Sunday Live Blog – February 25, 2018

Sunday, February 25 Scores Stream
1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Eastern Michigan @ Kent State LINK FREE
1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Cornell, Penn, Yale @ Brown Ivy($)
1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Brockport, Rhode Island @ Ithaca FREE
2:00 ET/11:00 PT – [4] Utah @ [21] Cal LINK P12N
2:00 ET/11:00 PT – [24] Central Michigan, Ohio State @ Bowling Green LINK
2:00 ET/11:00 PT – [25] Iowa State, Illinois State @ Lindenwood LINK FREE
2:00 ET/11:00 PT – Gustavus Adolphus @ Hamline
3:00 ET/12:00 PT – Ball State @ Northern Illinois ESPN3
3:00 ET/12:00 PT – Bridgeport, Centenary, SEMO @ TWU
5:00 ET/2:00 PT – [20] Missouri, Illinois-Chicago @ Illinois LINK BTN+
FLO
6:00 ET/3:00 PT – [8] Oregon State @ [3] UCLA LINK P12N

We’re not done yet! Some more juicy Pac-12 meets will round out the weekend.

It will be weird to adjust to a pace of more than 1 routine per hour. (I mean, I’m grateful, just also bored.)

First note: Skinner will be limited to bars and beam today to rest a slight ankle tweak. Not supposed to be anything major.

ROTATION 1

Mastrangelo – VT – full – fall – no block, came in very short and to her hands. Surprising. She was very clean last week.

Lewis – UB – good giant full to high Tkatchev, some feet – bail, a little short of vertical this time – DLO, good stick. Strong dismount, a little tighter on the bars than her usual. 9.875 is a high start.

Gallarzo – VT – Y1/2 – hop forward – good layout position. 9.825.

MMG – UB – muscles up first hs but good vert – big Deltchev, hit – same as Lewis on the bail  – solid hs – stalder to double tuck, step back. 9.825. Dismount judging. She does a lot of hand readjustment but it’s not a taken deduction, just something.

Sy Seilnacht – VT – hop back on full – solid – not a lot of distance – pretty good shape

Reinstadtler – UB – toe 1/2 really rushed but got the Jaeger well, small leg break on bail but better vertical – nice final hs – smallllllll step on FTDT. Good. Nice save to work through to her Jaeger without trouble because she was later than she would have wanted on the toe 1/2. 9.850.

George – VT – big full but another bounce back, they wanted more control on the landing from her, but best dynamics by a billion percent. 9.800.

Lee – UB – 1/2 turn to piked jaeger to overshoot, nice and high on piked Jaeger – good final hs – 1/2 turn to front giant 1/2 to double tuck – fall. Lost her timing and way overcooked her double tuck. Odd mistake on that dismount. Tom’s like, “What just happened?” Pretty clean through the on-the-bars routine.

Robinson – VT – fhs handspring front pike and stuck! One of her best ones and Cal needed it. She’ll still get deducted for distance I assume – there’s a leg break on the block, probably wouldn’t get taken for knees her because it was slight but maybe. 9.850. Not getting rewarded for her execution of a 10.0 start with that score, not enough separation from the others.

Tessen – UB – hop grip change to jaeger, a hair close on the catch – OK on bail – hits final hs – FTDT, just the smallest step. A couple short verticals in there but did the major things well. 9.900.

Williams – VT – holds the stick on her full with an arm wave. Good one. A little off line, but otherwise strong. 9.900.

Skinner – UB – Toe shap with legs to bail, clean – step up to high – toe on – FTDT with step back. Her normal, except no stick on the dismount.

After 1: Utah 49.350, Cal 49.175

Cal will definitely take 49.175 for that vault rotation that started as badly as can be, struggled with landing control in the middle, and then got good for the last two vaults.

Utah won’t be that satisfied by bars because of the fall and because of some tight vertical positions and just the one stuck dismount, but they’ll take 49.350.

ROTATION 2

Burch is in the vault lineup in place of Skinner today.

Burch – VT – solid full, keeps legs together, step back – not screaming her way into the lineup but can be an option. 9.775.

