| Saturday, March 16 | Scores | Stream |
| 12:00 ET/9:00 PT – Cornell @ West Chester | LINK | |
| 12:00 ET/9:00 PT – Bridgeport @ Southern Connecticut | LINK | |
| 4:00 ET/1:00 PT – [6] Utah @ [8] Georgia | LINK | SEC+ |
| 7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Lindenwood, TWU, SEMO @ [20] Arkansas | LINK | |
| 7:30 ET/4:30 PT – Utah State @ [2] UCLA | LINK | P12N |
| 8:00 ET/5:00 PT – [9] Kentucky, [13] Boise State, Illinois State @ [18] Nebraska | LINK | FREE |
We’ve got ourselves a day. It’s Utah/Georgia, and then it’s the Val farewell. And if yesterday’s scoring was just the hors d’oeuvres, then you’re going to need a straitjacket, some valium, and six wedding cakes.
First, Utah and Georgia. A meet I’m sure will be calm and reserved and evaluated with a discerning eye appropriate for this tightly matched occasion. JK it’s gonna be a Suze-splosion.
This isn’t even Kevin Copp. REFUND PLEASE. Instead we have Colt Brohampton IV joining Cat.
“Utah Ootes.” Carol’s commentating.
Rotation 1
Magee – VT – UGA – full, great vault, super clean and a stick. Her best vault by one thousand miles – just some chest forward, little bit of legs at the end, and not as much distance as the later ones will have. 9.875
Lee – UB – Utah – shortish first hs – 1/2 turn to great height on piked jaeger into overshoot, solid – better final cast hs position – front giant 1/2 to double tuck, hop back. Good. 9.775
Ward – VT – UGA – Tsuk 1/1, a bit uncontrolled this week with a bounce back, some piking throughout, not too bad. 9.800
Dula – UB – Utah – also tightish on first hs – gorgeous jaeger as always – great toes in next cast hs – bail, pretty solid, it looked – finishes stalder to double tuck with a near stick. 9.825
Vega – VT – UGA – hop back on her full, medium size – great distance of course – some soft knees to take. 9.875 sure why not cool.
Tessen – UB – Utah, a bit close on her jaeger catch but got it – solid vertical position on bail – a short final cast hs – FTDT, absorbs the landing well. 9.850
Dickson – VT – UGA – Omel – small hop forward, good vault – the usual bit of tucking toward the end – 9.875
MMG – UB – Utah – toe on to her big deltchev, hit – solid hs position after – bail, solid – some feet here and there, last handstand not quite all the way – flings out her FTDT a little but finds the stick – 9.900
Lukacs – VT – UGA – that’s probably her best one as well – small hop but great height and a little better around, with just that little stagger that she hops and covers. 9.950
Reinstadtler – UB – Utah – gorgeous jaeger, great height and toes – legs flash apart a little on bail – nice toes in all these casts but the last one wasn’t quite up – FTDT, step back. 9.850
Snead – VT – UGA – Y1.5 – small hop forward, didn’t get the stick, only that little bit of legs at the end – pretty – 9.900
Skinner – UB – Utah – close catch on her Ray this week with bent elbows – solid bail, legs together – toe on to FTDT, stick held with a little bend. 9.900
After 1: Georgia 49.475, Utah 49.325
Georgia solid on vault – nice improvements from Magee and Lukacs in particular. Will need more landings to get this kind of score moving forward, but they’re also hosting regionals. Most of them are hopping but not fully bouncing. Utah pretty much did its usual on bars, solid landings, opening handstands got a few people.
“In SEC play.” This guy.
Rotation 2
Lee – VT – Utah – small slide back on her full this week but otherwise her usual – good layout position and open shape. 9.850
Roberts – UB – UGA – small arch on first hs – toe on to toe shap, lovely legs together – into bail, solidly done – DLO, holds the stick. They keep cutting to a trash angle in these routines, so no way to tell handstands. 9.800
Roberts – VT – Utah – full, also with a bit of a hop back this week – she has the distance on Lee, so we’ll see if they go a little higher, but I wouldn’t really. Nope. Same at 9.850.
Lukacs – UB – UGA – tkatchev, flat but hit – good hs – clear hip to nice high pak but a leg break – a little late on cast 1/2 on low – very short final cast hs – DLO, stuck. She did what she can do there. 9.825. Sure cool.
Burch – VT – Utah – a hop up in the air in place there – they all have the power and pretty open positions in the air but won’t go higher because of the landing, a little more form in Burch’s vault. 9.800
Snead – UB – UGA – lovely first hs – clear hip to tkatchev, flat but hit – arch cast hs and pulls it back – pretty bail, good handstand position – strong final cast on hb – DLO, that little pike down, stuck landing. 9.825
One of the judges went higher for Lukacs than Snead, so that’s cool.
MMG – VT – Utah – small hop forward on her 1.5, and then a little uncontrolled salute after that – bent knee deduction.
Al-Hammed – UB – UGA – good first hs – giant full to her big tkatchev, solid – bail – finishes giant full to double tuck, can’t hold the stick with a step into salute. 9.825
Skinner – VT – Utah – bounce back on her DTY this week, so she won’t be able to rise on Lukacs’s score – good leg position, just some feet – 9.925. That was a full-tenth hop, so she still got some rise in the score.
Dickson – Ub – UGA – hits her ray this week – just a little shutter in catching bail but fine – short on final cast hs – DLO 1/1, hop. 9.875
Tessen – VT – Utah – 1.5, hop back but a bit better this week – not that lunge back to the side that we’ve seen sometimes – knee deduction to take. 9.850
Oakley – UB – UGA – short first hs – higgins into excellent piked jaeger, small arch on cast hs and holds it well – hits pak – 1/2 turn on low – just missing some handstands here – FTDT, stuck. 9.925 kind of high for me.
But interesting that the scores so far have been like, normal-big-team high, more than “the judges have all the drugs and nothing matters ever” high. But we haven’t seen floor yet, so…
After 2: Georgia 98.750, Utah 98.650
Close after 2, but Georgia with an important lead. Utah didn’t stick any vaults, which impeded the opportunity to gain a lot of ground on Georgia since we know that landings are the only thing that matters. Georgia gets by with a 49.275 from its new bars rotation with Lukacs in, which they’ll take. The big routines can all do better than they did today, though.
