Friday, January 8	Scores	Stream
7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT – [16] Missouri @ [10] Georgia	LINK	SECN
8:00pm ET/5:00pm PT – [1] Florida @ [14] Auburn	LINK	SEC+
8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT – [15] Arkansas @ [3] LSU	LINK	SECN
9:00pm ET/6:00pm PT – [12] Kentucky @ [6] Alabama	LINK	ESPNU

It’s, er, um, er, happening. A season. Of gymnastics. Or at least a day. We’ll see how far we get.

Starting us off will be Georgia and Missouri going it alone for the first hour. Among the noteworthy developments in Georgia’s release of its tentative lineups yesterday was the absence of Rachael Lukacs, which is not ideal, and the absence of Victoria Nguyen on beam, also not ideal, and the absence of Soraya Hawthorne, also not ideal. So we’ll see how floor and vault go. Dudes, we were supposed to be worried about bars. Bars.

First meets are sort of always like this as we suddenly find out who’s injured, but this year is going to be…more that.

On the Missouri lineup question, Hufendiek, whom we haven’t seen before, is making her way into both the vault and bars lineups, and Macy Orosco, the transfer from Alabama, will make her college debut in the bars lineup.

Pimp with a mask on at Georgia, so everything is fine.

GEORGIA/MISSOURI – Rotation 1

R Baumann – VT – UGA – Bridget said she’s an international elite – Yfull, pretty solid, some pike, hop in place, a bit of legs on the vault. Useful start. 9.775

Hufendiek – UB – MU – jaeger, some loose form, hit – good cast – hits bail, small pike in hips – giant full to double tuck, stuck. Good, medium. 9.725

Sheremeta out with COVID.

No scores yet, so everything is normal.

De Jong – VT – UGA – holds a solid stick on her full, pretty clear pike and not as much distance as Baumann, good landing. 9.700

Christensen – UB – MU – good giant full, Tkatchev, hit, medium height – solid bail handstand position – giant full to double tuck, stuck. Nicely done. 9.850

Nguyen – VT – UGA – college debut – now we hear she’s doing the AA. Phew. Hits a full, pretty significant bounce back, not a ton of distance.

No scores for Missouri yet. Georgia’s like, “oh, you want a score? That’s adorbs.”

Marshall – UB – MU – a bit short on first hs – high jaeger with lovely flare, into overshoot – some short handstands in her – high FTDT with some crazy legs, small hop. 9.800

Magee – VT – UGA – GORGEOUS Y1.5 – stuck landing. Damn, girl. Just a little lack of distance, but that’s about all I have to take there. 9.925

Swanson – UB – MU – legs on a toe-on and again on a Shap – Pak, some legs again – FTDT, deeper landing with a pace forward. Some more leg form that earlier in the lineup, but secure and good difficulty.

Ward – VT – UGA – large bounce back on her Tsuk full today, otherwise her normal. 9.725

Patrick – UB – MU – a bit short on first hs – blind change to fine jaeger – bail, small leg shutter apart on catch – not bad on the hs – DLO, clean, small step. Good. 9.800

Roberts – VT – UGA – lands short on her Y1.5 but saves it – lunge back and some leg form in the air.

Broken finger for Lukacs.

Orosco – MU – UB – high Ray, some foot form, short hs – clean leg position on bail – better final hs – DLO, some legs apart, bounce in place on landing. No connection bonus in that routine from Orosco so it shouldn’t start from a 10, but it looks like she got a big score? 9.850.

Waiting on final socres in this rotation, but overall stronger than I expected from the first COVID-year rotation. This looked mostly like a normal first-meet kind of rotation. Some 9.7y and 9.8y gymnastics. Big highlight was the excellent Y1.5 from Magee. Her 9.925 was by far the best score of the rotation, and I’d say it was a realistic number for that.

Live scores already broken.

