1. Oklahoma Sooners
Average: 197.835
Previous ranking: 1
Obviously, Oklahoma extended its advantage in the rankings following an already infamous 198.325 that stretched the bounds of sanity far beyond their breaking point. It ranks as the sixth-best meet in the history of Oklahoma gymnastics despite, you know, two people falling on beam (hi, falling onto the beam is .5), and if we talk about that score any more we’re just going to implode. Let’s just pretend the scoring never happened, as we must to retain sanity. If we do that, Oklahoma will look at this three-fall home performance against Florida and say, “Eh, we’ve got some things to sort out.” Nichols was still limited to bars and beam—her triumphant return to the AA will automatically sort out several of those things—but Oklahoma will still not be sold on who the beam and floor six are following recent performances. That stellar parade of vault difficulty has been papering over some other issues.
2. Florida Gators
Average: 197.625
Previous ranking: 2
Florida was there too, at Oklahoma Hallucination Palace 2019, and will have absolutely loved the opportunity to be part of that preposterous score-scape, despite the loss. It’s a 198 road score. Florida will find a way to sleep at night. Like Oklahoma, and pretty much every other team, the floor lineup still needs to find its six because SJS’s routine has been the dropped score in every meet this season, but mostly it’s vault that still lingers as the one event holding Florida’s scores “down.” And by down, I mean out of the 199s the judges were apparently trying to reach at that meet. It will largely feel like one step forward and one step back for Florida’s vaulting because Schoenherr finally brought the vault she’s been capable of against Oklahoma, but then pretty much everyone else struggled.
3. UCLA Bruins
Average: 197.570
Previous ranking: 3
UCLA recorded a season-high 197.900 in its victory at Oregon State for a meet that hasn’t gained the same scoring outrage as the OU/Florida meet because it was a lower-profile contest but was quite bad in its own right. So far this season, we’ve seen the top 3 teams evaluated based on what they’re capable of doing rather than what they’re actually doing, so while it makes sense to have these teams in the top 3 positions, the margin between them and the rest of the country isn’t really justified based on the actual meets. The big victory for UCLA from the OSU meet was the performance of Nia Dennis, with the best beam and floor routines she has done in college both coming at the same time. Now let’s see if UCLA can get her into a bars lineup that is still currently 5 (and only 5) routines deep and needs to find its 6th member.
4. Utah Utes
Average: 197.205
Previous ranking: 4
Utah has been comfortable but not outstanding, remaining in the 4th position week after week now, though the Utes will take some pride in being all, “Ours aren’t even the home scores you’re complaining about anymore…” Give it time. Those floor scores are already on a medium simmer and are going to boil any second, especially when Skinner is back in. It was unusual to see Skinner rested on floor this past weekend with a sore ankle since she’s the AA iron woman, but her floor landings the week before were seriously un-Skinner-like, so it’s not surprising to hear that there was something going on. Her scores are everything to these lineups, so precaution must be the rule.
5. LSU Tigers
Average: 197.015
Previous ranking: 5
LSU’s 197.150 in a victory over NC State did increase the team’s average but is still not the kind of meet LSU will be looking back on with fond memories in a few weeks’ time. An opening miss on floor and some other tumbling struggles depressed those scores, and the absence of Sami Durante was felt, particularly in a beam lineup that clearly needs her. If it wasn’t obvious before that Durante’s presence on beam is already essential, it is now. Her presence is similarly essential on bars of course, though getting Bailey Ferrer into that lineup for the first time ensured Durante’s absence didn’t really show. While Ferrer’s highest-scoring events in time (late this season? next season?) will be vault and floor, her most important event on the 2019 team will be bars because of the relative dearth of options. A full-strength postseason LSU bars lineup likely has Ferrer in place of Dean.