rescue.
Ewing – VT – excellent 1.5, small step back, but she comes in so easily, ready for the landing – laid out.
Gowey – UB – much better counter on her Ray, lovely – pretty bail – one handstand to take – DLO, sticks with chest down.
Harrold – VT – sticks 1.5! Good one – knee form throughout, but a great landing.
Priessman out of vault because she hurt her knee in warmup. Of course she did.
Baker – UB – strong through the Ray and bail – double front and a hop in place. Erika Aufiero got 9.975 for her senior day bars, and I missed it. Great.
Edney – VT – I agree with Kathy, didn’t get her usual block but worked it out anyway – some knees and a step forward.
Bart is trying to tell us about basketball.
Hundley – UB – shap to pak, pretty – to shap 1/2, does well to keep the legs – one handstand – tuck full, small hop back. Good one.
Gnat – VT – sticks her DTY this time. Let’s see what this scores, although we don’t really need to. She digs in to lean to hold the stick. And the legs, so there’s that. 10.000.
McMurtry – UB – Just went over on a handstand! Then catches her Ray close but stays on through it even though she took an extra swing and a correction that will be a major deduction – hop back on tuck full.
After 1: LSU 49.625, Florida 48.925
Great vault rotation from LSU. The score is high but actually not totally ridiculous. (Edney is the one that stands out to me as being too high but mostly they’re within reason, that was an amazing rotation. There are deductions in Gnat’s vault in the air, but we know from precedent she’s going to get a 10 when she sticks.)
Florida is the big story there. Quite unexpected with those two mistakes, counting a 9.450. When was the last time Florida went sub 49 on bars?
Rotation 2:
When are we getting Kennedy Baker back? We can’t take this.
Gowey – VT – full – some piking – hop to the side. Fine.
Zamardi – UB – shap to pak, legs – solid – double arabian landing sneaks up on her a little this time with a shoulder-width lunge back. Otherwise clean. I miss the Khorkina but it’s a smart composition choice for this year.
Chant – VT – Struggles with her Tsuk full – piked in the air and then a very large bounce back.
“At least a three tenth of a point deduction.” LOLOLOLOLOLOL.
Hambrick – UB – Damn girl, over balances a handstand as does an extra swing – keeps it going – bail – a short handstand – small hop back on tuck full.
Hundley – VT – solid on the full – near stick, small slide – she does that – comes off a little flat on the table – but she does well to pull things around even without a ton of amplitude.
Harrold – UB – shap 1/2, to Zucchold – grat legs this time, she has worked on that – 1/2 turn to giant jaeger – double front with a step forward – she is progressively improving the in-between-awesomeness form each week so that the skills can shine. Getting there.
Boren – VT – horrible camera work, good vault? No idea about landing?
It was a small hop and just some bent knees for Boren.
Edney – UB – Kindorff a little close but fine – clear hip to bail – legs together, handstandishness in a couple places – lovely straight shape in DLO, small step and then another step back to salute though.
Slocum – VT – Florida is off today, chest way down and a hop forward. Won’t be a horrific score but it is her worst vault of the season by a mile.
Finnegan – gorgeous Ray obviously – hits bail very well, legs together and clearly vertical – sticks DLO, whippy but stuck –
McMurtry – VT – DTY and stuck! Well, if Gnat was a 10. Excellent. Nailed. Wonderful.
And she gets a 10.000. If it hadn’t been after Gnat, that would have been injustice.
Priessman – UB – I love how we cut away from this routine to see McMurtry celebrate – AH HA HA HA – some usual legs on the pak and the DLO but not much else. Hop back on DLO.
After 2: LSU 99.050, Florida 98.300
LSU was able to drop its mistake on bars and use a couple 9.925s to get 49.425. I’m really not sure how Priessman keeps getting the same or better scores than Finnegan on bars, but…
Florida really needed that McMurtry 10 to save some of these scores because it had been a poor day until then, even Boren on her vault 9.900, which is a good score and the other high-level vault of the rotation, did not do her best.
And of course, because of SECN positivity, we have to ask Jenny about McMurtry’s vault and reference not at all how weak this meet has been so far. It wouldn’t be interesting to get her thoughts or explanation of her team’s performance at all….
UCLA and Cal getting start. MULTITASKING ALERT.
UCLA: Meraz VT – holds the stick basically – lunges forward in her salute, which the judges should account for – but solid as she often is.
CAL: So Seilnacht – UB -good first hs – small leg break in 1/2 turn, solid piked jaeger, also has that same small leg shift in bail – a handstand in there – 1.5 twist dismount, love, step back.