After 1: Missouri 49.025, Georgia 48.875

Georgia/Missouri – Rotation 2

Schreiber – VT – MU – large bounce back on her full, not a ton of distance – 9.600

Cashman – UB – UGA – small arch in first hs – pulls it back – hits tkatchev – nice vertical position in bail – some short casts – DLO slightly flat but fine, small step forward. 9.750

Hufendiek – VT – MU – very slow run but gets solid distance on her full, lands with chest down, small shuffle back. 9.600

Schild sporting the bionic knee – UB – UGA – good first hs – Ray, just a tad close – lovely toes as always – leg break in bail – finishes with a struggle DLO – very hollow position, too hollow, and lands short – possible hand brush on the mat, large lunge regardless. 9.600. On replay, however, that looks more like a real fall. My bad. That should have been called a fall.

Marshall – Vt – MU – big Yfull – much better amplitude than the first two – slight piking, bounce back. 9.700

I think Bridget thinks everyone was an elite.

De Jong – UB – UGA – toe on to ray ray, good distance from bar – one short handstand – DLO higher and pretty in the air, slide back. 9.850 pretty high.

McCrary – VT – MU – Just the full from her today – some clear piking – shuffle backward – 9.700

Roberts – UB – UGA – good toe full to Maloney to bail, nice vertical position in air – small arch in final cast hs – DLO with small movement. Best so far.

Swanson – VT – MU – lands a bit short on her Y1.5, step backward to hold it – a bit deep in landing – potential in that vault. 9.700

Nguyen – UB – Georgia – pak, lovely height, a bit of feet apart – maloney to inbar gienger, nice, small leg break on catch – floaty DLO with a near stick. Pretty work. 9.950 is far too high for that, though.

Gottula won’t vault. Missouri going with five.

Oakley – UB – UGA – bind to pretty piked jaeger, a little short on handstand – pak – lots of handstanding on the low bar – a bit short on handstand on high – FTDT, solid landing – she’ll get there, a little handstand rusty in this first set. 9.900 is a lot.

That second rotation was a bit more of what I expected from this meet, although the scoring and those last couple performances will save Georgia there. Missouri in preseason mode with a lot of those fulls for 9.6s and 9.7s.

After 2: Georgia 98.200, Missouri 97.325

Just a 48.300 for Missouri on vault, so will be tough for Missouri to recover a team score from that. Georgia goes 49.325 on bars, which is a charitable number, but also Georgia is going to be feeling a lot better about things with Nguyen in that lineup. Clear highlight of the 2nd rotation in this meet.

Rotation 3

Magee – BB – UGA – straddle jump to straddle 1/2, pretty extension – bhs bhs loso series, good toe point, very smooth – just wish she got a better position in the lineup this year – 1.5 dismount, bounce forward, but good one. 9.850

Gottula – FX – MU – “PERSONALITY” – secure double tuck landing – 1/2 to rudi – some raggedy legs, a bit low on that 1/2 – double pike, chest down but sold it. 9.675

Perez-Lugones – BB – UGA – front tuck mount! one-arm fhs to switch to straddle 1/4, struggled on the split positions – bhs loso with a balance check – gainer full, a debut beam hit! 9.800.

“Just one of those athletes…she’s from Montana.” Oh those.

I love when coaches describe gymnasts as diamonds in the rough. I’d be like, “I mean…rough is a lot.”

Swanson – FX – MU – solid amplitude on double pike but lands a bit short with a step forward – switch 1/2 to wolf full, good finish position – front 2/1, uncertain landing with a foot slide but saves it – front lay to front full with an uncontrolled step. 9.775

Oakley – BB – UGA – single wolf – long pause before bhs bhs loso – was off line the whole time, kept it on the beam with a large leg break, nice save – another check on a jump – gainer full, hop back. Not her strongest but she stayed on. 9.675

Schreiber – FX – MU – double pike, slightly forward chest with step, good form in the air – rudi to loso, rudi has some legs, good height on loso – REALLY struggled on her leap combination, nowhere near split and borderline no credit there. 9.675

Nguyen is on beam!

