Live Blog

Saturday Live Blog – March 11, 2017

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Saturday, March 11
 Scores Watch
1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Brown, Cortland, Rhode Island @ Springfield FREE
1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Ursinus @ West Chester
2:00 ET/11:00 PT – Northern Illinois @ Central Michigan LINK FREE
3:00 ET/12:00 PT – Big Ten Qualifier: [13] Nebraska, [24] Ohio State, Michigan State, Maryland @ [19] Illinois LINK BTN
4:00 ET/1:00 PT – Big Ten Qualifier: [11] Michigan, Minnesota, Penn State, Rutgers @ [16] Iowa LINK BTN
4:00 ET/1:00 PT – [5] Utah @ [7] Georgia LINK SEC+
4:00 ET/1:00 PT – SEMO @ Western Michigan LINK
5:00 ET/2:00 PT – Illinois-Chicago @ [9] Oregon State LINK FREE
5:00 ET/2:00 PT – Hamline @ UW-Whitewater LINK FREE
7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Bowling Green @ [25] Eastern Michigan LINK EMU
7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Seattle Pacific @ [14] Washington LINK FREE

Yesterday’s action did not provide too much new clarity for the postseason picture, but I don’t expect today to follow in its footsteps. In particular, the scores from Minnesota, Central Michigan, Western Michigan, Penn State, and Michigan State will tell us a ton about the race for the top 36. Those teams currently sit in spots 35-39 in the in-progress rankings and, barring anything untoward, are the most likely contenders for the final two regionals spots.

Here’s the setup as we have it now for the remaining spots.

Team Current RQS Max Monday RQS
 #32 Maryland  195.410  195.525
 #33 BYU  195.370  195.615
 #34 North Carolina  195.210  195.525
 #35 Minnesota  195.160  195.745
 #36 Central Michigan  195.085  195.370
 #37 Western Michigan  195.035  195.290
 #38 Penn State  195.020  195.610
 #39 Michigan State  194.915  195.230
 #40 UC Davis  194.885  194.885
 #41 Ball State  194.870  194.870
 #42 Arizona State  194.740  194.740
 #43 Towson  194.640  194.965
 #44 NC State  194.600  195.085

Davis and Ball State are already done for the weekend and likely didn’t do enough to help themselves. Minnesota and Penn State have the biggest upsides and really should move to a safer position with anything resembling a hit today. If they both get good scores and North Carolina gets something useful at UCLA tomorrow, it will make life very difficult for the Michigan teams. But if one of those things doesn’t happen…

In early affairs, Jamyra Carter of NIU got 9.950 on bars. A really pleasing Pak, high, legs together throughout. NIU has been kind of frustrating this year after that great first week score because qualifying to regionals was absolutely within the talent of this team, but two straight 193s the last two weeks have pushed them way down. Still mathematically in it, but it would take some magic and a ton of help.

Waiting for the Big Ten to start now. Also, like, what even is lacrosse?

The top seeds start on byes in these meets, so Michigan and Nebraska will be on the byes first. Oh, byes. I missed you none.

Rotation 1:
Faller – Maryland – UB – small arch on an early handstand, tkatchev is caught but low – remaining cast handstands look quite vertical – cowboys a double tuck but stuck. Good opener.

Shirley – MSU _ VT – does a Y tucked full, which does not start from a 9.950, Sharaya. Great shape and stick, though. Well executed just low difficulty.

Hodan – Illinois – BB – side aerial to bhs, very clean, precise, crisp – switch to straddle 1/4, not quite to 180 there – illusion turn, and not even horrifying! – leans to hold the stick on gainer full, pretty set. Should score well.

Hoyer – MSU – VT – full, quite a piked shape though it was intended to be a layout, step back –

Stone – OSU – FX – clean double pike – 1.5 to front tuck, BARELY gets the front tuck around, got no punch and just pulls it around, nearly sits and a step back, will be a major deduction – final 2.5, falls. Yikers. Need to drop.

That’s the only live score link I’ve seen. Illinois has been great with the feeds this year and horrible with the scores. Need both. One isn’t good enough and doesn’t tell you anything.

Roe – Illinois – BB – secure loso series but not enough extension, chest down – gainer loso, solid – sticks 1.5 – sturdy sturdy sturdy is what you say about that.

Aepli – OSU – FX – opens full in, good secure landing, chest – front full to front pike, some legs – double pike, chest down again, some staggered legs on landing. But fine.

Gamelo – MSU – VT – controls the landing on her full, one small step back, but quite piked throughout which will take away the score.

Howell – Illinois – BB – lean correction on loso series – kickover front, secure – switch side, a little tight, holds it well – gainer pike, a little close to the beam and a hop back.

Harrison – OSU – FX – Remember when she won JO Nationals? 3/1 mount, pretty good twisting shape, just a slide back – 2.5 to front tuck, same on the twisting shape – switch side and popa – 1.5 with a stumble step.

Horth – Illinois – BB – full turn – loso series, no check, it’s a little tentative but that doesn’t show up with a deduction – switch to side, switch is good, tight on the side – beat jump to tuck jump full, check – side aerial to full, squatty stick.

Merkel – OSU – FX – 2/1 to loso second pass, clean – front tuck in the middle of the choreography to do front tumbling, and bounce out of it – double tuck, a little short with a step forward.

Leduc – Illinois – BB – solid loso it seemed and then checked working out of it – smooth full turn – another small lean just walking on the beam – check on an onodi, this is the least comfortable I’ve seen her this season on beam, which is weird. Small checks all, but a couple not even on skills – switch to sheep, another check – good stick on 1.5.

