| Saturday, February 23 | Scores | Stream |
| 3:30 ET/12:30 PT – [2] UCLA @ [4] Utah | LINK | P12N |
| 5:00 ET/2:00 PT – [18] Washington @ [15] Cal | LINK | P12N |
| 7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Big Five @ Toledo, OH ([8] Michigan, [14] Minnesota, [22] Ohio State, Illinois Rutgers) | LINK | FLO |
What it lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality. I basically won’t be satisfied unless the UCLA/Utah meet descends into total anarchy. Whole bunch o’ stabbings.
Bars scoring tends to go a lot higher than vault scoring these days, so the goal for Utah in the first rotation is to at least keep things close with a 49.4-type vault score, then start making a move in the second rotation. We’ve seen UCLA go 49.6s on bars a few times this season, and the Bruins will be very eager for a repeat so that even if Utah nails vault, UCLA will have a comfortable lead after one.
Nia Dennis on only VT in UCLA’s initial lineups. So bars could get…interesting. Hano and Toronjo going there.
Yep, MyKayla Skinner and Steph Curry. Those twins.
Rotation 1
Lee – VT – Utah – a bit more of a bounce back on her full than we’re used to – usual nice form, a deduction for distance, otherwise the normal. 9.800
Frazier – UB – UCLA maloney to pak, a little close on pak but muscles out to handstand pretty well – solid legs on shap 1/2 – good final cast hs – DLO, stuck landing. 9.875
Roberts – VT – Utah – full – same sized bounce back as Lee, not too big, has the better distance, good layout position and chest up, so that can go a little higher. 9.825
Hano – UB – UCLA – hits first hs – Ray to overshoot, hit, good amplitdue, some mushy form on both – a short final cast hs – giant full to double tuck with a bit of a leg break and a small slide back. The hit they needed, should be nickled and dimed away from a high score. 9.800 is high for me.
Burch – VT – Utah – full – she gets the stick on her vault. Nice one. She has some more form deductions than the first two with a leg break on the block, but good open at the end. 9.850
Toronjo – UB – UCLA – she lives! – a bit tight on first hs – Ray, close catch with elbows – short hs on high – bail, hit – short on cast on high as well – DLO, bounce back. Will need to be the drop score, but it’s a hit they could use if needed. OR WHATEVER. 9.850 is also too high for me on those handstands. Judge 2 went 9.9. I cannot even.
Score lowered to 9.800. Makes a little bit more sense at least. The 9.900 judge was actually 9.800, so at least there’s that.
MMG – VT – Utah – 1.5 – good stick on her 1.5, very nice vault, solid landing, just the usual knees, not a lot to take otherwise. 9.950
Flatley – UB – UCLA – godo first hs – higgins to beautiful jaeger, fab toes – hits bail well, super clean – short final cast hs – DLO, small slide. I had a couple hs and the small slide on dismount. Not a lot else. 9.925
Skinner – VT – Utah – DTY, she didn’t get the stick today, so no 10 they were building up for. Small hop back, otherwise her usual – there’s only a little bit of knees these days – chest up. 9.925
Kocian – UB – UCLA – perfect first hs – stalder shap to pak, lovely – just a little late on 1/2 turn on low this week – super smooth on handstands – FTDT, stuck. great routine. 9.950
Tessen – VT – Utah – 1.5 – a little bit back on her 1.5 landing this week with a step back – not quite the amplitude as MMG, and then it will be a larger deduction because of step back. 9.900 a little high for me on that one. Should have been 9.8s.
Ross – UB – UCLA – good first hs – Maloney to bail, perfect – toe shoot to high, great height – DLO, stuck. Wonderful. Her usual. Every week.
It’s a 10 for Kyla. I mean, it was great obviously. There are a couple little body position things that aren’t even deductions, so she never has anything that reaches the level of being a .050 deduction, which is how she gets to 10 in front of judges willing to go there. She is a dream.
After 1: UCLA 49.550, Utah 49.450
Both teams will take those performances. Utah got the 49.4 it needed. UCLA not quite the 49.6, but did go over 49.5 on a road bars rotation and got a 10 and has the lead, so pretty sure they’ll be fine with it. Next rotation will be telling. Does UCLA have the vault landings, and will the bars scores continue soaring.
Potential UCLA bumped up to 49.600?
Rotation 2
Ohashi – VT – UCLA – full – step back, big amplitude, more comfortable than it looked in past years – still a notable step back, good distance. 9.800
Lee – UB – Utah – a bit short on first hs – 1/2 turn to high pike djaeger to overshoot, good legs throughout that combo – she’s missing hs – finishes by pinging off on her double tuck dismount, a bit low with a hop forward. 9.825. Consistently high there.
Hano – VT – UCLA – 1.5 – stuck it! Really nice. One of her best. Also has the knees to deduct in the air like MMG, slides the heels together but not a deduction for that. Really strong vault. 9.950
Dula – UB – Utah – small back arch on first hs – excellent toes on jaeger – good second cast – legs together on bail hs – a bit short on final cast – stalder (a bit late to vertcial) to double tuck, holds the stick with a little deep absorb. 9.850
Wright – VT – UCLA – 1.5 – lands short on her 1.5 with a lunge back – also has a knee form deduction to take, a bit larger knee bend than Hano. 9.850, like Tessen’s that needed to be a little lower because of the short landing.
Tessen – UB – Utah – hits first hs – 1/2 turn to jaeger, some elbows on that catch – bail, super clean, nice position – a little back position on final cast – FTDT with a lunge back. Solid bit but won’t get them into big numbers. 9.875 a little high for that one.
Dennis – VT – UCLA – her usual huge full – just a little step back and then is kind of out of control into her salute, but I figure they’ll only take for the little step and perhaps some feet. 9.850
MMG – UB – Utah – toe on to her big deltchev – hit – she has so many hand readjustments in this routine, Shannon – bail, borderline vertical position – a little muscle up here and there on cast hs – FTDT with a step back. 9.875
Amanda, that step is not the only deduction.
Ross – VT – UCLA – hop back on her 1.5 this week – nearly got the stick, pretty much identical to the previous two weeks but couldn’t hold the stick this time. 9.925. That hop back really needed to be a full tenth.
Reinstadtler – UB – Utah – pretty first hs – 1/2 turn a little late into a huge jaeger – bail, short of vertical – borderline final hs – FTDT with a bit of crazy legs, not a great landing there, lunge back and another step. 9.850. Once again too high for that dismount.
Tratz – VT – UCLA – tries to sell the stick on her full but was leaning forward too much and hops forward – good distance as always – has the form. 9.850.
Skinner – UB – Utah – Ray, good, just a bit of elbows – pretty solid bail position – clearly short on final cast hs, rushed it – FTDT, bends to hold the stick. Good one, but had a short hs so shouldn’t be 10. And some loose back positions moving to handstand here and there. Still gets away with 9.950.
After 2: UCLA 98.975, Utah 98.850
UCLA had a very strong vault from Hano to lead the rotation, was close to the landings on those important fulls but didn’t quite have the sticks to get them into the 9.9s. Still, 49.425 was only a quarter tenth lower than Utah’s vault score, and Utah needed an advantage on vault.
Utah 49.400 on bars, which they’ll definitely take for a rotation with those dismount landings where there weren’t enough sticks, but our first clear advantage of the day goes to UCLA on bars, which was clearly the stronger bars rotation of the two.
Rotation 3
Lee – BB – Utah – smooth full turn – bhs loso, solid, pretty – switch to straddle 1/4, hit positions, fairly close to the beam – beat to side aerial to full, stuck – pretty routine. Let’s see what kind of score it gets first up.
9.825. That’s my worry. That same routine would be 9.900 in the 5th position.
Frazier – FX – UCLA – full-in, fairly secure landing but a little awkward in the legs coming in to landing – whip through to double tuck, chest up well, a little slide – double pike, looks like she kept that front foot down. 9.850
Burch – BB – Utah – good full turn – bhs loso, secure, a little tighter in position than others – double stag – cat leap to aerial, small lean, saves it to avoid too much of a lean – split jump to straddle 1/4, good extension straddle – gainer full, stuck.
9.875. On what planet is that routine better than Lee’s? That’s just scoring lineup order.
Kramer – FX – UCLA – front 2/1 to front pike, lovely, controlled step – 1.5 to layout, also good control, just a little arch on layout this week – switch side to popa looked solid – rudi to strecth jump, excellent routine. 9.900
Soloski – BB – Utah – aerail to bhs, smooth combination – switch 1/2 is hit but quite short of split position – switch and split a bit better but potential back leg deductions on both – front full dismount, hop. 9.825
Tratz – FX – UCLA – full-in, a bit short this week, chest down with a step – 1.5 to front full, nice position in the air, just a little weird lean on landing as she tried to hold the control – double tuck, little slide. Good. A few things. 9.875
JORDYN PULLED MATS WHAT. KATELYN OHASHI SPRAYS THE BARS EVEN THOUGH SHE INTERNETED MY GOD.
