Sunday Live Blog – February 17, 2019

Sunday, February 17 Scores Stream
1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Pittsburgh, Utah State, Cornell @ West Virginia LINK FREE
1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Northern Illinois @ Ball State LINK ESPN3
1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Towson @ Western Michigan LINK
1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Brown @ Yale ESPN+
1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Ithaca, Southern Connecticut @ Springfield FREE
1:00 ET/10:00 PT – William & Mary @ Penn LINK ESPN+
1:00 ET/10:00 PT – West Chester @ Ursinus
2:00 ET/11:00 PT – Kent State @ Bowling Green LINK
3:00 ET/12:00 PT – TWU @ Lindenwood LINK FREE
3:30 ET/12:30 PT – [15] Missouri @ [5] LSU LINK SEC+
4:00 ET/1:00 PT – New Hampshire @ UC Davis LINK FREE
4:00 ET/1:00 PT – SEMO @ UIC LINK FREE
5:00 ET/2:00 PT – [14] Cal @ [12] Oregon State LINK P12N

LSU recorded a solid score on Friday and will be gratified by the victory over Utah—but is still lagging well behind the top 3 teams in terms of massive scores and will have to start rectifying that with this meet, otherwise a final ranking of #4 (which is still perfectly fine and whatever) will be the ceiling for this team.

Priessman did not compete on Friday (and Durante returned on bars but not yet beam), but otherwise we saw pretty much the main lineups. Interested to see who competes today. Posted vault lineup is the same as Friday.

Rotation 1

Finnegan – VT – LSU – full, didn’t get the stick this time, hop back, otherwise excellent, good body position, chest up. 9.825. (I had 9.850 for it.)

Tucker – UB – MU – hit first hs small leg break in 1/2 turn into piked jaeger – arch in hs on high, pulls it back – bail, collapses in position with major elbow break but keeps it going – finishes giant full to double tuck, step back. Really ragged routine there. 9.625

Harrold – VT – LSU – nearly got the stick on her 1.5, close, but ended up short with a step back, some knees in the air as usual. 9.800

Christensen – UB – MU – small arch in first hs, pulles back – giant full with some legs – hit tkatchev – short hs on high – leg break in bail, a little short of vertical on that and her final cast hs – giant full to double tuck, step back. Nickle and dime routine. 9.750

Kelley – VT – LSU – handspring pike 1/2, her best one. Good secure landing, very small hop, some legs apart to take and chest down. 9.925.

Schugel – UB – MU – 1/2 turn into piked jaerger to overshoot, pretty, good legs together throughout – giant full late to double tuck, holds the stick. Strong showing. 9.825

Cannamela – VT – LSU – full, better than her short landing from Friday, this time overdoes it, the better mistake, with a bounce back. 9.800

Porter – UB – MU – 1/2 turn to jaeger, a littl close, fine – better hs positions – leg break in the bail but gets up to vertical – quite short on final cast hs – double front, brings heels together, probably legs too cowboyed there. 9.825

Edwards – VT – LSU – solid 1.5, what we’ve come to expect from her, but another full tenth lunge forward on landing, and a bit to take for body position. 9.900 is high there for me. That was more of a 9.850 vault.

Huber – UB – MU – shortish first hs – lovely jaeger, good rhythm into overshoot connection, nice amplitude – also quite short on final cast hs – DLO, near stick. 9.875

Edney – VT – LSU – pace forward on her 1.5 as well, smaller pace than Edwards though but you can’t really reward her for that or her better dynamics and height because you already went 9.900 for Edwards and this really can’t go higher than that. 9.900

Bidwill – UB – MU – toe shap, legs connected to bail – finishes DLO out of control, with a lunge back and kind of got stuck in the mat with another step. 9.625

After 1: LSU 49.350, Missouri 48.900

LSU will be OK with that vault rotation but wanted a few more landings there. Still full tenth lunges coming from Edwards and Edney, Harrold a little short on hers. For reference, I had that rotation around 49.250, so it’s a little high for my taste but not crazy-high. Normal, top-team high but not mathematically impossible crack high.

Missouri not quite on track on bars, some real handstand problems especially in those last casts. Will still take a 48.900 for that though since it was far from their best bars rotation.

I see we’re going at “not on TV” pace for this one.

We’re checking in on Huber, forearm or elbow injury in vault warmup.

