| Monday, January 21 | Scores | Stream |
| 2:00 ET/11:00 PT – Iowa State @ [6] Georgia | LINK | SEC+ |
| 5:00 ET/2:00 PT – [19] Arizona State @ [2] UCLA | LINK | P12N |
| 7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Southern Connecticut @ Brown | LINK | |
| 9:00 ET/6:00 PT – [24] Stanford @ [12] Cal | LINK | P12N |
First, a heads up that I won’t be live blogging Stanford/Cal today because that’s when we record GymCastic, and I really think this meet should have done a better job of taking into account my specific schedule.
Technically, today’s meets are part of week 4 and won’t be included in the official rankings until next Monday, but UCLA could move into first place in the in-progress rankings with a 197.950. A tough score, to be sure, but also Carol’s on a three-day weekend, so…
First, it’s Iowa State visiting Georgia. Georgia has zoomed up the rankings this week thanks to that crack-blossom of a score-scape in the meet against Alabama, and they’ll be hoping to use what is already their third home meet to hit the 197 plateau. Iowa State has been stuck in the low 194s in its first two meets, sitting down at #36 in the rankings, and needs to use this opportunity of a meet at Georgia to burst into the 195s and start getting usable totals.
Not much in the way of changes for the Georgia lineup today, although Schild is beaming and Magee is back in on floor.
Rotation 1
Magee – VT – UGA – full – comes up short this time, pikes down, step forward. 9.750. Uh oh. That’s high.
Langkamp – UB – ISU – piked jaeger, strong – good cast hs, hits vertical on following bail hs – a bit rushed in last cast hs – DLO dismount, buckles with a lunge forward. Nice on the bars. 9.700
Vega – VT – UGA – great distance on her full, hop up in place – knees and a bit of a pike, very similar to Friday. 9.850. Carol take the wheel.
Diaz – UB – ISU _ good first hs – straddle jaeger, hit – bail hs, legs together but clearly short of vertical – DLO, great floaty, step back. 9.750
Ward – VT – UGA – Tsuk 1/1, hop back, the piking we’ve come to expect. She’s gaining a bit more control on that landing. 9.800.
Burns – UB – ISU – Ray, hit – hip angle in cast hs following that – better vertical in her bail but some clearly short casts in there – DLO, hop back. 9.800
Dickson – VT – UGA – Omel – large lunge forward this time as well, what we’ve come to expect of this vault from her so far, perhaps a bit more tuck to try to find the landing this time as well. 9.825
Sievers – UB – ISU – good height on piked jaeger into overshoot – quite short cast hs – FTDT, holds the stick with a little chest down. Solid routine. 9.900
Lukacs – VT – UGA – DTY, pops way up on that, hop back – better chest position this time, which allowed her just the normal-sized hop back. 9.900
Horowitz – UB – ISU – lovely toe point on jaeger – short hs – bail, a bit short of vertical – real pike technique in that swing – giant full to double tuck, little height on double tuck, lunge back. 9.725
Snead – VT – UGA – 1.5 – another solid showing, little hop forward. Good form, just a touch of legs and the hop. 9.925
Johnson – UB – ISU – giant full, a little late, into gienger, catches a bit close but solid legs together, some feet – bail, legs come apart there – rushing through some hs – FTDT, hop back. 9.775
After 1: Georgia 49.300, Iowa State 48.950
OK, these scores are higgghhhhh. Let’s just get that out of the way. Best part of that vaulting for Georgia will be Lukacs on the DTY, more comfortably around this time, chest higher, so she was able to hop back rather than coming in more awkwardly and lunging forward/sideward. Iowa State with lots of potential in that bars rotation, but the cast handstands were not there yet and were approached pretty charitably in the scores.
Rotation 2
Martin – VT – ISU – yfull, comes in short with a fairly large lunge forward – legs apart on block. 9.725.
Snead – UB – UGA – good first hs – clear hip to tkatchev, hit, good toes, not the biggest – clean bail hs – a bit short on final cast hs – DLO, small shuffle. 9.850
Johnson – VT – ISU _ full, bounce back, better chest position than the first, but has a clear pike in the air, good distance but the height is a little flat. 9.750.
Roberts – UB – UGA – short first hs – toe 1/1 attempt but only gets 1/2 done, pauses, goes back over the other way and has to recast – shap to bail, good legs on shap, a bit short on bail – DLO, over a bit with a bounce back. A struggle. Still gets away with 9.650 after an out of range conference
Langkamp – VT – ISU – comes in short on her full landing without a ton of dynamics, hop forward – quite a bit of knees and piking there. 9.675
Al-Hameed – UB – UGA – good toes on hs – tkatchev – hit – godo hs – clean vertical in the bail – close final hs – giant full, pretty strong position, better height into double tuck, stuck. Really strong showing. 9.875. That’s a more normal score there. Wouldn’t have minded a 9.9, which is funny because everything else has been so cracky so far.
Turner – VT – ISU – clean full, best shape and direction of the group so far – pretty big bounce back though. 9.775
Schild – Ub – UGA – rushes through first hs but did hit vertical in there. Ray, falls. Took it too far. Georgia now counting the 9.650 from Roberts. The rest is clean until a toe shoot, catches too close and a short hs afterward. DLO, hop. 9.200
Steinmeyer – VT – ISU – pulls out her Y1.5, OK, comes up short and has to take a step back. Some knees. 9.775.
Dickson – UB – UGA – short first hs – good height on tkatchev – nice next cast into bail, super clean, legs together and vertical – DLO 1/1, with a .1 bounce back and a bit of pike in the air that is typically forgiven on a DLO 1/1. 9.900. That seems high again, so everything’s back to normal.
Sievers – VT – ISU – her humongous handspring pike 1/2, very high, is able to land chest up, probably a .1 bounce back. Really strong. 9.875
Oakley – UB – UGA – toe 1/2 to perfect piked jaeger – pak, lovely – 1/2 turn on low – good hs positions – FTDT, holds the stick well. Very strong. 9.925. Not enough differentiation from the other scores.