Randall – BB – Utah – bhs loso series, a little lean correction – sheep jump, some legs and another little check – switch to split, smallest pause in between but will get the connection – rulfova was surprisingly a tad off line this week but probably won’t be more than .050 – 2/1, stuck. 9.875
Ross – FX – UCLA – whip to double tuck, nailed it, chest up, so good now – 1.5 to layout, keeps back foot down on step forward – switch 1/2 to popa to shush, a little back leg on switch 1/2 this week? Not much. double pike, perfect landing, nice. 9.900
MMG – BB – Utah – switch to split, some knees in those leaps – bhs bhs loso, small lean – aerial, small arm wave – just a little tentative today, a couple small adjustments – 1.5 with a bounce forward, usually sticks. 9.850
Hano – FX – UCLA – DLO, does well to show control since she came in a little short – front full to 1/2 to run – some back leg on split – double pike, solid landing, keeps front foot down, another good one. 9.900
Skinner – BB – Utah – bhs loso, hits, perhaps a little lean afterward, the usual knees – side aerial to sissone, hit – switch to straddle, hit – sticks her double tuck. Good one.
They’re talking 10s. She has a built-in form deduction on her loso series that you have to take so she can literally never get a 10 on beam, guys.
9.950
Ohashi – FX – UCLA – split-leg DLO, comes up a little short this week with a step – hits her middle pass well – switch ring to switch 1/2, solidly hit positions – front full to 1/2 to drop split. Excellent after the first pass landing.
9.925
After 3: UCLA 148.475, Utah 148.225
Utah got through that beam rotation without significant error, so that’s victory there. Everyone was good on floor for UCLA, no one outstanding (Kyla closest to her peak performance), so they mostly were entrenched in the lower 9.9s. Still a big score and enough to widen the lead on Utah to .250. This last rotation will be boring and not full of controversy, I’m sure.
Rotation 4
G Glenn – BB – UCLA – bhs loso series, love the height, micro lean adjustment – aerial to split, a little wiggle in connection – switch to split, pretty – gainer full, stuck. Pretty opener. 9.875
Roberts – FX- Utah – rudi, good height and twisting position as always – slide back – double pike, solid landing, controlled step, a little chest position – 1.5 to 1/2 to double stag, hit.
9.875. Crowd booing even though that’s pretty high for that routine. Fun.
Nguyen – BB – UCLA – switch to split, lovely – aerial to loso combination, slower than I’d like to see – nice full turn – side split 1/2, secure – front full, stuck. Strong showing. 9.900
Lee – FX – Utah – 2.5, just does control that step out and keep the back foot down – switch to switch ring 1/2, solid getting the ring position actually closed – front lay to front full – 2/1 to loso, just a bit of knees in the twist – good one. 9.900
Kocian – BB – UCLA – bhs loso series, lean to the side with a bend at the hips – aerial, falls. Interesting. Back up, switch to split is lovely – 2/1, short with a hop forward.
Randall – FX – Utah – full-in, bit of a step forward, chest down – 1.5 to layout, a little bit of an arch there – double pike, super short, chest well down with a lunge. They’ll need to drop this.
9.775 is quite high for that.
Flatley – BB – UCLA – aerial to loso series, super smooth connection, just a little foot on the landing – side aerial, smooth and hit – L turn to split jump to beat jump is awesome. Punch rudi dismount, a little slide. Nice. 9.900
Soloski – FX – Utah – DLO, good secure landing, some body position – switch full, back leg is low on that – 2/1, stuck, good – 1.5 to layout, good control on landing. One of her solid ones. 9.925
Ross – BB – UCLA – bhs loso series, perfect, super smooth – aerial to sissone, and an actual sissone position too – full turn – switch to split, strong – side aerial to full, nearly stuck with a lean. Exceptionally good performance. 9.950.
So they were ready for 10 if not for the dismount lean.
MMG – FX – Utah – deep landing on her piked full in, slides well back, heel just OOB and the flag actually goes up too (a miracle!) – trouble for Utah now – 1.5 to front layout and doesn’t do the pike out of it – barely got the layout around, large form break to arch it over – rudi to straddle just is good but oddly off today.
9.725. Also pretty high. That was kind of a miss and an opportunity for the judges to establish some actual separation in routines.
Ohashi – BB – UCLA – aerial, hit, a little hesitation – aerial through to bhs loso series – not doing her hard routine with the two-foot layout because they need a hit – switch to split. Bhs loso full, small hop back. Strong hit. 9.925
Skinner – FX – Utah – double double tuck, her usual, chest up, strong, but a slide back, so thiswon’t be a 10 – split leap 1.5, close enough around, feet just landing a little short of the full 1.5 – 1.5 through to 2/1, nailed – front tuck – full-in solid.
9.925.
What is this revisionist history that Skinner hasn’t gotten a 10. She hasn’t gotten a 10 so far this season. You have to clarify that. She has 10s on floor from her freshman season.
FINAL: UCLA 198.025, Utah 197.625
This one won’t be too controversial in the end because even though Carol showed up from the start, mojito in hand, the result and margin between the two teams was about right. UCLA was crisper in the landings on bars and floor overall, and had the leaps to get some higher beam numbers as well.
Kyla and Skinner both break 39.750 AA, so I’ll have to add them to the AA rankings.
Let’s head over to Washington and Cal. Washington getting some strong bars scores, 9.875 from the 4th and 5th up so far.
Washington up 49.150 to 48.925 after one event.
A bunch of 9.7s from Cal on vault. 9.825s from Mastrangelo and Clausi.
Fun with replays of Toni tearing her Achilles.
Rotation 2
Cunningham – VT – UW – bounce back on her full, both feet moving, some pike there. 9.725
So Seilnacht – UB – Cal – 1/2 turn to piked jaeger to overshoot, hit, a bit of legs in that piked jaeger this week – 1/2 into her 1.5 dismount, a near stick, kind of sells it – step back into salute. 9.825
Riley – VT – UW – clean Y1/2 in the air as usual, but comes in short with a lunge back today. 9.700
Georgia – UB – Cal – tkatchev, clean – hits vertical on bail, a bit of loose back here and there – short final cast hs – FTDT, good stick. 9.900
Hoffa – VT – UW – step back on her full, solid power, has some crazy feet and legs apart on the landing 9.800
Jones – UB – Cal – short first hs – toe shap, good legs togher, into pak – some arch in the back and a little form on that one – close on final hs on high bar – FTDT, stuck. Good landings today. 9.825
Copiak – VT – UW – does really well to hold the stick on her full – there was a lean with the chest forward to hold it – pretty good form throughout. 9.775
Watterson – UB – Cal – pretty pak, good height – toe on to toe shap 1/2, keeps legs together well – toe full to double tuck with a bounce back – best handstands and toes so far. 9.850
Roberson – VT – UW – huge full, great position in the air, but a large bounce back on landing. 9.800
Schank – UB – Cal – shortish first hs – 1/2 into piked jaeger to overshoot, pretty combination, good legs – great final cast hs – DLO, but she comes in really short with a bounce forward and another step. Was going to be a great score until there.
Thompson – VT – UW – huge full, excellent stick. Very strong performance – good layout position, nearly college salutes herself out of a stick there. 9.825 makes sense but that would have been 9.900 at many meets this weekend and every weekend.
Bordas – UB – Cal – 1/2 turn into huge jaeger to overshoot, great amplitude in combination – giant full to double tuck – a little late on that giant full into a large lunge back –
After 2: Cal 98.175, Washington 98.075
Cal with 49.250 on bars to move ahead. Great sticks in the first half of the rotation, pretty routines in the second half of the rotation but they didn’t have the landings.
Rotation 3
Georgia – BB – Cal – wolf double, good speed – aerial with just a bit of arm wave – bhs loso series and falls – back up, swplit and split – split to loso combination, a bit of knees – sticks gainer full. 9.275
Cunningham – FX – UW – front tuck through to double tuck, good control on landing – 1,5 to front pike, quite low on that combination and had to lunge forward out of it – switch 1/2 to wolf full, solid positions – double pike, bounce back. 9.800
Clausi – BB – Cal – switch to switch combination, solid – bhs loso series, good extension, small lean – beat to side aerail to full, stuck – great routine. 9.800 seems low.
Thompson – FX – UW – double tuck, good chest up, bounce back – split leap 1.5, nice height, gets that around – front lay to front full, a little steppy out of it, great straight position – rudi, good secure landing. 9.775
Keelen – BB – Cal – smooth full turn – bhs loso series, very secure – split to split ring, nailed – aerial, solid – just a foot or a knee here and there but no checks at all – 1.5 dismount with a hop, did super well to save that dismount because it looked like she kind of missed her punch. 9.850
Washington – FX – UW – double tuck, chest up, secure – front lay to front full, love the position in that layout – switch side to popa, hits her 180s well – double pike, bounce back, still a really strong one. 9.850
So Seilnacht – BB – Cal – full turn, nearly kind of has a lean check – bhs loso series, right on, well extended – switch to stag to beat, a little slow but fine – side aerial to full, stuck with a little lean down. Another strong one. 9.850
Roberson – FX – UW – front 2/1 to front tuck, great speed and twisting position, a little bouncy out of the front tuck – switch ring to wolf hop full, can get deducted for not really getting around there – rudi to loso, solid. 9.900
Shu – BB – Cal – aerial to bhs combination, a little leany through the connection but probably gets it – hitch kick to side somi is hit – switch to split, secure – full turn, hit – side aerial to tuck full, stuck. 9.900
So yeah I guess they were fine with the combination.