UCLA: Kocian – VT – hop back on full, smallish hop but not her best landing.
CAL: Takara – UB – borderline first handstand – huge piked gienger and keeps her legs throughout – overshoot – small hop back on tuck full and then a couple handstands but should be a useful score
UCLA: Cipra – VT – small hop back on her full, one of her better controlled landings.
LSU: Macadaeg – BB – switch and switch 1/2, awesome – aerial to straddle, clean and crisp – loso series, comfortable – sticks gainer full. Fantastic. Did you even see anything to take? 9.950 and deserved.
FL: McLaughlin – FX – front lay front full, fine – a little bouncy on the Rudi – 1.5 and overflips it, nothing into her front after that, just pulls it to her feet but a large stumble backward.
UCLA: Ross – VT – nearly sticks the full, step back.
UCLA: Preston – VT – almost sticks her full, tries to hold it but is short with a step forward into her salute.
LSU: Hambrick – BB – side aerial, small correction – switch and straddle 1/4, excellent – smooth on loso series – small step on 2/1
CAL: Richardson – UB – big tkatchev to overshoot – hop back on DLO, one-tenth hop back and some moments of feet but solid –
UCLA: Kramer – VT – goes for the 1.5 but doesn’t have it, has to tuck her knees and a stumble backward. Not a good vault rotation for UCLA.
Gowey falls on her double back on floor, but on the plus side does try to Yao Jinnan it to handstand. Points. Florida is having a ROUGH day.
Gallarzo for Cal falls on a jaeger –
LSU: Ewing – BB – second half – standing loso to straddle 1/4, well executed – hop forward on 1.5. The camera work at this meet has been terrible. We’ve missed so many landings.
After 1: UCLA 49.100, Cal 49.100
FL: Slocum – FX – whip to double pike with a lunge back – front full to pike, small slide – rudi, fine, not the highest. It’s a solid routine for her but not her best.
Heads up that Oregon State is about to score a 48 billion.
LSU: Li – BB – remember that time she got essentially kicked off the Penn State team and then her “punishment” was to transfer to a team that was contending for a championship? I HOPE YOU’VE LEARNED YOUR LESSON – a couple small leans, aerial and then loso series, aghain on the full turn, pretty just a couple tight corrections – gainer full, stuck, chest down.
FL: Hundley – FX – whip to double tuck, solid – front lay to front full – high leaps, hits her straddles – secure on double pike – comes through with classic Hundley straightforward solid solid, which Florida needed right now.
LSU: Finnegan – BB – well she actually tried to add back the triple wolf – spins herself right off the beam like a top –
FL: McMurtry – FX – always eats a Snickers bar before floor, apparently. Martha would be like “OFF THE TEAM FOREVER – solid on the 3/1, nailed – front layout to front full, bouncy – nails double tuck – good overall, trouble on second pass.
UCLA: Meraz – UB – Ray, flattish but improved – a little angled o that bail – small hop on DLO.
I know McMurtry’s 3/1 is amazing, but we all just pretend she doesn’t have crossed legs, do we?
LSU: GNat – BB – check on aerial – full turn – switch to straddle 1/4, solid – switch side, excellent position – secure loso, some knees – nails 2/1.
FL: Boren – FX – tuck ful, good, a little stumble step on the landing but not too much – 1.5 to layout, good height and stragith position in the layout – bounces on the double tuck but fine.
Savvidou just did one of her better bars routines.
Cal: Robinson – VT – lunges forward this time –
If performance and scoring continue to go this way, LSU is looking at a 198.
UCLA: Kocian – UB – Chow to pak, some legs but better – shap 1/2, catches – stalder to tuck full – short landing with another large lunge forward – she does not have that dismount. I wonder why they don’t give her some giants. She doesn’t need the stalder for her SV.
Cal; Richardson – VT – Tsuk full – better layout than the last couple times I saw it – hop back – but recently it has been more piked than that with a step forward, so this is improvement.
UCLA: Ross – UB – toe shap to bail, clean – some legs in the shap but small – hitting handstands well – sticks DLO, chest forward but in a safe-landing way not a chest-down way. One of her good ones. 9.975.
Cal: Palomares – VT – flat coming off the table on her full but she holds the stick quite well with a lean forward –
UCLA: Peng – UB – excellent Ray – smooth through that Bhardwah – catches Shap 1/2 – nearly sticks DLO this time with a small shuffle – Another good one. Looks like they’ll end up dropping Kocian’s routine, lol. 9.975 is too high for that because, you know, she didn’t sitck. This world. This life.
