Sunday Live Blog – February 14, 2021

Sunday, February 14
Scores Stream
1:00pm ET/10:00am PT – [24] Ohio State @ Rutgers LINK BTN+
2:00pm ET/11:00am PT – Temple @ Pittsburgh LINK ESPN3
3:00pm ET/12:00pm PT – Northern Illinois @ Ball State LINK ESPN3
3:00pm ET/12:00pm PT – Kent State @ Eastern Michigan LINK  
3:00pm ET/12:00pm PT – Illinois State @ Lindenwood   FREE
4:00pm ET/1:00pm PT – [10] UCLA @ Washington LINK P12N
5:00pm ET/2:00pm PT – [14] Arizona State @ [16] Cal LINK FREE

Should be a couple fun ones in the Pac-12 starting shortly. UCLA competes in Washington, and we’ll see if the strict reputation of Washington judging holds up in this week of insanity. Starting a bit later it’s Cal against Arizona State, as Arizona State tries to use this season to challenge Cal’s spot at #3 in the conference.

UCLA’s floor lineup today is…something. Taubman, Ulias, and Sakti in the lineup. No Dennis. No Campbell. No Tratz. I don’t feel safe. I don’t feel safe.

UCLA will be getting Steele back on bars this week. No Dennis there or on floor, but she will be doing vault and beam, same as Campbell, just on those two. No Sekai Wright on vault. Emma Andres is sitting in the 6th spot for vault. May be a “we’ll see if we can count the first five” situation.

LOL. My summary of the P12N opening was, “Crap, we prepped this whole thing about Nia’s floor and now she’s not doing floor.”

Rotation 1

Thomas – VT – UW – ylayout, medium step back, some piking, under control. 9.500

Kooyman – UB – UCLA – shirt first hs – maloney to pak, legs separation on both – 1/2 turn on low, short but not bad – better cast hs on high – DLO, chest down, hop forward. 9.750

Weiss – VT – UW – tsuk tuck 1/2, pretty well controlled landing, a bit short, small step. 9.650

Steele – UB – UCLA – maloney to pak, good leg position – 1/2 turn on low bar is fairly solid – gets up to vertical on final cast – DLO, some feet, lunge back. Pretty much her normal from last season on the bars. Not quite there on the dismount yet. But solid. Important to have her back. 9.725

Smith – VT – UW – ytucked full, doesn’t have the landing control today – pretty large bounce back – 9.625

Ulias – UB – UCLA – good first hs – toe 1/2 to high jaeger, good toes, but goes over on her next cast handstand and has to come off – resumes with toe on to bail, some angle in catch, small leg break – great hs on high – stalder into double tuck, lunge back. 9.225

Cunningham – VT – UW – hits her yfull, not the stick she can do with a medium bounce back this week, but good height. 9.750

Esparza – UB – UCLA – strong first hs – maloney to pak, grerat psoitions – short cast on low – hits van leeuwen well, legs together – DLO, good stick. A couple short handstand positions, great form on her value elements. 9.875

Thompson – VT – UW – holddds the tick on her yfull – great height and layout shape, major lean forward to hold the stick though with a swim and legs apart. 9.875

Dennis – UB – UCLA – maloney to bail, solid legs together – into the bars lineup after all – good final cast hs – DLO, nearly holds the stick there but bounces out into salute. 9.850

McNamara – VT – UW – round-off full on to back tuck – well off to the side of the table but holds control on her landing – step salute. 9.700

Frazier – UB – UCLA – maloney to pak, small leg break on maloney, great pak – van leeuwen, legs together – DLO, good landing, bounce up in place? 9.925.

After 1: UCLA 49.125, Washington 48.600

Three solid routines to end that rotation for UCLA. Able to drop the fall from Ulias but did have to count a couple ragged scores in the first two spots. Expect Steele’s number of get back up to her usual with a more comfortable dismount, so important to have her back.

Washington’s lowest vault number for the season so far. Thompson did well, Cunningham was pretty good and could have gone 9.8s for that. But it’s still pretty much a two-person rotation.

Rotation 2

Tratz – VT – UCLA – good full, medium bounce back, small piking in there. Solid. 9.800

Replay of SKW’s hand slipping on a cast in wamrup.