Hoffa – FX – UW – double pike, a little bounce up in place – front lay to front full dance out, good punch in that layout, stays straight – split leap full to wolf full, great split positions – double tuck, solid, controlled step back. 9.850
Jones – BB – Cal – wolf single is hit – aerial to bhs loso combination, super solid but some knee form – then tries to connect into sissone which was short of position – sheep, not a ton of closure – side aerial to full, hop back. An anchor hit. 9.825
Brooks – FX – UW – double tuck, bounce backward, does stay in bounds – switch – tries to get wolf jump 1.5 around but it was a full – 1.5 to layout, secure landing, a little ragged in the air – front lay to front full, keep it under control. 9.750
49.175 for Washington on floor. Cal 49.225 on beam.
After 3: Cal 197.400, Washington 147.250
Rotation 4
Rose – BB – UW – cat leap to aerial to bhs series, solidly done, works through precisely and quickly – full turn with a check – switch to split leap, some back leg – cat leap to side aerial to tuck full, off line on dismount and with a step, nearly lands off the mat. 9.675
So Seilnacht – FX – Cal – front lay to rudi to stag, very clean, good control – illusion turn – split leap 1.5, just does get it around – 1.5 to 1/2 to split jump, a little low on 1/2 – 1.5 to front pike, holds it just long enough and a little dance out. Another solid routine, so probably like a 9.775 again…
Oh 9.875. That’s new. I love that it’s the identical routine that always scores 9.775 and now they’re like, “oh, but it was clean, now I see…”
Nelson – BB – UW – a comically large flag for the judges to raise is the kind of content I’m here for – bhs loso series, good height and security, foot form – sissone to split jump 3/4, large bend at the hips there – long pause – split jump with a slow connection to loso, lean – 1.5, stuck, good finish. Worked through but a lot to take in that one too. 9.725
Mastrangelo – FX – Cal – full-in – hits it, chest down with a lean dance forward out of it to cover – 2.5 with a bound forward, just does keep it in bounds – switch side to popa, good 180s, a little indistinct in landing positions – 1.5 to layout, nice straight layout position. 9.825
Washington – BB – UW – bhs loso series, arm wave correction – switch side to straddle jump combination, hits it, good 180s – side aerial to tuck full, little hop forward. A more usable counting routine. 9.825
George – FX – Cal – front tuck through to rudi, just a little legs – switch ring to split leap full – front 2/1, nice control on landing – another rudi, also controls it. Great landings today, hits her leaps, just some knees in twisting positions. 9.875
Brooks – BB – UW – kickover front to bhs, a little pause in combination but will get it – aerial to beat, nice height in aerial – switch to stag, not heighest – gainer full, little hop together. 9.775
Schank – FX – Cal – double pike, controls that step back, just a little chest position – front lay to front full, another controlled step out, nice, just some knees – switch side 1/4 to wolf 3/4…ish? Sometimes that combination is really short for her, this one was closer so will probably get credit – rudi, a little deep landing, hit. Good. This routine has come along. 9.850
Roberson – BB – UW – switch to switch jump, nice – standing loso loso combination, just a little lean and some knees – long pause before dismount – gainer full, high and stuck. 9.925. Goodness.
Clausi – FX – Cal – full-in, great control, nailed landing, just some chest down – switch side to wolf full, nicely completed – front 2/1 comes up really deep with some knees and a lunge forward, keeps it going – 1.5 to layout with a little dance out. 9.750
Copiak – BB – UW – a little tentative in full turn – bhs loso series, super secure, some feet – cat leap to switch 1/2 – side aerial, really nicely done – 1.5, stuck. Good one. That will bring up the team score.
Bordas – FX – Cal – double pike, a little short with a step – switch 1/2 to wolf full, nice height – rudi with a bit of a bounce back – 1.5 to layout, comes up a bit short with a step, some knees there as she tried to pull the layout around
Waiting on the final total. Will be a very useful score for both, well into the 196s. Particularly important for Cal to do that in the first meet ATA (after Toni-Ann, shouldn’t have had to explain that).
FINAL: Cal 196.650, Washington 196.375
Meet back here in a few minutes for the Big Five?
McLean back on vault for Michigan. Intros happening now.
When you can’t really hear the PA guy and it sounds like every gymnast he’s introducing is named “Abe Tinnifer”
Intros are long when we have five teams and have to play everyone’s video…
Touch warmup now. Minnesota is the team starting on a bye.
Rotation 1
Heiskell – VT – Michigan – bounce back on her full, nice pop and layout psotion, good start
Hinterberger – UB – OSU – hits jaeger, a little feet – huge arch on next cast hs, pulls it back – bail, some legs in catch there – giant full to double tuck, one step
Maxim – VT – Mich – tsuk 1/2, clean, good distance, medium-size pace forward, just a little knees at the end
Abanto – UB – OSU – small arch in first hs – toe shap, pretty good legs together – bail, hit – finishes stuck double tuck
Brenner – VT – Mich – hits her 1.5 with a step forward/sideward, a little bit of knees, solid performance
No scores yet. The person who’s surprised is no one.
McLean – VT – Mich – doing the full, really nice height and open as always, small hop back. 9.875
Stone – UB -OSU – shortish first hs – jaeger to overshoot, pretty clean – a hesitation on giant full – extra giant into double tuck. That will hurt.
Karas – VT – Mich – very solid 1.5 again this week – a bounce forward this time, medium size, otherwise strong.
Aepli – UB – OSU – nice toes in first hs – toe shap, some legs apart – bail, legs together there – a little short
Wojcik – VT – Mich – pretty much sticks her 1.5 this time. I think she surprised herself with it because she came in a bit lock-legged, so the landing was kind of awkward, really strong performance, will be big score again.
And it’s a 10. I mean, that was totally a make-up 10 for the other ones, the judges were worried we might kill them. It was like her 4th-best vault this season. I wouldn’t have gone 10 for that one.
Swartzentruber lovely on bars – good legs together on Shap 1/2 – DLO, flung out with a step forward.
Scott – BB – Illinois – finishes up with switch to split, nicely done – aerial to a check – leg up – gainer full, stuck
Gagliardi – UB – OSU – a bit short on first hs – Yezhova is perfect as always – struggles up to handstand on low with a muscle but gets there – short cast hs on high – DLO, nice straight position, nearly holds the stick but not quite enough with a step salute
Howell – BB – Illinois – full turn, bhs lay-pike series, small leg-up check – switch to straddle 1/4, a litlte quick, hit – cat leap to switch side, solid, small arm wave – gainer pike, hop. 9.850
Biondi – BB – Illinois – switch to straddle 1/4, strong extension – bhs loso series, hit securely, foot form deduction – cat leap to aerial, check wobble, a bit of knees – smooth full turn – 1.5, hop forward
Ali – FX – Rutgers – nice full in, good chest up, a bounce back and some body position to take – switch side to popa, nice height – front tuck through to double tuck, secure landing –
Huang – FX – Rutgers – front 2/1, really lovely twisting position and controls the landing – rudi to a smooth loso – switch side to wolf jump 1/1, hits her straddle position well there – rudi, solid landing. Excellent routine.
After 1: Michigan 49.350, Illinois 49.075, Ohio State 49.050, Rutgers still waiting on Huang’s score but just like give her a 9.900 and be done with it.
Rotation 2
Mariani – UB – Mich – clear hip to tkatchev, nice height, just a little legs – bail – good vertical on final cast hs on high, just a little back – FTDT, near stick with a step-salute
Nylin – FX – Minn – double pike, secure landing, flexed feet – whip to 1.5 to front tuck gets pretty low but she pulled it out – double tuck, super solid
Maxim – UB – Mich – toe on, a bit of loose back – solid tkatchev, nice toes – bail, hit – good vertical cast hs on high – DLO, stuck, lovely. Her best of the year.
Farley – UB – Mich – piked jager is nice – gets to vertical on her bail – the final cast hs was short and I have a couple little body position things – double front, stuck, another strong routine
Karas – UB – MIch – great first hs – toe shap to bail, solid vertical positions, just a bit of legs on shap – tightish on final cast hs – DLO, hop back. Another solid one.
Sonier – FX – Minn – double pike, just does keep that front foot down, a little momentum backward – switch side to split full – punch rudi, some chest down
Brenner – UB – Mich – jaeger, hit – good handstands, bail is pretty solid – cast hs on high looks good – near stick on DLO with just a little shuffle
I think Brenner just got 9.950?
Wojcik – UB – Mich – shortish first hs – really solid piked jaeger shape – nice second cast – does well to securely hold bail – just a couple verticals herer – DLO, a little flung but holds onto the stick
Higgins – FX – Minn – front 2/1 attempt but it was too under, with a bounce and may just get credit as a rudi – 1.5 to front pike, pulls it out well – love her little bhs to knees choreo pass at the end 9.550
Great 2.5 beam dismount from Stone of OSU, stuck. 9.800
Really proud of the live scores for not working again.
Aepli – BB – OSU – bhs loso series, small lean – cat leap to kickover front, deep but pulls it out into beat jump – switch to straddle but breaks the connection there with a pause in between – gainer full, hop back. That will be interesting as I don’t have her with a dance combo in there. 9.725 is forgiving.
Loper – FX – Minn – front lay to rudi, super clean – switch throught o split leap 1.5, around but will get deducted for not going to 180 – 1.5 to layout, solid landing, arches over the layout a bit too much – punch rudi, excellent
McClelland – BB – OSU – stagstand to bhs loso series, a check and some leg form to take throughout – switch with a balance check – does a beat jump to straddle 3/4 to get her leap series but straddle 3/4 wwas short of split – front tuck, step – punch front full with a step.