So Seilnacht – UB – 1/2 turn to piked Jaeger to overshoot, strong minor legs – final hs looks solid – 1.5 twist, stuck. Good form. 9.875

Reinstadtler – VT – bounce back on full, good correction from the warmup when she came in short – the bounce back is a smaller deduction but still enough to be a tenth – leg break on block, keeps layout throughout. 9.875. Well…

Sternberg – UB – toe on to tkatchev, hit, bent elbows on catch – bail – small hesitation on step up to high – shortish final hs – giant full to double tuck with hop. A little floppy back in that giant full. Not as clean as Seilnacht but a hit. 9.875 is too high comparatively.

Lee – VT – good full, small bounce in place, strong form, probably will get deducted for distance and the little landing movement, but you can see 9.850 for it. 9.900 is high for me as well. The scores are sailing.

Williams – UB – Hirdorff, hit – clear hip to bail, strong – muscles up final cast a little – DLO, slight fling with a slide back. Good. 9.925. You guys. YOU GUYS.

Lewis – VT – good full – small slide back – watch the score because she should be rewarded for having bigger and better dynamics than Lee but I worry that she won’t because of the more distinct hop back. 9.850. Yep. Landing scoring. Performance in the air not rewarded.

Kuc – UB – Toe Shap, gorgeous to Pak, small leg break – good half turn on low – smooth on cast handstands – holds the stick on the FTDT with chest down, but very good hit this time overall. 9.925.

Tessen – VT – 1.5, got it this time – hop forward – she does have a tendency to come in a little short on this vault (the problem against UCLA), but she held it this time with a step forward. 9.900.

Schank – UB – small arch in first hs – shoot to high – piked jaeger good to overshoot – hits final hs – DLO, good stick. Clean routine, pretty, a couple loose back moments that make an issue for the verticals this time, but not very much or very large. 9.925.

MMG – VT – helllllld her 1.5 this time, good save because she really did come in short but held it with a two-step hop back and to the side.

George – UB – solid Tkatchev – bail, a little short of vertical with some bent elbows – maybe a tight final handstand – good stick on FTDT. Strong rotation from Cal. We’ll talk about the scores, but strong rotation.

After 2: Cal 98.725, Utah 98.675

Those scores, you guys. Dismount-landing scoring. Cal was lovely on bars in that rotation, especially at the end, and really got the landings which separates them from the Utah rotation, though the scores were quite high for a couple leg-form and handstand errors that didn’t seem to be taken into account as much as I would have liked. I saw a bunch of 9.875-9.900s, but I didn’t see 9.925-9.950s. They can be better than this, and it was 49.550.

Utah 49.325 on vault, as much as they could have hoped for in a vault rotation without Skinner and when MMG didn’t have a great one. Lee, Lewis, and Tessen were highlights, though I made my feelings clear about not rewarding dynamics and amplitude on those fulls.

ROTATION 3

Shu – BB – aerial to bhs, deliberate in connection but will get it and good individual element execution – switch 1/2, solid – beat jump – full turn – side aerial to full, stuck. As much as they could have asked.

Burch – FX – Well it’s Burch day today! Double pike, good – split jump full to wolf jump, solid – rudi with a pretty significant bounce back – switch side – 1.5 to layout, solid. Good routine. She’s totally going to follow the Baely Rowe career trajectory, except without the bars.

George – BB – wolf turn double, hit – THAT IS NOT THE GEORGE – aerial to bhs, pretty floppy with a check or two but kept it working somehow – switch to split to beat jump – double tuck dismount, step back. A couple issues but good. I’m mostly just stuck on the double wolf being “the George.” “The George” is the triple wolf in the JO code.

Lewis – FX – double pike, drops into it very well – front lay to front full – switch side to split jump 1/1 – double tuck, secure. Good routine. It’s interesting that the double tuck always seems like more of a challenge for her than the pike, but you know end of the routine. 9.925.