Rotation 2

Porter – VT – pretty large bounce back on her full, a bit of body position, not too much. 9.775 is too close to Finnegan’s 9.825 for a clearly weaker vault.

Dean – UB – LSU – short first hs – Ray, hit, close catch with elbows – second hs short of position – rushing through that bail with a bit of piked shape – final cast hs was super short – good stick on DLO with the usual straddle position. 9.800 is very high there.

Bidwill – VT – MU – another larger lunge back on her full – a hit, but shouldn’t break 9.8

Durante – UB – LSU – good first hs – 1/2 turn to nice high jaeger, just a little crooked – small arch in back on a cast hs and on the 1/2 turn on low – a little looseness in the pak – FTDT, small hop. 9.850. Getting back, still not her usual, but closer than Friday. They had to go higher than Dean there. What is Finnegan going to get, 75?

Gottula – VT – MU – sits down her full attempt, piked down a bit much and stumbled back and sat

Harrold – UB – LSU – pulls back arch on low bar on her Zuchold – 1/2 turn to jaeger, good position there – double front, stuck landing. One of her really good ones. Nice job. She had that early arch but cleaned up some of those verticals on the high bar this week. 9.900

Tucker – VT – MU – best vault of the lineup so far – small hop back, some clear piked position there but chest pretty well up

Edney – UB – LSU – good first hs – hits hindorff – clear hip to bail, pretty solid position there from our angle – I have two handstand issues in here – a little out of control on her DLO with a shuffle back, could be viewed as two steps, a second step into salute, for a tenth there. 9.875

Christensen – VT – MU – another pretty large bounce back on her full, fairly out of control – fine position in the air

Ferrer – UB – LSU – really short first hs – hits jaeger with some foot form – bail, a little back looseness, vertical position is fine – much better final cast hs – DLO, small adjustment. Nice second half but some breaks in the first half. 9.900 is INSANE.I had that in the 9.7s.

Huber not vaulting today.

Oooooooof. Missouri is only vaulting five now and one of them was a fall? No Huber, no Ward, no McCrary.

Finnegan – UB – LSU – lovely ray – hitting her handstands more crisply.  A little elbow break in bail, good vertical – DLO, flung out with a little hop.

Finnegan also goes 9.900, a score I’m fine with because she had a couple breaks in there but gives away nothing on form or built-in deductions, but to say that routine is of the same quality as the other 9.900s in this lineup is ridiculous because it means there’s no reward for performing elements like Sarah Finnegan.

After 2: LSU 98.775, Missouri 97.350

Disaster for Missouri, having to count that fall on vault, so this will be an unusable score this week. LSU got a big score on bars but definitely misses Priessman there and still needs to refine some of those newer routines that have major breaks in them. Probably should have been counting a 9.7 there.

Rotation 3

Desiderio – BB – LSU – aerial to sissone, very secure – bhs loso series, no trouble – switch to switch 1/2 to beat, abbreviated in her switch 1/2 position – cat leap to gainer full, stuck with a little lean. Good leadoff. 9.850

Bower – FX – MU – double pike, good control on landing, a bit of feet – split leap full to wolf full, solid – 1.5 to layout, a bit horizontal and a bit of position on layout – double tuck, a little forward with a step. 9.775

Dean – BB – LSU – Her first collegiate routine did not come two meets ago, dude – side aerial to bhs series, good control, some form – switch to split 1/4, a bit more back leg on that leap combination – aerial, pulls it out well despite landing a little short, no deduction – side aerial to full, hop back. Solid. 9.850

Turner – FX – MU – double pike, small bounce, a bit of chest down, hit – split leap full to wolf full, solid height, some foot positions there I really want Kathy to be here and talking about – 1.5 to layout, flatter in that layout, fairly controlled on landing step –

9.850. Isn’t there a UTL in that routine? No? I just can’t pay attention to a whole floor routine?

Durante – BB – LSU – back on beam and need her in this lineup – aerial to beat, smoothly done – bhs loso series, pulls those arms down to avoid check, just a bit of form – switch to split 1/4, some back leg – side aerial to full, step. Another strong one. 9.900

Nicholson – FX – MU – attempts front 2/1 first pass, underrotated but probably around enough to get credit – 1.5 to layout, a bit of an arch in that layout – switch side to popa – rudi. 9.825

Edney – BB – LSU – aerial to sissone, hit – bhs loso series, controls with the arms – switch with a large break, bend at the hips – unconnected split –  doesn’t have a leap series as yet – kickover front, solid – 1.5, sticks. But they won’t be able to use this score because she didn’t have a dance element combination.