Ramler – FX – Minn – ring jumping like it’s nothing – oof comes in way short on her double pike which looked like an ankle cruncher with a shuffle/stumble forward – lovely switch ring leaps of course – rudi, strong – 1.5 through to 2/1, almost really nice, just a little short with a step
Michigan’s bars goes 49.625, the combination of an excellent rotation and some Carol. Equal parts.
Williams – FX – Minn – fab height and position on her front 2/1, a little bounce – switch side to popa, good – 1.5 to layout, love how early she opens out of that 1.5, step forward – rudi, keeps that one under control – not a lot you can take other than landing control. 9.900
After 2: Michigan 98.975, Rutgers 97.700, Ohio State 97.025, Illinois 49.075, Minnesota 49.050
Michigan running away with this thing. Ohio State won’t be able to use this score really after a disastrous beam rotation that went into the 47s. Minnesota through floor with a 49, though didn’t really get they wanted after Ramler struggled on landings
Rotation 3
Farley – BB – Mich – bhs loso loso series, hit, knee form deductions there – side aerial to split, very confident – gainer pike, some legs on that and a step back. 9.825
Quaglia – VT – Minn – full, very nicely done to hold that stick – some chest forward, some legs, really good vault – 9.875
Montgomery – VT – Minn – full – a little ragged in twist, hop back but not too large, should be another usable score. 9.750
Sonier – VT – Minn – full – comes in a little deep, large hop to the side. 9.700
Osman – BB – Mich – bhsloso, comfortable, nice amplitude in that series – front tuck and works immediately into beat jump, which also helps avoid the check from coming in deep – a litlte slow in leap combination but fine – gainer full, stuck. 9.875
Williams – VT – Minn- gigantic full, great height and position, tenth of a hop back. 9.825
Ramler – VT – Minn – holds the stick on her 1.5, nice one – some knees – really strong vault. 9.900
Karas – BB – Mich – bhs loso series, hit well – switch split jump to pike jump, good height on that pike jump – standing loso with a balance check – punch rudi dismount, small slide. 9.875
Loper – VT – Minn – another excellent 1.5, small hop forward and just a bit of form to take. 9.925
Mariani – BB – Mich – a bit tentative in that full turn – side aerial, breaks connection into split to straddle 1/4, nice extension in dance – beat to switch side, comfortably performed as well – bhs loso, hit, some feet – 1.5, fairly short with a lunge back
Scott – FX – Illinois – front 2/1, good form in the air, large bound forward – 1.5 to layout, she has the twisting form down, it’s just going to be landing control to get her the big numbers – rudi, hit
Funk – BB – Mich – bhs loso series, hit – living for the volcano of chalk coming off her feet on that series, actually obscuring any possible foot form issue – switch side 1/4 is exceptional – beat jump to straddle 1/1 – side aerial to full, stuck. Great routine. 9.900
Howell – FX – Illinois – front tuck through to double tuck, super short with a major stumble forward
Wojcik – BB – Mich – aerial to beat jump, loverly – switch to split jump, excellent position on all her leaps – bhs loso, super solid – cat leap to side aerial, just a little lean – 1.5, stuck. Excellent routine as well
Meeks – FX – Illinois – front 2/1, hit, a crossover step – front lay to rudi, solid control on that one – switch ring to cat leap 1.5 – 1.5 to layout, very well done to hold the stick right at the line.
After 3: Michigan 148.425, Rutgers 146.650, Minnesota 98.325, Illinois 97.925, OSU 97.025
Michigan on historic score kind of pace.
Rotation 4
There should be an NCAA rule that if you have a hot volunteer helper man on your team, you should have to list him on the roster because otherwise how can we objectify him properly in our text conversations?
Dwyer – VT – illinois – large bounce back on her full
Quaglia – UB – Minn – a little short on some verticals – hits piked jaeger into overshoot but close cat on piked j and some feet – giant full to double tuck, basically stuck. Quick work. 9.775
Super deep Y1/2 second up from Illinois on vault, strength miracle that she didn’t sit it down.
Willmarth – UB – Minn – Ray, hit, some feet – bail, super smooth and clean – a bit short on final cast – hs – giant full to double tuck, stuck nice. a bit late on giant full. 9.875
Horth – VT- Illinois – full, another larger bounce back, solid form
Loper – UB – Minn – toe shap, lovely legs togehter into pak, perfect – a bit of a muscle in 1/2 turn on low – gets there – one short hs on high – giant full to double tuck, small hop –
Sales – UB – Minn – nice crisp bail form – a short hs on high – 1/2 turn int khorkina, good clearance over the bar – DLO, small hop. Nice.
Scott – VT – Illinois – full, pretty deep over on landing with a hop to the side. Illinois will struggle to get out of the 9.7s in this rotation.
Ramler – UB – Minn – shap to pak, perfect legs togther throughout – toe shap 1/2, exceptional, FTDT, stuck. That was another glorious routine. If I’m being harsh, there was some back position on a the final cast hs on high bar, but this is amazing.
Fight me with this 9.875. I would honestly like it explained to me how she keeps going 9.875 for routines that are every bit as well executed as Kyla’s.
Lu – Ub – Minn – toe shap to pak, lovely – strong hs on low – toe shap 1/2, a little more legs than Ramler – finishes DLO, hop back
Dohery – BB – Rutgers – bit of a check on a full turn – awesome save on a side aerial where she only landed with one foot on and then just hung out with her other foot up by her chest for a while and then realized she was still on the beam. Falls later in the routine.
Nice 2.5 to front tuck on floor from Stone of OSU – work to do because they’re already counting a 9.5.
Huang – BB – Rutgers – side aerial through to aerial walkover like a Wevers, keeps it moving pretty quickly – beat to split jump 3/4, a litlte short – 2/1 dismount, hop back
Aepli just pulls out her final double pike on floor, pretty deep but saved it
Rutgers is done with a 194.600. Michigan is going to get an absolute huge number today.
Rotation 5
Sonier – BB – Minn – bhs loso series and falls.
Funk – FX – Mich – double pike, a bit of a bounce back – front full to layout, pretty clean, had to control that step forward because she was right at the line – switch side to popa, overturns the switch side a little but nice positions – punch rudi final pass, a bit of a slide. 9.825
Osman – FX – Mich – full in with a large bounce back – front tuck through to double pike, well controlled – rudi, controlled. 9.775
Korlin-Downs – BB – Minn – bhs loso, small lean, controls it well to not give away more – lovely form – side aerial to stuck full to finish
Lu – BB – Minn – bhs loso series, hit – cat leap to switch 1/2, love the extension on the switch 1/2, very nice – side somi, a bit of a lean there – gainer full, stuck
Brenner – FX – Mich – full-in, very well controlled, chest up – 2.5 to front tuck, nailed, just some leg form in twisting – switch side to popa, hit, not the highest – double pike, bounce back, keeps foot in bounds
Nylin – BB – Minn – bhs bhs loso, very solid, some leg form – hitch kick to switch side, large balance break but keeps it on the beam – 1.5 stuck. They’ll have to count this one –
McLean – FX – Mich – double back, a little bounce, chest up – 1.5 to front layout, big high 1.5 as always, a little out of control and bouncy on layout landing – double pike, very strong landing
Sales – BB – Minn – bhs bhs loso, solid, just a bit of loose knees – cat leap to switch side, great height on switch side – full turn, smooth –
Karas – FX – Mich – double arabian with step forward, solid – switch 1/2 to wolf full, love the rise into the wolf, which is higher than the switch, some leg position in switch – 1.5 to 1/2, very solid, controlled step – double pike, bounce back
Ramler – BB – Minn – bhs loso, right on – aerial to wolf jump, pretty, did really well to keep going in connection since she could have been a little short on aerial – beat to split ring jump, perfect – side aerial to full, hop back
Minnesota gets through beam to go 196.700. Michigan already at a season high with Wojcik to go.
Wojcik – FX – Mich – double pike, nailed landing – split leap positions looks solid – 1.5 to front pike, nicely landed as well – she’s having quite the little day – rudi to straddle jump, lovely.
FINAL:
Michigan 197.750
Minnesota 196.700
Illinois 195.525
Rutgers 194.650
Ohio State 194.600
39.750 for Wojcik in the AA.
I don’t have the P12 Network. Would anyone be able to share a link like last week – the ‘free’ online stream?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tHLXGCNCwc this is the international feed, but you will have to go through a VPN. Using it from Germany works just fine though.
http://oklivetv.com/pac-12-network-live/
has been working well for me!
bless your soul anonymous
Thanks guys. First time ever watching live. Hi from Prague!
Are the Utes wearing a dark blue warmup leo too?! Lol.
Toronjo on bars? Don’t tease us …
Thank you for acknowledging the steph curry thing. Jim has me dying with that
Marz sticking that landing though!
Is UCLA even capable of having a meet without a 10? Carol clearly didn’t see that email smh
Ross is my favorite gymnast and it’s true that there’s no NCAA-level deductions in her routine, but I still think it would be absolutely fine to give that a 9.95 most of the time! (and adjust other routines’ scores accordingly as well)
Um. What? You recognize that Kyla’s routine is sans NCAA-level deductions (as Spencer also says in the blog), but you still think the judges should take a deduction? Because… reasons? I mean, that makes no sense.
@miaaingeal I don’t think Ele was suggesting that Kyla randomly receive deductions that nobody else is getting. Rather, I took it as a remark that Ele would like scoring in general to be less generous. Notice that Ele mentioned that they should also “adjust other routines’ scores accordingly as well.” If judges started deducting for things like leg separations on transitions, Ross wouldn’t be scoring 10s on bars several times each season, but you’d also see a bunch of other athletes who had been averaging around 9.9 drop down into the 9.8s. That would be totally fair and reasonable.