Nguyen – BB – UGA – “very unique mount” – it’s a candle mount – but well done – onodi with pause for side aerial, it’s pretty but if she’s thinking that’s her acro series…it’s slow, with a pause – clean Y spin – beat to split ring jump, pretty ring – bhs 1.5, some knees, small hop. It’s gorgeous work, but I’m calling BS on that as an acro series. 9.850

Marshall – FX – MU – front tuck through to double pike, chest a bit down, bounce – kind of short on split positions – 1.5 to front pike to stag, a little low but fine – double tuck is short with a step forward. 9.800

FLORIDA AUBURN time shortly.

De Jong – BB – UGA – switch to split – the beam is 4 inches wide! – aerial, sells it into beat jump with small hesitation – bhs loso, hit – split jump 1/2 from side with an arm wave – side aerial to full dismount, supppper deep landing with a bounce back. The weakest part. 9.700

McCrary – FX – MU – front lay to rudi, small bounce, a tad soft – double pike, secure landing, chest slightly down – a bit crooked on switch side

Over to Auburn/Florida…

Hollingsworth – VT – Auburn – hits a full, large bounce back, good distance, not the most height. 9.750

Baumann – BB – UGA – large arm wavy break on her series but keeps it on the beam. 9.650.

Skaggs – Ub – Florida – gorgeous tkatchev to pak, small leg break on pak – slightly short hs on high bar – DLO had a major leg separation and a lunge back. 9.750

Smith – VT – Auburn – hits a full – piking and a hop back – not the most distance but fine. 9.800, very high

No 6th on FX for Missouri as well, counting a couple 9.675s.

Gallentine on bars for Florida – misses her toe on a toe on and has to recast, very short horizontal hs on correcting – DLO, deep landing with a large lunge forward. Will need to drop that. 9.350

Sabados – VT – Auburn – She’s vaulting – small hop back on full – like the previous vaulters, some piking and not the highest vaults. 9.850. This vault scoring is baddddddd

Lazzari – UB – Florida – good first hs – tkatchev, a little flat but good toes – pak, Nastia arch, again nice leg position – high FTDT but a struggle, lands very hunched over with a lunge back. 9.725.

Stevens – VT – Auburn – very similar to Sabados – hits the full – not a lot of amplitude, too close to the table, but works it out, hop back. 9.800

Schoenherr – UB – UF – toe 1/2 to her huge jaeger, good – just slightly loose in bail – hitting casts well – double fornt 1/2 out, just a small hop. That’s more like it. 9.825

Watson – VT – Auburn – so she’s vaulting – stays on her feet on a Y1.5, but lands very short, large lunge back. 9.775

Thomas – UB – Florida – maloney to clear hip, excellent – pak is clean – toe on to VL, legs right together – DLO, just a bit short with a step, otherwise excellent. 9.875

Gobourne – VT – Auburn – also a bit short on her Y1.5 but not as much as Watson, shuffle back. Good. 9.875

McCrary opens beam for Missouri with a hit. 9.725

Clapper – UB – Florida – hits piked jaeger – bail, holds the handstand well – giant full on high bar into a stuck double tuck – some handstands some hesitations but overall solid. 9.875

Magee for Georgia leading off floor, very strong piked full in. 9.825

After 1: Auburn 49.100, Florida 49.050

Last couple bars routines saved a rough one for Florida in the middle. Auburn hit vault, scores quite high.

Florida but up Chloi Clark in bars exhibition.

It’s a fall from Christensen in the second spot for Missouri on beam.

Austin – FX – Georgia – has the full in, high, good amplitude, lands chest forward – struggles on her split leap full position – front full to front lay, some legs – reallly short double tuck, large lunge forward to save. 9.700

Patrick – BB – MU – bhs loso is hit – side aerial, strong – woahhhhh, switch split attempt and missed her foot and falls, has to hug the beam about it – Missouri counting a beam fall now –

Hawthorne – FX – Georgia – getting in on floor, wasn’t in the tentative lineup – high double pike, bounce back – front lay to rudi to split jump, good control and twisting position – good height on leaps – double tuck is short with a lunge. Likely theme this week, short final passes.