After 2: Georgia 98.500, Iowa State 97.850
After those low 194s, I said the goal for Iowa State is just to go 195 here, which will happen easily with hits in the final two rotations. They’re like, “Oh…we can get scored like this? That’s an option?” Georgia gets 49.200 on bars despite having to count Roberts’ score, which was a bit forgiving for having a pretty large mistake and other things in the routine. When we get down to it, bars should be Georgia’s best event, but we haven’t fully seen that yet. This lineup has tremendous ability.
Rotation 3
Snead – BB – UGA – bhs loso bhs, very solid, good extension – cat to switch to straddle, dance positions still presenting some problem – punch front with a walk out of it – 2/1, leans to hold the stick. Good one. 9.850
Langkamp – FX – ISU – whip double tuck, good control – front lay to 1/2 to straddle, some form in the front lay, a little arm wave in the split to keep it under control – leaps short of position – double tuck, well controlled. 9.750
Dickson – BB – UGA – aerial with a check into straddle 1/4, that’s a missed combination to me – bhs loso, lovely toes, good extension, small lean – switch to split jump, good – bhs 1.5 dismount, holds onto a stick. 9.875. No one cared about the lean correction on that aerial to straddle combo.
Russ – FX – ISU – double pike, smallest bounce, good chest position – front full to front pike, fairly low amplitude on that series but completed comfortably – double tuck, good. 9.775
Schild – BB – UGA – switch through to split leap, awesome positions, yes – bhs los series, secure, knees in the loso – aerial with a little hesitation into split jump, but if they were OK with Dickson’s – sheep jump is also secure, a little ragged in legs but not bad for NCAA – full dismount, hop/ 9.800
Burns – FX – ISU – double pike, nice control – 1.5 to front pike, just a bit of a hop – switch side to popa, better completion of position, nice height – 1.5 to layout to stag, pretty solid
Baumann – BB – UGA – side aerial to loso series, excellent and secure – L turn…something? – she turned it into a 1.5, leg drops with a lean, same problem as last meet – switch side – 2/1, stuck with a bit of legs. Fun save, but major deduction. Still gets 9.775
Steinmeyer – FX – ISU – full in, a bit of chest down but solid – front full to layout, some serious knees in that one – a useful hit – 9.825
Oakley – BB – UGA – bhs loso loso series, HUGE break again this week, leg up and hands down on the beam to save it – split and switch ring, awesome positions, but a check. Gainer full, good. Still the drop score. 9.525.
Sievers – FX – ISU – front 2/1 to front tuck, really well controlled, good height – split full to popa, also nice height, not quite there on the split – front 1/1 to front pike with a bit of a dance out – rudi to split jump, lots of travel back in the air on that split,b ut a good routine. 9.875
Oh Kevin, that is absolutely not the first ringtone routine.
Vega – BB – UGA – switch to split ring jump, excellent switch, good ring position in jump though front leg not getting quite up to split, won’t be a problem for NCAA scores, though – aerial to split with a little lean in between like Dickson – bhs loso, hit, secure – aerial to full. Stuck. Strong one from her too. 9.875
Diaz – FX – ISU – double tuck, fairly big lunge back – switch side to popa, good positions – front lay to front full, a bit loose with a lunge forward – double pike, pretty low, gets it around but short with a lunge forward. That should be the drop score. 9.800? 9.800? That’s actual comedy. I was thinking mayyybe 9.6
After 3: Georgia 147.675, Iowa State 146.925
Iowa State will be thrilled about this score and will take it to the bank. Georgia once again got through beam with a fine score but isn’t hitting a rotation up to its capability, having to count the score from Baumann on her improvised L1.5 again that I think isn’t getting deducted as much as it could be because everyone’s so impressed by the save, but her leg drops and there’s a wobble and a break and it’s a major deduction.
Rotation 4
BEAM MALFUNCTION. ISU working on the beam.
SABOTAGE. Obviously. Put together your best Suzanne conspiracy theories in the comments.
So apparently they’re going to replace the beam. What a fun turn of events.
Kevin trying to talk about tools and being like, “Um, a bolt or a wrench?” is all of us.
They’re carrying the beam out of the arena like a coffin.
WE HAVE A NEW BEAM. Touch warmup back underway.
Kevin cracking himself up with dad jokes is where we are at this point.
Rotation 4 for realsies
Converse – BB – ISU – bhs loso series, hit – split jump to straddle 1/2, a bit tight in position – kickover front to beat jump, small correction – 1.5 dismount, stuck. 9.800
Baumann – FX – UGA – bounce back on double tuck, good shape – double pike, another large stumble back and OOB – double L turn is actually real (do it on beam!) 1.5 to front full, a little knees but her most controlled landing. 9.500
Steinmeyer – BB – ISU – kivoer front, tries to work through to beat jump with a little hesitation – bhs loso series, hit – switch to straddle 1/4, switch position looked short, straddle is good – 1.5 dismount, hop. 9.775.
Magee – FX – UGA – pike full in, good, almost secure just a little slide, her best so far – nice amplitude on straddles – 1.5 to layout to stag, not really committed to the stag and a bit mushy on layout – double pike, major stumble back, stays in bounds but two large lunges. Was good before that. 9.700 coutning
Sievers – BB – ISU – bhs loso with a lean at the hips to save it – cat leap to side aerial, another large break with a bend at the hips – switch leaps combo – strong punch front full dismount. 9.600
Snead – FX – UGA – whip through to double tuck, a bit of a bounce back – wolf jump full to popa, OK – rudi to shush – switch is good – double pike, good form, chest forward with a step. Not her cleanest but a necessary score. 9.900 is high. But, you know, today.