@ Mary – I have much less of a problem with “NCAA judging needs an overhaul” than how Ele phrased their comment initially. The addendum doesn’t fix the disconnect in my brain when I read “Gymnast X’s routines are perfect by the current code, but take a deduction anyway” – because my brain is too busy shorting out on the ridiculous contradiction inherent in that sentence.
I don’t think these judges got the email.
Carol definitely didn’t!
Is Anna Glenn injured now??? Where is she?
knee tendonitis
Will she be back for the end of the season?
I thought Kyla was noticeably short on her first handstand…
agreed
She wasn’t.
https://twitter.com/uclagymnastics/status/1099413064540073984
She still looked short to me. At least if looked like she had a notable hip angle.
UCLA needs A. Glenn back (or some other solution!) for post-season… you can’t put Ohashi in on VT and Hano in on UB against Oklahoma.
Agree, they really need her, especially on bars. Hopefully, Nia can get back in the lineup there.
Based on what Nia said about her shoulder injury, it sounds like they’re trying to avoid using her on bars too much since it aggravates the injury. My guess is that they won’t use her much on bars for the rest of the regular season, but they’ll start to put her in during the post-season when they need every tenth they can get. I hope to see Grace Glenn in the bars line-up soon, though! She looks very promising on bars.
Anyone else hear the in-house announcement at Utah reminding fans to act respectfully to all participates, judges and officials?
No, why?
Just found it entertaining is all.
I wish the camera would zoom out for floor choreo.
Judges actually took Ohashi’s deduction. I’m shook, maybe that email worked!
Unpopular opinion: I like all the UCLA floors more than Ohashi’s. Also Sekai’s floor is much better.
agreee!!!
How could Kyla score 9.9 when her floor was much better than Katelym’s very short first landing?
I wondered the same thing. 🤷🏽♀️
UCLA is going to be fascinating to me next year. What happens to a team that is essentially a cult of personality when the leader leaves? I’m sure they’ll be fine, they still have a million ex-elites, but it’s going to be interesting. They still haven’t announced who’s taking over, right?
I’d put money on a Waller becoming the head coach. He’s been there 17 years.
I remember when he was added to the coaching staff! Now I feel old.
And Glenn’s beam was just better than the whole Utah rotation combined.
Grace’s routine is a dream.
Haha what’s with the newspaper stunt from the Utah student section?
What is this thing with the Utah fans putting up a wall of newspapers in front of beam when UCLA are up- it seems really strange and unsporting
Honestly, NCAA commentators sometimes drive me as crazy as NCAA judges do. Nothing against Skinner’s beam, which was fantastic, but even through the next-rotation touch replays, they kept talking about how they thought it could have gotten a 10. Her 9.95 was well-deserved, but her leg form is SO noticeable during her series. I would have been so mad if that had gotten a 10.
(Again, I want to specify that this isn’t against Skinner, who I know gets a lot of hate – it’s something that angers me during most meets.)
All I can say is that if I’m a judge and commentators and schools are campaigning really hard to get a specific gymnast a perfect score, it would motivate me to be extremely picky about said gymnast’s routine and find the tiniest deduction to guarantee a 10 isn’t possible.
Please let the newspapers become a new mega drama because that’s the kind of pettiness we all hope for out of this matchup
Just the concept of an entire NCAA gymnastic dynasty fanbase making a concerted, visable effort to disrespect competitors during a meet exhausts me. They obviously do not appreciate all the insane routines they were privileged (privileged!) to witness live from both teams, perferring blind school pride. It’s a shame really. The Utah athletes would honestly benefit from a crowd that devotes their energy to celebrating the gymnasts’ performances with knowledge and focus, and not waste it on petty disses to the other team. Poor sportsmanship is very unbecoming and completely unproductive.
What the hell. I was at the meet. Utah fans were applauding UCLA routines. They were support oof all the athletes on both teams. I’m so sick and tired of the bashing of Utah during any meet with UCLA. Fans were clapping with their floor routines. I was sitting by the “blue bunch” and they could have been dead judging by their response to the Red Rocks routines. Some appreciation for the Ute efforts would have shin “sportsmanship “. So “P & P”. Remove the tunnel vision glasses and lay off the hate. Try a little honesty. 2017 lies we told and the hate continued throughout the season. Don’t start that again. Was it loud – yes. Over 15,500 fans are not going to be quite. Deal with it
Dear Anon 5:16 pm,
That’s great to hear the way things were portrayed in the broadcast were a misrepresentation! I’m sorry to have offended you. You seem to have some issues wih UCLA fans, including those you were seated by, and have a lot of venom about the situation. I suspect you are projecting your frustration on me, insisting my input was hateful when there was utterly none in my heart. I geninunely want the best for all the athletes and am saddened by ANY fanbase taking attention from their brilliance.
Have a nice weekend.
Really. More than 15,500 spectators who politely supported UCLA team. They cheered,clapped along and a large group even stood for several routines. It was a great crowd Massive actually and everyone is focusing on about 14 immature disrespectful teenagers. It was a small group to begin with and it got smaller throughout the rotation. I was sitting next to the “Blue Block “ of spectators who couldn’t even applaud for some very good Utah routines. The final outcome was never in question and I am ashamed of the MUSS termites who were so rude. I’m sure they will be dealt with by the student officers. But to lump an entire arena into that minuscule group is totally wrong. Please look at the whole picture. It was a great atmosphere and it was fun to see UCLA up close and personal. This Ute fan wishes them all the best against Oklahoma. Pac 12 rocks.
The 10 talk after Skinners beam was killing me. C’mon Amanda did you see the series? 9.95 is a gift from someone. Sorta surprised she hasn’t found a cleaner series with her box’o’skills. Round off layout, maybe?
Skinner’s beam score compared to UCLA’s so far is ridiculously too high. I know it’s NCAA but form should count for something.
Yeah, for all Skinner complains about not getting a 10 on vault, she fails to recognize the gifts she gets on bars and beam. Someone try to justify how that beam routine scored higher than Grace Glenn or Kari Lee.
I’d love to see a roundoff layout from her! I admit I’ve never *loved* her gymnastics, but I admire her power and how daring her difficulty is even now in NCAA. What really makes her stand out is her resistance to playing it safe… so yes, please, do it!
Everyone talks about her difficulty but her bars and beam routines are not particularly difficult (beam dismount aside).
Or round off back tuck (for the sake of maximizing her execution) in NCAA, layout in elite? Good idea, the layout might look piked, though.
Yeah but the piked layout is a skill like Peng Peng Lee did. Those legs on the BHS and LO stepout are just problematic. Same with her second pass in the floor routine. Yes the routine is crazy hard but there are obvious form deductions. I honestly wouldn’t be mad if they gave a 10 on floor with just that shuffle on the double double landing but the form in the second pass cannot go unnoted.
I agree, her form can be atrocious at times, even though she cleaned up quite a bit for NCAA
It seems like I’m in the minority here, but I see the reason for leaving the loso series in. Mykayla has been extremely consistent on beam in a way that pretty much nobody else has. In 37 beam routines, she’s never fallen, has only had 3 routines score below 9.8, and all 3 of those routines scored over 9.7. That kind of consistency is huge. I wonder if she might be a bit more prone to falls or large balance checks with a round off+layout/tuck than she is with the loso series. Especially given that beam is Utah’s most inconsistent event this year, it makes a lot of sense to me to have your most consistent athlete do a routine that you can count on to score very well rather than risk a routine with potential to score even higher, but perhaps also more potential to be a miss.
And her legs are so much better than freshman year. I think its a flexibility thing. And unfortunately for her everyone knows its an issue so they all look for it. I have noticed other “leg” issues on series get missed when done by a gymnast that typically doesn’t. So in that regard, I get tired of the assumptive – built in deductions.
Are these commentators supposed to be impartial? It sounds like they’re rooting for Utah. Why? I have no idea. I thought Amanda was better than this.
Idk what was up with the commentating but I ended up enjoying the meet way more without any sound.
They say perception is everything. Jim and Amanda were most definitely NOT rooting for either team.
Maybe I thought that because Amanda was ignoring all the egregious Utah form errors on beam..
Well, Jim Watson is a Trojan. So, there’s that.
I’m over the UCLA wrist flip/pseudo finger snap that’s probably in at least 3 beam and all floor routines. #overit
I agree. I really don’t like some of their beam choreography… It feels like pose, pose, pose instead of dancing.
Everyone is like “UCLA’s choreography is so unique and fun.” Well, it might be fun but it’s not unique anymore. I’ve been following them for 20 years and these days, most routines, while original, are just re-imagined with the same choreography. Walk, Walk, Pose. Wrist flick/finger snap, Pose. Swing hips and circle arms over head. Blah. I wanna see ORIGINAL like Kate Richardson! And, please…no more honoring “legend’ routines. *eye roll*
#preach
You know which team actually has consistently unique and impressive choreography? Oklahoma! It really is impressive to watch their beam choreography in addition to floor. It’s not the same move(s) over and over and over.
I still like floor (haven’t been following for long enough to be sick of it, I guess), but I don’t understand their beam non-choreo. I think the fact that I KNOW they know how to dance and choreograph routines makes it more disappointing.