Keelen – BB – full turn, smooth and pretty – bhs loso, very solid – switch to split to beat, this is quite a strong routine going – aerial to split jump – and then a HUGE wobble on her low to the beam choreography! She was like “wait, where am I” – 1.5 with hop forward. I mean, she intentionally dropped down to her knees but then kind of grabbed the beam to keep herself steady, which actually would be a big deduction if it’s interpreted that way.

9.575. Yeah. She did technically grab the beam to avoid a fall, so that’s what you’re going to get.

Lee – FX – 2.5, good control on step forward – switch to switch ring 1/2 – hers is sort of allowed but in general this skill is forbidden for everyone along with the Ferrari – 2/1 to loso, good, some crossed feet – front lay front 1/1, awkward landing with a bound forward. Otherwise very clean. 9.800

Gallarzo – BB – full turn, good – partying like it’s 2011 with an aerial to bhs loso – OK on the leaps – small hop forward on 1.5. Good. 9.850.

Lee rolled her ankle on that last pass, but it didn’t look too bad in replay? Just a stinger.

Reinstadtler – FX – double tuck, good chest up, slide back – switch ring to split leap 1/1, pretty, no deduction there – 1.5 to layout, comfortable – double pike, comes in a little short with a step forward. A couple landing deductions on first and third passes, otherwise strong. 9.900. Were you going to give her a 10?

Williams – BB – standing front tuck to loso, super solid – as I’ve mentioned before, she’ll get the benefit of the doubt in connection because it’s so challenging, and I can live with that – switch side, secure – full turn – gainer pike, too easy for her but she holds the stick with a lean. 9.900.

Soloski – FX – DLO, pikes down the second salto a little with a lunge back – switch 1/1 – 2/1, no trouble, though I don’t know why people have lone 2/1s in their routines because it’s a C – aerial – 1.5 to layout, some arch in layout. Not quite as crisp as some of the others in the lineup, but good. Still gets 9.900

So Seilnacht – BB – full turn – bhs loso series, huge break to save it, a couple swims – switch to double stag, smallest correction – side aerial to full, stuck. Would have been a big beam rotation for Cal, but they’ll have to count this big wobble. 9.775. So they only took 2 tenths?

MMG – FX – pike full in, comes in a little short this time with a lunge forward – switch ring to split leap full, Carly calls out the splits – 1.5 to front lay to front pike, a little flat but fine – rudi to straddle

After 3: Utah 148.125, Cal 147.975

Utah moves ahead by .150 after a 49.450 on floor. Most of them except Lewis had some landing trouble, but nothing too significant in any case. Still got away with 9.900s in a lot of cases. Cal with some nice beam routines but had to count the 9.775 from Seilnacht in that final routine to take the total down. Didn’t have the 9.900s Utah did there, but Cal going to floor while Utah goes to beam, so this one is still live.

ROTATION 4

Stover – BB – aerial, works through to bhs, the smallest hesitation but I’m sure she’ll get the combo – full turn, nice – beat jump to split ring, good – kickover front – switch to straddle to beat – gainer full, stuck. Good one. 9.850.

So Seilnacht – FX – begins her routine with aggressive laughter – music problems – restart – front lay to rudi, secure – illusion turn – underturns a split leap 1.5 with a bounce – 1.5 to 1/2 to layout to front tuck – 1.5 to front pike. Good tumbling, it was the dance element and the music that were issues there. 9.850.

MMG – BB – switch to split, secure – bhs bhs loso, no trouble – aerial to beat jump – remember her freshman year when she was kinda bad at beam? – full turn – 2/1, smallest slide. Two strong sets. Just some knees in a lot of her elements. 9.850

Robinson – FX – double Arabian, close to nailed, just a little slide back working out of it – 1.5 to front pike, lunge forward, stays in – also tries for the split leap 1.5, closer to around – double pike, solid. 9.850.

9.850s FOR EVERYONE AUTOMATICALLY.

Burch – BB – full turn – bhs loso, large break, leg up but pulls it back quickly – cat leap to aerial to beat jump – switch to straddle 1/4 – 1.5, holds the stick. 9.775.

Not enough separation with Burch having a major error for 9.775 and the first two very secure for 9.850.