After 2: UCLA 98.650, Cal 98.175
After 3: LSU 148.525, Florida 147.425
FL: Hundley – BB – aerial, solid – long pause – secure bhs loso series – full turn, solid – side aerial to full, small slide, good.
LSU: Ewing – FX – front 2/1, a little slide forward this time – front full to layout, excellent straight shape, controlled – switch side to popa, great height – sticks double pike.
FL: Cheney – BB – loso three series – huge break and grabs the beam to hold herself and stay on – switch, short back leg, to appendix-slam – side aerial to full. Stayed on but will need to drop this score. Actually it doesn’t really matter at this point because this will be a dropped score for RQS. Still gets 9.625 even though it should be a flat three tenth just for grabbing the beam.
LSU: Zamardi – FX – double arabian, gold – I meant to write good, but it was also gold – just looking a DD things – she does come in short on her double tuck, bounce up and forward – switch side is good, popa is short of 180 – 1.5 to layout.
McLaughlin – BB – landed her aerial slightly off the beam with a little lean, continues working into bhs – I wouldn’t give connection but probably will get it – beat jump to double stag – side aerial – hop back gainer full.
LSU: Hambrick – FX – love her height and landing on the DLO, though she does pike the second salto a little which is a shame because it is otherwise so great – 2.5 to front tuck, sticks front tuck – split to wolf, hits positions – slide back on double pike.
FL: Gowey – BB – switch to split, lovely leaps – series to two loso, check working out of it – largeer hop back on gainer full. Some errors.
Yep, ASU just beat Arizona you guys. Whole new world.
UCLA: Mossett – BB – split to split ring – looked tight on the original split, which is surprising for her – smooth on loso series – side aerial to layout full, sticks –
LSU: Finnegan – FX – 1.5 to 2.5, lovely twisting shape – solid double tuck – switch ring to switch 1/2, awesome – double pike, good, just a touch forward and then a small lunge.
FL: Boren – BB – kickover front secure – bhs to loso with a lean to the side check – switch and straddle, nice positions – standing loso, good – hop on gainer full, but good.
UCLA: Kocian – BB – aerial to sheep, smooth – smallest lean correction on loso series – switch to split, yes – stumbles backward on 2/1 with multiple steps, she doesn’t have her landings today. Val’s hug was full of reluctance.
LSU: Kelley – FX – Mary Lou count: 2 already – DLO, strong, chest down but controlled – open full in, nailed – front tuck to double tuck, just the chest situation really.
FL: McMurtry – BB – secure kickover front and series, comfortable – switch to hip circle – high 2/1, best of the rotation.
LSU will get the 198 today.
LSU: Gnat – FX – strong DLO, chest up, controlled – 2.5 to front tuck – hits her 180s in leaps well – bounces way back on the double pike which is uncharacteristic for her. Inevitable 9.950 even though that should have been a full tenth for final pass.
UCLA: Ross – BB – smooth loso series, easy – switch ring to a fake combo into beat jump but she did it – full turn, solid – aerial with a check – side aerial to full, stuck.
FINAL: LSU 198.150, FLorida 196.600
FINAL: Oregon State 197.325, Washington 196.450
Cal: Robinson – FX – open double arabian, controls – split leap full, just loses feet sometimes in tumbling and dance elements – 1.5 to layout – short on double tuck with a stagger forward.
UCLA: Peng – BB – lovely on the flares – a little awkward on switch to split, the easy part of the routine, but works through it – nails the layout and the double tuck to beat was pretty strong this time as well – punch front, a bit of a lean – front layout full, stuck. 9.975. Oh lord above. I know. It’s Peng. But come on. Two checks. Two checks.
Cal: Draghi – FX – double tuck, lunge back – split leap full to straddle jump, good positions, a little bouncy – front lay to front full, awkward stumble correction – better on the rudi. 9.875 is high.
UCLA: Ohashi – BB – bhs bhs to layout, not the full, I approve – small lean – switch to split, fine – full turn – aerial, smooth and clean – bhs loso to stuck full. Good one, one of her better this season. 10.000. Oh, you guys, you don’t have to pretend you didn’t see checks when she doesn’t do the layout full. Great routine, but she did have a lean correction on the layout so it shouldn’t be a 10.
Cal; Palomares – FX – solid double pike, just a touch forward with a little hop – switch ring to split full – double tuck, secure, a little staggered – layout to full, solid, some built-in issues but a good hit.