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Totally. And what Anonymous said about walk, walk, pose, wrist flick, pose, arms over head etc is exactly correct. C’mon, Miss Val, do something new for us before you retire!
Maybe they need her to leave for it to change?
Skinner’s floor is SO impressive.
Skinner looks pissed.
Maybe today wasn’t her *best* floor routine, but with all the crazy and inflated scoring over the past few years it’s really hard to believe she’s never gotten a 10.
She got a 10 as a freshman.
She has had a 10 before! Just not this season.
Another 198 for UCLA. I still think OU and Florida are stronger teams than them. OU’s vault should be the difference between the 3 teams, since they are all strong on the other 3 events.
Next week OU v UCLA will be an interesting comparison, especially since Maggie is due to be back in the All round.
I don’t know, OU’s floor takes away the vault advantage.
With Maggie back, OU has 5 really strong 4 floor routines all capable of 9.9+.I don’t think UCLA’s floor is that much stronger then OU best 5 routines but OU’s vault line up is clearly stronger than what UCLA produces.
I think OU is still decisively better than UCLA when they bring their A game (although to be completely honest, I think they average more overscoring than UCLA, it just doesn’t come in the form of 10s).
I am not convinced that Florida is better, especially after that meet versus Georgia. They’re capable of beating UCLA, but I don’t know that they could do it even half the time.
I sorta figured thry wouldnt need her for wvu 2moro, but im making the 3 hr drive up the mountain to see that meet. Last year i went up for Florida and was so bummed Baker didnt do floor. I really hope to see Maggie on some events tomorrow.
I don’t know, UCLA has the best floor lineup in the nation, and is very capable of topping both bars and beam with good hits (and Anna Glenn/Nia Dennis as opposed to Hano/Toronjo). Their vault isn’t quite as strong, but they have great vaults from Hano and Ross, Sekai Wright, Nia Dennis, and Pauline Tratz all capable of strong work, and carry a small army of good fulls to use as needed as well. Oklahoma is pretty tough, but, A. UCLA has worked magic and beat them before (2018 nationals) and B. their floor is pretty mediocre compared to UCLA/Florida.
Florida, on the other hand, looks to be competitive on UB (THOUGH, HUNDLEY IS WILDLY OVERSCORED, she has big-ish leg seps on her maloney and her pak!!!), BB, and FX, but their vault has been a glaring weakness this year.
All three are close enough that It’ll really just depend on who hits the best on the day.
2 steps on landing and short on handstands but 9.8?
Nice meet for UCLA Utah! Skinner and Ross both performed so well, it was nice to see an AA battle, and after Kocian fell a team battle as well. Also love the changes they made to Flatleys beam, and I actually quite liked Soloski on floor. The only thing I really didn’t care for was the newspaper wall in the student section, I found that to be extremely rude and unsportsmanlike. I get that it’s a rivalry but what a lack of respect for the athletes.
I don’t know – the newspaper thing isn’t my personal cup of tea, but I don’t mind it. It’s not dangerous, it’s not personal, it’s students having fun at a sporting event. That’s what I want gymnastics to be.
I feel like you hit the nail on the head- it’s not dangerous, it’s not personal. It’s about the tamest example of fans of one team “trashing” the opposing team you can find. It wasn’t a great display of respect, no, but it’s honestly funny to me to see people get their knickers in a twist over it.
The people getting upset seem to be missing the point you made- it’s a sporting event. This is extremely tame compared to what goes on at other sports. The outrage is ridiculous.
The newspaper thing is kind of creative and funny. 🙂
Would you prefer the fans gave the beamers the same treatment an opposing goalie in hockey or an opposing kicker in football get?
When Ross is on beam the fans could chant – Ro-Oss, Ro-Oss, Ro-Oss to see if they can jinx her into a fall.
I agree that it is totally unsportsmanlike. For the most part, the gymnasts themselves seem to have nice relationships with girls from other teams, many of whom spent time in elite together. But fans that behave this way make the team look bad, and what an incendiary way to greet a visiting team, especially now, in a sport that is trying to unite and rise above its history of scandals and abuse.
Curious: have any of you noticed behavior on this level from fans of other teams?
There are always stories floating around about the behavior of Utah fans. The program is an historical jaggernaut, which might cultivate a certain type of acceptable behavior in the community that is unsavory to most. Then again, it is possible Utah fans just remain under the microscope because of the team’s popularity in both the local and national markets.
I’d be curious to hear any firsthand accounts from any and all who attend meets in person regularly.
have any of you noticed behavior on this level from fans of other teams?
You mean like the Gym Nasties? Or when Georgia fans booed Baely Rowe because she did a moonwalk in her beam routine? Or when a Florida gymnast screamed when Rheagan Courville was setting for her arabian?
Thank you, thank you, thank you to Mary and the rest of this thread. Your measured discussion identified why I was so sad and torn by the whole situation as I had witnessed it. As a person with a classical dance background and absolutely no gymnastics training or exposure to the culture I am a complete and utter novice. Nothing bums me out quite so much as a hostile performance space for me due to personal experience for these amazing women.
Like nearly all the student sections! Where guys yell “fall” at the girls on beam – I think you guys just love to hate on Utah. It’s a sporting event. Expect boos when people don’t like scores, expect yelling when people think someone did a great job. I give them at least an 9 for creativity.
I mean, it’s not the epic sportmanship and good old-fashioned friendliness that *some* Utah fans like to claim that they, as a fanbase, display… but I personally don’t think it’s that big of a deal. Like yeah it’s rude… but it’s a tame rude.
But I think that kind of sassy rivalry atmosphere justifies the screaming and chest thumping and insane high-fives that some people like to harp on UCLA about, though. If the other team’s fans are gonna tease you, you should get to be obnoxious too.
PS:
– I know that not all Utah fans run around defending their group’s behavior – some do, and they’re loud about it.
– I know that not everyone has a problem with UCLA’s over-the-top celebrating after routines – some do, and they’re loud about it.
“But I think that kind of sassy rivalry atmosphere justifies the screaming and chest thumping and insane high-fives that some people like to harp on UCLA about, though. If the other team’s fans are gonna tease you, you should get to be obnoxious too.”
I’m one of the people who find UCLA obnoxious. I agree with you. However, UCLA acts the same way when there isn’t a rivalrous atmosphere. I saw them live once away against the team that finished 50th or there abouts that season, and no one in the crowd was “trashing” them. It was the same as you see when they’re against another top 5 opponent. That’s my issue. You want to assert yourselves against a home team with a massive crowd who’s actively supporting them over you? Great. But against a super low-ranked team with a super small crowd, it left me with a “pick on someone your own size” taste in my mouth.
I love the enthusiasm of the Utah fans, but some of those rabid fans who sit in low seats yell some pretty disrespectful things at visiting gymnasts.
@Mary – I go to UCLA every home meet. They’re always super excited and energetic with high-fives and celebration after every routine. It’s not an intimidation tactic, as you appear to have assumed. It’s a celebration of their teammates. And it happens whether they’re at home or away. Why not just stick with your initial honesty that you dislike UCLA and leave it at that? It’s not like it’s not obvious exactly how much you dislike UCLA every week with your comments here.
I don’t see why you seem to think I’m being dishonest. As you said, I fully acknowledged that I’m not a UCLA fan, and I try to own my biases. That meet is a big reason why I’m not a big fan of them. My issue wasn’t celebration after every routine. My issue was how they were trying to direct the (again, very small) crowd to cheer for them instead of the (again, much lower ranked) home team who hadn’t displayed much bias in their pretty lowkey cheering. They had signs, it was clearly directed at the crowd and not just cheering each other. It’s really hard not to take that as intimidation tactics, or at the very least rubbing in how much higher-ranked they were.
Isn’t Washington – Stanford on Pac-12 N??
Cal, that is…
It’s supposed to be but its not on my feed 🙁
I’m watching it on PAC-12 Bay Area
How dare you 😉
(Cal > Stanford forever !!!!! go bears go public schools)
live scores for Cal/Washington not working?
I thought the newspaper wall was funny.
Imagine a fanbase doing that every time a rival NCAA basketball, American football, softball, swim, golf or track team possesses the oppertunity to accrue points. Fans of all these other athletic endevors WANT to know how their competitor is performing and see the battle for supremacy firsthand. That is what makes live sport exciting.
This newpaper nonsense is funny the same way high school, popular, mean girls are. It is completely distracting from the actual meet itself for no good reason. I actually feel bad for the Utah gymnasts having their hard work overshadowed by a stunt meant to throw shade needlessly at athletes.
If they found a way to use a similar tactic to show their feelings about the judges I’d actually laugh.
“This newpaper nonsense is funny the same way high school, popular, mean girls are.”
The only think funny about high school popular mean girls is when they fall flat on their faces in front of everyone and everyone can laugh as their so-called “perfect” lives fall apart and they emerge black and blue. 🙂
Y’all know Michigan State’s student section does that at basketball games, right? It’s not original or new.
You have been to another collegiate team sporting event, right? Because when a visiting football team lines up for an offensive snap the entire stadium will scream as loudly as possible so they can’t communicate with each other. Basketball free throws, penalty kicks, and hockey shootouts are almost taken amidst a hailstorm of boos, chanting, and other crowd efforts to distract or rattle the rival player, and every officiating call that displeases the home crowd is greeted with vocal disapproval and usually a few personal insults.