9.650 is high since that routine should have started from 9.800 and she had a large bend at the waist as well.

That stick crown is COMING OFF. She’s like, that didn’t deserve a stick crown.

Gottula – FX – MU – double pike, a little forward, mostly controlled – 1/2 to 2/1, same, good control, a bit of form – double tuck, some chest position, controlled step. 9.850

Campbell – BB – LSU – bhs loso, strong series, good legs – aerial to sissone, lovely sissone position, just a bit of knees in aerial – switch leap to a check and pause, breaks connection into switch 1/2, adds in a beat jump to try get her combo – 2/1, stuck. 9.825

Tucker – FX – MU – full-in, pretty solid, just a small step back and chest down, mostly secure landing – 2/1 to loso, also secure, not super high but comfortable – double pike, some tiny steps back. 9.825

Finnegan – BB – LSU – wolf single, solid – bhs loso series, rushing it looks like, step back check – switch to switch 1/2, great position obviously – side somi is more composed – side aerial to full, stuck. Good second 1/2, a couple deductions in the first half. 9.900

Porter – FX – MU – double pike, nice toes, controlled step back, stronger chest position – 1.5 to layout, good straight position in the layout – switch 1/2 to popa, hits her 180s – double tuck, a bit of a bounce but by far the strong routine of the lineup. 9.875

After 3: LSU 148.100, Missouri 146.575

It’s 49.325 for an LSU beam rotation that started well but got into trouble with combinations and start value toward the middle there and had a more tentative second half than first half. Still expect a big team score and probably a season high from this one because floor scores were not subtle in the Missouri rotation and are ramping up for 9.9s for LSU.

Rotation 4

Bower – BB – MU – bhs loso series, pulled it out somehow despite being really short, step forward to save it, also some knees in the air – cat leap to kickover front to beat jump, stronger – switch to straddle 1/4, a bit of a pike position there but got solid as things went, stuck gainer full. 9.750

Harrold – FX – LSU – front 2/1, controls the step forward, still some knees but one of her stronger versions of that pass – double pike, bounce back, medium size – switch ring to switch 1/2, strong – 1.5 to layout, excellent position on layout, just traveling forward a little too much, strong one. 9.850

Nicholson – BB – MU – bhs bhs loso series, small check, mostly hit, just a bit tight-hipped in position – beat to straddle 1/2, strong position on straddle – finishes gainer full, stuck. 9.850

Desiderio – FX – LSU – DLO is getting back, good control, just a bit of chest position – front tuck through to double tuck, similar to DLO, good control just some deep position – nice leap shapes – double pike, pretty short with a lunge forward. Had a good one going until there. 9.850.

Kelly – BB – MU – aerial to one-arm bhs series and it was a fight – aerial and bends down to try to keep moving – into one-arm bhs with a larger check to the side – Bridget would give the connection, I would not, surprise surprise – finishes punch front full dismount with a step. 9.575

Campbell – FX – LSU – 2.5, comes up a little short with two steps back – Bridget pretending like that deduction is going to be 2-3 tenths despite being very familiar with the SEC (Bridget, you know you would have gotten 9.950 for doing that) – double tuck, just a bit forward with a step – lovely leap positions – 1.5 to layout, pulls it around pretty well. 9.850

ALL ROUTINES ARE THE SAME.

Gottula – BB – MU – bhs bhs loso series, hit, just a small adjustment – switch with a little check into straddle 1/4, I would question the connection but obviously I’m the only one – gainer full, step back.

9.650. Maybe I’m not the only one who questioned the connection?

Edney – FX – LSU – double arabian is better this time, solid landing, just some crazy-leg form in the air – 1.5 to layout, very strong shapes in the air, a little awkward stepping out but not really a step deduction – double tuck, good nailed landing. I had a couple things, the form in the double arabian, a leap, but a strong one. 9.950

Ward – BB – MU – bhs bhs loso series, nice and solid – beat to nice high straddle 1/4, a wobble – hitch kick to side aerial, smooth and solid there – 1.5, holds the stick with a lean. 9.875

Finnegan – FX – LSU – 1.5 through to 2.5, good landing this time, more controlled step out – double tuck, nailed it – switch ring to switch 1/2, lovely – double pike, also super strong. So, this routine was better than Edney’s, so let’s see.