Mattern – OSU – FX – DLO mount, pretty good but chesty and lunge back – front lay to front full, high and not arched – yay!, controls landing – small slide double pike.

So, I was wrong about the position of the bye, apparently. It’s after beam not after floor. Never mind. So Michigan and Nebraska will start on floor and end on beam in their respective meets.

Deans – MSU – VT – high yfull, hop back, some form.

FINAL: CMU 196.575, NIU 196.150
Both definitely helped their causes with season highs.

We’ll see when we get scores for the first rotation. Probably never. WHO WOULD WANT TO KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING?

Anyway, Illinois impressed on beam in the first rotation, Hodan in the leadoff position most of all.

49.175 for Illinois in the first. The only team over 49.

Rotation 2:
Williams – Nebraska – FX – great height on double pike, chest but a big first pass – front lay to rudi, crossover step on the slide back but stays in – solid on the leaps, high – double tuck, another slide – good dynamics and leaps – will get hit for landing control.

Van Putten – OSU – VT – good dynamics on a full, hop back.

Breen – Nebraska – FX – double pike, also a bounce back, same on the double pike, nice amplitude and chest position on the passes from the first two, just landing control – short in a couple leaps – 1.5 to layout, another fine set.

Merkel – OSU – VT – larger bounce back on her full, also knee form in the air throughout.

When I was in middle school, you got sent to the office for visible underwear. I mention that now for some reason.

Schweihofer – Nebraska – FX – strong DLO, pulls that chest up at the end – front lay to rudi, large stumble back, just does stay in bounds but a couple significant steps there – strong double tuck.

Deans – MSU – UB – great geinger, legs together throughout and high – pak – 1/2 turn on low – double tuck took it WAYYYY too close to the bar and hit her whole foot. Almost identical to what Brooker for NC State did last week.

Stone – OSU – VT – sticks a y half, piked position throughout –

Aepli – OSU – VT – similar to many of their vaults – medium-sized hop back on a full, also a pike.

Lemke – MSU _ UB – tkatchev – clean bail, vertical – hitting casts – giant full to double tuck with two steps back. That will be the major deduction, though.

Mattern – OSU – VT – handspring pike 1/2, strong, a little off to the side and a hop back.

Those Nebraska floor scores look quite high to me so far.

Laeng – Nebraska – FX – good double pike – whip half to rudi, a little forward – split full to wolf full, OK, could be closer on the split – front full to front pike, fine, not much height, but controlled –

Another fall on beam for Maryland and almost a second in the same routine for Faller, and apparently the entire team has fallen so far.

Lambert – Nebraska – FX – nailed DLO, chest up and stuck, excellent – front tuck to double tuck, chest down but controlled – switch side to straddle to shushunova – strong and secure double pike as well. Tremendous routine.

Nailing a floor routine directly connected to your inhaler. Badass.

9.900 for Lambert, which makes sense for her routine in a vacuum, but to give that the same score as Breen’s routine? Insanity.

49.325 on floor for Nebraska. They’ll take it. OSU goes 49.050 on vault, but already this is looking like a Nebraska/Illinois fight, as expected. Maryland 47.425 on beam. DEAR.

Illinois to floor, Nebraska to vault.

Major focus will be on Utah/Georgia once that gets underway, but I’ll check in on both Big Ten meets as the opportunity arises.

I hate when commentators and former gymnasts say things like, “the judges want to see you enjoying yourself on floor,” and “you’ve got to make those judges smile,” like it’s a goddamn pageant.

Roe – Illinois – FX – good double pike – slide back on double tuck – good popa, short of position on wolf full –

Williams – Nebraska – VT – good full, bounce back but solid power, shape, and direction. I’ve always wanted her to vault with the potential she showed in JO. Never really ahppened. Epperson followed with a larger bounce back, more distance than Williams –

Nguyen – Illinois – FX – controlled double pike – front layout, front full – very quick in those leaps to get them into position and around without a ton of lift – fairly large lunge forward out of final pass.

Schweihofer – Nebraska – VT – near-stick on her full, step back to salute, will also probably get hit for distance, but a very strong vault. 9.825 is tighter than the scoring we saw on floor.

So, does Kevin Copp even work at Rutgers or wherever anymore? He’s here every week. Not complaining.

The Big Ten thinks the uneven bars are the parallel bars. GOODY!

Lambert – Nebraska – VT – strong stick on her full – some legs in the air and then sticks with legs farther than shoulder-width apart, which will be a deduction.

So no Houchin on vault or floor?

Rotation 1:
Broussard – VT – hop back on the full this time but not a huge one – good shape and direction. 9.775.

Merrell – UB – toe on – gigantic height on her deltchev but couldn’t catch – she’s never been higher on that skill – may have been the problem. Opening fall. Finishes stalder to a stuck double tuck.

Reynolds – VT – full – one of her good ones, stuck the landing, will still get hit for height and maybe a little piking, but she lands very strongly. 9.900. Oh, OK.

Reinstadtler – UB – toe half a little late, great jaeger, excellent toes – clean vertical in the bail – tight on a cast handstand in the middle, better final ones – crazy legs on the tuck full, hop to the side. Good hit. 9.800.

Johnson – VT – dynamic full, just a hair of a slide on landing – will be a big score. 9.900

Skinner – UB – solid first hs – shap to bail, broomstick, but legs on the shap – shortish on a final cast – tuck full, some legs, stick. Good one. 9.825.

Marino – VT – has brought back the 1.5 officially – fairly large bound forward, and then knees in the air.