Woolfolk – BB – ISU – strong loso series, secure – split jump to split jump 3/4, really nice positions, this is lovely – cat leap to side aerial, smooth – 1.5, small step. Great one. 9.925
Lukacs – FX – UGA – DLO, under control, just a little chest down – wolf jump full to popa, nice and high this time – whip to 1.5 to layout, great shapes, just a hop forward – switch side to straddle jump, those a little shorter – double pike, secure as well. 9.925
Russ – BB – ISU _ bhs loso series, check – switch to split jump, hit – split jump to straddle 1/2, good positions, a little slow in combination – cat leap to side aerial to full, stuck with a stagger. 9.800
Dickson – FX – UGA – double arabian, large lunge forward but a bit better than it has been some times – 1.5 to layout, good rise in the layout – switch side to popa, crisp and comfortable – double pike, a little buckle in the knees but holds onto it.
Semple – BB – ISU – she’s getting her opportunity today – bhs loso, large break with bend at the hips – full turn, pretty – switch to switch 1/2, pretty short on switch 1/2 – side aerial, solid – 1.5, hop back. 9.675 gives ISU 195.900
Vega – FX – UGA – super clean double pike, perfect – not going for the risk today – 1.5 to layout, a little lunge out – switch ring to split leap full, smooth – split leap 1.5, also pretty crisply around – double pike, solid. That’s the one she needed against Alabama.
9.925 for Vega to give Georgia exactly 197.000
FINAL: Georgia 197.000, Iowa State 195.900
Huge numbers for both teams, Iowa State getting something they can actually lean on as a road score by the end of the regular season, and Georgia hitting that 197 barrier. No, these scores were not particularly realistic.
Meet back here for UCLA? Deal.
Poston, Wright, and Hano are all in the vault lineup for UCLA today. Ohashi will not be doing beam. Anna Glenn in on beam. Frazier on bars and floor.
“The stories are about to be written.” What is this NBC Olympic coverage circa 2000? I’m here for it.
Did you guys hear that Ohashi’s floor went viral? Because it went viral. Viral.
Did Jim just say, “Three Olympians, two great teams, and one legendary couch”?
Rotation 1
Tratz – VT – UCLA – her usual solid full, hop back, good distance, has the direction. 9.800
Hart – UB – ASU – hit jaeger to overshoot, just a little softness in knees – shortish hs in there – DLO, small step back, some leg form in the DLO. 9.875. What? So it’s going to be like that?
Poston – VT – UCLA – handspring pike 1/2 – great height, not controlled on the landing this time with two steps back, some knees. 9.800. That’s fairly high, since the landing would be two tenths, and then there are things like knees.
Callis – UB – ASU – muscle up first hs – tkatchev, hit – bail, good vertical but a leg break – some short hs – DLO, short with a hop and some piking in the air. 9.775.
Wright – VT – UCLA – Y1.5 – can land it comfortably, small hop to the side, some soft knees, a little direction – good. 9.875
K Szafranskai – UB – ASU – short first hs – Ray, hit, a bit close – insane legs on that bail, fairly large deduction, better final cast hs – giant full with a little legs to a good double tuck, chest up, small hop. 9.775. These bars scores are very, very high.
Hano – VT – UCLA – lands deep on her 1.5 this time, has to take a pretty large lunge to the side, some soft knees in the air. 9.750
Wilson – UB – ASU – jaeger, hit – short hs afterward – good legs on her bail – still some short casts but the best routine so far – giant full to double tuck. Good. 9.825. They realized they went too high on the first one.
Ross – VT – UCLA – Y1.5 – super deep landing, large lunge back to save it from a fall. Not her best. 9.700
Sam, don’t say booty.
Kuhm – UB – ASU – jaeger, nice form, obviously – short cast – toe on – bail, good position – they don’t have the hs positions yet – DLO, nice stick, a little shape. 9.800
Dennis – VT – UCLA – Full – super huge, sticks it. Playing it safe because they desperately needed a score – good form, some feet, great stick.
9.950. So she gets a perfect score. Helped that she was anchoring. I would have gone 9.900.
CLB – UB – ASU _ Toe Shap to bail, super clean – piked shoot to high, very good – FTDT, high and stuck. Excellent routine. If we’re comparing to the other routines in the lineup, this should be a 13.550.
9.975 for Leonard Baker. It’s that kind of day. They sort of had to comparatively since they were going high for all the others, and it’s a great routine, but it’s not perfect with a few little things like feet in the Shaposh that sort of combine to take away the 10. Theoretically.
UCLA gets to 49.175 after struggling with the landings in several of these routines, Ross and Hano landing deep on their 1.5s with large lunges, and Poston having a couple steps back on hers. Dennis and Wright the clear highlights of the lineup.
After 1: ASU 49.250, UCLA 49.175
So, um, hey, Carol is certainly enjoying her Monday off. Both teams getting the benefit of the doubt here.
Rotation 2
Kuhm – VT – ASU – pretty full, sticks it, great form, doesn’t have the distance or amplitude of Dennis so it won’t get a perfect score, but lovely. 9.775. LOLOLOL. That’s low comparatively
Frazier – UB – UCLA – Shap to Pak, pretty, some legs, nice hs – Shap 1/2, excellent, one borderline hs – DLO, small slide back. 9.925. Sure why not?
Rushton – VT – ASU – Yfull, struggles on it a bit, short with a lunge to the side, feet flexed throughout. 9.575
Dennis – UB – UCLA – toe shap, to bail, similar to Frazier, a little legs on Shap that won’t be taken – over balances a handstand on the high bar and has to come off. DLO, basically sticks with a pike down. 9.275
Ginn – VT – ASU – Yfull, another really strong stick, a little bit of knees and chest forward on the stick, but strong showing. 9.800
A Glenn – UB – UCLA – 1/2 turn to jaeger, lovely toes, maybe a bit of elbows on catch – hitting hs – bit of a leg break on the pak – good vertical on 1/2 turn on low – borderline final hs – giant full to double tuck, stuck. Nice one. 9.850
K Szafranski – VT – ASU – full – small hop back on her full, another strong showing, some crazy legs on her block. 9.750
Flatley – UB – UCLA – Higgins to jaeger, lovely toes, great height – a little short on Higgins position – bail, a bit of a hip angle there – looks like a nice final hs – DLO, sticks it.