9.950 for Finnegan. They went too high too early and then didn’t have room to deduct for some borderline things in Finnegan’s routine and still reward her.

Clevenger – BB – MU – three series to loso, secure with some knees – switch side with an arm wave – 1.5 dismount with a large bound forward. 9.775

Kelley – FX – LSU – DLO, secure landing, a bit of chest down – front lay to front full, good straight position – split leap full to tuck jump double, short of position on the split leap full – double tuck, super solid landing.

Big routine. I’ll be displeased if this goes 10 and Finnegan didn’t because that’s just lineup order scoring.

9.950 for Kelley as well. Yeah, you can’t give that one a 10. I feel like they should have Kelley earlier in the lineup and Finnegan last?

FINAL: LSU 197.650, Missouri 195.475


On to Cal and Oregon State!

Rotation 1

Do we need to fix the bars? Do the bars work in any gym anymore?

We’re on track with the warmups now. Justin to the rescue.

Singley – VT – OSU – hop back on her full and then another little lunge back into salute which could really take away the score, a bit of a pike in the air. 9.750

So Seilnacht – UB – Cal – short first hs – 1/2 turn to piked jaeger to overshoot, solid, good shape, better cast hs back up on high – tries to fight to hold the stick on her 1.5 dismount, pretty big lean forward to hold it though, bend at the hips. 9.725

L Dagen – VT – OSU – another large bounce back on her full – not the most height but a solid layout position in the air for the most part. 9.750

George – UB – Cal – tkatchev, hit – good cast verticals – maybe a little short of position on the bail catch, good legs together – FTDT, holds the stick with a bit of a swim.

Singley will get a redo because of a camera flash? Amanda didn’t know you could do that? Yes you did Amanda.

M Dagen – VT – OSU – good hold on the stick on the full, very strong – comes in a bit deep with chest forward, really nice job staying secure. 9.850

Jones – UB – Cal – good Shap, connected to Pak, goes a little crazy with some knees and legs apart – nice 1/2 turn on low – short final cast hs – small hop back on FTDT with a bit of legs. 9.825

Yanish – VT – OSU – really excellent full, small step back, great distance and position, more amplitude and better open than Dagen, but not a stick. 9.850

Watterson – UB – Cal – small arch in first hs, pulls it back, good height in pak, just a little legs – hits shap 1/2 well, good hs on high – giant full to double tuck, nearly sticks, just gets a little deep and slides a hair in her salute. 9.875

Jacobsen – VT – OSU – Tsuk 1/1, really strong near-stick again, micro slide, she has figured out that vault this year, still some piked body position, some chest down. 9.875

Schank – UB – Cal – 1/2 turn to piked jaeger to overshoot, really pretty piked jaeger, so quick – good cast hs on high – nearly had a big score going, overpikes her DLO dismount with two small steps back. 9.850

Davis – VT – OSU – hits a full, good distance but a little crazy in form, chest down, really early twist, comes in chest down with a lunge forward/sideward. Should be the drop score.

Bordas – UB – Cal – small arch in first hs, pulls it back – huge jaeger into overshoot, LOVE her height on that – double tuck dismount, a little forward with a step. 9.850.

Singley – VT – OSU – her redo for the camera flash – this was a better vault – small hop back, solid chest position.

After 1: Cal 49.200, Oregon State 49.125

Singley score updated to 9.800 for her second attempt, which was stronger than the first. Really quality fulls from Yanish and Dagen were highlights there.

A solid bars rotation for Cal, they just needed more sticks. They had some leans and small hops to take away a .050 on a lot of them. Will absolutely take a 49.200 there since they’ve been getting stuck in those 49.1s. Thought the scores were going to trend low considering Seilnacht’s opening 9.725, but they did not.

Rotation 2

Liz is on face-sticker duty. 10.000.

Sy Seilnacht – VT – Cal – sticks her full, nicely done on that landing. Will still get deductions for dyanmics because it’s pretty short with some pike and chest forward, but best she can do. 9.750 is still a little tight for me there, but you probably do have to take major distance deduction.