Lee – UB – shortish first hs – large piked jaeger to bail, strong transition and shows amplitude – tuck full, medium hop back –

Dickson – VT – nearly sticks that full, just a lean back to salute and steps with it – strong direction and form. No Cat, that’s not a stick.

Lewis – UB – tight early handstands, good ampltiude on tkatchev – a little floppy on the bail but hits her vertical, just tighter on her casts than usual – good stick on DLO.

Snead – VT – bounds forward out of her 1.5 this time, not her most controlled landing, but great in the air.

Rowe – UB – good giant full as always – nice height and distance on tkatchev – clean bail – precise handstands – whips out DLO, short landing with a lunge forward, shame about the dismount because the interior was very clean.

After 1: Georgia 49.375, Utah 49.025

I’m anticipating Utah fans being upset by the scoring of bars. It was not scored with nearly the same looseness as vault for sure, but it was also a fairly tight rotation with a mistake in the first position and more missed handstands than we’ve been seeing. It also looks like the judges were more focused on taking for leg separations, which has basically been ignored in recent meets.

Illinois has taken the lead on Nebraska now that they’ve both done the high-scoring floor rotation.

Lambert – Nebraska – UB – big piked jaeger, some legs – finishes tuck full, nearly sticks with a step-salute, some legs on that as well, but a useful hit.

Gardner – Minnesota – FX – rudi opener to loso, somewhat ragged in the air but controlled – double pike, secure – 1.5 to layout, has to tuck that layout rather significantly to get it around.

Looks like Iowa is having a beam disaster of a first rotation –

Garcia – Penn State – UB – tight first hs – solid piked jaeger – precise second cast hs – a little angle on that bail – pulls out final hs well – DLO and stuck as always, got better as it went.

Rotation 2:
Lee – VT – very strong full, smallest slide, maybe distance as well, but great shape in the air, opens, basically sticks. Good one. 9.850

Reynolds – UB – fine jaeger – hits hs – clean pak – a little arch on final hs – DLO, lunge back, probably a tenth lunge. 9.775.

Roberts – VT – larger bound back on her full, also some piking in the air – not her strongest vault.

Sanders – UB – toe on to 1/2 turn to piked jaeger, pretty clean – hits vertical on bail – some legs in casting and catching – stalder to double tuck, nearly stuck, small slide with one foot. 9.900. (Would have been 9.825 for Utah, so you can get upset now…)

Merrell – VT – 1.5 , gets her landing – tucks the vault a little too much and off to the side – hop to the side – some form breaks, but a necessary difficulty contribution for them.

Johnson – UB – big gienger as always but legs throughout – clean on the bail – short on final cast handstand – DLO – legs squat on a short landing with a lunge forward. 9.725.

Lewis – VT – lunge back on her full, not her usual control on that vault, comes of a little flatter than her usual amplitude. Still a strong vault.

Snead – UB – clear hip to tkatchev, solid – yikers. major arch on bail and saves it somehow – lovely DLO, small hop back. Amazing save, but a major deduction.

Skinner – VT – DTY, hop back – larger than last week’s hop back but not a large hop back. Probably a tenth. 9.875. One judge just took for landing, one judge took for landing and legs, I’d assume.

Dickson – UB – strong Ray – short on a cast after that – overshoot – just missing some hs positions – gorgeous DLO, stuck, great leg form throughout.

McNatt – VT – Omelianchik, lands a bit lock-legged and then with a step back to save the landing – awkward but not a major landing error. Knee form.

Schick – UB – borderline first hs – great piked jaeger, high and stright body – angle on the bail – nearly sticks her DLO, lunge-salute but is not a stick, great form on the DLO though.

Pedersen is doing exhibition on bars. She’s alive?!?!?! She has the individuals elements but struggles too much on the cast handstands and pulling around that dismount to get into the lineup. Project for next season.

After 2: Georgia 98.550, Utah 98.150
Do I think these teams are being evaluated with the same judging lens in this meet? I do not. Georgia is getting a benefit of the doubt that Utah isn’t. Utah is being scored postseason style and Georgia is being scored home-regular-season style. But, do I think Utah is performing particularly well in this meet? I do not. Not really getting the vault landings after a tighter bars rotation. Georgia OK on bars but had some significant errors in the Johnson and Snead routines. Dickson was a real highlight there.

Updated live score link for second Big Ten meet at the top.

Minnesota got a 49.300 on floor. Well now.

Looks like Sierra Hassel is going on beam for Nebraska. That’s new.

Rotation 3:
Vega – BB – loso series, secure, a little tight but no check – aerial to beat, smooth – side somi, hit – switch to split 1/4, hits positions well – side aerial to full, small slide. Good start.

Roberts – FX – double pike, good – small slide – front lay to rudi, just a tad short but doesn’t show up too much in the landing – 1.5 to half to stag, travels a bit but a useful first hit overall.

Sanders – BB – “one of the more uniquely scored beam routines in the country” – Oh, he meant the music. I though Kevin was giving us some honesty pills – secure loso series – switch side, a little ragged and a check – full turn – standing front tuck, still super deep but she gets that landing now – front full dismount with a hop. 9.775. One judge went 9.850, but it ended up reasonable in the average between the two –

Reinstadtler – FX – bounce back out of double tuck – switch ring and split full, great extension – 1.5 to layout – double pike, a tad deep, small hop back. Pretty representative of Utah’s day, fine, but not as clean or controlled as we’ve been seeing.

Horth just bailed her tuck full dismount on bars for Illinois. Brilliant.