Gottula – BB – MU – bhs bhs loso, well done – straddle jump to straddle 1/2, good straddle, 1/2 was a bit tighter – gainer full, small step. A hit. 9.775

I think you might have to die for Bridget to describe your mistake as anything but “small” or “little”

Nguyen – FX – UGA – front double full to front tuck, nice – switch ring and switch 1/2 are real – double pike, solidly done. 9.850

Payton Richards leads off vault for Florida with just a full – good landing – 9.875

Not bad from Anna Sumner starting from Auburn on bars, just some soft leg things.

Lazzari – VT – Florida – clean full in the air, small hop, not the biggest biggest but pretty. 9.900, as with Auburn, vault scores are higgggghh.

P Smith – UB – Auburn – toe on to maloney, small leg break – very clean pak but can’t handstand out of it and hops off.

Perez-Lugones – FX – UGA – high double pike, secure landing, chest a bit down – 1/2 to front lay – switch side to popa to wolf – oof struggles on her double tuck, large bounce back and OOB.

Smith resumes her routine but definitely took longer than the fall time. Not sure what happened there. 9.150.

Schreiber anchoring a rough beam rotation for Missouri with a counting fall already. Good hit from her.

Skaggs – VT – Florida – nice open on her full, prettiest of the group so far, step back. 9.900. No room to go for her because everyone else was too high.

Sabados – UB – Auburn – big amplitude on Ray – bail is short of handstand with a leg separation – DLO, whippy, bounce back

R Baumann – FX – Georgia – does her double Arabian, lands short with a step back

Schoenherr – VT – Florida – a bit short on her Y1.5 today, small hop back but not bad. 9.875

Stevens – UB – Auburn – toe on to Ray, hit, some feet – arch in handstand, pulls it back – bail is solid – short final cast hs – DLO, only a small shuffle in place. Good.

Reed – VT – Florida – huge distance on her Y1.5 as always – small step back – slightly deep landing but pretty solid overall. 9.900

Brusch – UB – Auburn – maloney to bail, a bit of legs – DLO, floaty, small step back

LSU and Arkansas is getting started now.

Thomas – VT – Florida – GORGEOUS Y1.5 – stuck landing. Based on how high the vault scores have been…9.975 for Trinity. Someone got 10 scared even though they hadn’t been conservative with any other vaults.

Gobourne – UB – Auburn – some hip angle in first hs – hits tkatchev to pak well – FTDT, stuck. Nicely done.

Brock performs a full second up for LSU on vault following a 9.775 from Arenas – much better than 101 from Brock, step back.

Florida goes 49.550 on vault. Just that. Auburn 49.000 on bars.

Rounding up a final score: Georgia 196.150, Missouri 194.250

Lovett – UB – Arkansas – nice ray – some hip angle on bail – giant full to double tuck, open position, dismount – stuck – good

Edwards – VT – LSU – very high Y1.5, so she’s back – just the usual amount of knees and a step forward. Good. 9.875

Rutz – UB – Arkansas – good first hs – tkatchev, solid height – small arch in hs – clear hip to bail, good vertical – short final cast hs – giant full to double tuck, step back. That’ll work for this lineup. 9.825

Shchennikova – VT – LSU – goes for the Y1.5 but sits it down. Landed way short, no chance to save that.

Shaffer – Ub – Ark – toe on to maloney, pretty – bail, slightly angled in the air but gets to handstand – short handstand on high – DLO, hop back

Johnson – VT – LSU – only the full today – obviously super easy for her and clean in the air, small shuffle back. 9.850

Hambrick – UB – Ark – blind to piked jaeger to overshoot, very comfortable, terrible camera angle – FTDT, holds the stick, just a bit deep. Nice work. 9.875

Bryant – VT – LSU – YES YOU DID – handspring pike 1/2, super high, great position – small shuffle back is the only thing. 9.900

O’Hara – UB – Ark – blind to jaeger, good toe point – bail, clean work – closer to handstand in her final hs than the others – DLO, shortish with a hop forward. Really composed bars rotation from Arkansas. 9.900

49.175 for LSU on vault, looked like accurate scoring to me. Arkansas 49.250 on bars. Bars is scoring looser than vault, but that was a very secure, mid-season-looking bars rotation from Arkansas. They have the ability for a strong bars season with that six.