Yamaoka – UB – OSU – toe on to toe shap, a little low on backswing – bail,nice legs together, a bit short of vertical – good final cast hs – giant full to double tuck. Probably her best bars routine we’ve seen. 9.750

Jones – VT – Cal – full, little bounce back, much stronger distance , some pike and the knee form throughout. 9.800

Jacobsen – UB – OSU – tkatchev to overshoot, good speed, a bit low – a little tight on a hs back on high bar – 1/2 turn to double front with a step back into salute. 9.825

Mastrangelo – VT – Cal – pretty solid full from here, small bounce back – some cleaner body position, a bit of direction, has the distance. 9.825

Our dude just said vault was the only event where you can start below a ten. Stab me in teh eye.

Lowery – UB – OSU – toe on to toe shap to pak, a bit of legs in that – 1/2 turn on low, gets a little loose in the back – DLO, great dismount with a stick. Nice routine, just a bit of body position here and there. 9.850

Clausi – VT – Cal – comes in short on her 1.5 this time, deep landing with a lunge back. 9.725

MCP – UB – OSU – close catch on her jaeger, has to muscle out into cast and short of handstand – bail is nice – getting it together with her dinal cast – sticks DLO, a little whippy, but great second half. Should be a pretty big deduction for the jaeger and subsequent hs though.

9.875 is a big overscore.

Williams – VT – Cal – big full as always, strong one, smaller bounce back, great direction and distance, chest up, controls the size of the bounce. 9.875

Briscoe – UB – OSU – also close on her jaeger catch – bail – a bit of a leg break – finishes DLO, great body shape but very short landing with a large lunge forward.

9.825 is another score that’s BONKERS high. I was thinking high 9.6s or maybe 9.700 for that.

George – VT – Cal – solid enough full but a larger bounce back – good form through, will still be a counting score for sure. 9.850

Gill – UB – OSU – short first hs – toe shap, pretty – to pak, major straddle on pak – 1/2 turn on low, a bit crooked – toe circle step up to high – nice final cast hs – DLO, a little chest forward and a step-salute, near stick. 9.825

After 2: Oregon State 98.325, Cal 98.300

Scores got weird in the second half of that bars rotation for Oregon State didn’t they. I was thinking this meet surely wasn’t tight but was still within reason before that, and then those last few bars scores were just insane.

Cal OK on vault, but once again didn’t quite have the landings to get the bigger numbers given the score-scape today. Needed the vault from Clausi and didn’t get it. Great landing from Seilnacht and good control from Williams.

Rotation 3

Singley – BB – OSU – split jump to double stag, small wave – bhs loso, large break with a bend at the hips – kickover front, very secure – gainer full, step back. A hit but a large break in there. 9.725

So Seilnacht – FX – Cal – front lay to rudi to double stag, good control there, some body position – illusion turn lovely – split leap 1.5, around – 1.5 to 1/2 to split jump, good height in the jump – 1.5 to front pike, stuck. Great. I’d take some for amplitude, but great landings. 9.775

MCP – BB – OSU – aerial, hit – bhs loso series, also hit, a bit of feet, doing well to avoid checks – switch to split to double stag, small check, some low back leg deductions on those splits – side aerial to full, stuck, some foot form. 9.800

Mastrangelo – FX – Cal – double pike, good height, small slide, some foot flexion – 1.5 to front layout, stuck, excellent – switch side to popa, looked a little piked in those hips, solid 180s – 2.5, crossover step, keeps it in, some deep knees in landing. 9.750

M Dagen – BB – OSU – bhs loso – switch to switch 1/2 to beat, super secure, a little deliberate – full turn, very smooth, nicely done – side aerial to full, step back, nicely done. 9.875

Shu – FX – Cal – double tuck, clean, slide back – double pike, another small slide back, better chest position on that one – split leap full to wolf jump 1/1 – BUT SHE LOVES TO COOK THAT’S MORE IMPORTANT THAN SKILLS TALK ABOUT THAT MORE – 1.5 to front tuck, sits it down (basically? Butt scraper?) got nothing out of that 1.5. 9.450. So got the benefit of not quite sitting down there.

Gill – BB – OSU – smooth full turn – split jump to double stag, small adjustment, great height and positions – aerial to bhs series, clean as well – gainer full, stuck. 9.875

George – FX – Cal – front tuck through to 1.5, super secure, good twisting form, excellent split positions as well, right on for that switch ring and split leap full – front 2/1, just a bit short with a steppy adjustment – rudi, great rise, control. Good one for her. 9.875

L Dagen – BB – OSU – switch to switch side, arm wave correction. I don’t love these “through to” dance combinations because they aren’t them – aerial is nicely done – bhs loso series, hit with another little arm wave – gainer pike, stuck. 9.900.