Shu – FX – double tuck, good toe point- double pike, also secure, chest a little down on that one – switch to split leap 1.5, good 180s, may have gotten her split 1.5 around – 1.5 to front pike to stag, kind of sluggish and low on that pass but got it around. Clean overall. 9.875.

Lee – BB – full turn – bhs loso, clean, extended – beat jump to side aerial, small arm wave – switch to straddle 1/4 – 2/1, more or less holds the stick. Clean routine. 9.900. Fair.

Sy Seilnacht – FX – double tuck, solid – double pike, also secure, much like Shu with chest down but not moving an inch  – switch ring to switch 1/2, best leaps of the lineup so far – 1.5 to 1/2. This is a solid meet for Cal. Very composed.

Reinstadtler – BB – aerial to split jump, smooth – bhs loso with a lean but holds it – full turn – switch to straddle 1/4, bigger break with a bent at the waist – gainer full, stuck. Some tentative errors there for Reinstadtler, so this could get interesting.

9.875 for Reinstadtler WHERE AM I? How was that higher than the first two beam routines? HOW? I mean I know she’s lovely, but there’s no way you can go 9.900 for that routine with those wobbles.

George – FX – front 2/1, crossover step but pretty well controlled – switch ring to split leap 1/1, very good 180s, just a little bounce forward coming out of it – front tuck through to rudi with a little slide – solid double tuck. 9.925? Guys.

Skinner – BB – loso series, very secure as always, with the knees – side aerial, small check – switch to straddle to back tuck, no trouble – double tuck, short this time with a lunge forward. Wonder if she was protecting that ankle.

Williams – FX – Apparently she wasn’t slated to go on FX originally – DLO, keeps that front foot down well, just some chest position – switch side to popa, great 180 position and landing positions – front lay front full, little step forward out – she needs 9.925 for the tie, 9.950 for the win – double pike, very solid. The way scores have been going, that could very well be it. Floor scores high all day.

9.975 for Toni-Ann. I mean obviously.

Pac-12 Network not understanding that there are two judges and prematurely awarding a 10.

FINAL: Cal 197.500, Utah 197.450

Well now. Big result for Cal. The win more than having the huge score for RQS. Floor scoring was a crack fest, but kind of a crack fest for both teams? Utah came in just a little flat today. Nothing major and nothing wrong, just not really there with all the landings the way they typically are. Some wobbles, some bouncy landings, not a ton of sticks. A fine meet but not a postseason level meet. It’s February.

Cal impressive, particularly on bars and through a few of those beam routines. Really nice work, a complete team and complete rotations. We’ll see how vault and floor measure up at the end of the season, will be a point of concern, but we’re seeing a team that can absolutely challenge for nationals, which we didn’t in the first month+.


Ugh, basketball takes so long. Why are you like this?

No Tratz today. Kocian debuting on floor. Anna Glenn taking Meraz’s spot on bars and still in on vault.

Still in warmups.

ROTATION 1

A Glenn – VT – a little better than last week, still a little short but not as much this time with a hop forward. 9.750.

Khamedoost – UB – Toe on to Toe Shap, some legs – beail, good vertical, little leg break – gooed toe point – missed final hs – no stick this time, DLO with hop forward. 9.800.

Ohashi – VT – bounce back on full but better distance than Glenn, good layout position. 9.800.

MCP – UB – shortish first hs – 1/2 turn to jaeger, nice in the air – bail, little leg break – DLO, also coming in a little short with a hop. 9.850.

Dennis – VT – looking for the stick this time but too far forward in the chest and then a hop forward, one of her weaker vaults – 9.825.

Singley – UB – giant full, good – to tkatchev, very close catch – bail, legs together, maybe a little short – nice final hs – giant full to double tuck with a bounce back.

Ross – VT – little bounce back on her full but the best of the rotation so far – good position as usual, just that little pike but not enough to take for most, chest up, but still didn’t get the landing. 9.875.

Minyard – UB – nice distance in jaeger connected to overshoot – one short hs – floaty DLO but also comes in a little short with a pace. Neither team has its landings so far. 9.850.