9.975. UH OK SURE YEAH.
DONNA! Stop being Carol!
CLB – VT – ASU – great power on her full but struggles on her landing, lands short and has a stagger, basically a leg-up balance check, on landing. 9.750
Kocian – UB – UCLA – Stalder Shap to a pretty pak – good position on 1/2 turn on low – nailed cast hs on high – FTDT, stuck it. Well, don’t you have to give it a 10 because it was obviously better than Flatley’s?
10.000. No surprise there. My god. Kyla just has to cough now I think.
Wilson – VT – ASU – another pretty well controlled full, a little short for her this time with a step. 9.775
Ross – UB – UCLA – toe Shap to bail, nailed, good height on toe shoot – short final cast hs this time – DLO, nails the stick. She was short on a hs this time so you can’t really go 10, but has that ever mattered today?
Wow, they actually decided to see it and give Kyla a 9.950.
After 2: UCLA 98.875, ASU 98.100
Alright so anyway UCLA went 49.700 for a bars rotation that was quite nice, but also we knew the scoring would go crazy based on the standard during the ASU rotation. It was the Flatley score that was the really insane one. That routine was like a nice 9.850-9.900, and then it went 9.975. Which is what we’re seeing today. ASU was actually pretty solid on a lot of those fulls. They didn’t quite have the dynamics, and it seems like that’s why they got kept in a more normal score range.
Rotation 3
Kocian – BB – UCLA – bhs loso, a bit of a lean to hold it – I like her as a beam leadoff – aerial to split jump, pretty slow in that combination – switch to split is strong – long pause before dismount – 2/1, stuck. Some really nice individual skills, obviously, but we’ll see what they do with rhythm and combinations. If the first rotations were any indications. 9.875. So they were fine with it mostly I guess?
Lentz – FX – ASU – double pike, lands right on her face and she’s down. She got nothing on that double pike so I’m worried it’s something foot serious.
Nguyen – BB – UCLA – switch to split to beat, good rhythm – aerial with a lean to the side, will need to redo series – aerial to loso combination, still not so fast on the combo – split jump side 1/2, arm wave but solid – punch front full, stuck. 9.825
Belkoff – FX – ASU – double pike, good landing position, just a little slide – front 2/1 second pass, pretty good, just a little knees and a dance out – 1.5 to layout, stuck it but stuck it OOB. 9.675
A Glenn – BB – UCLA – bhs to lay-pike, check – beat to split ring, lovely positions there, which we don’t usually see on those skills – front hs and choreography out of it, nice to see – balance check on choreography – bhs loso to full dismount, small step, was off line on that series and did well to save. 9.850
Kuhm – FX – ASU – whip to double tuck with a slide back- 2.5, good power but steps OOB – switch ring to switch 1/2 – front full to front tuck, lands short on the tuck with a stumble-ish backward. Not her strongest showing. 9.575
Dennis – BB – UCLA – aerial to loso series, keeps it moving to get credit, even though the ft/bk combos will still be the death of me – switch 1/2 is sooo high but a leg-up wobble to save it – switch to split with a little lean – 2/1 dismount, hop back. 9.750
Szafranski – FX – ASU – double pike, solid – split leap full, I like how she gets even higher into her popa there – double tuck, a little short with a step forward – 1.5 to layout, pretty solid, their first composed hit of the rotation. 9.825
Flatley – BB – UCLA – aerial to loso series with a lean after the loso – side aerial, pretty and smooth – L turn, no trouble – switch ring, keeps it going pretty well into the beat jump – bhs 1.5 dismount with hop forward. 9.850
Ginn – FX – ASU – front tuck through to double tuck with a bounce back – front lay to 1/2, simple pass but gets some height on it – double pike, hips moving back and has to take a lunge there
Ross – BB – UCLA – bhs loso series, super solid – switch to split, easy peasy – R turn and runs out of it elegantly aerial with a lean and pretends she does the beat jump, finishes side aerial to full with a step. Kyla daring the judges to see how crazy today can be with an obvious check in between the aerial and the beat jump. 9.850. One judge went 9.900
CLB – FX – ASU – double tuck, super solid, very comfortable for her – 1.5 to front full, good shape throughout that, high, just a step – split leap full to straddles, split leap was well short of position – double pike, big, large lunge back. 9.825
After 3: UCLA 148.125, ASU 146.800
UCLA goes 49.250 on beam, which is like 48.850 at this meet, for a rotation that was fine but tentative, with a lot of hesitations in the middle of combos. That was the name of the game there. ASU gets through floor with 48.700, but that’s where the wheels started to come off after the injury to Lentz and then two OOB routines to follow.
Rotation 4
Kuhm – BB – ASU – full turn, smooth – aerial to bhs, no trouble there – switch to sheep, pretty short on that sheep, check – side aerial to full, short with the step. 9.725
Kramer – FX – UCLA – front 2/1 to front pike, controlled step forward – back 1.5 to layout, solid, great height on the 1.5 – switch side to popa, right around – rudi, good. What has become her usual, but it’s very clean. 9.925
Wilson – BB – ASU – bhs loso, some tight body position but secure – cat leap to switch 1/2, short of 180 there – kickover front, a little deep but works out of it easily to beat jump – gainer full, stuck. 9.850
Dennis – FX – UCLA – pike full in, a bit short this week with a step forward, but I do like that her form isn’t crazy on the pike full in. Even though that usually gets forgiven – front full to front layout, hop of choreo out of it, very high pass – her leaps are so good, great height and hitting the position – double tuck, a little deep in landing but controls the step. 9.875
CLB – BB – ASU – straddle jump to loso, solid – full turn a bit tentative – beat to straddle 3/4, leaps look improved, at least from this angle – bhs loso series is secure, the knees on the bhs are still crazy – 1.5, small hop. 9.850
These scores you guys.