Rotation 3
Snead – BB – UGA – bhs loso bhs, very solid – cat leap to switch to straddle, those leaps are typically the only significant deduction in her routine – punch front, nailed – 2/1, stuck. 9.875
Roberts – FX – Utah – front layout to rudi, super clean, chest up, nice leg position, controlled – double pike, small slide – switch side to wolf full, overturns the switch side a little – 1.5 to layout, controlled landing but a little short. 9.850
Dickson – BB – UGA – aerial to straddle 1/4, very well done – bhs loso series, solid and secure, extended legs – switch to split, well done – bhs 1.5 with just a little hop in place. One of her best beam routines. 9.875. Should have been differentiated from Snead’s score.
Lee – FX – Utah – 2.5, controls step out, just a touch of knees in the air, not extreme – switch to switch ring 1/2, pretty solid ring closure – front lay to front full, keeps back leg down – 2/1 to loso, pulls it out, looked like she didn’t get her usual rise into loso but worked through it 9.800
Magee – BB – UGA – straddle to straddle 1/2, good straddle positions – bhs loso series, small lean working out of it, good toe point – switch to switch side with a lean, the switch leap also had a low back leg – side aerial to full, good, small movement. More tentative than the first two. 9.875
Say it with me now, ALL THE ROUTINES ARE THE SAME.
Burch – FX – Utah – double pike, nice power, slide back – rudi, another small slide – her straddle positions are fine – 1.5 to layout uncontrolled with a large bound forward and a possible OOB. Will need to drop. 9.625
Oakley – BB – UGA – wolf single, hit – bhs loso series, small lean, good extension – aerial, solid – split to split ring jump a little more tentative this time in both the ring position and landing, check – gainer full, small hop. OK. 9.850
These last two beam routine scores have been unwarrantedly similar to Dickson’s
Soloski – FX – Utah – DLO, controlled well, lots of arch in her DLO – hitch kick to switch 1/1, almost all the way around – 2/1 with a bounce back – 1.5 to layout and nearly the same problem as Burch with a bounce forward, though she controlled it a little more. Some control problems on the final two passes. 9.850 is a gift.
Baumann – BB – UGA – side aerial to loso series, small check, mostly good – wolf hop to switch side – hit – she has a moment of knees, a moment of hesitation in the routine, but a good one, basically sticks the 2/1. 9.900
MMG – FX – Utah – piked full in, she has improved the leg separation on that skill this season, a little chest down – 1.5 to layout to front pike solidly done – rudi to straddle with that bit of travel back. Her normal. 9.900
Vega – BB – UGA – split jump mount, lovely – switch to split ring jump, small hesitation in between but I don’t expect anyone to care – aerial to split jump, exactly the same issue – positions solid – bhs loso series, hit – side aerial to full, small slide. 9.900
Some things and some elevated scores, but a more confident beam rotation for Georgia this week.
Skinner – FX – Utah – I still think it looks like she’s holding her nose at the beginning of this routine every time – double double nailed this week, good control, high – split leap 1.5, pretty much around, landing just a hair short of the full 1.5 twist – 1.5 through to 2/1, solid, just a little foot adjustment – full-in, solid. Some of her best control on the first and last passes this time. They almost went there for her. 9.975.
After 3: Georgia 148.175, Utah 148.025
Still very close but Georgia with the edge going to beam. Georgia didn’t have that .3 error thrown in on floor this week like they seem to do most weeks, so an improvement there. Utah doing fine so far but just a little flatter than normal, not finding as many landings overall on the leg events.
Rotation 4
Lee – BB – Utah – bhs loso series, no trouble – switch to straddle 1/4, also secure – beat jump to side aerial to full, stuck. Good opener. 9.900. They went there for her.
Davis – FX – UGA – 2.5, controls the step out, some legs, good power – split leap full to wolf full – this choreography is really minimal – double tuck, a tad deep on landing – 1.5 to layout to front tuck, small hop. Some of her more solid landings. 9.825
Burch – BB – Utah – bhs loso series with a larger break, leg-up wobble – double stag – aerial is smoothy done – split jump to straddle 1/4, she has improved those dance elements – step back on gainer full. 9.775
Baumann – FX – UGA – double pike, controls the landing mostly, just a little forward – double tuck, that one a little deep, neither issue large – switch ring excellent – double L, I’d give it – 1.5 to layout. Hit. 9.850
Soloski – BB – Utah – aerial to bhs series, quickly connected – hitch to switch 1/2, well short of position, exacerbated by the angle but the split jump was also short, and a check – punch front full dismount, step. 9.825 is pretty high there.
Lukacs – FX – UGA – DLO, nice and floated, controlled landing – wolf jump full to popa, good combination for her, works – whip to 1.5 to layout, short on the layout with a hop back – switch side to straddle jump – double pike, hit. 9.850
Randall – BB – Utah – just realized we missed her in the floor lineup – nice full turn – bhs loso, hit – beat jump to sheep, held securely, not a ton of closure on the sheep but fine – switch leap to split, solid – rulfova, excellent – 2/1, step back. 9.875
Dickson – FX – UGA – double arabian, nearly perfect, just a little short coming in, so that hop-present kind of looks like she had to do it to avoid a step back – 1.5 to layout – switch side to popa is excellent – double pike, bounce back. 9.925.
MMG – BB – Utah – switch to split, some back leg on both – bhs bhs loso, hit well – aerial, mostly solid, a knee – 1.5, holds the stick, a little deep. Solid routine. Only some built in moments and some not-even-a-leans. 9.950.
OK well we’re arriving at the boozy portion of the meet now?
Vega – FX – UGA – full-in, solid – 1.5 to layout, clean and straight body position – switch ring to split leap full – close on her own split leap 1.5, but that is a risky skill, or would be if we had rules – double pike, also quite solid. A good one, some minor front foot adjustments on landings. 9.900
Skinner – BB – Utah – bhs loso series, solid, the loso more extended this week too – side aerial to sissone, strong – full turn – switch to straddle, solid – double tuck, step back. Solid. 9.875.
Snead – FX – UGA – double pike, clean in the air, bounce back – wolf hop full to popa looked solid. rudi to shushunova – switch leap to cat leap – whip through to double tuck, super deep landing, crunched into a ball with a step. No fall but will be the drop score.