Hall – VT – 1.5 with a hop forward this time – better landing position but not the stick, a full tenth bound forward, and then the usual knees. 9.875.

Jacobsen – UB – shortish first hs – good tkatchev to overshoot, best release amplitude to far  with some counter rotation as well – tight final hs – 1/2 turn to double front with step back. Still pretty good though. 9.850.

Hano – VT – 1.5 – neearrrrllly sits her 1.5, deep squat with a hop to the side. 9.750.

Gill – UB – Shap to Pak, lovely legs on Shap, break on Pak – half turn on low – DLO with two paces back. 9.750.

After 1: Oregon State 49.150, UCLA 49.125

Ehhhhhhhhhhh. Pretty blah first rotation for both teams. No sticks in any of the 12 routines. UCLA pretty hoppy on those landings. Verrry 9.800 and 9.850 vaulting. OSU solid on the bars themselves but couldn’t get into the 9.9s because a lot of them gave up probably full tenths on those landings, not even half tenths.

ROTATION 2

Singley – VT – pretty solid control on full, small hop in place – not the hugest in the air. 9.800.

Dennis – UB – Toe Shap to bail, very strong vertical positions – rushes final cast hs – sticks DLO, very strong routine. Few deductions

Gill – VT – small hop back on her full, but not too much bounce in these first two – they will get deducted for some lack of dynamics. 9.775.

Sam’s like UGH THESE TRASH VAULTERS AREN’T ME

Ohashi – UB – toe on – lonnnnng pause in toe on to save it – hits bail – short hs before tkatchev, hit, normal, flat – DLO, hop forward. 9.800.

Davis – VT – full – hop back, some solid dynamics but a little more pike than the first two. 9.850 is weird to me. I mean, it got high, but large landing error and the pike.

Honest – UB – Tkatchev, hit – 1/2 turn to straddle back – very short final hs – FTDT with hop forward. OK, but no stick and a couple handstands. 9.825.

Yanish – VT – huge vault and huge bounce back on her full – nice layout position. 9.800.

A Glenn – UB – rushed first hs – 1/2 turn to jaeger – muscling up some handstands – hits Pak – late 1/2 turn on low – better final cast – 1/1 turn to double tuck, small hop. OK. 9.875 is forgiving for some of those cast handstands

Jacobsen – VT – Tsuk 1/1 with a hop back and to the side – the usual pike in the air but solid. 9.775. A little low for me because judged with Yurchenko expectations.

Peng – UB – Ray, good – Bhardwaj, hit – toe on to Shap 1/2 – good – DLO with a hop back – better dismount than last week but that will be a significant deduction, probably a tenth. 9.875.

Greene – VT – hs front pike 1/2 with a pretty large lunge backward this time – some legs in the air

Ross – UB – Toe Shap to bail, fab – strong hs – DLO, stuck. One of her great ones. Watch the score. Tremendous. 9.975.

After 2: UCLA 98.575, OSU 98.150

Oregon State also did not get those vault landings and came up with a lower overall score than UCLA there because some of the UCLA vaulters like Dennis and Hano can get by on their amplitude even when having an off day, but fewer of the OSU vaulters can do that. UCLA had some strong ones and some issues on bars. Dennis and Ross, doing the two simplest routines in the lineup and also the two best, which is not a coincidence. Those routines are very easy for them, which is why they’re able to do them with minimal deduction. They pump up the UCLA score to 49.450.

ROTATION 3

Nguyen – BB – full turn, smooth – aerial to loso series, fall – switch to split – split jump 1/2 from side, The America, please teach everyone else how to do it – front layout full, stuck

Force – FX – double pike, small slide – switch side to popa, good 180, a little indistinct on landing – front layout to front 1/1, fall, overdid her front layout and got nothing into her next skill – double tuck, second fall.

Kocian – BB – switch to sheep, solid – bhs loso, also solid – full turn – aerial – she just has these little not-even-wobbles of tentativeness after every skill – 2/1 with a pretty big hop back. 9.875.