Rotation 3 for Auburn/Florida getting started.

Watson – BB – Auburn – bhs loso series, soft back leg, hit – cat leap to side aerial, shortish but saves it with a forward foot placement – switch to straddle 1/4, fine – 1.5 dismount, small hop

Clapper – FX – Florida – double tuck, lunge back and OOB – 1.5 to layout, struggles to get layout around with some leg tucking – double pike, pulls it around, some chest position

Brusch – BB – Auburn – aerial to split jump, some feet – secure loso series

Rotation 2 from LSU Arkansas starting.

Johnson – UB – LSU – good first hs – hits maloney to bail, a little short of vertical on bail – toe on to pretty DLO. Good. 9.725. Wasn’t watching for SV and I’d assume that was it?

Johnston – VT – Arkansas – transfer from Nebraska – step back on full, some chest position.

Richards – FX – Florida – good DLO, chest up but lunge back – 1.5 to layout, clean positions throughout – double tuck, chest forward

Brock – Ub – LSU -short position on an opening 1/2 turn – hits tkatchev – some quite short handstands, which will kill the score – FTDT is good and stuck. 9.750.

Olszewski – VT – Ark – better height on her full, hop back.

A fall from Meredith Sylvia in the third spot for Auburn on beam.

Alabama/Kentucky starting

Dunne – UB – LSU – tkatchev to pak, pretty legs together – short hs on high – DLO, some form, near stick. Good.

Harman debuts on bars for Kentucky with a hit – Some form, close tkatchev – strong DLO landing.

SJS on floor for Florida, just a bit short on double tuck

Sarah Shaffer’s Y1/2 for Arkasnas was as pretty as always – stuck – and will probably get a 2 like usual.

Olsen – VT – Alabama – sticks a full, easy, some pike down. Just got out of isolation after coming from Canada.

Bryant on bars for LSU – double front, not with the 1/2 turn, step forward.

Shchennikova – UB – LSU – short first hs – Ray a bit close into Pak, fine – DLO is the usual adventure – deep landing with a large bound forward.

A Baumann not anchoring for Florida – double tuck, comfortable for her, but falls on her final double pike after a long corner pauses. Hopefullu just tired?

Hambrick anchors vault for Arkansas -, pulls out the landing on her 1.5 with some legs.

Waligora – VT – Alabama – making her debut – nicceeeee Y1.5 – just a small step and a bit of knees. That works. 9.850

LSU gets a 9.900 from Sami Durante to save the bars rotation for 49.100. Arkansas 48.925 on vault with several 9.6s and 9.7s.

Graber – VT – Alabama – biggg Y1.5 – medium lunge forward – well done. 9.875

Reed – FX – Florida – DLO, hit comfortably, she can go even higher but enough to nail the landing – front lay to rudi, also secure landing, good rise into rudi – just a bit short on switch 1/2 position – double pike, strong landing again. Well done. 9.925

Stevens – BB – Auburn – anchoring the team, trying to drop a fall – bhs loso, secure, some foot form – cat leap to switch ring, front leg a bit low – kickover to knee, hits it, small correction – 1.5 a bit short, slide back but hits

Adams – VT – Alabama – first look at her – short on her 1.5 landing with a lunge back – but a hit

Thomas – FX – Florida – huge DLO, controls the landing, keeps front foot down – front full to layout to sissone, lovely but kind of out of control on her sissone landing, covers it – double pike, bounce back. 9.950. We all love Trinity, but that is high for that one.

Angeny finishes bars for Kentucky with a stuck DLO 1/1, so that will work.

Rotation 3 with LSU ARKANSAS.