Ross – FX – UCLA – whip to double tuck, a little deep to hop out of it but the chest position is getting better – 1.5 to layout, basically a side pass suddenly, just stays in bounds – switch side to popa to shushunova – double pike, a little hop forward. She was just a little short on a few of those passes, controlled them to just minor things. 9.950. Sure.
“She was really surprised.” Code for “Kyla was like, ‘these scores are crack'”
A Szafranski – BB – ASU – aerial to swingdown – lovely – side aerial, hit – switch to split, OK – rulfova, hit, hers is a little more Khorkina with the hands first, not crisp like Randall’s, but it’s still good – gainer full, small step. 9.875
Tratz – FX – UCLA – full in, wayyy short this time with a lunge forward – 1.5 to front full is great today – switch ring to split full, solid as well – double tuck, a little chest down, but just a controlled step. 9.825. Sure, because with that first pass, you have to get a bad score, like…9.825
Callis – BB – ASU – lovely flexibility – bhs bhs loso, very smooth and well hit – full turn, nice speed – double stag, pretty solid – front handspring to knee – side aerial to full, stuck. Good. 9.925.
ASU might beat UCLA on beam the way thing is going.
Frazier – FX – UCLA – full in, solid, just a bit of slide back – that split leap still needs to get closer to 180 to get her in 10 territory here – whip through to double tuck, strong control there – double pike, holds it well, didn’t initially seem like she would have the amplitude in there but she did –
9.950.
Udowitch – BB – ASU – aerial to beat – bhs loso series, also well hit – smooth work – switch to split jump, short back leg in those dance elements – cat leap to kickover front, a little too deliberate in that combination – side aerial to full, hop back
Ohashi – FX – UCLA – how many mistakes does she have to make not to get a 10? – That many? Regular DLO this time, with a bounce back OOB – middle pass is super solid as usual – switch ring to switch 1/2, nice – 1.5 to 1/2 to drop split.
Carol’s still giving it a 10.
9.950.
Wait, did she just get a 9.950 for going OOB on floor?
Please tell me this is real life.
I mean, it was close. Replay shows the flag girl didn’t put her flag up, but also I feel like I saw daylight, with her heel over the line.
But could there be a more fitting finish to this one than deciding that Ohashi didn’t go OOB? Which isn’t actually on the judges because on something that close they’ll defer to the flag raiser, but the flag raiser needed to be on top of that. Even so…
FINAL: UCLA 197.775, ASU 196.125
UCLA goes into the high 197s with two strong rotations, a wobbly beam, and a lungey vault. So you’re telling me that this team is already 197.775, so when they’re actually in form, they’re going to be 199?
As an ASU fan with Marz on my fantasy team, I’m hoping for lots of Carol in Pauley!
Can someone please explain “Carol”…I missed that at some point, but I see it used on multiple sites. LOL
Go search it on thegymter.net – she explained it in a recent “you asked” post.
In simple terms, it’s when the judges at a meet appear drunk and give insanely high scores for routines with obvious errors. PS – whether or not actual alcohol is involved is a matter of opinion.
At the cracky meet where the name was given there was a judge named Carol who did this.
Lauren’s very comprehensive answer to this on a recent “You Asked, We Answered” on the gymternet.net: What do people mean when they say there are a lot of “Carol Scores” in NCAA gymnastics? Who is Carol?
While watching Oklahoma at Florida last January, I noticed there was one judge who kept giving ridiculous scores to Florida on floor, but for the better-quality routines from Oklahoma, she completely low-balled them in comparison. The other judge gave Maggie Nichols a 10, but Carol didn’t, and then Carol was at least 0.05 higher than the first judge on every single Florida routine on floor, including giving one gymnast a 9.95 while it had several noticeable errors and the other judge gave her a 9.85.
The Gators ended up getting exactly the score they needed to beat Oklahoma, even though Oklahoma was the CLEAR stronger team that night. I fully blamed Carol, and began screaming about her on Twitter for HOURS, 90% just to have fun but about 10% legitimately out of rage, mostly because Carol is such a fun name to scream (my favorite show is It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia so I scream her name like Charlie in the mailroom) and there are roughly one million gifs related to people named Carol, all of which involve screaming.
From then on, every routine that was overscored at every meet around the country regardless of the actual Carol’s presence was blamed on poor Carol. Now there’s basically this mythical Carol figure that exists out there in the universe (mostly my head)…she’s a midwestern mom with a Kate Gosselin haircut who has a Coach purse and writes Facebook statuses about it being “wine o’clock.” She’s always a lil bit tipsy when she shows up to meets, and she judges with her heart, not her head.
We are all Carol.
UCLA does not need more overscoring, so I’ll agree to disagree on that. In fact, it would be great if if UCLA (and OK) were scored on a more even playing field with the rest of the top 5… And yes, I am salty but I am an LSU fan and after egregious vault scoring (negatively) and overscoring positively on floor for FL, I am angry (though the uneven bars/beam were probably correct, LSU was better on bars and FL did kill it on beam). To top it off, the Saints lost their Superbowl bid yesterday in the most catastrophic officiating debacle that has been seen since LSU’s 7-OT loss to Texas and A&M in November.
Basically, all my sports teams have been hosed, so if we could get some less crack-y judging for UCLA that’d make my day.
I have something to make you feel better (it sure made me feel good re-watching it Sunday night) –
Go to YouTube and watch the video from January 2018 of Stefan Diggs catch and TD run that sent the Minnesota Vikings to the NFC championship game. It’s a beautiful sight. 🙂
I don’t know who you are but I love that you are bringing the football in here 😂😂😂😂😂😂
What can I say, I’m a pragmatist
I’ll grant you a complaint about the Saints/Rams game – it was an egregious mistake that impacted the game.