FINAL: Georgia 197.525, Utah 197.450
Ended up really close, but Georgia got it. Similar performances, Georgia at home, Utah not as crisp as usual. Impressed that the judges didn’t decide to go too crazy (I mean, it was still crazy, don’t get me wrong, but normal type). That was Georgia’s most composed beam and floor performance—until Snead—of the season so far, so we’re seeing the improvements there, so the fact that it’s a season-high score seems about right. In several aspects at least, that was a season-best performance.
Interesting that Georgia ended up winning because of vault, an event where I expected Utah to have the edge because of how that had been landing in recent meets, but Utah didn’t stick any vaults today.
Neither team able to make up any ground in the rankings, so they’ll stay at 6 and 8.
Meet back here for Vallapalooza?
It’s time for Miss Val’s final home meet. Too much is not enough.
UCLA going with pretty much the same lineups. This week Tratz is the odd woman out of the seven options on floor.
Will be disappointed if no one comes out riding a celebratory golden camel.
So we’re all going to need softball to no longer exist as a sport in like 30 seconds, but if not, here’s the streaming link for the online over-run coverage.
You guys, what if the scoring is like…not crazy? Oh, how I like to kid.
Well I’ve already made up lyrics to the pac-12 bonus website’s little waiting music, so that’s where we are.
WE’RE OPENING WITH VAL IN THE PARKING GARAGE.
Piano music montage. You knew it would be. This is some solid NBC 2000 era/meets Oprah action.
“Somewhere in the background, there will be a gymnastics meet.” – Jim summarizing the Miss Val legacy.
Janay Honest as the Rose Parade correspondent in the alumni section.
OK but it’s not a memorial though.
GUYS. They have renamed the floor the Valorie Kondos Field Floor Exercise.
Rotation 1
Dennis – VT – UCLA – basically sticks her full, huge as always, perhaps a little foot adjustment. 9.850. Actually reasonable. Was ready for a 9.950.
Varnadore – UB – USU – toe shap with crazy legs and full straddle – bail also with large leg break – toe 1/2 on high to front giant 12 to double tuck, nice double tuck. 9.700 is crazy high. Get ready for bars.
Hano – VT – UCLA – excellent 1.5 from her, only the little bit of knees, but she nailed the landing – maybe could be constructed as movement on the landing, but I’d say that’s bringing the heels together. 9.950
Did they just straight up skip a USU bars routine to show Randy Lane talk about Val? NOT OK.
Wright – VT – UCLA _ and she runs through her vault! Didn’t touch so gets another run – hits it on the second run – tries super hard to hold the stick but ends up with a larger lean forward and then a step. 9.775. Yeah, they had to take quite a bit for that landing adjustment.
Bullitt – UB – USU – jaeger, hit – tight hs on high – bail, collapses a little in shape on her catch – some short cast hs – DLO, small hop back. Nice shape on DLO. 9.825
Tratz – VT – UCLA – bounce back on her full, a bit larger on her bounce this week. Definitely full tenth.
Rojas – UB – USU – toe shap to bail, a bit short on bail handstand position – short on final cast – DLO, flung out and couldn’t get it around, fall. Was going to be their big score of the rotation until that because the numbers have been coming.
Ross – VT – UCLA – Kyla sits her 1.5 today. So is it going to be one of THOSE kinds of farewell/senior night meets?
Ward-Sessions – UB – USU – hits jaeger to overshoot, nice – will get some cast hs deductions – FTDT, hop back. Their most solid routine.
Kramer – VT – UCLA – still goes for the 1.5 despite going after the fall, and she hits it – step back and to the side – knees – but an important hit. 9.700
UCLA a little all over the place on vault. Hano is the one who brought it.
Beck – UB – USU – short first hs – hits Shap to pak, leg deductions – front giant 1/2 to double tuck, hop. They will have to count the low score from Tueller in the routine that was skipped so that Randy could talk.
So it’s just 49.100 for UCLA on vault. There go our hopes for a 205. From the first two vaults, it looked like it was going to be a nailed rotation where the judges would have an excuse to 10 it up, but then we had Wright running through on her first attempt, Ross falling, just the usual crazy. I mean, the appropriate amount of drama for Miss Val’s last meet. This is more fitting than some 199.
Interview with Miss Val about excellence between rotations. Excellence is excellent. That 4th place trophy. Jim held the book upside down. The usual.
This outro music is SOOOO in memoriam
Rotation 2
We’ve skipped another USU routine.
Frazier – UB – UCLA – small hesitation in first hs but good position – very solid shap to pak combination – nice legs in her shap 1/2 – arches on final cast hs but pulls it back – stuck dismount and a scream. Great except for that arch. 9.900. Here we go.
Deharde – VT – USU – full – giant bounce back out of it – pretty nice shape in the air
Dennis – UB – UCLA – toe shap to bail, strong, leg break on catch of shap but together in the air – strong final cast hs, long hold – DLO, stuck landing.
9.950 for Dennis. Kyla’s getting a 40 just for this routine.
Interview with Waller so we miss more Utah State routines. Cool cool.
G Glenn – UB – UCLA – 1/2 turn to huge jaeger, lovely – pak and peels off with a shocked expression. It was too beautiful in the air. That’s why she fell. finishes with a floaty DLO, pikes it down a little at the end with a step.
Lo. Varnadore – VT – USU – pretty clean Y1/2 with a crossover pace forward, just a touch of knees
Flatley – UB – UCLA – higgins to a lovely jaeger – toe on to bail, maybe a little rushed through that position but solid – borderline final cast hs – DLO and holds the stick – lovely toe point, a moment of handstand or two, but expect a huge one. 9.925
Le. Varnadore – VT – USU – very nice on her Y1/2, only the smallest hop, very clean, solid direction, best routine we’ve seen from USU so far.
Kocian – UB – UCLA – Stalder shap to pak, very well done, just that little leg break on pak – 1/2 turn on low – strong final cast hs, FTDT short with a shuffle forward. 9.950. Cool cool. This is more the crazy scoring I was expecting.
Ward-Sessions – VT – USU – great power on her full – small hop back – nice distance and direction. Well done.
Ross – UB – UCLA – good first hs – toe shap to bail, very smooth – toe shoot to high – excellent – AND SHE GOES OVER ON A HANDSTAND AND FALLS WHAT. Stuck DLO of course.
We’re showing the exhibition bars routine from Toronjo, which is GREAT because we never see the exhibition routines on P12N, but it’s more salt in the wound for not showing the USU routines. Making it very clear that one team here matters and one does not. And those are the kinds of things I’m supposed to say, but the TV is supposed to pretend aren’t true.