Dickson – BB – switch to split 1/2 – strong loso – aerial with a major error, wobbling this way and that way and bending at the hips – stays on but will need to drop that score – bhs 1.5 dismount, stuck. 9.625. (Split 9.550 and 9.700)

Scores evening out between the two teams so far in this rotation. Reinstadtler getting 9.850 for that floor was on the high side.

Merrell – FX – secure pike full in, chest down – switch ring, split full, good 180s, could show more ring shape – wasn’t really looking during second pass because Nebraska is having a beam… – rudi to straddle, good height on straddle.

Nebraska is counting a fall on beam now. It was going so well!

Olivia Karas falls on floor, but Michigan is able to drop it for 49.325.

Broussard – BB – strong loso – switch to split, kind of a check hesitation in between, so we’ll see about SV – side aerial, larger lean break – Georgia looking a little 2016 on beam in this rotation – sticks gainer full.

Lee – FX – glad she’s back, but she’s not showing the 3/1 – lunges forward out of first pass – double tuck, secure – front lay to front full, a little stagger step on landing.

Babalis – BB – front aerial to loso series, no checks – switch to split, OK but remember her first year when her leaps were so high? – kickover front, secure – sticks front one. One of her least scary beam routines.

“Stuffles”? Stuffles is not a word, Kevin.

Lewis – FX – very solid landing on double pike – front lay to front full, does a pretty good job keeping straight position,  – “sassy ghost prom queen who comes back to her school to haunt people,” Utah is like, oh hey Oklahoma and UCLA, we can play silly backstory too – stumbles on her double tuck, loses her feet and hands down.

Schick – BB – lovely loso series – aerial to split jump 1/4, small check and a little slow in combo – switch to beat – nice side aerial – hop back on gainer full. But a good one.

Skinner – FX – L hop full – double double, small slide back but chest up – split leap 1.5, pretty well completed, some 180 issues – 1.5 through to 2/1, solid – strong landing on full in. 9.925.

After 3: Georgia 147.650, Utah 147.400

Not a great beam rotation for Georgia, but no falls. A few too many individual breaks to be that competitive, though. Utah was able to drop the score from Lewis on the fall and get 49.250. Scoring seemed more even between the two teams in this rotation. We did have some really odd individual spreads between the judges, but they ended up balancing out.

Muhaw in exhibition, probably doesn’t have the second half of the routine to get into the lineup.

First big five meet is over.

FINAL: Nebraska 196.650, Illinois 196.450, Ohio St 195.350, Michigan St 194.650, Maryland 193.375.

Neither Michigan State nor Maryland helped the regionals cause there. Nebraska wins while counting a fall. Illinois bitten by not having the vaults once again.

Michigan on 197 pace and well in control after two rotations at the other. Iowa had to take a 48.8 on beam. Minnesota getting the usual amount of 9.700y on bars. Saved by a Holst 9.925 in the final position to go over 49 and stay in this. With a hit beam, this is the kind of meet that will move Minnesota to regionals safety zone.

Rotation 4:
Stover – BB – good full turn – aerial to bhs connection, a little slow – switch to straddle, lovely, hits 180 – split ring jump, check – sticks gainer full.

Reynolds – FX – front 2/1, solid – 1.5 to layout, stays extended through layout – “I think we’ll see some tears shed” – PROMISE???? – controlled rudi, one of her better floors.

Merrell – BB – switch and split, comfortable and hit – smooth loso series as well – aerial to beat – small check on full turn – another small check on kickover front, dances out of it – small hop on 2/1, good one.

Babalis – FX – very good double tuck, chest up – front lay to front full, high and straight, dances out of it a little – split leap 1/5 to split jump 1/1, a little indistinct in landing position – double pike, strong. Georgia hitting floor with great control on a day when the judges are going to be there for them.

Reinstadtler – BB – aerial to bhs, pretty individual skills but also pretty slow in connection – switch to straddle 1/4 – full turn – side somi, holds well – traveled so far on that gainer full it looked awkward from this terrible head-on angle but I think it was fine – a little too chest down.

Vega – FX – whip to double tuck, minor slide – 1.5 to layout, travels a mile but still gets enough height to maintain her straight shape – double pike, solid, chest up. Just tiny slides. 9.900 is the expected amount of home floor.

Skinner – BB – loso series, secure, usual knees – maybe a lit of lean on side aerial – hits switch and straddle – L turn – straddle to back tuck, no trouble – double tuck dismount, comes in short with lunge forward. Gave away the score a bit there since that will be at least a tenth on the dismount.

Snead – FX – double tuck, clean, chest up, controlled – slide back on double pike – a bit bouncy on the rudi as well, but having her back makes this lineup look realistic.

Lee – BB – full turn – loso series, smooth – strong side aerial – switch to straddle 1/4, really impossible to say how these skills look because of this awful head-on angle – 2/1 dismount, crossed legs with a stick.

Dickson – FX – big double pike, controls the landing well – 1.5 to layout, flattish but also stays extended – switch side to popa, good positions – good double tuck as well. Now, we’ll see what they do with this because that could actually be a legitimate 9.900 and we’ve already had a couple. 9.950.

Rowe – BB – switch and straddle 1/4, short of position, evidence of why we need the side angle – check on two loso series but holds it – full turn to full turn – strong kickover front, chest up and secure – sticks 1.5. Solid stick, just a couple checks.