However…
LSU fans need to take off their gold and lavender colored lens and realize that A, no one is out to screw their team, and B, you didn’t deserve to beat Florida Friday night. The consistent, over-the-top whining from a number of fans who refuse to learn enough about the sport to know what they are talking about is costing your team fans.
All four teams – UGA, Alabama, LSU and UF – were over scored on Friday night, but the right teams ended up with the W’s. Out of all four, I’m less upset about the overscore for Alabama since they were so harshly scored at the first two quad meets.
I’ll be watching the LSU at Alabama this week to see if the harsh and tight scoring continues or the SEC crack judges appear in T-town for Week 4…
LSU fans are going to explode if the score crackdown continues at Alabama— especially on beam which is arguably LSUs weakest (and most hesitant) event right now.
Ohh, now I’d like to see the LSU beam routines get judged by the same standard Maddie Destch was judged in the opening meet – for the record Maddie scored a 9.200 WITHOUT a fall.
🙂 🙂 🙂
Bring on the popcorn.
AS the original poster re: LSU here, I want to say that I know the team is not performing up to their potential currently – though Friday was a big improvement. I even said that up there (or perhaps down below, based on the organization of the thread). However, there is an over scoring problem that everyone can recognize. I also very much enjoy learning about NCAA and have read voraciously over the last 3 years to catch up on a sport that I was not generally well-versed in. I now consider myself to be mild to medium well-versed, and while not an expert, know enough to feel ok about posting here.
Based on our attendance on Friday, I think the people of Louisiana are only becoming more enamored with gymnastics not less. But I appreciate your opinions and condolences re: the Rams 🙂
Oklahoma gets fairer scoring at home than away in general! The home scores are much more reasonable on beam and floor especially. UCLA gets crazy scoring everywhere – at home and away.
Oh come now girl, LSU have been the recipients of juuuust as much crack scoring as any other top 5 team. It is crazypants to suggest otherwise. I love your team’s athletes, but the chemistry is off this year. It just is.
The interesting thing–to me anyway–about UCLA scores is that I think they are usually only, or mostly, most-generously scored on floor. I don’t really think they get a lot of gifts on other events. I mean, sure they HAVE, and never say never, but that’s been my take for the most part.
I would agree that floor is probably the worst, but bars/beam that on other teams would be 9.9-9.95, are going 9.95-10.0 over at UCLA/OK for the most part. Which is not a huge amount of difference but when you have two or three routines across 2 appartus (apparati?) not counting floor that are going a half a tenth to a tenth too high – well then you have an overscore of around 3-6 tenths. Scored that way, UCLA and OK are still leading the pack, but by a more reasonable margin that still reflects at this point in the season, how the teams are currently prepared.
NCAA gymnastics is my second love after college football! I still am not over that LSU – Texas A&M football game 🙂
**I am sure there are some who disagree and think UCLA/OK scoring is fair, but just my thoughts. They are both exceptionally prepared this year and unfortunately LSU hasn’t looked as early season prepared as they normally do.
You haven’t been paying attention to OU this season obviously. The few 9.95’s and one 10 have been deserved. Don’t lump them into UCLA’s scoring nightmare.
This is definitely true-I love Ohashi’s choreo as much as everyone else but that routine was wayyy overscored, should’ve been in the 9.85-9.9 range not a 10 for sure
I don’t think anyone can complain about UCLA when you have these egregious scores coming from Georgia on a weekly basis.
I mean, compare UCLA’s scores to Georgia scoring and they’re probably getting underscored.
This is complete BS. The Georgia hate is unreal. I don’t get it. They aren’t a threat to the top few teams. They are ranked sixth in the country, which is right where they should be — not top 5 material, but fairly consistent good gymnastics. There’s not a team ranked lower that should be above them at this point in the season. I could see Michigan or Auburn move ahead of them once RQS kicks in, but right now, the team rankings look right.
Every single meet I’ve watched this year has had scores too high on certain events, but, yes, just Georgia is overscored.
I agree that Georgia is getting overscored as well, though that matters to me less than UCLA 😉 I hope the scores for both teams calm down .
Iowa State is probably so pumped for the SEC crack
Georgia will continue to get the home scores, but let us all watch & see what happens on the road.
Suzanne& Courtney not doing program any favors with their shenanigans this week with not allowing GA Elite kids the opportunity to perform pregame because they supported their former team mate Sami Durante in the visitors hallway a year ago. If this drama hurts Courtney feelings then maybe she could have handled it much better. Considering Kim Arnold owns gym & is one of UGA most decorated athletes. Not sure why UGA is so petty. I guess if you plan to go to UGA meet, you better not cheer for a friend or team mate in the stands because you may get banned.
🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
Yes, I need details about this drama please and thank you.
Anyone else wish Jay Clark and Danna Durante would get together and write a book about the true story of their time coaching and their firings from the Georgia Gymdogs program…
Might be juicy. 🙂
YES YES YES. They can call it LSU’S Revenge.
Add Sam Brown as aUGA alum that went to Penn State and Suzanne supported Thompson’s and said that they were not abusive just mean. Y
Then add PETE & Kim Arenas sutuation this week with taking away their gyms ability to perform.
It would be an epic it would be soo long.
It’s rare for gym coaches to be fired in college, but it’s pretty normal in every other NCAA sport. Also, the UGA AD fired Richt as their head football coach when he was fairly successful overall. Georgia has high standards and the AD is willing to make personnel moves to try and reach them (however realistic they may be).
And while we are discussing juicy gossip — anyone know the full story of Kendig and Nebraska? It seems to have fallen off the radar, but a coach getting fired for NCAA violations is usually very serious.
I saw this earlier today and it seemed really bizarre to me. I wondered if anyone else had any insight about it…
UGA vault scores were fill of crack. I guess knees don’t matter anymore.
They were pretty much the same as every other meet across the country. Hell look at UCLA’s scores today for just one comparison.
Iowa State’s floor impressed me so much. Not the best leaps, but such clean execution
Hahaha! I love the beam pallbearers! This is just so fabulously ridiculous, but I guess it happens.