Desiderio hits her switch a nd switch 1/2, looked a little off on her loso series so did well to hit it with minimal correction – cat leap to gainer full, stuck, good. 9.875

Johnston – FX – Ark – double tuck, a bit out of control but small deduction – very secure double pike landing on final pass.

Alabama went 49.150 to Kentucky’s 49.100 in the first rotation.

Arenas – BB – LSU – bhs loso, some loose knee deductions there, secure – kickover to beat, solid – hesitates in between switch and split jump but probablyu not enough to lose credit, we’ll see- bend at the hips lean on side aerial – 1.5 dismount, hop. 9.575

Hickey – FX – Ark – double pike, large bounce back, just does keep it in bounds – back 1.5 to layout, good height on layout – double tuck, short landing with a lunge

Florida went 49.300 on floor to Auburn’s 48.975 on beam.

Rotation 2 in Alabama Kentucky now.

Bunn – VT – UK – nice high Yfull, small adjustment on landing, good –

Machado – Bama – UB – maloney to pak to toe on to van leeuwen, a bit short on final cast hs – full to double tuck, stuck. Some legs apart in that opening combo but good. 9.875

Larger break for Durante on her beam series for LSU.Possible check on dance series? I didn’t see all of it. 9.700 for her.

Graber – UB – Alabama – loses her legs in her initial cast handstand and has to come off

Magnelli – VT – Kentucky – open position on handspring pike 1/2, pretty strong, lunge back

Florida starting final rotation against Auburn.

Richards – BB – Florida – leading off now – bhs loso loso series, very secure – switch to straddle, good straddle position – side aerial full with a hop to the side. 9.875

Patterson – VT – Kentucky – she also has her handspring pike 1/2, smaller step from her –

Hollingsworth into the floor lineup for Auburn – wasn’t in the week-of lineup – hits her full out, chest well down but pulled it out

Givens – UB – Alabama – small hs hesitation on high – hits jaeger well – pak, some legs – another small back hesitation in handstand on high but good toes – DLO, hop back.

Johnson – BB – LSU – ooooff, falls on her loso series, which means LSU will be counting the 9.575 from Arenas – also a check on her switch 1/2 – check again on her kickover front –

Adams – UB – Alabama – maloney to pak, lovely legs throughout – van leeuwen, right together – nailed hs – toe full to double tuck, stagger backward on landing but the rest was ideal.

Minor check for SJS on beam for Florida on her series.

Doggette – Ub – Alabamas – huge tkatchev to pak, well done – DLO, secure landing, good leg form throughout – Adams and Doggette were excellent.

Campbell – BB – LSU – bhs loso series and another uncharacteristic check for her, lean at the hips, but keeps it on – aerial to sissone is good – switch and switch 1/2 are perfect – 2/1, short with a hop. 9.775

LSU is looking the most rattled of the teams so far, which I would not really have called. Also, this is not the beam lineup we discussed.

Lazzari – BB – Florid a- lovely loso series – switch to split, great positions – aerial, good position, a bit of hesitation – side aeerial to full, stuck, very good debut beam.

Kathy’s home interview setting is to die for.

Auburn will have to work against a fall from Sabado in the third position on floor.

9.950 for Lazzari. Well now. It was good, but scores are getting enthusiastic around here.

Meanwhile, after LSU’s 48.825 on beam, Arkansas is leading by .075 going to the final rotation.

Clapper for Florida has a large break on her loso loso series, bend at the hips but keeps it on. Still goes 9.800.

Third rotation getting started in Alabama.

Klopfer – BB – Alabama – single wolf, slightly hesitant – aerial to bhs series, keeps it going pretty quick – cat leap to side aerial, very secure – 1.5 dismount with a hop

Baumann – BB – Florida – bhs loso, good extension, very secure – switch to split, hits her 180s – aerial, small hesitation covered by arm choreography because it’s not a wobble if you have ART ARMS – switch 1/2, hit – 1.5, stuck. Very well done.

Brusch – FX – Auburn – comfortable double tuck, a little steppy on landing – back 1.5 and ooouchie, appears to have done something to her shoulder? Grabbed it while going owwww as she bailed out of the pass. Oh man, just stop. is able to double a double pike to finish, lands short but survived.