Marino – FX – excellent DLO, chest up – good 180 on the split leap – 1.5 to layout, very straight position, Georgia is good at these full to layout middle passes, they’re not arched around like many are around the country – pretty large bounce back out of double pike. I like how Cat is pretending it might not be a 9.950. Of course it will be. It would have been 10 if she had landed that double pike.

Living for one judge still giving it a 10. “BECAUSE I WANTED TOOOOOO.”

FINAL: Georgia 197.250, Utah 196.650
The home scoring was in full force today for Georgia for a pretty good overall meet but not a great showing. Floor was quite strong (not 49.600 strong, but strong). Beam was a struggle, which always provokes a red flag or two because Georgia. That was shades of last season, but didn’t get there all the way because of no falls. Some of those early bars routines may also be trouble in the postseason because they’re a little 9.7y. But they should be fairly pleased with floor and vault.

Utah dropped a level in this meet, and my characterization of the scoring is that Utah was scored pretty accurately and at a level I’d expect to see in the postseason, while Georgia was overscored in a number of places, accounting for the surprisingly large .600 margin between the two. That may be of some concern for Utah, but this was also not a performance they’ll expect to replicate. Counter to Georgia, beam was the highlight here for Utah. That was a solid set. And other than the Lewis fall, floor was fine. Vault landings and tight handstands on bars, however, gave away too much of a margin early on. And then home floor for Georgia made the margin of loss larger than it probably should have been.

One rotation left at the second Big Five meet.

Obviously, I jinxed Minnesota. They had a good one going through three, then a catastrophic beam rotation for 47. They finish on a bye, but the total of 194.825 is not auspicious. But, since they had a 193.8 to drop, they’ll still move up, though not as much as they would have liked to move into a safe position.

Thanks for the heads up about Oregon State in the comments. I forgot that one had started as well. 10 for McMillan on bars. \

“The Hawkeyes are in a position to take the title.” They’re literally nine tenths behind Michigan and would need Michigan to count a a fall.

Final rotation at Big Five. Penn State started with a Ylayout. No, that wasn’t a timer.

Snyder – Iowa – UB – nice high piked jaeger, good extension – short on a couple cast handstands early – double front, lands deep with a hop back.

Karas – BB – front tuck with a step forward into beat jump – standing switch jump, excellent – lean on loso series – hop back on 2/1 – only small errors but more than her usual amount.

Kaji – Iowa – UB – half turn to jaeger, strong toe point – leg break on the pak, pretty significant – flings out DLO with a step forward –

Zaziski – BB – solid switch side, a little crooked – step back landing loso series – some feet – switch to straddle 1/4, pretty switch shape – kickover front – sticks gainer full.

Funk – BB – secure loso series as well – switch side 1/4 to pike jump, excellent extension – check on full turn – side aerial – basically a balance check just walking there – step on 1.5.

Penn State has three fulls and a 1.5 in the lineup now. Which is an improvement?

Artz – BB – pike jump to straddle 3/4, great position, medium rhythm – falls on aerial – NICOLE – they don’t need the score yet, but two routines to go – kickover front to bhs, good –

Tsang – VT – PSU – huge bound forward out of her 1.5 this time, some knees as well –

It’s a 195.450 final for Penn State. Not a good score, but like Minnesota but even more extreme, they had a low total to drop and will use this to move up.

Rutgers just tried to improvise a front tuck full on floor, which was a total mistake but I’m also here for it.

Metcalf – Iowa – UB – solid piked jaeger – not quite horizontal on that overshoot – sticks DLO it appears – an early handstand and that overshoot, but a strong set. Goes 9.950 well now. Hello.

196.400 final for Iowa.

Marinez – BB – aerial to bhs loso to split jump, strong individual execution of skills, didn’t connect them all but didn’t need to – full turn – check on side aerial – beat to double stag, strong – stumble on 2/1 dismount with two steps, which will be the largest deduction in this one.

Chiarelli – BB – beat to straddle 12 with a small lean – side aerial, strong – double tuck, chest down with a step forward –

Michigan drops the fall, finishes 197.100 with the high score of the day in the Big Ten.

Gardiner – OSU – BB – solid on wolf turn, hits double stag well – aerial, perhaps the tiniest lean – secure loso series, extended – another small adjustment on side somi – hop back gainer full.

That will keep Oregon State over 197 pace again.

Northern – UIC – FX – front tuck through to double tuck, chest up, small slide – switch side to popa, a little bouncy and short of 180 – 1.5 to layout with a slide forward – double tuck, secure, a little cowboy.

 

 

99 thoughts on “Saturday Live Blog – March 11, 2017”

    1. I like the Ohio State leos. I saw them compete in those leos in person and they were very pretty. Any Big Ten (or NCAA fan) clearly knows it spells Ohio and wraps around the side. Maybe if the gymnast is leaning or bent the “h” somehow looks like an “r” but I haven’t seen it.

      The liquid metal looking Nebraska leos on the other hand . . . yikes. That silver is distracting.

      1. Oh I knew it said Ohio. It just looks funny from the back as if all their gymnasts were Olympians or something.

    1. Can you post a link? I tried the links above and the Illinois meet only shows team totals and the Iowa site isn’t updated.

      Thankfully, the Big Ten does a good job running the scores of the Illinois meet across the bottom of the screen.

  5. Maryland’s not helping their prospects (RQS & otherwise) on beam so far ….(already counting a 9.4xx & a 9.5, after 3 routines).

  6. If a gymnast’s hair touches out of bounds, but no other body part goes out, is it a deduction? Lambert’s ponytail was flopping around like crazy and I swear it touched the white during a dance portion. I don’t think it should be a deduction, but I could see how a strict judge may take something.

