It’s not like a regular world cup. It’s a cool world cup.
That’s because sweet, sweet Olympic qualification points are sitting around, ready to be won in Cottbus. You can follow the points race and get (most of) your rules questions answered here, with the true bounty of points (30 to the winners) on offer starting today in the finals of the first five events.
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So it looks like Nguyen is into the final despite finishing 10th in qualification. Tang and Nory must both have pulled out? Not sure yet what we do about that in the final awarding of ranking points. Presumably he’ll now get points for his finish in the final, and Tang and Nory will get the points for the top 2 non-final-qualifying spots?
Nguyen – FX – double double layout – hop – double front pike, small hop – front 2/1 to front 1/1, small shuffle – double double tuck, a little short with a lunge – 2/1, stuck – 2.5 to half, stuck – shourt on full in, large lunge forward. Not bad.
UCLA has every reason to expect that the 2019 team will display more formidable depth than last season’s national championship team, having lost just four routines from that Super Six performance. Improving the scores on every event, however, is not a given because…Peng’s perfect 20…but still, the essential core remains intact and should receive a boost from this small-but-mighty new crop.
You’re familiar with Marz. There’s little mystery in this part of the preview. She has both the tumbling and the performance quality to provide an essential routine on floor that I’m sure UCLA is already angling to submit for “this is our viral floor routine this year” status. UCLA will also count on Frazier for a 10.0 start that can go toward the end of the vault lineup, if not anchor it. She has continued training the DTY so far in preseason.
We never end up talking about Frazier as much on bars, but she has shown tremendous difficulty there in the last couple years of elite and has the kind of legs-together Shap 1/2 that should render her bars routine equally important to her vault and floor in restocking UCLA’s lineups. I fully expect to see three weekly events from Frazier, and in most team circumstances, she would be an all-arounder. She’ll surely give UCLA an option on beam, though beam isn’t exactly an easy UCLA lineup to get into. We could very well just see the five returners and Flatley make up the 2019 group.
Flatley’s NCAA debut is among the most anticipated this season because it has been a geologic age since we’ve seen her in competition. That endless injury history is why power-event expectations will be muted for Flatley, at least early on. She, of course, has the ability to pull out a lovely vault and 3/1 her way to perfection on floor (which she has been training in preseason), but I think as long as Flatley can stay healthy enough to deliver gorgeous bars and beam, UCLA will be happy.
Beam was always Flatley’s wow event in junior elite, with a rare mix of difficulty and “China circa 1992” execution that had her on Olympic-prognostication shortlists. So if anyone is going to take on Peng responsibilities on beam, it will be Flatley.
Sekai Wright is here to lift the power quotient on vault, an event on which UCLA’s relative lack of difficulty last season compared to other top teams looked like a disqualifying weakness right up until about…the middle of Kyla Ross’s beam routine during Super Six. Wright’s powerful 1.5 will be critical over the next few seasons for UCLA in delivering the necessary amount of 10.0 starts. Wright brings that same power ability to floor and will look to deliver an option there as well.
Sara Taubman
VT
UB
BB
FX
I’ve never seen actual competition videos of Taubman, just training work, but based on that training, the pieces are there for Taubman to provide a routine in the depth pool on bars, her best event.
It’s a small freshman class for Oklahoma this year, one that will not be called upon for an overwhelming number of routines but will have to provide several critical spot sets as part of the project to make up for not having Jackson, Brown, and Catour in lineups anymore.
Those dear departed 2018 seniors delivered important scores, but not an excessive number of competition routines—a number that this freshman class should be able to manage itself, especially on the leg events where this group excels.
Trautman’s is the most recognizable name in the class, and she should prove to be the most lineup-influential of Oklahoma’s three freshmen. Her foremost contributions will be on floor and vault. On floor, Trautman’s massive amplitude allows her to complete a DLO more comfortably than most as well as producing standout leaps, getting much higher than the competition. Similarly huge is the Y1.5 on vault that Trautman has competed since dropping back down to L10. Expect both routines to secure prime lineup places from the start of the season.
While floor and vault are the essential routines, don’t be surprised if we see all four from Trautman. Bars isn’t as much of a natural event for her, but she has good rhythm, a useful DLO dismount, and could get there. As for beam, it’s Oklahoma. You can throw a dart at the roster and hit four 9.9s, but Trautman has proven a very solid beamer who should be in the mix.