Most home-team fans don’t come to a game or meet to marvel over the opposing team’s athletic prowess, they come in hopes of seeing their own team win. It’s a totally different mindset than going to watch a dance, musical, or other performance. You can absolutely watch just for the pleasure of seeing good gymnastics, but there’s also nothing wrong with fans showing up for a competition, especially when they’re showing their allegiance in a silent, non-vulgar, non-personal way that does nothing to endanger any of the athletes.
+hawarre aaaand…your second paragraph was the polar opposite of your first. In the first you tacitly defend/justify ugly and unsportsmanlike conduct because ‘that’s how other sports are,’ and in the second you trot out an attempted defense of ‘fans’ who don’t want to see the other team be good but are relatively quiet about it. Cognitive dissonance beyond belief, pal. Let me fix it for you: ugly conduct is ugly, and ‘fans’ who don’t scream right before a difficult trick or actively heckle the opposition are semi-ok. There. All better.
I have been to many Pac-12 basketball and football games and even more track and swimming meets over my lifetime. I literally have never witnessed those fans IGNORING excellent performance on purpose. Perhaps my time around the NCAA and Olympic track crowd living in Tracktown USA for almost a decade skewd my experience. EVERYONE wants to see that world record WHILE screaming for their favorites in my experience. Oh well, that’s on me.
No, my paragraphs are not opposite, you’re just making some bad assumptions. In fact, I don’t think that crowds screaming or booing is particularly ugly at all. I think that the feeling of being part of the game/competition/events and feeling the energy of the crowd is part of why people attend live sporting events or watch them with other people instead of watching on youtube in their empty living rooms. People don’t attend football games because you have a better view from the stands than watching on TV. And by and large athletes appreciate active crowds (I’m sure if they had their druthers every team would like ONLY their own fans to make noise, but that’s not really an option). There is a line though – no need to attack people personally, no need to scream obscenities, don’t endanger the athletes or other fans, keep your hands to yourself and don’t interfere with other fans’ ability to enjoy the events they came to see. That’s what my second paragraph alluded to. Holding a newspaper up and pretending to not watch the other team (yes, pretending… look at the pictures, most were still watching) crosses absolutely zero of those lines. Unclench and let them be fans in their own way.
At the end of the day, if people want collegiate gymnastics or gymnastics in general to have broader support, better media coverage, and more funding, then the general sports fan and team loyalists need to be interested in attending and watching. If you want to watch a gymnastics competition like you’re attending a ballet or musical instead of a competitive team sport, that’s A-OK. You do you. BUT if you try to exclude people who often can’t see the difference in a 9.5 routine and the 9.9 from engaging in gymnastics like it’s a spectator sport, you should expect ESPN and the funding sources for university athletics to give it exactly as much attention as the shows put on by the school’s dance department. We’ll continue to plead for crappy webstreams for most competitions and all but the top programs will find themselves on the short lists for cuts.
I appreciate your stance hawarre, thank you. I just honestly don’t think respect and enthusiasm need be mutually exclusive as illustrated by every track, swimming and diving meet I have been to from childhood rec club meets to Olymic trials, including NCAA. Last I checked those were sports, not performing arts. Maybe my region responds differently to competition. As I said before, that is on me in that case.
Oh, there are definitely sports where crowds behave differently. I’m not saying that that makes them less of a sport. But how often are you able to watch NCAA swimming, diving, or track on any sort of national media? What’s the attendance like at regular season meets? Large crowds dominated by people who don’t have a personal connection to one of the individuals competing?
These students found a very non-disruptive (though hardly original) way to send the statement “Utah is the show we came to see, next to that nothing is exciting.” Let’s be glad they showed up to root on their home team.
I appreciate this converstation and understand your thoughts on fan engagement being an important driver in maintaining sports beyond basketball and football.
I must point out that I have been to track meets at Hayward Field with over 10,000 in the stands, including sold out crowds. Not every person in attendence is related to someone competing and it is extremely loud. The University of Oregon and the of Eugene take track quite seriously. Generally, you can find some NCAA track meet being televised depending on the season. Right now ESPN is showing the SEC Indoor Track & Field Championships.
I guess I’m not sure why my experiences with rowdy and positive crowds have been questioned as if I’m a naive individual who has never gone to a “real” college sporting event and therefore has unrealistic expectations for responsible behavior. It simply is not the case. Your expeiernce is valid, as is my own.
As I explicitly said, I’m not saying those aren’t real sports.
But I must have missed something, because I can’t figure out where “responsible behavior” came into play. My understanding was that these students held the newspapers in front of their own faces, blocking their own view and nothing else. Did I miss the part where they threw the newspapers at the beamers or something? Were the papers used to spell out obscenities or covered in porn images? Or is the assumption here that the UCLA athletes are so fragile that they were actually harmed by the idea that some of the people in the crowd might not have been there to see them?
This whole thing is silly. Let people get into sports in their own way as long as they’re not interfering with anything or harming anyone else. There are multiple valid ways to be a fan and engage in a competition.
Point taken, and thank you again for engaging in a good faith discussion. I should have continued to identify the behavior as disrespectful and disappointing rather than irresponsibile. And yes, Utah fans have every right to create whatever environment they want. Hopefully I’ll get to attend a Red Rocks meet and be pleasantly surprised by the community’s graciousness.
Anyone know how to watch elevate the stage more than one event at a time on this Flo stream?
I see no option to watch all 4 at once and they don’t let me have the stream on two devices at the same time.
I hope Abe Tinnifer finally makes a lineup. I could use her scores for Fantasy Gym!
Flo doesn’t do that
Thanks you.
Flo is seriously lacking for the $$ price we pay.
Agreed!
wow natalie wojcik killed it this week
I’m so glad she finally got her vault 10!
Newspaper stunt by students is nothing new. Georgia student section read newspapers during Utah’s floors 15 or so years ago. UCLA’s student section read newspapers during Utah’s floor routines 10 or so years ago. How quickly we forget and want to point the judgement at UTAH. I don’t like it – but this is a college sport and these are student sections.
Thank you! I had no idea that was a fan tatic in other sports! I guess it never caught on in my region.
I don’t have a dog in this fight but you have to feel bad for Utah. All you can ask from the judges is to be evaluated the same as the other team(s) on the floor and Utah clearly wasn’t.
On vault Kyla under rotates her vault and hops back and gets a 9.95 from a judge.
On bars Flatley and Toronjo get over scored, and Kyla gets a perfect 10 every with the super close catch on her transition from low to high bar.
On beam Kari Lee got screwed on her score. In whose world is that a 9.825? Grace Glenn outscores her with visible errors and judges throw out a 9.95 for Ross with her big arm dip and swing on her dismount and for katelyn having to redo her series and the hop on her dismount. Madison Kocian was massively overscored too. Pike at the hips, pike again, fall from beam, and a step on the dismount. She should have been an 8.8 max and one judge is giving her half a full point higher at a 9.3. I know her score didn’t count but this score was way too high.
On floor they gave Tratz a 9.875 with errors on her first 2 tumbling passes and her weird leap series. Kyla goes error free for a 9.9, but katelyn lands short on her first pass and goes 9.925.
There are a lot of examples of UCLA getting too high scores for the routines presented. And just based on the eye test, UCLA was not a 198 team tonight either.
Both teams competed well and it was a fun meet, but I feel bad for Utah because they got screwed by the judges on their home floor. Props to the fans for cheering for UCLA throughout the meet and for the standing ovation they gave Miss Val after the meet. Just looks like the judges were not going to let UCLA leave without the win tonight.
I didn’t watch the meet but if what you’re saying is true then that really sucks and shows you just how absolutely biased and out of hand judging is this season. sure, ou, Florida, and ucla are getting wildly over scored but you hope that it won’t matter come championships bc they’re being evaluated by the same judges but this meet just shows you that even when ucla and utah(or whatever team) are being judged by the same panels, ucla is still gonna get biased over scoring. so disheartening to see
Kari Lee is so underrated it’s a crime. And I miss Missy so much it is insane. Gorgeous gymnasts both.
Um… that’s insane. To the person who didn’t watch the meet, no, that’s not accurate at all (also, weird to say “disheartening to see” when you didn’t actually see it).
Scoring was largely fair. Utah got A LOT of small gifts. Especially routines that should’ve gone low 9.6s and ended up in the high 9.7s – not as noticeable because people get worked up about the 9.95s that should’ve been 9.9s and so on. But on literally NO PLANET was Utah underscored as a team. Skinner’s beam scoring higher than Glenn’s (I don’t know what visible errors you saw, btw) was absurd.
I mean, just read through Spencer’s live blog notes – he’s not a UCLA fan by any means, and you’ll see him commenting on the very high scoring of Utah throughout.
You are totally right about Kari Lee getting screwed on BB. Her beam should’ve been much much higher. It was awesome.
You can tell that Utah’s been getting underscored relative to UCLA throughout the season – RQS would’ve predicted a wider margin between the two. But they weren’t at this meet. Stop whining because the better team won.
Oh give me a break. It’s not being “underscored” when you are not performing at the standard of the other team. That’s just called being “scored.” Most of Utah’s routine’s were worse. That’s why UCLA left with the win. Because they were better.
And lay off the adulation of Utah fans for behaving like normal human beings. Sure it’s nice to clap for the opposing team. It’s not special and you don’t deserve a cookie for it.
Anonymous at 7:57am: exactly right!
By the standards of this meet, Utah was not underscored. And fans don’t get credit for not acting like jerks.