  7. There’s not much competition in this meet regarding who is getting the evening session at Big Tens. Nebraska, Illinois, and Ohio State should definitely get through fairly easily.

  8. Re: the commentators saying, “the judges want to see you enjoying yourself on floor,” — PREACH. Chalk that one up under the same category as all the inane comments about not smiling enough during a floor routine. JUST STOP.

  9. Is the Utah/Georgia stream a bit weird for anyone else? I can’t deal with a repeat of Florida.

  12. Strictly speaking the UB are parallel… but yeah, never got over a commentator calling them the asymmetric parallel bars all the time 😀

  14. The commentators said they want Houchin to be in peak shape for post season so they are resting, aka, small injury…..

  15. 9.825 for Skinner? Really? Maybe it’s just the angle, but that looked 9.9+ to me.

    1. Hahahaha it was a 9.850 for me at best. I think Utah has gotten used to fantasy scoring on bars and don’t realize how many built in deductions are in their routines. With that said, the early Georgia routines also have some form issues at times, so if judging is looser for Georgia that will be frustrating

      1. Good God, you clearly don’t know anything. “Fantasy scoring” on bars?
        Those vaults and bars by Georgia were poor at best and receiving 9.9’s.

      2. I commented that after the first rotation before we got to see the judges score routines from both teams. I completely agree that scoring was tighter for Utah, I was just saying that Utah has previously been getting bars scores that were very generous. Every one of those routines have built in form deductions. The quality isn’t there.

      3. Eh, I think people overstate the whole built-in deductions thing with Skinner. In my opinion, she doesn’t really have any (maybe 0.05 for her dismount form, but that’s about it) by NCAA standards, she’s more just inconsistent. Some days she misses most of her handstands. Other days, like today, she hits most or all. Some days she has a pretty large leg separation on her shap that is clearly visible from the side and will (or should) get a deduction. Other days, like today, she has the same few-inches-wide leg separation on her shap that 95% of NCAA gymnasts have that isn’t visible from where the judges sit and thus won’t (or shouldn’t) get deducted.

      4. @Anon — what “poor” routines from Georgia went 9.9?

        Your statement is ridiculous. Was Georgia scored a bit looser? Yes, but they were scored on par with everyone else in the country. The 9.9 routines were good routines that likely would have gone 9.9 anywhere else.

  16. I don’t want to hate on Cat Hires (she seems like a sweet person) but her commentary is like nails on chalkboard.

  17. And now a 9.775 for Rowe? All I can say is they better be equally strict on Georgia’s bars…

  18. Oh boy. We’re in for some special senior night scoring at Georgia. Also, universe to Cat Hires: a big hop is not a “small hop.” A big step forward is not “maybe a half a tenth.”

  19. Gotta head out now so I guess I’ll just have to read the recap later, but I’m going to be super ticked if I miss the meet where Skinner finally sticks that DTY and gets her 10 on vault.

  25. Lauren Johnson – 9.725!!! WTF is going on at Georgia – that’s a 9.65 or worse.
    Snead a 9.75 – God…what a joke.

    1. Gotta agree. I thought Utah’s scores were fine but Georgia’s were scored much looser. I thought Johnson and Snead would be in the 9.6s. Schick should’ve been 9.8.

  26. Skinner a 9.875 on vault….this is the biggest shit show, home cooking I’ve seen all year!

  27. Skinners leg form is atrocious, bent and apart, plus a hop. That’s a fair 9.875. But agreed the Georgia scores are high.

    1. But Ashley Gnat can have crossed and bent legs on every vault and receive 10.0’s on a regular basis?
      Sorry, but Skinner’s form beats Ashley Gnats every single time.

      2. Gnat has received one or two tens all year. Quit acting like she goes 10 every meet.

        I love that the Utah fans are so upset. This is how opposing teams feel every meet at Utah. Georgia was a better team tonight and deserved the win. Was the scoring tighter for Utah than Georgia? Yes, particularly on bars and floor, but Utah left a lot of points out there with mistakes they normally don’t make (and the built in form deductions that don’t get taken at home).

      3. Can’t reply to the anon but seriously? “I love that the Utah fans are so upset?” Grow up..

  28. SEC team home for senior night. Like we know it’s gonna be crazy guys. All the scores this year. It’s not new.

  29. Wow. The judging at Georgia is some serious home cooking BS. It’s impossible for me to rally around a team that is this gifted with scores for supremely mediocre routines.

  30. Utah fans, the tight scoring isn’t a super bad thing, hopefully it will help them to work on the small details for postseason so they can kill it there! (Because the def have lots of potential)

  31. Can the Utah fans chill. This meet really doesn’t really mean anything in the grand scheme of things.

    1. I’m not a Utah fan, but I don’t think they have to chill. This sets a precedence for post season, from what I’ve seen in the past.

      No one wants to see their team judged completely different than the team their competing against.

    2. I’m one of the ones who complained about the scoring in this meet, and I’ve been called a Utah hater in other threads. Not everybody who called out the double standard was necessarily a Utah fan, perhaps some of us are just general gymnastics fans who saw problematic scoring and didn’t like that it was happening. You’re correct that it doesn’t matter that much in the grand scheme of things. Nobody set it did. I didn’t see a single comment saying: “Oh gosh! This ruins all of Utah’s post-season hopes!” There’s nothing wrong with people being upset about unfair/inaccurate scoring, even if it’s not going to wildly change the course of a team’s season. If Utah fans continue to complain excessively about this meet (or any fans of any team complain excessively about any meet like this) for weeks after the fact, then I’ll agree that it’s really time to let it go and move on. People are allowed to be frustrated in the moment, though.