SKW – UB – UW – piked jaeger to overshoot, nice height – hit cast hs – front giant full to double tuck, hop forward. Smooth work. 9.775

Poston – VT – UCLA – handspring pike 1/2, hits it – chest well down, small hop forward, pulled it out, but not a ton of distance. 9.800

Brovedani – UB – blind to piked jaeger, hit, a little low, some feet – hits her bail solidly, legs together – short cast on high – giant full to double tuck, pace forward. 9.700

Frazier – VT – UCLA – the larger bounce back we’ve come to expect on her full, piking. 9.675. I mean it’s fair.

McNamara – UB – UW – strong first hs – blind to jaeger and falls. Drag. Really pretty form in the air on that jaeger. Resumes with pak, leg break – great cast hs on high – giant full is low into double tuck, step

Dennis – VT – UCLA – well it was an excellent full, great height and a stickkkk…….until she leaned over and literally ran away from vault. LOL. That’s one for the GIF book. 9.800. Probably at least 9.850 if she had done a normal person step.

Bowles – UB – UW – shortish first hs – deltchev to overshoot, hit, some legs on the overshoot with an awkward catch and feet on the deltchev – nice cast hs on high – giant full, late, to double tuck, stuck. 9.525

Campbell – VT – UCLA – fab yfull as always – huge, great position, smallish slide back. 9.875

Thompson – UB – UW – good frst hs – blind to jaeger, high and comfortable – bail, small arch that she had to pull back – hits cast on high – FTDT, stuck. Good work. Now that’s a college salute. 9.875

UCLA will scratch Andres on vault and count the 9.675 for Frazier. 48.950 rotation.

Wickman – UB – UW – some angle in first hs and can’t get over on her blind change attempt, swings for a second and then hops off. Resumes to do her blind into piked jaeger in a close overshoot – very short handstands – double tuck, step.

Oh Washington.

After 2: UCLA 98.075, Washington 96.475

Wickman gets out of there with a 9.000 but that will put Washington on 47.875 on bars, another season low. That’s a shame because we did see some improvements. Those final cast handstands on high bar were, for the most part, really strong and better than what the other teams are doing.

For UCLA, it was a light vault rotation without a lot of landing control and in a “we’re not going to lift you up when you’re off” scoring environment.

Rotation 3

Brovedani – BB – UW – aerial to bhs, keeps arms moving – switch through to switch to split – side aerial, secure landing – side aerial to tuck full, stuck. Confident first routine. 9.850

Andres – FX – UCLA – 2.5 to front tuck, hit with a step forward, gets a little low on her front tuck – round off double tuck, controlled step – switch – switch 1/2 to popa, not quite all the way around on her popa rotation. 9.825

Eksteen – BB – UW – aerial to bhs bhs, off line on second bhs and falls – full turn and sissone are nice – beat to sheep, short of closure there – holds the landing on her 1.5, low but solid. 9.125

Taubman – FX – UCLA – hmmm, didn’t know she was doing Pritchett’s routine – double tuck, bounce back – front lay to front full gets crazy, legs and low and a hilarious pose out of it – switch ring and switch side somewhat low but not abysmal – finishes double pike, works it out, low chest, and a step. I didn’t know she had a floor routine, so that’s something. 9.650. I think I saw a 9.750/9.550 split……

Thompson – BB – UW – solid candle mount position – switch with a hesitation into split jump 3/4, arm wave check and a possible broken SV – bhs loso series, step back and a check bend at the hips – 1.5, hop forward.

Ulias – FX – UCLA – “sassy Betty Boop” – rudi, under control on landing, just a little forward, good twisting position – swtich to split leap 1.5 attempt, good splits, not quite around on 1.5 – 1.5 to layout, good height on layout, a little slide – split leap full to split jump full gets low in the jump and a little off balance. 9.725

Cal and ASU is start. Schank with a medium slide back on a yfull. Reeves on UB with a couple leg breaks but a solid dmt stick.

Bordas – VT – Cal – similar to Schank – bigger power and good direction, bounce back. 9.850

LOL. Judges had a 10/9.6 SV split for Thompson. Long break. 9.550 for Thompson.

Thomas – BB – UW – full turn, small hesitation – kickover with a check into bhs, another sv break pause – swtich with another hesitation into straddle 1/4, another question of sv – 1.5 dismount, step. No combinations there which will hurt.

Clausi went back to the y layout full this week for Cal, 9.800.

Sakti – FX – UCLA – open double tuck, hit, just a bit forward with a step – switch 1/2 to split jump full, good positions though I don’t think she got that fully around at the end – punch front full to front tuck, very very low, just did pull the combo around, some leg crossing – double pike, hit, chest down, step forward.9.625

8.850 and a 9.2 SV for Thomas on beam. Yikers.