Arkansas opens the final rotation with a hit beam from Elswick.

Thomas – BB – Florida – switch split mount to split leap, well done – one-arm bhs to loso – aerial to beat to korbut, very smoothly done – side aerail to full, slides legs together, lovely. Again, they’ve been going high throughout the rotation.

OOB from Bridget Dean on floor for 9.625

Gobourne – FX – Auburn – open double tuck to start, control the landing step well – 1.5 to layout second pass – finishes double pike, another controlled step, very comfortable pass landings.

A 9.950 for Thomas on beam for Florida gives them 49.600 and a first-meet total of 197.500. So that’s a thing.

Edwards – FX – LSU – front 2/1, a bit out of control, lunge forward – front to front tuck full, unusual combination pass, a little off line with a step – double tuck, secure landing, some chest position. 9.875 is a lot for that.

FINAL: Florida 197.500, Auburn 195.725

O’hara – BB – Arkansas – side aerial to bhs, a bit loose in the knees but secure – split jump to double stag, solid – side aerial to 1.5 dismount and struggles with it – short, multiple lunges.

Fall for Gaskins in the 4th position for Alabama on beam.

Desiderio – FX – LSU – has her DLO to start and it’s quite nice, good control on landing – 1.5 to layout, also smoothly done – finishes double tuck, a bit chest down but also secure, this was a very strong showing for someone who hasn’t always been able to do full difficulty or be in the lineup.

Shaffer – BB – Ark – switch to straddle 1/4, a bit crooked on straddle 1/4 – bhs loso series, off line and can’t save it – so Arkansas will have to count the 9.700 from O’hara. Second fall on her aerial

Adamsn – BB – Alabama – coming up in 5th spot after a fall – switch to aerial, a check and sort of another check in trying to save it – bhs loso, nice and high, slight lean – comfortable wolf double – stuck 1.5 dismount.

Shchennikova – FX – LSU – Out of control on her front 2/1 landing, large lunge forward – back 1.5 to front full, crossover step – rudi is difficult as well, chest down and a stagger on landing. Not her day. 9.650 and it will have to count.

Carter – BB – Ark – hits loso series – beat jump to a pretty stag ring – aerial, small hesitation into sissone – slightly overturns full turn – hit routine. 9.750. I wonder if she lost an important connection tenth after the aerial.

Doggette – BB – Alabama – loso series hit, one foot quiver – good switch 1/2 position – side aerial to full, small step, what they needed.

Bryant – FX – LSU – double front, very strong landing – front lay to rudi, super high – switch 1/2 to popa, the leaps are the one place where you can take because they landings were all quite strong. 9.975 is too much, but she’ll get there in time.

Worley – FX – Kentucky – chest up well on double pike – front full to lay, slightly soft in the back but mostly good – excellent double tuck.

Hambrick – BB – Ark – bhs loso series, solid – swithc to switch 1/2, keeps it on comfortably – straddle jump 3/4, small arm wave – gainer full, stuck landing. 9.925

They’ll probably come up a little short of LSU, but overall a nice first-meet showing for this team. The lineups are still a little light on vault and floor, but they look like they have the end-of-lineup routines to make up for it. 196.350 is an excellent start.

Johnson – FX – LSU – easy full in, slide back – back 1.5 to layout, good layout position – high leaps – double pike, good chest position, just a little steppy.

Welp. They give Johnson a 10 despite an obviously uncontrolled full in, so we’re home I guess.

FINAL: LSU 196.550, Arkansas 196.350

Some gifts at the end to save LSU from an iffy performance, but you know, first meet.

One meet left in action: Alabama leads Kentucky by .025 going to the final event.

Or, I mean, Kentucky is up by .025 after a score change.

Harman – BB – Kentucky – full turn, solid – bhs bhs loso, off line and falls. So that’s the start. Switch to loso, another fairly significant check, bend to the side – gainer tuck full, stuck.