After 3: UCLA 148.200, Cal 147.475
Oh, scores. Good beam rotation for UCLA, though, aside from Kocian’s weird-ass dismount. Her last two landings have been so un-her, it’s clear that her aggressive injuries are actually becoming a problem. Scores were about a half tenth too high for Peng and Ohashi, but a good rotation. They’re getting the numbers they need to move back up the rankings.
Rotation 4:
So Seilnacht – BB – CLAPS HER HANDS AND A PLUME OF CHALK – BETTER DEDUCT TWO TENTHS – gorgeous loso series, beat jump to split jump full, small lean, good 180 – two switch combo, a tough one to make look good but she hits both – side aerial to full, stuck.
Meraz – FX – fine double tuck, a little short with a hop – front lay front full to front pike, small hop forward again, also not totally straight in the layout – great height on her straddles – way forward on double pike with a hop.
Shu – BB – aerial to bhs, a little slow in combo and len dances out of bhs to not give away a step – switch and beat, nicely done – a little tight in full turn – side aerial to full, stuck.
Toronjo – FX – double pike, small slide back – double tuck, secure and chest up – 1.5 to layout, doesn’t get her punch, has to tuck her layout quite significantly, just does get it around.
Palomares – BB – solid loso series, small lean? – attitude turn, comfortable – pike jump to sheep, solid – aerial to split jump, pristine – sticks gainer full. Good one.
Ohashi – FX – solid double back first pass, some chest – comfortable on the middle pass – switch ring to switch 1/2, hits those positions very well – double pike, step back but under control – it’s the chest position on landing that will get her, but other than that she held those landings and hit her dance elements.
Draghi – BB – aerial with a check – lovely loso series, extended and hit – switch to sheep, a step back on the sheep but bonus points for actually hitting the sheep position – crisp full turn – sticks gainer full. Another good one.
Cipra – FX – bounces back too far on double tuck – a little bouncy on the middle pass as well, will need to get the control on those ladnings in the next couple weeks because they need this score – chest way down on double pike.
BUT WILL UCLA WIN THE PAC-12 REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIPPPPPPP?
Richardson – BB – strong loso series, up to her toes but doesn’t really check – switch and straddle positions, no trouble – full turn – ANOTHER CLAP OF CHALK – double tuck dismount with a full-tenth hop back.
Kocian – FX – front 2/1, a little hop out of it but mostly controlled – 1.5 to front 1.5, doesn’t get her punch on the rudi and has to tuck it pretty significantly – switch ring, pretty pretty – good double pike but not her day really.
Gallarzo – BB – a little tight on full turn – loso series, fine – aerial to bhs, basically connected – switch to split, back leg a little low – short on 1.5 dismount with a hop back. Six hit beam routines and a big total for Cal, though. That will help get into the seeded territory.
Mossett – FX – whip to double tuck, short this time with a lunge forward – excellent amplitude and positions in her leaps, pretty – same problem on the double pike, a little short with a lunge forward.
FINAL: UCLA 197.525, Cal 196.800
Good score for UCLA, certainly, and some standout individual routines, though they weren’t at peak level on any event and, as we’ve been saying pretty much all season, will need to step up the level of the landings on vault and floor to truly challenge in the postseason. I will say on floor, though, that like Oklahoma, UCLA really isn’t cheating those leaps, which means the scores often depend only on the tumbling passes. That will help keep the scores somewhat high, even in more neutral scoring circumstances. Very rarely will the judges deduct anything for leaps on those UCLA floor routines.
Impressive from Cal on beam there. They definitely some UCLA-scoring afterglow in a few of these rotations, but that beam group is an impressive set that also hits its dance elements for the most part and only gave away a few check deductions. That’s a very competitive lineup come regionals and will be an asset on an event that hasn’t always been one. There are #2 seeds that will not score as well as Cal on beam. Like UCLA, it’s the vault and floor landings that are the biggest concern right now when it comes to postseason prospects.
LSU looked pretty much ready for the postseason against Florida and got that 198. Those scores definitely got creative toward the end of the lineups, but a number of those 9.9s were also realistic. We saw a team today that can beat Oklahoma on vault, and when Macadaeg and Hambrick are on for beam to this degree, can challenge anyone there as well. The biggest difference between LSU and Oklahoma, however, is Oklahoma’s strength on bars, so keep an eye on that for LSU.
Florida, just a big old mess today. Pretend it didn’t happen?