Toronjo fall on a tkatchev in exhibition.
Kyla Ross’s 9.475 with a large arch in handstand and a fall is EVERYTHING. Like not even possible but amazing.
UCLA 49.200 on bars.
After 2: UCLA 98.300, Utah State 97.100
Four 9.9s and two falls is PEAK UCLA. Two nice, nationally competitive vaults from USU to end that rotation. We wouldn’t know a lot about the rest of the rotation.
Interview with Danusia. I’ll allow it.
Rotation 3
G Glenn – BB – UCLA – bhs loso series, super smooth – aerial to split, perfect – switch to split, leaps are her highlight – gainer full, stuck. Fantastic routine. 9.950
Golison – FX – USU – front rudi, small slide back, good height – front lay to 1/2 to straddle jump, pretty comfortable for her – switch side 1/2 to popa, a little over turned on switch side but nice dance amplitude – front full to layout, a little archy, small hop. Good. 9.700
Nguyen – BB – UCLA – switch to split to beat jump, a little tentative but fine – aerial to loso combination, pretty quick in connecting – full turn, smooth – split jump 1/2 from side, a little tight on the position this week with a small lean – front full dismount with a college stick. 9.850
Leary – FX – USU – front lay to rudi, comfortably completed, bounce back – switch side to popa, pretty well around, just some feet – double tuck, chest down bounce back, just does keep it in bounds. 9.625
Kocian – BB – UCLA – bhs loso series, more solid landing this week – aerial to split jump, small pause in between – full turn, hit – switch to split with a small lean – 1.5 dismount with hop back. Still some things, but a bit more secure for her this week. 9.825.
Briones – FX – USU – front rudi, good control, a little ragged – front lay to 1/2 to lovely loso – switch side to popa, very well extended – front lay to front full, some knees and back, nice security on those landings
Flatley – BB – UCLA – aerial to loso, solid, nailed combination – side aerial, does well to absorb it without showing a real lean – small hesitation finishing her L turn into the split jump – punch front full with a fairly large hop forward. 9.850
Le Varnadore – FX – USU – full in, nice power, just a little chest down – double pike, solid landing, same with the chest a bit forward but pretty well controlled overall – switch side to popa, nice extension in those straddles – 1.5 to layout. This floor rotation is nice.
Ohashi – BB – UCLA – aerial to aerial combination with a leg-up check and a lean – switch to split with another check – bhs loso to full with a step back. That was her shakiest routine this season, and true for a lot of the UCLA gymnasts today. 9.825
DeHarde – FX – USU – big height on a double pike, nice shape, slide back – rudi to loso, well controlled – switch side to popa, a little indistinct – rudi to shushunova. Scores have been a little sluggish for USU comparatively in this rotation, but that should get up there. 9.875
Ross – BB – UCLA – bhs loso, super solid – aerial to sissone, nice and smooth – full turn with a lean check – Sam, don’t say butt – switch to split, very high – side aerial to full, stuck. Kyla’s back. One check there.
9.975 with an obvious balance check. Cool.
Ward-Session – FX – USU – gigantic open full in, fantastic, controls the landing – 1.5 to layout, the biggest 1.5 ever, but she overdid it a little and was flat on the layout with a step back – leap amplitude epic – double pike, nailed. Great routine. Shame about the middle pass. Still gets 9.925 so might have gone 10 with her last-week routine.
After 3: UCLA 147.750, USU 146.100
UCLA kind of pulled it back together on beam. I mean, they got a 49.475, but it wasn’t really a great rotation, save for Glenn at the start and Ross at the end. The middle still looked kind of all-over-the-place. Kyla got a “WE WERE TRYING SO HARD TO GIVE YOU A 10” but a great routine. Utah State got to show off on its highlight event, floor to hit 49. Last three routines were excellent there.
Rotation 4
Le Varnadore – BB – USU – bhs loso series with a check – aerail to beat jump with a slight pause in between – just a touch of knees here and there – switch to switch combo with some back leg – gainer tuck 1.5, small hop. 9.700
Frazier – FX – UCLA – full in with the slide back we’ve come to expect – nice rise into the second element of her dance combination – whip through to double tuck, solid – double pike, short with a pretty large hop forward. 9.850
Deharde – BB – USU – aerial to beat jump, nicely done, works quickly to get her connection – smooth loso series – pike jump to straddle 3/4 – 2/1, step back. 9.825
Nebraska just got a 49.600 on bars you guys. BARS.
Kramer – FX – UCLA – front 2/1 to front pike, controlled it well to get the front pike stuck despite looking a little over on her front 2/1 – 1.5 to layout, pretty – switch side to popa – rudi to stretch jump, nice, pretty much her usual. 9.925
Briones – BB – USU – hitch kick to aerial, nice – full turn, solidly done – bhs loso, smooth execution, just a small lean working out of it – beat to straddle 3/4, very solid – punch front full dismount with a bound forward. Good hit. 9.775
Tratz – FX – UCLA – she’s in the lineup instead of Dennis after all – full-in, very comfortable landing this week – 1.5 to front full, keeps her back foot down well – switch ring and split leap full very well completed – double tuck, small slide back and a swim to try to save it from being larger. Had the first two passes down well. Still goes 9.950. They’re going Kyla 10 or bust.
Ward-Session – BB – USU – huge height on loso series, some knees and a small check, great amplitude as you would expect – full turn, a little check – hitch kick to switch side with a check – double tuck, great tuck position, two small steps. 9.700
Ross – FX – UCLA – whip to double tuck, solid, keeps front foot down – 1.5 to layout, keeps herself from stepping there – split leap full to popa, a little bouncy, great positions of course – double pike, very solid landing. Let’s see now.
10.000 for Kyla. Inevitable based on everything. Same routine she has done all season.
Beck – BB – USU – full turn, solid – bhs loso, solidly done – this is the 5th routine of the lineup and Jim thinks it’s the exhibition for some reason – switch to a…something? Cat hop 1/2? indecipherable – side aerial with a small check – beat jump – front tuck 1/1, stuck
Hano – FX – UCLA – DLO, very secure landing, just a little too chest down this time – front full to 1/2 to run, bails out of the run a little bit this time – split leap full to wolf full, solid – double pike, secure. Let’s see what happens now.
9.950 for Hano from both judges.