Jacobsen – FX – double pike, secure – back 1.5 to layout, good straight position in layout – hits her 180s on leaps, just a touch too bouncy – rudi, a little under. Good routine. 9.825.

G Glenn – BB – bhs loso, pretty, smallest lean adjustment – aerial to split jump, well done – switch to split jump instead of the switch switch, which is easier but also less impressive – gainer full, stuck. Well executed, strong set. Will be big score if Kocian was 9.875. 9.950.

Gill – FX – double pike, good, chest down – back 1.5 to front lay, also secure – switch 1/2 – double tuck short with a lunge forward

Ohashi – BB – full turn – aerial to bhs loso, very secure, toes pointed – switch ring to beat jump, switch ring is a little two-part – bhs to loso to layout full, smallest heel adjustment – another strong hit. 9.975.

Singley – FX – front tuck through to double tuck, very solid, chest up – also solid on double pike – switch ring to switch 1/2, good switch 1/2, switch ring also two-part – rudi, good height, small slide back. 9.900..

Ross – BB – bhs loso, no trouble – switch ring to beat jump, she does a better job on the switch ring of showing the 180 all together at a point – good full turn – aerial with a small check – side aerial to stuck full. Did have a check, but otherwise another rather pristine set. 9.950. they were SOOO ready to give her a 10.

Lowery – FX – double pike, a little too much power with a lunge back but keeps it in – nice leap amplitude, which helps her get closer to 180 – rudi, small slide – front layout to front full, held the stick on landing. 9.900.

Peng – BB – depending on this routine, this will either be a ridiculous event score or a disastrous one – three flares, well done as always – bhs laypike, very solid – double turn to beat jump to split jump, smallest pause in combination after the turn in there – side aerial to stuck full, a pike on that full but a strong set overall. 9.975.

Val literally yelling at the judge who went 9.950. It’s not a 10 with that dismount, Val.

Yanish – FX – DLO, fantastic position, slide back – front full to layout, nice straight shape maintained. Good straddle position – double tuck bounce back. Great landing positions and shape in the air, just the two bounces back on those passes, really. Still goes 9.900. She doesn’t have anything built-in, which is why she can get away with 9.900 there, but mostly what this tells us is that they’re ready for UCLA to go huge.

UCLA 49.725 on beam. So that’s a score.

After 3: UCLA 148.300, Oregon State 146.025

“How many young women in that huddle were alive in 2003?” Literally all of them, Jim. They’re college students, and that was 15 years ago.

So apparently this ties UCLA’s highest beam score ever. EVER. I’m legitimately surprised by that because I expected there were some, like, 49.9s in 2003 and 2004. Five fab routines. I mean, I’m probably more 9.900 and 9.950 for those routines rather than 10, but still exceptionally good. I think 49.600 or something could have been a legitimate real-life score for that beam rotation, which is huge.

ROTATION 4

Shoutout to the graphic: “VALORIAUCLA KONDOS-FIELD”

Singley – BB – split jump to double stag, hit – bhs loso series, very smooth – full turn, a little tentative – kickover front, hit – gainer full with small slide – 9.750 is inconsistent

Kocian – FX – front 2/1, just a hair deep but controls the step forward out of it – 1.5 to front layout, very good amplitude – switch side to popa – rudi to double stag. Good. She’s back. Routine a little sleepy. 9.900.

Minyard – BB – switch to straddle, low back leg on switch – aerial to back handspring, keeps it moving well – full turn, solid – check on choreography – cat leap to switch side – side aerial to tuck full, small step. 9.825. Anyone else think Singley’s was better? Just me?

Kramer – FX -front 2/1 to front tuck, her usual right into the corner but stays in bounds this time – 1.5 to layout, also solid, she does well to sell control before presenting to she doesn’t get hit for the step – nice leap amplitude – rudi to straddle jump, back to her good ones. 9.950. Here we go guys, get ready. It’s gonna get fancy.

Yanish – BB – bhs loso series, leg-up check, saves it – switch to loso, secure – full turn, small lean – switch to straddle 1/4 – front handspring with check – gainer full, solid. 9.775.