Klopfer – FX – Alabama – double back, small front foot adjustment – 1.5 to layout, whips over the layout, step – double pike, holds it in bounds, – 9.850

Haigis – BB – Kentucky – has to grab the beam on her loso series, nice execution, but can’t control the landing, will have to count – cat leap to aerial, smoothly executed – 1.5 dismount, step forward – 9.550

Mitchell – FX – Alabama – she competes! – double pike, bounce back – filling up on wolf jumps – finishes front tuck through to double tuck, just does pull it around. 9.850

Nixon – BB- Kentucky – better loso for her, just a small shiver – switch to split – aerial and her foot slipped all around and she falls – Kentucky coming apart at the seams on beam.

James – FX – Alabama – back after injury mid-season in 2020 – rudi, hit – switch 1/2 and wolf full are nicely done – double tuck, controlled landing. 9.800

Magnelli – BB – kentucky – I’ve been excited for this routine – bhs loso loso, good speed, small check – cat leap to switch side, a bit crooked – aerial, good height, arm wave – 1.5, step forward. Some things, lots of potential. 9.800

Gaskins – FX – Alabama – double pike, good height, a bit steppy – air guitar on her hips to Sweet Home Alabama, which is some agressive MLT legacy – well short on her double tuck final pass, doesn’t touch the floor but large lunge and low.

LOL, so apparently James got .100 off for crying instead of saluting. I’m OK because 9.800 was about the right score anyway.

9.750 from Worley on beam to help keep Kentucky from falling into the abyss

Graber – FX – Alabama – secure on her full in – double pike, also solid. 9.925.

Angeny – BB – Kentucky – bhs loso loso, fast and confident – aerial, solid – side aerial to full, stuck. really strong finish to the rotation.

Adams – FX – Alabama – double pike, comfortable pass – split leap and split jump not quite to 180 horizontal – high 1.5 but a little off line connecting it to layout, foot shuffle – double tuck, fine, small slide back.

Alabama appears to have some sort of stick Olympic torch.

Kentucky ends up sub-196 because of beam, going 195.825. Alabama’s 196.850 will be the #2 score of the day. Scoring got a little soft toward the end but it was a comfortably deep performance except for Emily Gaskins’ rough day.

So, let’s wrap up this first day:

Georgia 196.150, Missouri 194.250

Missouri had the toughest time today with incomplete lineups on vault and floor (Hu out injured, Burns out injured, Sheremeta out COVID) and a counting fall on beam.

Georgia certainly missed Lukacs, and also looked soft on vault and floor as a result, but did manage to sneak over the 196 mark, and the power of Nguyen started to show in her AA performance. Mikayla Magee’s performance was a massive highlight as well, especially that Y1.5.

Florida 197.500, Auburn 195.725

This was probably the loosest-scored meet throughout the four events, but Florida also showed the most high-level routines of any of the teams here, and Thomas is picking up right where she left off. Bars was raggedy, but beam was excellent.

Auburn lost the 196 pace on floor, where the strain on these lineups started to show, but the highlight will be the level shown by Gobourne, who was the clear star of the team on her three stronger events.

LSU 196.550, Arkansas 196.350

Whoo boy, LSU got away with one there. It was a shaky beam and first-half-of-floor meet for LSU that was saved by the performances (and scoring) of Bryant and Johnson at the end of floor. Needs more Olivia Dunne.

Arkansas nearly got there, and had some impressive moments, especially in the second half of these lineups. Still be worried about the 9.7ishness of the early half on several of these events, but going into the 196s in the first meet will suffice.

Alabama 196.850, Kentucky 195.825

Kentucky ended up a point back of Alabama because of a beam meltdown, but a lineup made up largely of “who?” comported itself well on the remaining events and gave Alabama a scare.

Mati Waligora does indeed look like a major antidote to concerns about Alabama’s depth this season. Shania Adams had a solid AA debut, and floor did well for being mostly filled with backups and not having important routines like Olsen, Doggette, or Blanco. Blanco was missing on both beam and floor, and beam even survived that.

OK time to go collapse.