Clausi – FX – Cal – full-in, great position in the air and controlled landing, just the chest down – switch side to wolf jump full, hit positions crisply – front 2/1 with a bit of a cover dance out – 1.5 to layout. Really strong routine. 9.900

Lazaro – BB – OSU – bhs loso series with a little side-to-side wobble – switch to straddle 3/4, a little slow, nice individual elements – full turn – side aerial to full, stuck. Very clean. Pretty slow rhythm, but I don’t think anyone cares anymore. 9.900s for everyone!

Williams – FX – Cal – full-in, good chest position on finish, slide back – switch side to popa, great height, hits those positions well – front lay to front full, got a tad mushy in there – double pike NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Crashes it and is down and stopping. Grabbing her ankle and crying.

After 3: Oregon State 147.675, Cal 147.050

Well, Cal has to count that low score on floor because of the miss from Shu and the injury to Williams, but of course more important to them will be if Williams is as injured as she looks because it looked very Achilles, which would be an untenable blow to the team.

Oregon State good and solid on beam, scores going high there but a nice, pretty hit rotation.

“To put that into football terms…” NO DO NOT PLEASE.

Rotation 4

George – BB – Cal – wolf turn full – aerial to bhs series attempt, kind of checky in between so possible no credit – a little lean afterward as well – split to loso combination, another little lean – switch to split – gainer full, stuck. 9.750. Got her series credit.

Amanda, a wolf turn is not unique.

Jacobsen – FX – OSU – double pike, keeps front foot down – 1.5 to layout – split leap full to split jump full to tuck jump, hits those split positions solidly – rudi, a bit short with a step forward. 9.800

Clausi – BB – Cal – switch to switch series, she hits those positions better than most, her and Glenn are the only ones who do that without what should be major deductions – excellent bhs loso series – side aerial to full, stuck. Fab. 9.875

M Dagen – FX – OSU – double tuck, comfortable, good chest up – closeups of face during dance series, ugh – double pike, high, larger bounce back out of it – front lay to front full with  dance out. 9.850

Keelen – BB – Cal – bhs loso series, solidly done, little arm wave to avoid a check – split to split ring with a check, leg goes up a little – aerial is strong – 1.5, near-stick, a little shuffle into salute. Not perfectly crisp this time but will be a strong score. 9.825

Singley – FX – OSU – front tuck through to double tuck, good control, chest just a bit forward – double pike, also controlled, a bit deep in chest position that one – switch ring (a bit low on front leg) to splits, nice split – rudi, controlled step, also a little low. 9.800

So Seilnacht – BB – Cal – bhs loso series, secure landing, lovely extension, slams arms down to avoid a lean – switch to stag to beat, tried to keep working through it despite being off balance, wobble bend – side aerial to full, near stick. 9.750

Force – FX – OSU – double pike, overcooks with a lunge back – switch side to popa looks quite nice – front layout to front full is more solid – double tuck, lands super deep, two lunges back, stays in bounds but will need to be the drop score. 9.700

Shu – BB – Cal – aerial to bhs series, just does keep moving through it, a little slow – hitch kick to side somi – switch to split, small check, some back leg deductions in those leaps – side aerial to tuck full, stuck. Impressive. 9.900. Well now.

Lowery – FX – OSU – punch front 2/1, awesome, excellent lift and position – 1.5 to layout with a dance out – splits and straddles, a little short in that first split – punch rudi, fab landing, stuck. Great routine. 9.875

So, butt closeup is not typically the replay one should choose…

Bordas – BB – Cal – switch check, pretends to have connected to split but shouldn’t get series credit – bhs loso, hit, small check – aerial, and falls. They’ll still go over 49 for this rotation.

Yanish – FX – OSU – strong high DLO, bounce back – front full to layout – switch side to popa, good 180s, overturns that switch side a bit – double tuck, bounce back.

9.950 somehow. Yanish’s home floor scores are ones I don’t understand at all. Like, she had two obvious bounces back on tumbling passes, which both have to be deducted at minimum.

FINAL: Oregon State 196.950, Cal 196.150

196.150 for Cal isn’t a devastating final score, but you worry about what they do on vault and floor now without Williams. Beam should be able to get by as long as they get either Bordas or Watterson hitting, but vault needs that full especially if we’re not seeing those other possible 10.0 starts materialize (Solari has been missing since week 1) and her floor was always going to be their best score there.