Ross – FX – whip to double tuck, short with a lunge forward – switch ring to Ferrawwwwri – 1.5 to layout, nice height  – double pike, chest down but controlled. 9.900. Yep. That happened.

Lazaro – BB – bhs loso with a small lean, nice toe point – switch to straddle 3/4, secure – full turn, good – side aerial to a stuck full. Another one of her good ones. 9.850.

Dennis – FX – piked full in first pass, good call – a little chest down but fairly controlled – front full to front layout – OMG IS SHE SPELLING HER NAME YOU GUYS SHE MIGHT BE SPELLING HER NAME I THINK SHE’S SPELLING HER NAME – precise leaps – double tuck, controlled. Let’s see where we go here. 9.975. Chest position and little hops don’t count friends.

Gill – BB – full turn – split jump to double stag, strong – aerial with a check – bhs loso series, large leg-up check, saves it but major deduction – switch 1/2 – gainer full, small hop in place. Shame. Needed a bigger score there. 9.500.

Hano – FX – DLO, keeps front foot down, good chest position – front full to 1/2 to running man – split jump 1/1 to wolf jump full, a little under-turned at the end – bounce back on double pike. 9.950. I’m just glad they didn’t go 10 for it with that dismount. You KNOW they wanted to.

Sam “jokingly” upset she never got a 10 on floor but you know that was real.

Davis – BB – aerial to back tuck, smallll pause in between – switch to straddle 1/4 – wolf jump – full turn – front layout full with hop. Got through it, can drop the Gill.

Ohashi – FX – “The judges have been tough across the board” literally what – Ohashi needs 9.925 for a 198 today. After that vault rotation. DLO, strong control – 1.5 to half to split to front tuck – switch ring and switch 1/2 were excellent – front full to 1/2 to sit split. I would be shocked if it’s not a 10 the way the scoring has been going since it was the best of the rotation so far.

“We wait for the score on Katelyn Ohashi.” We’re not really we already know it’s a 10.

Yes. 10.000 for Ohashi.

FINAL: UCLA 198.075, Oregon State 196.525

UCLA has been 49.875 on floor before, so this 49.775 is like a zero basically.

Really strong final two rotations of the day for UCLA though. Those are national championship-competitive rotations. You could see that beam go 49.600 and that floor go 49.500 in a postseason context. What they’re missing is still vault and the first half of bars.

Oregon State just OK today. Did not have the landings. Like several teams we’ve seen this weekend, nothing major but just a little tight and just a little off all day long. Still a very useful road score, but it really could have been a 197 with the score-scape today. (Except for that one beam score for Singley where we were all like, “whhhhaa?”

 

50 thoughts on “Sunday Live Blog – February 25, 2018”

  1. I’m in the arena and Williams’ vault looked strange to me. Less distance than her usual, maybe?

    Also first time seeing Utah in person this year. They’re missing more handstands than I expected but their form is just stellar. Across the board.

  2. “Wouldn’t it be fun if they (Cal) pulled this one off today?
    Carly, almost indistinct: “Yeah”

  3. Carly is sounding foggy this season. And the male commentator’s “in the land’ is getting really annoying.

  4. I want him to stop calling each gymnast a “product.” It grates on me when anyone says it, and he’s going to town with it!

    1. I mean that’s common to hear when a game or meet is close. I think people are just looking for things to complain about now.

  5. Utah’s first 2 beam routines were great and were scored lower than George. Big steps on cal floor routines and they’re getting equivalent scores. Frustrating for Utah.

    1. I think it was a fair result for the way the teams looked today. They were very comparable, Utah just looked a little more flat than usual with some short landings and steps. Utah would’ve won if their landings on bars had been better.

  6. I wish NCAA would move away from using so much EDM as floor music. Like, if your choreo is mostly gonna be posing to save energy, it doesn’t make sense to have this nightclub bass thing happening around you. It doesn’t matter how sassily you stand there, you’re still just standing there. /end rant

  7. Utah is a little flat but scores for cal on floor a bit high. That 10 is a crock. Major gift. Floor quality over all Utah was much better however they left the door open. Lee hit much too hard for th ankle roll. Overall both teams over scored cal got a few more gifts but Utah didn’t bring it. Lesson learned

      1. You JUST got done saying, “That 10 is a crock. Major gift” and, “cal got a few more gifts.” You were complaining about scores the INSTANT the meet was over.