To me, Stern is a bit of a wildcard in terms of how much we’ll see her contribute, but she’ll angle for positions in the vault and floor lineups. Most importantly, she has a 1.5 on vault, reigniting Oklahoma’s quest to show up at nationals with six 10.0 starts. Her JO performances make that vault look like a very realistic NCAA option.
Stern also had a full-in on floor in JO (which she has continued to work in training videos) and comfortable twisting ability, so she could help shore up some of those question mark positions in the early half of the floor lineup from last season. Stern does have a beam routine as well, but on this team that will be a tough lineup.
LaPinta is walking on for Oklahoma this year and will be looking to provide a depth option on floor. She had a double Arabian in JO and has continued working a 3/1 in preseason, so the tumbling skills are definitely there for her to put together an Oklahoma-worthy floor set.
How are you not winning the national championship every year, Florida? Last year’s freshman class brought that championship ability, but it didn’t quite happen. This year’s class brings the same quality, the major difference being that the 2019 class also has a ton of replacement work to do in making up for the absences of McMurtry, Baker, and Slocum. That must be accomplished before they can even entertain the prospect of improving on last season’s performance.
The good news for Florida—the talent is there. This class should bring enough routines to increase the squad depth even over 2018’s roster.
I mean, come on. If Trinity Thomas isn’t a star in college gymnastics, there’s something wrong with college gymnastics. The combination of exceptional extension and crazy-easy power makes her potentially the most compelling 10 prospect among all freshmen this year. Expect Thomas to figure critically on every event.
Beam has always been Thomas’s most impressive piece because of the way she separates herself from the rabble through her leaps, but she has equally vital power on floor—not to mention about a million viable tumbling-pass options. Beyond that, Thomas’s ability to maintain leg position on skills like Shaps on bars tells me that coming up with a deduction-free NCAA bars routine shouldn’t be much trouble. On vault, she has settled into the Y1.5 these last couple years, which tended to undermine her AA score in elite because of elite, but it should be a clean option in NCAA, almost entirely free of sloppy-knee-town.
Let us not forget SJS, the type of elite who always seemed like, “OK, Have fun with this for a while, but NCAA will be your real thing.” Floor has always been her event, not just because she has an inherent comfort in performing. The tumbling is there too. I’d also expect to see SJS on beam, where she shows the acro extension and viable NCAA leaps to snatch a strong score.
On bars, SJS shows efficient and solid D elements that can make for a lineup-ready option. On vault, we haven’t seen the DTY in several years, but the full she showed most recently in elite would make an acceptably clean option if Florida is looking for more fulls, which it may not be.
The name you don’t know in Florida’s class but should learn now is Schoenherr’s. She finished 2nd AA at JO nationals this year and should make her way into a least a couple lineups for Florida with the potential to do all four.
Most importantly, Schoenherr vaults a realistic Y1.5 that Florida will need to make up for the three critical lost vaults from last season. She’s a key piece there. On beam, those leaps and smooth acro skills make her routine an appealing prospect, and with the height she gets on the Jaeger, bars should be able to score quite well too. (Is the dismount difficulty enough to get into the lineup?) On floor, Schoenherr is working a maybe-3/1 and can twist and leap, so it’s feasible but still probably her least likely piece. We’ll see if the ultimate difficulty is there to break into the six.
You know Clapper from her sojourn in elite, and she’ll be a fascinating one to watch because she’s an accomplished athlete in both elite and JO (finished 9th AA at JO nationals this year in the same division as Schoenherr) who has the skill set to provide a routine on any event for 9.800. For most teams, Clapper would be a “get in the all-around right now” prospect. But on this team, it’s unclear yet which lineup positions will even be open by the time you get to Clapper.
I see floor as a possibility. The D passes she used in L10 this year are very comfortable for her. She’s also been showing a solid two-loso series on beam in training videos, has a workable full on vault should Florida need it, and has cleaned up bars since going back to JO/NCAA composition.
Reed’s most likely contribution to Florida will be on floor, where she has been training a massive DLO (and also has a worthwhile double Arabian from JO days). Her twisting form is strong as well, so Florida will look to get that routine into the lineup for a big score. Reed also gets some real distance on a Yfull, presenting that as yet another vault option. We’re much less likely to see bars and beam, but she can be in the depth pool on beam.
Taylor was sort of supposed to be “the other one” in this class, but her surprise 8th-place AA finish at JO nationals this year really complicated things. That’s not a random-walk-on kind of result. Taylor is working a DLO to present herself as a viable floor option on this team and could be in the depth pool on bars and beam as well, where might challenge with a little cleaning.