Mcnamara – BB – UW – bhs loso series with a leg-up break, brings it back – cat leap to switch 1/2 to beat, a little short on switch 1/2 but a solid combo – side aerial, pretty – sticks her tuck full dismount. 9.800

Wright – FX – UCLA – front full to layout, pretty solid landing, just a bit low in layout – punch rudi to double stag, good height – split leap full to split jump full, some soft knees, has to bounce it around – 1.5 to layout controls the step – her most comfortable floor of the year thus far. 9.800

Cal gets a handspring pike 1/2 out of Solari this week. A little short, chest down with a hop to the side.

SKW – BB – UW – bhs loso series, very solid – kickover, solid – switch to sissone – hit, not quite to position on sissone – side aerial to 1.5 dismount, small shuffle back. Two good hits to end that rotation.

Cairo Leonard-Baker just pike shooted her feet right into the high bar on bars. Had to extra swing.

Frazier – FX – UCLA – whip through to double tuck, pretty solid control on landing there – double pike, a bounce back – split leap full to popa to popa, did not commit to that first split leap position, short of 180. 9.900

After 3: UCLA 146.975, Washington 144.525

48.050 turns out to be Washington’s best beam of the year so far, but they had to count a fall because of the other SV apocalypse. Three good routines in there.

UCLA goes 48.900 on floor with its B team, which is pretty much they best they could have hoped for.

Elsewhere, Cal goes 49.200 on vault, led by a 9.900 from DeSouza, which is their best vault so far. A good showing. ASU only 49.075 on bars, which is not their best. Partially because they didn’t get the CLB score, also because they didn’t bring the sticks today and several people gave away a tenth there.

Rotation 4

Cal and ASu have already started their second rotation – Mangahas led off vault for ASU with a bounce back on a full, DeSouza very solid on bars as always – high piked jager, control on FTDT dismount. 9.850/9.950 split for her.

Poston – BB – UCLA – beat to split jump 3/4, secure landing – bhs loso loso, also solid, bent knees on each element – 1.5, stuck. a comfortable set. 9.850

(Andrea Li sticks her bars dismount with a little arm wave. 9.925. Well I guess Cal is glad to be home.)

Smith – FX – UW – double tuck is well controlled – rudi to a double stag and the arm waving on the stag jumps are really starring this week, some wonderful windmills – back 1.5 to layout, some soft knees. hit. 9.775

Frazier – BB – UCLA – switch to switch, wobbles and decides to take it to scale because that’s what you do with a leg-up wobble – aerial to back tuck, keeps her arms moving – side aerial, arm wave – front layout full, small slide back. 9.825

(Nice stick on a yfull for Scharpf for ASU.)

McNamara – FX – UW – switch ring 1/2, not bad on the ring position – rudi to straddle jump, straddle gets a little low – switch ring to switch 1/2, good 180s, loses her feet a little – back 1.5 to front tuck, hit. 9.600

Esparza – BB – UCLA – bhs loso series, hit with a little hesitation this time, good amplitude – switch to straddle 1/4, another little arm wave, great split positions – aerial to beat, nice – side aerial to full, nearly misses her foot on the aerial, gets a full around but a larger bounce back. Dismount struggles a couple times in a row. 9.750.

Wickman – FX – UW – attempts punch 2/1 but it’s rather short, to the point where she may not get credit – nice leap positions – 1.5 to layout, some legs apart – punch rudi, slide back. 9.775

Dennis – Bb – UCLA – smooth full turn – bhs loso series, off line and falls. 9.300

Cal opts to put Emi Watterson in for her first bars routine of the season -she falls, but with a 49.325 rotation score before that, they didn’t need a number from her. Will of course be important to have her in the lineup later on. ASU gets a 9.925 fron Anaya Smith on her Y1.5 to match Cal’s 49.200 vault number.

Thompson – FX – UW – great double tuck, high, but a slide back – split fulla nd swtich 1/2, shortish on switch 1/2 – front lay to front full – split leap 1.5, pulls it around for the full 1.5 – rudi, under control, strong. 9.900

Campbell – BB – UCLA – wolf double, loses a little rhythm but brings it around – bhs loso series, solid – switch 1/2, secure landing – swtich to split, comfortable hitting positions – gainer full, small slide. A little tentative in her work but a solid set. 9.900

Cunningham – FX – UW – front tuck through to double tuck, chest up, good pass – love her lift on her wolf elements – double pike, slide back, a little steppy on that one. 9.925.