    1. Oh brother – everyone whines on this blog. That’s the purpose of this blog! Complain about the judges, the gymnasts’ attitudes, the SEC, choreography, etc.

      So celebrate however you’d like, complain as much as you want, use A LOT of generalizations – this is the internet, do it proud!

  8. Few more observations from at the Utah/Cal meet…some of the scoring was a little whack, but at the end of the day I think the result could have gone either way and that was reflected. Was really impressed with Tessen’s vault and Lee’s floor, including the switch ring, and form on bars in general from Utah. The person running the little between-the-events things (cartwheel contest, bear growl thing, etc.) was very unfortunately named something that sounded like “Nassar” so we kept hearing “turn your attention to Nassar”. Toni-Ann was interviewed straight through the awards so everyone kind of awkwardly looked at her every time they announced she won something. And weirdest of all a lot of people seemed to not really get how the scores worked…there was a HUGE cheer when one judge gave Toni-Ann the 10, and at one point Justin had to go over and manually change one of the beam scores (which was reading 9.873 instead of 9.775 for some reason). All and all, a great meet.

  9. I hope they’re just resting Pauline! My Fantasy Teams need her, and also I just adore her.

  10. “It’s Anna Glenn’s first bars routine EVER!” I know what he means, but I laughed because it sounded like she’s never done bars before, but she just casually got up and threw a jaeger and a pak salto out of nowhere because she’s just got natural talent like that.

  11. I’m curious to see what Dennis will use for her opening pass this week. On Bruin Banter, she heavily hinted that she’d be doing something other than her double arabian (and by the way she was talking, probably an E pass).

    1. It’s something from his live blog of the elite verification event earlier today. It’s a split jump or straddle jump 1/2 from cross position. A lot of American elites are using those elements now because they’re both D elements, whereas they were B elements in the last quad.

  12. “How many young women in that huddle were alive in 2003? If they were, they were still in diapers!” lol, I’m a senior in college and was 7 in 2003. Definitely alive and definitely not still in diapers.

  13. LOL @ “How many of these women were even alive in 2003?”. Little-known fact: all of UCLA’s team is made up of 13-year-olds.

  14. Kocian’s new floor reminds me of “Mad Men” for some reason…just feels very retro

  15. Very glad to see Kocian flooring and looking powerful, but gosh that routine is a snooze and also seems to be choreographed for someone with half her cardio endurance.

    Kocian has some dance chops, wish she was getting something to show them off.

    1. Where did you notice her bias? I was listening for it but my broadcast was choppy so I must’ve missed it (not at all sarcastic, just curious because I see this mentioned but haven’t personally heard it!)

  16. I gotta give credit to Jordyn for what she’s done for UCLA’s floor. They have quite a solid rotation with some good back-up options. She’s done a really good job, especially compared to last year.

    1. Agreed. UCLA has certainly had some overscores on floor all year, but Jordyn has had a huge impact on them. Their fitness level is way up and the technique is better across the board. Plus, I love the relationships she seems to have with all gymnasts. It could be hard to be a coach and friend/classmate, but she’s handling it so well.

  17. Can Miss Val please stop this getting in the judges’ faces thing? Seems very inappropriate.

    I mean, this isn’t a common thing, right?

    1. She’s not the only coach to do it, but she’s certainly one of the worst. Honestly the coaches should not be allowed to communicate with the judges during the meet; it blows my mind that this is permitted in NCAA. If you need to file a formal inquiry, you can submit it on paper through an intermediary.

      1. Who are the other coaches who do it?
        But yeah, I totally agree that coaches should not be allowed to communicate with judges during the meet.

    2. It’s seriously not okay. UCLA is doing great gymnastics but she is delegitimizing the sport by doing this.

Comments are closed.