We’re waiting for Ohashi on floor so we can hear Ohashi’s thoughts on Miss Val. Everyone’s already crying before Ohashi’s routine.
Ohashi – FX – UCLA – normal DLO this week, good control – 1.5 to 1/2 to split to front tuck, solid – switch ring and switch 1/2 look good – finishes with front full to 1/2 to drop split. Inevitable 10. We don’t need to wait for the score.
She got a 10. We’re all very surprised.
UCLA goes 49.825 on floor (not a program record). 197.575 is the final score while counting a fall on bars.
Now Ohashi is conducting the band. Everyone is hugging and crying.
Utah State finishes with 194.850, which does not help the regionals quest. In fact, that’s going to mean that USU is officially eliminated from regionals contention. I would tweet that if I loved party pooping.
Janay is trying to interview Miss Val and Val is too busy dancing. Fitting.
I hope we’re staying for the dancing and the speeches because that’s what this meet is all about.
Kentucky is easily going to hit its SEC goal mark unless it doesn’t even bother with the bars rotation.
Val doing the usual senior day thing, honoring the seniors from the other teams and talking about how they need media training. Shoutout to the celebrities in the crowd. Gotta get those clicks.
Something with Kenny Ortega and grabbing both of Ohashi’s arms and whatever.
Senior video, including the requisite one you’re like, oh yeah I remember her from the roster.
Kyla has two chemistry finals this week or something. She understands that math problems are the best way to calm down.
Nebraska is still on its way to a 180 bajillion will floor just getting started.
Genuinely, if UCLA doesn’t get a 200.6 today I will be so dissappointed.
I have my wine ready so I can just enjoy “the show” without wincing at scores
Go Utah! And GO UCLA!! Do the gymnastics that you’ve been getting scored for! (I think in most cases you are capable of it).
+1!
I can’t wait for the first 199 in ncaa.
anyone know how I can watch the UCLA meet in
canada
The Pac12 has an official stream for outside of the US on youtube!
it says not available in my country
Will the P12N international feed on youtube work for you?
Doesn’t work in Canada 🙁
Spencer’s ‘bonus’ link worked for me to watch the meet and the tributes in Canada.
Friday’s meet at Arizona allowed LSU to pass Florida for the third seed in NCAA/NQS and top spot int he SEC championship.
Love that Minnesota beat Michigan, let’s cheer for it to happen again next week at the B1G championship.
Hopefully Washington did enough to fend off Cal and clinch the evening session at Pac 12s.
which to me is such bs. its only because Florida had two less meets that LSU and still won the sec regular season championship and is the 2nd seed.
I agree that I think Florida has realistically had the better season, but the regular season championship thing doesn’t matter to me because I think the way they determine the regular season championship is dumb. Going by record (rather than average score, NQS, or average score in conference meets) doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
To be fair, Florida could have scheduled more meets if they wanted more opportunities to get a higher NQS. They made the choice to have multiple rest weeks which may help in terms of being more energetic during the postseason, but the trade off is that their NQS isn’t as high as it could be.
Ok sure, but we all know that LSU score is bonkers and should have been multiple tenths lower. Florida has been way more consistent and deserving of their scores this season (other than the OK meet).
I agree but it doesn’t matter in the eyes of the rqs. Its all about the score and the fact that lsu is ranked ahead of Florida because of one less meet makes me mad. I just hate that we have to start on a good event and end on our worst event. If we were seeded correctly we would have ended on our best event and gotten our worst event out of the way
Agree 100%. I’m on team Florida this year- they’ve far outshined LSU this season and do not deserve this seeding. Shame on the judges for the past few ridiculous LSU meets.
I’m a big LSU fan but I completely agree, Florida has looked great this year and I hope they can be their best and challenge for a championship. The overscoring for LSU has been crazy the past few weeks, sad because they had been actually getting normal scores until then.
Ending on your worst event may be a good thing. Scores tend to rise, so UF ending on vault may help them. They would always score high on bars, beam, and floor, so ending on those events might not give them that much of a bump. If Thomas or Boren nail their vaults, UF could get a huge score.
It seems to me like vault was evaluated more loosely than bars. I’ll be interested to see if that holds up through the next rotation.
Hasn’t it often seemed the other way around this season, too? Huge UB scores and vault more realistic? Weird.
I just hope scoring gets back to reality once post season starts. Not every routine deserves a 9.9 +. I just want to correct teams to win based off of performance, and deductions taken consistently across board at Conference Championships, Regionals, and Nationals. I am also not sure I think Regionals should be held at the schools. I think post season meets should be at neutral sites. With Regionals being held at LSU, Georgia, Michigan, and Oregon State. There is chance a few teams get home scoring and that should not factor in at all once post season starts.
I agree – no one should be competing at home in elimination rounds.
You’re sooooo right. LSU and Georgia get SUCH charitable home scoring and unfortunately other teams will get shafted with regionals there.
Yes, and even if you argue that they just happen to have their better meets at home and it’s not biased judging, there’s a clear mental advantage of being at home for certain teams. I think also BYU and Boise State have had big discrepancies between their home and road scores? (maybe I’m mixing teams up). For regular season, whatever, that’s just part of competing, but when you have super tight scores and your trip to Nationals can be determined by .05 or whatever, then I think the advantage is too unfair.
I don’t remember a team ever getting shafted in regionals before due to home scoring and I’ve been following college gym since around 2003. Do you have past examples or is this just more “hate in LSU and UGA” talk?
Regionals are always hosted at school sites and those sites change on a yearly basis. Your problem appears to be more with WHERE they are being held THIS season. Bet you wouldn’t complain if your favorite team was a host this season.
They’re giving away Miss Val tote bags (?) at Pauley. I sincerely hope Spencer has someone there to grab one for him.
Forget about Spencer, I want one of the Miss Val tote bags for myself. UCLA is also giving away a pack of Kleenex to the first 1,000 fans – to cry over Miss Val’s final home meet or over the crack scores handed out, I assume. 🙂
Was Skinner’s deduction the bent elbows on the Ray? (I’m not arguing; just trying to learn what to look for.)
I believe so
I agree that LSU had cracky scoring last night but I also question Florida’s strategy to have as few meets as they did. Very interested to see who wins SECs. I am concerned about home scoring for LSU and Georgia at Regionals but don’t worry, Michigan will get the Crisler deduction like they always do. That’s going to be a fascinating regional.
Michigan has had some generous scoring this year too. Past years were tight, but not so much this year.