  32. Am I missing something on Merrells floor? 9.775? Did she go out of bounds or miss a requirement?

  33. To be clear: it’s not a “Utah fan” thing. It’s a “fair judging” thing. There’s a difference.

    1. I can agree with that. I’m honestly not a fan of either of these teams, I guess the scoring has been so crazy this year I am kind of numb to it.

  34. Sure it does. Placement at regionals is a big deal. Do I think Utah is performing well. NO. Neither is Georgia but they are looking at a big score. the Georgia bar scores were nuts. Kari Lees vault was as good as their 9.9 vaults. I don’t think it’s just the Utah fans that are a bit miffed at the scores. Major checks on beam too. Not really showing in the scores.

    1. Which beam scores do you have an issue with? Dickson went 9.625 for her major wobble. Vega and Babalis went 9.85 for great routines. Routines that might have gone higher at UCLA or Florida or OU or, heck, even Utah.

    2. I agree that Georgia got gifts on bars and also on floor. However, they were deducted appropriately on beam. Did you honestly think Utah deserved the win tonight? They made a lot of uncharacteristic mistakes. Utah is probably a better team than Georgia but tonight they just weren’t at their best. Georgia deserved the win, it just should have been a closer margin than .6. Calm down. This will probably fire up Utah for the post season. Better to have an off meet now than in championships. I do agree that it is frustrating when teams aren’t judged equally, but at this point it’s happened to pretty much every team. I didn’t find this meet to be particularly egregious in the grand scheme of things.

      1. you must have been watching a different meet. It started with vailt and continued throughout the meet. Neither team performed to their ability but Georgia in no way earned a 197 Rowe and Skinner were hammered on bars and floor was harshly judged by comparison. very poor judging – I dont mind tight judging as long as it’s uniform which this wasn’t

      2. Replying to Cal Girl here, since it won’t let me reply directly to her. Yes, I did watch the Georgia/Utah meet. I never said Georgia deserved a 197, I said they deserved the win over Utah tonight and I stand by that. I agree that Utah was scored more harshly than UGA, and I said so in my first post. As I said before, Georgia winning by .6 was too big of a margin. It should have been closer if it had been scored totally fairly. it sucks, but this isn’t the first time it has happened nor will it be the last.

  35. Yeah Ute fans take your mugging with a little stoicism… It is not like every Gym fan in the nation didn’t know this was coming on Sr Night (afternoon) in Athens.

  36. I guess multiple steps are allowed for the “peaches “. 9.9 wit multiple steps is a bit much even on senior night

      1. These commentators are the worst. “Only the second 9.9” Really have they been watching the same meet I have. Worst judges ever. Georgia has only moderate difficulty. Taking steps and getting 9.0 plus scores. utah’s scores are prey much ok but the peaches are truly blessed today

      1. Well Utah wasn’t the nicest crowd to UCLA if we want to be fair. I actually like it when stuff like that happens. Its a college sport. The same things happen in football, basketball, etc (only usually to a much higher degree) and no one complains about it because its part of the fun. I’m sure the crowd at Utah will dish it right back next season.

      2. I don’t like it, because I’m interested in watching good gymnastics, regardless of who the team is. I don’t like when homer fans come and boo and disrupt through good gymnastics because they aren’t really interested in the sport but just the team. Also, the booing and stuff is why I don’t like other sports and I don’t think it’s necessarily something to strive for.

      3. This is a reply to the anon, but I couldn’t press reply to them. Honestly, I didn’t agree with how Utah’s crowd behaved in the UCLA meet (I just don’t think it’s right that they booed at all, especially while a gymnast is on the beam!). But they were booing at the scores, not the routines, unlike this crowd who were booing at the moonwalk. Not really a saving grace, just something I thought I’d point out.

    2. To be fair, the moonwalk started as a “Georgia thing” and then Rowe and a few others started doing it. Commentators on the PAC 12 meets like to act like it’s this new idea. I think the Georgia fans view the moonwalk on beam like throwing the “U”. It’s tradition at Georgia. So fans likely feel like it’s a bit of a copycat idea. Not saying it’s right, but this is NCAA sports and not elite or JO.

      1. I was at the meet. People weren’t booing the moonwalk. That didn’t happen. I don’t know how it appeared or what else was going on, but the crowd did not get out their pitchforks and boo a gymnast.

    3. I believe that’s the Utah section wooing, not Georgia booing. I just re-watched the meet, and I was there.

      I would guess 90% of people who come to meets don’t really know the moonwalk tradition, especially since Morgan Reynolds hasn’t been in the line up much this year.

  39. lol did Marino really get a 10 from one judge with a the clear slide on the double pike?

    2. Just crapped. Oops meant “capped” off the meet. Unreal. Hope they enjoy their raw bump. Even Cat is trying to articulate the event. Shocked

      1. Jj — it’s clear you really don’t like Georgia. Should Marino have received a 10? Absolutely not. But a 9.9 or even a 9.95 (which she got) would have been okay, especially with the floor scores given out across the country this year (Ex. A: Utah floor scores during the UCLA v. Utah meet).

  41. I am a Utah fan and every year I hear about how Utah gets outrageously favorable scoring. I tend to shrug and think “well I am a biased fan, maybe it is worse than I want to admit”… Then I see a meet like this and I just laugh at all those “other fans” who have done so much preaching to me…

    1. Because one single meet erases everything else?!?!?!

      Georgia deserved the win today. They were the better team. It should have been a closer final score and Skinner’s vault should have been higher (the one routine I totally didn’t understand the score for). With that being said, Georgia hasn’t received “favorable” scoring all year. This one meet was the first time I watched one of their meets – home or away – and thought SOME scores were high. Thus, one somewhat high meet for Georgia doesn’t cancel out the several high meets for Utah.