Several years ago the UCLA Fans calling out that the Utah gymnasts were “Fat”. No one really remembers it because it wasn’t harped on. Utah sneezes and suddenly they are the cause of an epidemic. It is the standard. Utah becomes the whipping boy. Yes I think there was some screwey scoring – was the outcome right – yes – but the margin was closer than the scores.
None of that is true, except that Utah fans did show class at the end of the meet.
It’s highly amusing to read fans complain about overscoring for rivals. There are always nitpicks and differing opinions. But Skinner was overscored on beam and bars as much as anyone. I’ll give her a 10 on vault but then knock down those other scores some. In the end, the scores accurately showed that UCLA is about .500 better than UT at this time.
First of all….GREAT competition. Both teams were at their recent best. Utah was good but lost it on vault and bars landings (and a little on floor).
The newspaper thing is NOT NEW. I give credit to UCLA. But it’s better than flipping the bird!
The highlight of the meet for me was the Megan and Tom hugs with Miss Val.
Sorry to re-hash this, and maybe someone said it, the newspapers were in the student section. These are college kids. As someone else mentioned, it’s about seeing your team win and maybe not so much enjoying the artistry of the sport. Check out the crazy thing kids do at basketball games.
I have attended a few meets at Utah. I will say, the student section is a fraction of the total attendance and the overwhelming majority of fans are well behaved. I will comment that their student section is generally full and the band and cheerleaders come. It’s a college event. College gymnastics is different than elite in more than just the judging.
In the meantime, don’t forget the tagline on Spencer’s blog!
HAHAHAHAHA!!! Love that Skinner didn’t get her 10 on VT this weekend. Wojick finally got one though! Yay!
Bitch. (Shocker. It rhymes with Rich)
Did you also think it was funny that Ross gets a 9.925 for an off balance and full hop vault? For Skinner to not even be a full 10th higher than Tratz in the FX is a joke. Tratz had issues all the way through and was over scored. Skinner deserved at least 9.95. This has been all season long. Ohashi, Tratz and Frazier all over scored. Care to comment?
Newspapers were funny. This is college sports. Rivalry and fan participation is good for the sport. We want more college gymnastics teams not less. And having an engaged, energized fan base fills seats. Good, harmless fun.
Yes, those unsportsmanlike Utah fans – are you freaking kidding me? It’s like you’ve never seen a college sporting event in your life. No wonder gymnastics is fast becoming a sport no one watches and colleges are considering dropping…due to lack of interest. It’s “fans” like you who want to go watch a children’s recital or Miss America pageant where we’re just soooo happy to be even be considered for a score from some judges. But we really just hope everyone does well and no one trips on their evening gown oh and world peace, definitely world peace . Heck, never mind, even the Miss USA pageant has more rabid fans screaming in the audience for their favored contestant than this gymnastics community would allow. It’s frankly naive and doing a disservice to NCAA gymnastics to act like some of these comments are suggesting we should act. If you want to clap politely and cheer for everyone, go see a musical or a play. Skip the sporting events.
But for those that think what the Utah fans did was out of line, maybe go to another sporting event at pretty much any university. How many times have you seen gymnastics fans rush the podium after a particularly thrilling win? How many times have you seen fans literally yelling every time the opposing team has possession? How many times have you seen fans tailgate before a meet? Look up all the antics that Stanford’s marching band has pulled at football games. Look up what the woo pig sooie chant that Arkansas fans yell. Look up the boomer sooner chant. Look up the Cameron Crazies. What Utah fans did was TAME. Not saying that we should all be boorish fans but we should want students interested. We should want people invested in “their” team winning. That’s what makes things exciting.
So while all of you read a blog written by a sassy gay man* who makes fun of the ridiculousness of the sport and yassss kween yourselves in the comments section and feel good about how proper you are, maybe you’re missing the point? Gymnastics is at risk of dying because of fans like you who think you need a PhD in gymnastics to know how to “properly” cheer for your team. Any other sport has fans that will always feel like their side was cheated. Fouls were called when they shouldn’t have been. Penalty flags weren’t thrown when they should have been. Fans were yelling and passionate. But suddenly, in one sparsely watched and attended sport, suddenly we have this whole new set of rules. Yeah not happening if you ever want gymnastics to be a sport that actually is self sufficient via attendance, revenue, etc. and not a “drain” on the athletic budget that many universities consider gymnastics to be.
*said from one sassy gay man about another
wow an overreaction to an overreaction
one more and it’s a hat trick!
All comparisons to other sporting events are, quite frankly, stupid. Yelling at gymnasts can cause them to break concentration and cause injury in a way that no other sport has. Basketball and football are contact sports, and vocal fan involvement is part of the event. In other sports, like tennis, golf, and gymnastics, fans know when to STFU. Debating this issue is simply idiotic.
And college gymnastics is not losing viewers. Quite the opposite. Many schools, especially the Pac12, are breaking attendance records, and it’s being televised more than ever. But all sports, except football and men’s basketball at some schools is a “drain” on the athletic budget. Almost nothing at universities is self-sustaining, and they’re not supposed to be.
As for the Utah fans with the newspapers: I think most fans are just commenting at how lame and pathetic it looks. If Utah fans want to do that, so be it. It just reflects poorly on them. I guess it’s fun if you’re 18. (At least they didn’t flip off the athletes this time.) When Skinner or Maggie Nichols or whoever comes to UCLA, I’ll be watching, not covering my face like a drunken frat boy.
Yes, let’s compare gymnastics to those well attended sports of tennis and golf. 😂 In reality, gymnastics is a very expensive sport to maintain and meets are expensive to run. When colleges are looking at their bottom-line, these costs are most definitely a consideration.
What’s truly lame is that we have an example of program that has managed to maintain fan engagement and attendance year after year after year, and there’s an over abundance of criticism over even the slightest perceived insults. I feel like if half the energy that people dedicated to following every little thing Skinner (or her boyfriend…like really who has time for that!?) posts on Twitter, or policing what some students who are actually attending a gymnastics meet are doing (when those actions were at worst “lame”), or ranting ad naseum about who was scored more fairly by whom, was dedicated to building up the sport and trying to promote an active fan base, then we wouldn’t have to worry about colleges cutting gymnastics programs. But no, we’re going to spend our time criticizing one of the few programs that hasn’t managed to make it work. UCLA and Oklahoma for all the success and attention they’ve received in the last few years, still draw less than half the fans that Utah does. That’s what is lame and pathetic.
*has managed
Well that’s the point – it was the student section – and mostly guys. What do you expect?
“Yes, let’s compare gymnastics to those well attended sports of tennis and golf.”
I mean… millions more people watch tennis and golf than gymnastics. What planet are you living on? They’re on ESPN all the time. Tennis and golf events are a way bigger deal than even Olympic gymnastics. I don’t personally get it, but they are.
I typed out a whole long reply to your ridiculous post but then I was like, why bother arguing with someone delusional on the internet. Go Utes I guess? Everyone’s conspiring against Utah because they’re jealous? That seems like the only kind of thing you’d be willing to hear.
Was talking about college tennis and college golf. Neither of which are very popular at the COLLEGE level. Just like gymnastics is popular at the olympics but really not so much outside of it. But yes, I’m the one who’s delusional. And way to avoid addressing the other points raised.
I didn’t see any of the performances, so I don’t actually know if they were appropriate, but the Oklahoma scores at West Virginia look like a pretty reasonable range – definitely very good as befits the B-squad of the #1 ranked team but not insane.
Hope they were accurate 🙂
Does anyone know if there is a way to rewatch the pac 12 meets on their app/website like there is with the meets on espn/sec?
It was fascinating to see the actual newspapers that the Utah fans were busy reading during the meet–a local newspaper article about how UCLA was expected to defeat Utah.
The main article (linked below) read: “The Utah Red Rocks Gymnastics team is expected to lose to a powerful UCLA team in a Pac-12 match-up today. A detailed analysis by the University of Utah shows that the Utes have little to no chance of defeating UCLA today or in the foreseeable future. The Red Rocks haven’t won a National Championship since 1995, whereas UCLA has won 7 National Championships since that time.”
Newspaper Image Link:
http://oi67.tinypic.com/xppi5v.jpg
Miss Val, it’s past your bedtime again. Time to get off of the comments section. We’ll talk again when Grace and Kara and Maile are all on the same team and the cult of personality reign at UCLA is over. Classless comment. And people say Utah fans are bad…pot meet kettle?
Hahaha. Especially funny because the Salt Lake Tribune would never in a million years publish something that wasn’t Utah boosterism.
Also to the anonymous below… CHILLLLLLLL – how is that comment any more classless than what you just said? They’re making a joke. This is the internet.
Yes.
If Utah fans want to joke that they’re more interested in reading the newspaper than watching the UCLA gymnasts’ routines…fine.
If a UCLA fan wants to joke what was written in those newspapers being read…fine.
https://i.imgur.com/1nBZEff.jpg
Let’s not forget when UCLA fans called Utah gymnasts fat.
I don’t know why I’m bothering adding to this in the middle of the week, but…thoughts about UCLA line-ups. I don’t trust Kocian on beam no more. (Well, not sure I ever did) I don’t like her in the middle of the line-up. I know she’s a big name, but there’s always something wrong with her routine. When Glenn settles back, she or Nguyen should go ahead of her. Also, Tratz on floor. If you have someone as reliable as Margz first up to set the bar, couldn’t Gracie Kramer be pushed ahead of Tratz so she gets a higher score? Gracie’s so reliable. Or maybe I know nothing. Probably.