Florida having 9 meets is completely in the coach and athletics department. They had to have known the risks involved. At least their athletes will have a chance to rest before SECs.
Apparently Georgia’s beam received the baton from LSU’s bars last night: everything is 9.875
Magee gets a 9.875 with obvious breaks. Sort of nuts
For Skinner and magee to get the same score on beam is just wrong. Skinner took a step on the landing but was solid on the beam. Magee had several bobbles and a sort of stuck landing but wit a wierd leg thing. 9.875 is way high for Magee and reasonable for Skinner
Also, the fact that Dickson and Skinner had the same score is crazy. The judges just didn’t separate routines.
Suzanne looks like the other mother from coraline. Scary
Attacks on appearance aren’t necessary.
That’s the best double double I’ve seen from Skinner. That’s the first floor routine of hers that I’ve seen this year that I wouldn’t be mad if it had gotten a 10
The way the scoring was on vault for UGA, i figured all she needed to do was stick the DTY and the 10 was guaranteed. Too bad she took a hop this week.
I’d be fine with a 10 for Skinner if only she didn’t have the one bad jump (Gogean)
Magee gets a 9.875 with obvious breaks. Sort of nuts
Judges just went relatively too low for Dickson but these two teams are so close that ranking them correctly was the top priority, so they wanted to make sure the rotation score was accurate. Which is dumb and unfair to the individuals, but the meet result is at least fair.
I’m fine with Dickson’s 9.875 on beam, but the other scores needed to be lower – Magee should have been 9.750 and Snead 9.80 (I’d even been find with a judges’ split 9.825, just enough separation from the highlight routine Dickson did).
Rachel B’s 9.90 seemed too high as well and should’ve been 9.85. I’m fine with Vega’s 9.90.
Once again Georgia wins a meet when the other team was clearly better. Sad.
I disagree. The performances were close, but UGA deserved this win. This was probably UGA’s best performance of the year, and while Utah was fine, this definitely was not their best performance and in places they seemed a bit flat.
Not really both teams were pretty even in which case the home team usually wins in all college judged sports.
Utah might’ve won the meet if they’d stuck landings on vault – Skinner would’ve had her 10 and since the landing is all that matters they likely would’ve gone more than .50 higher overall.
Of course if Utah sticks vault landings then the judges just score UGA gymnasts a bit higher on beam/floor scores.
Complete BS. UGA deserves the win in this one. It was a close meet, but UGA was the better team today.
And I say this as a neutral Big Ten fan.
I just don’t understand what the judges’ problem is and why they can’t judge every routine like it’s in a vacuum. Stop being scared to go too high for the first few routines and too low for the last few, just stop judging rotation order. That’s why we have rotations where 4-5 scores out of the 6 are the same.
Judges also need to be more afraid of going 9.95 and less afraid of 10’s if it’s warranted. The most BS scores to me are the 9.975’s because that score just shouldn’t exist. There either is a deduction or there isn’t, and if you’re using the same code of points, then two judges should be on the same page. The 9.975’s either should be 9.95 because it wasn’t perfect but it was also better than the previous 9.95’s so the judges can’t decide, or they’re worthy of a 10 because they go above and beyond all other routines but judges are too scared to go there.
I hope after the season’s over Spencer writes an article and compares different 9.875’s and 9.975’s with each other because those two scores are almost never accurate, just to show how inconsistent judging is. Not just between teams but between meets, between rotations, and between athletes in the first half vs the last half of a rotation.
I’d say judges should be more afraid of going 10 and less afraid of going 9.95. 10s should be rare, special, incredible. I think they should be more than just “no deduction” given that NCAA doesn’t take all deductions. Like 9.95 should be the “nothing to take” score and 10 should be “every single landing was stuck perfectly and this gymnast has 0 built-in form deductions.” If you have soft knees on your vault, or flexed feet in your single bar release, or knee action in your LOSO, you should never ever be getting a 10.
I hear and understand the argument that 10s make the sport exciting and fan-friendly, and therefore shouldn’t be limited to the likes of Nichols, Ross, and Finnegan on their top events, but I don’t agree with it.
I also think judges should be allowed to take 0.025 increments.
Agree with the .025 increments. Then at least every judge doesn’t have only 3-4 scores to choose from on the hit routines.
For the tens though, if it were up to me, things like flexed feet on a double pike would be disqualifying, but you also can’t decide to judge potential 10.0’s differently from the rest of the lineup. Take Skinner for example. she has straddled legs in back handsprings, flexed feet in both her double backs, ever so slightly under rotates the split 1.5 and barely hits 180 on it too, has a minuscule foot movement on the double full landing, closed hips (even slight pike) on the 1.5 step out, and landed the full in well but jumped into a lunge instead of sticking or stepping into it. Some of those things are never deductions in NCAA, but others are only noticed when the routine is a potential 10. The smaller issues are never deducted in <9.95 scoring routines, the judges only start paying attention to them when the routine has no other faults, which is not fair. So yes, Skinner's floor routine is not a 10 in a vacuum, but it should be when none of the things I mentioned were deductions in other gymnasts' routines.
I think many judges have shown restraint about giving out 10s this season – there appears to be a record number of 9.975s which means one judge at meets isn’t willing to go there.
No Florida gymnasts scored a 10 at home this season. I think only the LSU gymnasts have scored a 10 in all of the SEC.
Maggie only competed bars/beam on the regular this season and take Kate and Kyla out of the UCLA lineups and the number of 10s is reduced even more.
It would be interesting to go back and count the number of 9.975 scores across the board (gymnasts at lower level schools have received it this year) just to see. It could be a sign that the 10 trend is on a downturn and next year you’ll only see the perfect 10 on rare occasions or for emotional senior nights for Kyla/Madison, Maggie, Amelia/Rachel, Sabrina/Rachel, Maddy Korth and Skinner (if she doesn’t defer her senior year to attempt a 2020 shot).
I consider a 9.975 to be judges giving a 10 since at least one judge did.
@Sophia – yes it does seem inconsistent that lots of relatively insignificant form errors only count when you’re getting close to 10 territory. I guess I think all routines should start out of 9.95 in judges’ minds, with the opportunity of 0.05 in bonus for something truly, unusually spectacular. But I can understand why that’s a problematic way to judge, too.
I’m totally with Sophia about it being unfair to judge potential 10s from a different lens than the rest of the lineup. That makes it so that the end result is that gymnasts are punished for hitting handstands, sticking landings, having no balance checks, etc.
this!