If Suzanne was going to sabotage the beam, she definitely would have done it Friday against Alabama and not now. So we are clear there.
I keep seeing references to LSU fans vociferously complaining, but I honestly haven’t seen these complaints. Where is this happening?
I’ve seen then on Instagram, mostly comments on LSU’s posts.
Imma need a gif of those guys carrying the beam out of the arena. Someone indulge me!
Suzanne theory: Oakley’s mistake was intentional to make a Horcrux out of the beam (it’s a gymnastics Horcrux so a big error counts)
Anyone know how to watch PAC-12 meets from the East coast? Besides youtube tomorrow. 🙂
Sling TV, although it has a cost.
I’m also looking ( pretty please!) for a free link from Canada. A couple weeks ago someone posted one on her that was great.
There’s an international stream on YouTube, just search Pac-12 networks international
Another Canadian here, also looking for a link!!
Nope.
Not unless the school (utah) streams it.
I thought i read about a channel being added, or a network partnering of sorts; still nada.
There’s a YouTube channel for PAC 12 live. (Pretty sure)
The only way these Georgia scores are legit is if you told me they were judging by the elite code. Otherwise, these are just outrageous.
As unpopular a decision this is, NCAA should just judged by true JO scoring. Meets that are scored like this just cheapen the sport.
They weren’t too bad. I would have expected a 196.8ish, which isn’t that far off from a 197.
So far every live blog has been filled with overscored comments. Maybe it’s just all the elite fans being new to NCAA, but I haven’t seen this much complaining in a long time. This is how NCAA has always been.
I know, I often skip the comments because of the scoring debate. We know the scoring is cracky and it’s never going to change. Usually I think the ranking ends up right, so I can let the scoring silliness go. Plus Spencer calls out the most ridiculous stuff.
I disagree. There’s been scoring changes (I.e., 9.95 for Yfull, beam pauses, etc…). While other schools are getting fairer scores (like Alabama this year), UCLA is wayyy outrageous (I’d include Georgia in that category too). 9.75 for a Y1.5 that almost sat? Not fair.
Who this really hurts are the teams that are good, but not name brand that do equalivalent routines, yet are scored lower.
I’m nearly crying laughing at “one legendary couch”
ASU starting with a 9.875
I’m here for this!
I’M HERE FOR ASU AHEAD OF UCLA (even if it’s only for one rotation)
UCLA’s vault scores are super cracky
UCLA doesn’t get the deductions on vault. Tratz off balance two hops for a 9.8. 9.875 for Sekai Wright for form and being off centered and a hop sideways. Hano almost sitting. 9.75. Kyla almost sitting and step backwards 9.7. Then Dennis great vault but if she stuck they are going to give max value 9.95. Perfect for Yurchenko. Was it perfect? Looked great but that same vault would be 9.9 at most competitions when no one stuck their vaults prior.
Admittedly, ASU didn’t really get deductions either. And I’m the crazy one stanning them all over the comments.
If ASU starts with a 9.875 for a solid but not great routine, I’m scared for what UCLA will get! Three 10s? Judges love them and they have the names to pull in big scores.
If Finney doesn’t get a 9.95 for her Yfull this week, Nia can’t. This is the scoring discrepancy of the week for me. Grrrrr
I agree! Finnegan’s vault is perfection.
Exactly! Lopez from Minnesota does a pretty perfect 1.5 …and gets a 9.75….Kyla and Hano would have gotten 9.4 max in the Big 10 for almost sitting their vaults.
Holy hell…these scores go beyond crack. Are the judges just blind? They do realise they do the athletes no favour turning a blind eye to handstand angles, knees/leg form on vault…
Apparently the vault judges only care about form for Arizona State.
This is why I wish there was some sort of judge review procedure in place. If scores get too cracky, they should lose assignments or be suspended. Refs and umps in other sports have consequences for their mistakes (or bias), NCAA judges should be held to the same standard.
Amen
C + C = .2 bonus
D + A = .2 bonus
If you were a former elite + you go to UCLA = .2 bonus
Oh my goodness, Lentz’s fall was horrifying. I hope she’s alright.
Dammit, don’t tell me Lentz’s fall was an Achilles 🙁 I still have nightmares over Tori Wilson’s double tear and you knew from the punch (or lack of) from the floor.
I’m fairly new to watching NCAA, but every time I’ve noticed, the digital,clock at any meet says 2:00 – why is that? Although I just noticed at the UCLA meet it says 4:00. Ucla is on beam so it doesn’t represent the rotation. It’s driving me nuts – does the ‘time’ mean anything?
It’s often the time for warm-ups. I believe it’s 4 minutes for floor warm-ups. So in between rotations, it’s a countdown timer.
Nia Dennis spelling her name on beam (and floor but more so beam) makes me cringe.
I love UCLA, but I agree. I was expecting more from her choreography both last and this year :/
Ditto!
When UCLA goes up against ASU, impossible scoring always seems to floor. In 2017 we had Peng getting a 9.8 from one judge for a routine where she fell onto the beam, and now we have Ohashi getting a 9.95 for going out of bounds.
Those floor judges should be disciplined…Ohashi was obviously out of bounds, maxing her score at 9.90 but nope, we’re at UCLA, 9.95….
*follow, not floor
Carol was here for everyone’s fantasy lineups today!!!
UCLA has such amazing performance quality that the mistakes and technical errors are often overlooked by the judges. Ohashi should not be over 9.85 which is high with the iout of bounds or did they overlook that as well as the bounce exits. She also cowboys with the best of them. But as a dance performance it’s great. Still overscored. Ross overscored and nia was overscored. I guess it will be that way all season
Well, the scores are really nice for my Fantasy Teams because I have a lot of UCLA/AZ St gymnasts, but it really makes me cringe.
This is not just overscoring, this is crazypants!!!