44 thoughts on “Sunday Live Blog – February 17, 2019”

    1. Thinking the same thing. Then again, knowing her injury record I’d rather have her not compete for a few meets if it means that she’s healthy by post season.

    2. Yeah i was wondering too. It would make sense to rest her here, but considering she wasn’t in on Friday, especially against a big team like Utah, I’m lowkey concerned. I’m hoping they’re giving a week off.

      1. On the plus side, LSU can beat Utah without Lexie so with her in the lineup they should win by a larger margin.

        At the LSU 101 Lexie didn’t compete and they said she was resting her shoulder after having rotator cuff surgery over the summer (fall?) so they may just want her rested so the can use her on three events come post-season (vault, bars and floor). But if LSU needs her anywhere it’s bars so they need her shoulder to be as close to 100 per cent as possible – it’s Lexie so I’m guessing she’ll never be at 100 per cent exactly.

      2. LSU lost to Auburn with Lexie, so your theory doesn’t hold much weight.

        LSU beat Utah by .175 after Utah recorded a disasterous beam score (Counted a 9.7 and 9.75 with major breaks). Did you even watch the meet?

        Reinstadler is only competing on bars, but she’s missed on the other three events; specifically, beam.

        Utah and LSU are basically the same team, in my opinion.

  1. Do we know if Hannah McCrary is totally out for the season for Missouri? I know she has a bone bruise but she hasn’t been in the lineups for quite some time…

    1. Sloan’s commentary is driving me crazy this year…was it this bad in previous years?

      1. Yea, I’m sure she means well, but she’s “a little bit of a” not great commentator. Lol

  2. What does UTL mean?

    “Turner – FX – MU – double pike, small bounce, a bit of chest down, hit – split leap full to wolf full, solid height, some foot positions there I really want Kathy to be here and talking about – 1.5 to layout, flatter in that layout, fairly controlled on landing step –

    9.850. Isn’t there a UTL in that routine? No? I just can’t pay attention to a whole floor routine?”

  3. What I don’t get is that while the scoring is very high, I don’t see how Finnegan comes up, performs an obviously superior routine and gets the same scores as her teammates.

  4. are you kidding me… ohashi gets a 10 every week for bouncing out of landings and actual errors but finnegan goes week after week with perfect floor routines and can’t score higher than 9.95?

    1. Seriously. I like Ohashi, but none of those 10s were accurate. The problem isn’t so much that Finnegan is underscored, it’s that she’s getting scored accurately and then everyone else is getting scored too high.

      1. LSU should get Sarah’s routines to go viral and get the New York Times to write about her and ESPN to do a feature on how she missed out on being on the 2012 Olympic team (I know she was an alternate but not the same).

        The judges might feel pressured to give her 10s all the time. 🙂

      2. If only Sarah was stronger on bars as an elite so that she could have had a brawl with Kyla for the UB/BB spot. Now, I love Kyla, so I´m not rooting against her, I just think it would fun to watch them duke it out 🙂

  5. Is that a true statement? With all the overscoring, no one in the SEC has gotten a 10?

    1. Yep. No SEC gymnast has a 10 yet this year. Next week UGA is at UF, so I could see Trinity getting a 10 on bars or floor . . .

    2. Yes the SEC has shown restraint this year. At some schools (Alabama, Missouri, Arkansas) more than others (UGA).

      Kentucky and Florida have been a bit cray-cray but not as much as usual in Florida’s case and more so than usual in Kentucky’s case – though scores have risen at the latter the past couple of years. Auburn home scores have been high, but LSU home scores have been more normal – though the gymnasts at LSU have made errors to force the lower scores so it’s hard to say if it’s restraint or just that the judges don’t want to reward mistakes…

      The craziest scoring teams this season appear to be: Denver, Georgia, Oklahoma and UCLA.

      I haven’t seen enough of Denver but they are getting super-high scores when they never did before, while Georgia home scoring always goes about a tenth or so higher than they should for the average routines. OU scores better at road meets than at home though (like always) and UCLA is getting “help” from viral routines and Olympic fame.

      1. Just an example:

        Sydney Snead bars routine vs. Kentucky scored a 9.925.
        — Her final handstand was way short (at least 20 degrees) which should be a multi-tenth deduction.

        It’s been said that a handstand within a tenth (90 degrees to 100 percent perfect) can be between a 0 and .10 deduction depending on the judge. Since it goes so quickly a judge may believe they saw a slight bend for a .05 deduction while the other judge doesn’t take anything.