      1. Once again, not particularly a fan of either of these teams, but I think what has gotten people so enraged over this meet was that Utah was scored with postseason tightness whereas Georgia was scored with typical home scoring (whether it be PAC-12 or SEC home scoring). Had both teams been scored either loosely or tightly, I think people would’ve been much more ok with it. Its a problem for pretty much every team competing at home. Calling it an SEC problem or a PAC-12 problem isn’t really a true.

        The good news, every team probably has at least 1-2 generous home scores and I really don’t think this affects rankings much. Also, Utah didn’t really have a great meet and probably wouldn’t have wanted to count this score in RQS regardless.

        Lastly, I do think Georgia deserved to win, just not by .6

  42. Georgia didn’t even try to make that senior night over-scoring subtle! It really wasn’t Utah’s best meet (like, seriously, have they forgotten how to stick landings??) but it’s obvious they were judged SO much tighter. It’s a SEC senior night tho so we all knew this was coming. Frustrated? Yes. Surprised? No. Hopefully it won’t have much of an impact on Utah and postseason.

    1. Agree with that 100%. It shouldn’t impact Utah much. They already have a solid RQS for regionals and I imagine that will get fired up and ready for PAC-12s to go against UCLA to reclaim that title.

      1. True! Better that it’s a SEC meet and not PAC-12s. Next week will be interesting for sure, hopefully they’ve cleaned up their landings by then and are ready to go full force!

    2. “Georgia didn’t even try to make that senior night over-scoring subtle!” The Georgia team was judging as well as competing? Truly amazing multi-tasking!

  43. Georgia – best overall floor rotation they’ve had all year, beam was solid (minus Dickson with the one wobble, the rest of the routine was great), bars was an okay rotation (Sanders and Dickson were great), and vault was probably one of their strongest all year. They slightly go over 197 and have one of their higher scores of the year, which makes sense based on their performance.

    Utah – bars rotation was fairly weak with handstands and one of their weaker bars of the year (Skinner was great), vault was an okay rotation (Lee was great and Skinner was normal non-stick), beam was a solid rotation, and floor was strong, but some odd mistakes we don’t normally see from Utah. Overall the meet wasn’t great for them and this should have been one of their lower scores of the year. It was.

    The scores should have been closer, but it wasn’t like Utah got robbed of a win. Their ranking won’t change. If this mid 196 score “ruins” their season and impacts them mentally for PAC 12s that’s totally on the team and not the judges. People acting like this is going to have a huge impact on seeding are kidding themselves.

  44. For comparisons sake: Dickson went 9.625 on beam today for a great routine that had just the one large bend at the hips wobble. Last week at Utah, Skinner had a similar routine that was great except for a large bend wobble in the middle of the routine. She went 9.750 at home.

    1. I love this comment. Using facts — something you normally don’t see on Internet comment boards.

      Also, it’s interesting no Utah fans were going nuts over Skinner’s score last week.

  45. I think people have a right to be annoyed by the scoring. 100% agree that Georgia deserved to win this meet, but not by the amount they did. Utah were judged very tightly (postseason scoring kinda tight), but Georgia wasn’t. I’m not annoyed that Utah lost, I’m frustrated that there was a clear difference in judging. If Georgia had won but you could see all scores were deserved/all judging was the same standard then I’d be happy for them! We all know that scoring is the most important thing in NCAA gymnastics and not actual wins/losses in the regular season, that’s why it sucks and people are annoyed when they see clear differences in judging (even though it happens all the time).

  46. First time I have ever been to Georgia home meet. I expected Sr. night scoring,and while I would agree Georgia probably deserved the win – not by the margin shown. And it does make a difference – if Utah had a higher score it would have raised their RQS and made their 5th stronger against Alabama push. So keeping Utah low – helped another SEC team in their RQS ranking. Not saying that was intentional – just makes one wonder. While I thought the crowd was okay – is it typical for Georgia to crank the music and base up so load during the other teams beam one touch that the seats in the stands vibrate? I had to cover my ears to keep from being sick. I can’t imagine what is was like on the floor. I also did not enjoy Georgia’s floor rotation for the same reason – the base was so loud and prominent it made all the music sound almost the same and hard for me to concentrate on the routines. Not sure I will be making a return trip to Athens – much as I love live gymnastics.

    1. I completely agree that the scoring was not fair, and that it was really frustrating to see the two teams competing be evaluated on different standards. However, I think we should be careful not to overstate the real impact of the scoring on the rankings and the trajectory of Utah’s season. Realistically, this was not a great meet for Utah, even if the scoring hadn’t been overly strict. If you give Utah back half of the difference between their score and Georgia’s that would’ve raised Utah’s RQS by 0.01. That is a really small margin that we could just as easily blame on missed handstands, checks on beam, steps on dismounts, etc. Additionally, if Utah hits at conference championships, they’ll drop that lowest away score anyway, and then it won’t have mattered anyway, unless someone wants to argue that their score should have been more than 0.500 higher than it was, and I think that argument would be a bit tenuous.

      Bottom line: Utah got hammered harder than Georgia, and it was frustrating to watch. I felt bad for them that the scoring wasn’t fair in that meet. However, it won’t actually impact the outcome of their season.

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