Looooolllll I’ve got a contact high from that judging 😂😂😂😂 oh NCAA wgym, you never change!
I’m super proud of this ASU performance! Went 196 for the first time (with admittedly super cracky scoring) and beat UCLA on beam after having to deal with Lentz’s injury.
UCLA judges don’t get gymnastics Episode 2,039… my favorite NCAA team but home scoring is ridiculous… they usually start off with fair-slight crack on vault and bars and by floor they completely lose their damn minds. Meanwhile in Minnesota/Illinois the judges are like “we hate all of you, take your stuck landing and great form and go die. 9.6 for all of you”.
The line judge needs to do her job rather than jus watch the show
Are the line judges provided by the schools? I thought during regular season that was done by the home team.
I think Minnesota is competing against UGA and Stanford (I forget the fourth team) at the Birmingham, Alabama quad (when Bama and Auburn have a duel on podium in the evening), so let’s hope the crack is out and the Gophers are “on” that day… possible 197.950 road score.
Why didn’t Ohashi do beam?
Probably giving her a rest after a week full of interviews and travel, plus that lets them try out more routines
My guess is Ohashi was occupied with TV, radio, online, newspaper interviews all week and didn’t get a lot of practice time. Plus UCLA has a lot of good depth on beam to give other athletes an opportunity.
I think UCLA should “Bridgey” Kramer on floor. If Kramer is the anchor following Ohashi, her scores would get the anchor boost and Ohashi will get her same high scores no matter where she is in the lineup. Not that UCLA needs more help on floor scores . . .
I think UCLA could benefit from the “Bridgey” strategy but Kramer is a great leadoff. What about having Tratz go last? Not the most artistic, but one of the best tumblers and judges would reward it if she sticks.
Yeah I am like Kramer as that leadoff. Not really anyone in that lineup is consistently going clean enough to go 9.9 as a leadoff like her.
absolutely crazy that ohashi didn’t get an OOB. her foot was CLEARLY past the line and even sam called it. ncaa judges NEED to be reviewed because i don’t know how much longer i can take crack judging, especially when it only seems to benefit certain teams. what’s the point of even having rqs when there’s zero parity in judging across the country?
Well, judges rely on the flag to determine if they should take an OOB deduction or not, so if the monitor was too enamored with Katelyn’s performance to do her job (which admittedly is kind of hilarious), I guess it’s not really the judges’ fault.
Agreed. If the OOB flag had been raised, then there certainly would be valid criticism of KO’s 9.95 being mathematically impossible.
However, the flag did not go up and the judges did not take an OOB penalty so the 9.95 is a mathematically possible score.
Should video instant replay (if available) be used for OOB?
When I hear cmentators say ” judges can take up to x amount of points in deduction” I cringe cause I think it allows bias to enter where it has no business being. When Auburn beat Alabama couple years ago they needed a 9.925 on last fx routine to accomplish this. Gymnast went OOB & STILL got the needed score. I’ve never seen an OOB score higher than 9.9 before then . It may have been legal bit you can’t convince bias didn’t win that meet for Auburn.
And speaking of Alabama Shallon Olsen is not getting the scores she deserves. Last 2 vaults were STUCK! Shocking that Bama beat Georgia with Lexie Graber getting 9.95 for the win. But, mark my words, Bama will be underscored heavily Friday when LSU comes to town.
That’s not legal according to the COP. OOB is 0.1, not up to 0.1.
Yeah, UCLA overscoring continues. Ohashi goes 9.95 going out of bounds. Kocian got a 10 with obvious form issues (bent knees standing on the low bar, feet come apart, half turn on the low bar got a little wobbly). It’s nitpicky but these things separate perfect routines from non-perfect routines.
I agree with other commentators about overall judging in NCAAs. There seems to be no accountability and no oversight. If they aren’t being tracked and evaluated on their performance, what is their incentive to get it right?
Remember Peng at Utah 2 years ago? 9.825 for this routine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYEAbRQga7A
No accountability for awful, egregious judging like this.
At the same meet one judge gave Kyla a 10 for a beam routine with a major wobble. Total joke
So I know everyone gets overscored but here’s the issue: LSU, Georgia, Alabama, Florida…they get overscored against each other…so we can compare how they did…because they all meet repeatedly in the SEC. I think the judges have a little bit of “home gym” mentality.
BUT the issue with OK and UCLA is that, not only do they get that but they also have the advantage of competing against weaker teams consistently. We see it with ASU and UCLA- the judges want to give ASU the hometown feels, but that means UCLA needs to get 9.95’s and 10’s comparatively.
I just want to know how they all compare to each other!!!
https://youtu.be/wRpE8hbWOi4
Look at 0:32. Clearly OOB.
I don’t care if they give Ohashi 9.95s for a 9.8 routine, as long as everyone else is .15 higher. I also don’t care if they give her a 9.8, as long as other routines are equally as lower. Unfortunately, the disparity is obvious. This is the epitome of favoritism.
Why do the coaches of schools like MInn or Bama not file inquiries/complaints with the NCAA or elsewhere or do they ? Just curious how involved coaches get when they see that one school or routine(s) are so heavily scored and their school does similar routine (s) and get much lower a score. Granted it’s like comparing apples to oranges sometimes but in some cases it’s def not as stated above. Just curious if the coaches really exercise their own judging concerns. Thanks!
100% agree with anonymous who posted right above Ohashi’s routine.
They say that the scores really don’t matter but they certainly do when teams are jockeying for post season position. All of those “10’s” make a huge difference. A 10 should be a complete standout performance both technically and aesthetically. They shouldn’t be handed out like halloween candy. I’ve watched a few routines that are far superior in content to Ohashi and even extremely well performed don’t get the 10. Skinner with a stuck double Tw. Yur. doesn’t get the 10 so there needs to be consistency. The score totals do matter in both the short and long run. The judges should be banned from social media because the UCLA Hype it truly affecting the judges scores. I’m not a KO hater but it’s getting a bit old.