I think the point about how 9.975s shouldn’t exist is oversimplifying it a bit. It’s not true that there simply is or is not a deduction, and that should be clear to everyone. There are some situations in which it is really hard to tell whether there was a deduction or not. Some floor passes end with a lunge that really straddles the border between controlled and uncontrolled, and it’s reasonable that two judges will think differently about it. The same can be said about a bars or beam dismount where the gymnast slides her heels together at the end, and it’s really borderline whether the movement of the feet was the kind that is permissible within the code, or whether it was actually a slide that should be a 0.05 deduction.
I would say, though, that there are far too many 9.975s that occur. I’ve lost count of the number of times someone has gone 9.975 this year when there was a clear missed handstand, balance check, hop on the landing, etc. Though it’s understandable that there will occasionally be routines where one skill was really borderline on whether or not it merited a deduction, there is no excuse for why a judge thought a routine had no deductions when the gymnast hopped 10 inches on the landing.
I completely agree, and I was definitely exaggerating a bit because the awful scoring for the Utah/Georgia meet was making me emotional lol. Of course there’s borderline things, especially when it comes to amplitude and chest position deductions. Sometimes I actually watch a routine and think it should be a 9.975. Maggie Nichols in particular has had a billion this season despite every bars and beam routine being basically perfect, but she lands with the staggered legs on every dismount that are just an inch or two too wide to be aesthetically pleasing or deduction-free. So I actually like that judges haven’t been giving her that 10 because she and her coaches realized what was being deducted and in the last meet she was trying to land with her feet much closer together.
Still, there really are way too many 9.975’s, and I’m mostly mad about the “actual 9.95 but better than the 9.9 routine that we gave a 9.95” and the “don’t see any deductions but don’t feel like giving it a 10 just because.”
I was definitely exaggerating a bit, I was angry at Utah/Georgia scores lol. There are definitely borderline things, like amplitude and chest position deductions especially. Some routines for sure deserve a 9.975 and I wish that was a score judges could give on its own. Maggie Nichols is an example of that for me. She has absolutely beautiful gymnastics, but lands dismounts with her legs far enough apart that it’s not aesthetically pleasing and and inch or two too far to be completely deduction free. I’m glad that she’s been getting 9.975’s because she and her coaches have finally realized where the issue was and in the last meet she was trying to land with her feet a little closer. I think if she keeps doing that she’ll be getting 10’s left and right.
Of course there are also the inexcusable 9.975’s with obvious faults, and I get pissed at those, but I’m mostly angry at the 9.975’s that are “actually a 9.95 but we gave the 9.9 routine a 9.95” or “there are no visible deductions but I don’t feel like giving out a ten just because,” and I think those two types make up the majority of 9.975’s.
I’m totally with you. Kyla’s beam tonight was a prime example. It was a lovely routine totally deserving of a 9.95, but there’s no excuse for why one judge gave that a 10. The check at the end of her turn was very obvious and something that is always (or should always) be taken as a deduction in NCAA. That’s not a borderline situation that is a judgment call, it’s an obvious deduction, and there is no defense for giving that routine a 10. The number of times something like that has happened this season (to athletes from many different teams) is really annoying.
Anyone know how to watch the UCLA meet if I don’t have the Pac-12 network? I’m trying to see Kyla score five Perfect 10s tonight!
I think this …? It’s not working yet, though.
http://oklivetv.com/pac-12-network-live/
Thanks for this!
Still not working for me 🙁
VPN outside of us and go on pac 12 international you tube channel – you can also rewind if you have missied the beginning 🙂
https://pac-12.com/bonus is working for me
FYI – the softball game on PAC12 is in extra innings, so be prepared to watch the start of the UCLA meet online or on the App instead of TV.
UGH of all times for the pac-12 feed to not work. UGH!!!!!
not sure why, but that link works when I use chrome on my phone so could be something else to try if you haven’t already? (it also doesn’t work on my computer)
Same … try on the phone. Doesn’t work on my computer on Chrome, IE, or Firefox.
I forgot that “Field” was VKF’s married name and was wondering wtf a “Field Floor” was.
The music makes it seem like someone died and not retiring. So dramatic.
Also, just in case anyone forgot, this is also the seniors last home meet. I wonder if they’ll ever talk about them?!?!
This music they’re playing going into and coming out of commercials is really weirding me out. It sounds like the music they play during those “in memoriam” montages.
Yes! I said the same thing, it sounds like Val is dying.
It reminds me of this time in college when they were dedicating a space on campus to an employee who was retiring at the end of the year. They hung up this plaque that said: “He was (character trait), he was (character trait).” It finished strong with: “He will be remembered forever.” I leaned over to a friend and said: “This is a nice sentiment, but it makes it sound like he died.”
I know it is popular to bash UCLA overscoring, but these bar scores for Utah State are criminal. Should all be 9.6-9.7.
They’re doing it so that when UCLA goes up, it as to be comparably higher…
The fact that they’re skipping Utah State routines to show Miss Val programming is annoying me. I want to see everyone’s routines.
I know Grace Glenn has fallen twice on that pak this year, but I really like her in the lineup over Hano and Toronjo. She is so much cleaner than they are, so if she hits that pak, she has far more scoring potential. Given the state of their vault lineup, they’re going to need every little bit they can get on the other events when it comes time for post-season.
These UCLA leos are stunning. Have we seen these before?
I don’t recall seeing them before.
Definitely new, although I’m not a fan…. look like anyother generic team. I wonder if they’re by Rebecca’s mom?
The scores were seeming reasonable… ish… and then Kocian gets a 9.95 for that.
I thought Frazier and Kocian were high.
I think the judges are trying to save the real crazy for floor.
Awww, Kyla is having A Day. 🙁
I know 🙁 she fell on that same handstand with an arch in warmups it looked like. Weird
I noticed she did that in the touch warm-up either last week or the week before as well.
I saw that during warmups as well. Odd since her handstands on bars are usually rock solid.
if you’re trying to watch from Canada, I’m getting an error message with OK live trying to watch on my computer, but it is working on my phone.
Wow! THANK YOU. I have no idea why it won’t work on my computer either, but it works on my phone. I’m in the States.
9.475 with a fall?!?! I know it’s Ross, but come on. That was not a 49.2 bar rotation.