        Snead was clearly way off line and should have had at leas a .2 deduction for the final handstand or at least .15.

        Her bars routine should’ve scored between 9.750 and 9.850 depending on how the judges saw it. There were other deductions in the routine, but her landing was good so I’m guessing the judges ignored the final short handstand when they saw her dismount.

      2. I agree about Snead have one short handstand; however, nationwide her routine would have been 9.85/9.9 at any other school. So it wasn’t Like Georgia got a massive score that no other team is seeing. Also, Snead was often getting 9.75/9.875s as the leadoff bar worker for routines that should have scored a bit higher but were held down because she was first up. Thus, at least her individual average and RQS should be about right when it comes to rankings.

        This idea that Georgia is massively overscored compared to other teams is overblown. Georgia is the 7th best team and deserves that ranking. People are acting like they should be ranked around 15 or someone. It’s weird.

        *I also say this as a Bama fan. I’m in no way a Georgia fan and I look forward to us beating them again at SECs. Roll tide.

  6. YES YES YES that Finnegan should anchor floor. When she’s perfect the judges are afraid to give her a 10 because there is one more gymnast to go, but then even when McKenna or Kennedy do great routines, it’s obvious Sarah’s form and technique was superior, so they can’t give them any higher than they give Sarah. I feel similarly about vault; Sarah should be further back in the lineup to get rewarded more.

    1. Yes if Kennedy and McKenna were in the fourth and fifth spots and Sarah anchoring there’s a chance to get at least two 10s – if the judges throw one of the power gymnasts a 10 and Sarah’s form is her usual then they’d have to throw another 10.

      1. Sure, but putting your best in the anchor could have the opposite effect. SEC judges have this weird thing where they’re more than willing to go 9.9 for a real life 9.7, but will do anything to avoid a 10. If Finnegan anchors and someone before her gets a 10, they could just be unwilling to give another 10 because the team already had one.

      2. Well that’s no worse than what she deals with now and I honestly doubt they’ll be desperate to give McKenna a 10 in an earlier position

  7. LSU with a season high and no Lexie…. the Beam rotation with Desiderio, Dean, and Durante looked great today. Biggest concern is Vaulting and getting Lexie back. They will likely start on their best event (bars) for SEC’s and end on their most inconsistent (vault), so they need to start getting some sticks from more than Finnegan.

    Good meet though!

    1. To me the biggest concern is bars, to be honest. While vault has not been ideal so far, it is mostly steps on landing that keep the scores down. Once (if) those landings get better, you’re looking at an excellent rotation. On bars, however, there are too many built-in deductions on a number of routines, especially compared to Florida, OU, UCLA, even Utah. What I mean is I don’t think the talent on bars (and to some extent floor) is enough this year.

  8. New Hampshire just went 196 and (as someone who has never seen them before) deserved a few tenths higher if they were being scored by PAC/SEC standards. Definitely a regionals dark horse for an upset if they hit. And too bad they are never on TV – they and Davis were both very fun to watch.

  9. Noooo 🙁 Absolutely gutted to see Toni-Ann go down like that. How absolutely devastating for her after her injury prone college career and too far into the season to red-shirt.

  10. I totally agree Finnegan should anchor floor! She has the best routine overall, and she can be rewarded for it in the anchor spot.

  11. This is just a guess, but I think Solari (Cal) is out for the season – she was seen in a boot in January and was still wearing it three weeks later at a meet in February. Even if she’s ok now, she’d still have to get back to competition shape and she’s not an experienced college gymnast either.
    Fingers crossed that T-A W is ok but it sounds very unlikely, especially with her injury history. Huge bummer for Cal – I don’t think they can make nationals without her.

  12. LSU is finally getting over scored. At least one third of those routines were .1 more than they should have been. It seemed like it was giving them make up credit at this meet.

    1. Lol – No way. If 1/3 of the 20 counting routines were over scored by .1 that puts them below 197. No way that performance was sub 197. I do think there were two overscored routines -Bailey’s bars and Reagan’s floor. And thank goodness they are finally getting overscored like the rest of the top 3 (though not even near the outrageousness of the OU/FL meet particularly), because there is no way that LSU is nearly a full point behind those teams (I’ll give that they might be weaker than the top 3, but not by the margin the scoring currently suggests).

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