This reverse crack is a weird ass tribute to Val 😶
So, I heard all this announcer chatter at the beginning of the broadcast about how the coaches wanted Kyla to rest on some events and she wanted to do the AA. Maybe she needed to rest.
I imagine this meet could feel like it has more pressure than some post-season meets, to the UCLA gymnasts. So much has been made about it being Val’s last hurrah – the pressure they are putting on themselves to make everything perfect for her specifically is getting to them.
so as i see it there are four layers of probable crack scoring at this ucla meet
1. ucla crack scoring
2. home meet crack scoring
3. senior night crack scoring
4. ms. val leaving crack scoring
and yup it’s confirmed – ucla 49.2 on bars counting a fall love that
Scores are high, but I don’t think Kyla’s score is too unreasonable. I thought you don’t deduct the bend, since you’re taking the 0,5 for the fall.
Apart from that, there wasn’t much to take?
I thought so too. On beam at least, you don’t deduct for attempts to save a move if the gymnast ends up falling, and I thought the same applied to arched handstands.
It seems like when post season rolls around the scores tend to even out a bit- ie: there is more critical scoring- and having more judges helps (4 instead of 2). I just hope that happens this post season and it’s not a 9.9+ fest.
It used to be when I started watching that I thought a routine was perfect and would get like 9.925 it would go 9.85 and leave me wondering about where deductions came from. Now I see visible errors and think “that’s a 9.8-9.85” and it goes 9.95. I love college gymnastics but its getting harder to watch.
I just don’t get WHY judges are going so easy. It’s not like the coaches and athletes got together and said “Hey judges, your scores hurt our feelings and self esteem.” It’s almost as if judges know 10’s get college gymnastics attention from non-gym fans- to increase ratings and crowds. But it’s not a circus or a performance. It’s a competition- a meet- it’s starting to not even feel like watching a sport.
I’ve been feeling the same way about my scores compared to the judges’. I’m still not super accurate, especially for lower scoring routines and vault because I see where the deductions would come from but am not sure if it’s a .05, .1, or .2 deduction. However, I do get frustrated when I see a bar routine with for example a somewhat close catch on a jaeger, slight arch on the bail handstand, and a lean to hold the stick on the dismount, and I think ‘3 places to deduct, so 9.85 max, but the judges are generous, so probably 9.85,’ and then the girls gets a 9.9 or 9.925. Like Spencer says, mathematically impossible scores.
Eh, I don’t so much have a problem with the routine you described going 9.9 or 9.925, assuming the hypothetical gymnast doesn’t have any other built-in deductions. All of those things are really borderline (depending upon how much she leaned to hold the stick). When there are multiple borderline deductions/non-deductions in a routine, they pretty much never take every single one as a deduction, but they really should take at least one. How many exactly they decide to take is a judgment call. I’m far more bothered by how often there are multiple very clear deductions, and then you can tell by the score that not all of the deductions are being taken.
I disagree. It most definitely is a performance. And it certainly has increased ratings and crowds which is to the great benefit of the sport of college gymnastics.
Glad to see Kocian have a nice beam routine after the struggles she’s been having this year.
I don’t get the big issue with her score. She fell on a non-element, so her difficulty was still 10. There was basically no other deduction. So 9.45 or 9.50 seems perfectly reasonable. They aren’t going to double deduct on the handstand.
“… a hands-free routine” … “Bluetooth!”
… ?? Noooooooo.
Honestly, the UCLA beam choreography is played out! Enough with the same hand movements … wrist flick, wrist flick, finger snap (sorta), fake writing with pointer finger, fanning “it’s hot” and my favorite 🙄 the “eat ‘em up” chomp. And you can see these same “moves” in their floor routines!
Oh…and the sprinkle the fairy dust that Kyla does. 🤔
I agree. It would be fine if it were one or two athletes where that type of choreography fits their style, but forcing every gymnast to do it is crazy. It looks so forced and out of place with certain athletes (like Kocian).
Agree agree agree with both of you. This makes me cringe every time I watch them on beam, even though they’re generally doing great routines.
So a judge went 10.0 for Kyla with a great beam routine including an obviously not perfect turn? Arm wave. Means not fully controlled. Means not perfect.
I wonder if Judge #2 at UCLA is just like *sigh* all day.
I think they were so ready to give a 10 and were upset that the gymnasts kept making mistakes. So when Kyla messes up, they were just like “Ugh, whatever, someone should have a 10 on beam on Val’s last night.”
*cough cough* give the tens to grace glenn *cough cough*
It does a disservice to Glenn, who clearly had the best routine of the rotation.
Exactly. Over-scoring other gymnasts (not just talking about the UCLA meet) doesn’t let the athletes who are excellent, a level above, shine. When everyone gets a 9.875 or everyone gets a 9.9+ it tells the crowd that what everyone did was average- the stand outs can’t stand out and it’s really disgusting.
Flatley, Ross and especially Ohashi on beam with really high scores. Just watched Georgia and Utah and their beam scores were waaaaaay tighter Love a couple of Utah State floors. Really fun to watch.
Lookie what you can do:
Contact the national gymnastics judges association here:
https://www.ngja.org/contact-us.html
Maybe actually hearing from fans will do something…
I want Kramer to anchor floor next year.
Nebraska just went 49.600 on bars. Scores are high at the meet, but they had a phenomenal rotation!
Kyla’s gym slam is complete!!
“I like that the judges got into the spirit of things” (with Kyla’s 10). “And Val didn’t go to Kyla, she went to the judges and pointed to the floor asking for their signatures.” ~the obliviousness he is speaking…
Yes…that seems like something completely legit…a) judges changing the way they judge based on the meet environment and b) coaches interacting with judges and essentially thanking them for the score.
That happens in other sports! Right? Wait, it doesn’t? Oh.
Fish should have gotten a ten
I think Gracie Kramer should have had a 10 on floor as well.
She was in a weird position because her routine was better than Tratz’s 9.95 but her double lay was landed with the chest down so not perfect and not a ten. The judges had to pick and they were obviously scared to give three tens in one rotation, so both went 9.95. To be scored properly compared to the others it should’ve been a 9.975 but a judge can’t give that score.
49.825 for UCLA on floor. For all of the honoring of Miss Val and the seniors, I just want a huge shout out to Coach Jo for making this level of performance possible from this team! (Even with inflated scores, you have to admit, this is a phenomenal floor team)
The difference pre- and post-Jordyn is incredible.