Sakti – BB – UCLA – off on her standing loso loso so UCLA will be counting a fall on beam. This meet was pretty much going to be a drop score anyway because of vault and floor and the sparse lineups, and now it’s conrimed as such. Finishes side aerial to stuck full.

FINAL: UCLA 195.625, Washington 193.500

Rotation 3 starting with Cal/ASU now

Clausi – BB – Cal – kickover to sissone, shoulder drops working out of it witha check – bhs loso series is solid – cat leap to switch side – side aerial to tuck full, stuck. Great second half. 9.850

Reeves – FX – ASU – 2.5 with a crossover step – a little soft in body position in her middle combo pass – ring 1/2 is a struggle – rudi, controls front foot, chest down. 9.725

DeSouza – BB – Cal – aerial, smooth, hit, covers well for being a little under – bhs loso, solid – straddle jump to sheep with a check, hip angle in the sheep – 1.5, solid stick. 9.900

Clark – FX – ASU – double pike, chest up, slide back – double tuck very nice, under control – switch to switch ring 1/2 with a hop to the side and some position. I don’t think turning rings are working for them. 1.5 to layout, good, nice lift into layout. 9.825

Li – BB – Cal – aerial to beat, good, pretty – bhs loso, stays secure – just a teeny “they turned the air conditioning up a notch” sways after landing some elements – split jump to split ring to beat, small pause before beat, nice split position – gainer pike, small step. 9.850

Boyer – FX – ASU – front lay to rudi, nice work on rudi, good lift anf twisting positions, slide back – double pike, solid – split and wolf work is good – 1.5 to high layout. Strong work. 9.875

George – BB – Cal – aerial, keeps arms moving into back tuck – hits wolf – switch to split jump to beat, loses her back leg in the switch, short, which is unusual for her – gainer full, holds stick with a chest down lean. 9.825

Mangahas – FX – ASU – just does pull around her full in, but her chest on landing was lower than her knees, so some deductions there – front tuck through to double tuck, more secure – switch 1/2 to wolf full to wolf full – 9.825

Bordas – BB – Cal – hitch kick to aerial to split jump, small hesitation before split jump – bhs loso series, secure, good extension – switch to split, hits her 180s – gaienr full, slide back. Strong work. 9.8250

Scharf – FX – ASU – front tuck through to doubel tuck, very strong, chest up, quite secure – front full to front tuck with a slide forward out of it – switch 1/2 to wolf, a bit short on switch – double pike, good control there

Watterson – BB – Cal – stops her wolf turn at 1.5 with a tucked leg against the beam, and it was getting hairy in that last half turn – bhs loso series is pretty – switch to split leap, lovely 180s – cat to side aerial to full with a slide back.

Watterson got a 9.8 start and a UTL we can see from one judge.

CLB – FX – ASU – back 1.5 to front full, good work maintaining a straight shape in those twisting elements – split leap full to wolf 1.5 is quite bouncy – double pike, solid landing, chest down. 9.900

After 3: Cal 147.775, ASU 147.600

Perea in beam exhibition – good wolf double – standing back tuck to back pike, connected pretty well and hit – switch to split to beat – check standing up from being low to the beam – side somi to back tuck full, good. That’s the best it has looked. She’s getting close to that lineup. But that as her acro series truly terrifies me.

Jaslow in floor exhibition – hits 2.5 with a crossover step, rudi with a slide – front lay to front full, a little steppy.

Rotation 4

Thompson – BB – ASU – bhs bhs loso series, hit, well held because she came in a little short on loso – switch to straddle 1/4, I think low but this elevated angle also makes them look like they’re 1 degree of split – side aerial to full, small slide back. 9.800

Quinn – FX – Cal – front lay to rudi, solid landing – switch side to popa, good splits – double pike landing is quite deep, survives it, lunge back. 9.850. OK whoa. Remember when she usually does better and gets 9.775?

Mangahas – BB – ASU – kickover with a check – bhs loso series, solid, some knee bending – swtich to split, good – split jump 1/2 from side, small check on landing – side aerial to full, small hop back. 9.700

Bordas – FX – Cal – double tuck, keeps that front foot down but a pretty large lunge – 1.5 to layout, solid – switch to switch ring 1/2, that’s a more realistic turning ring – rudi, hit, small foot adjustment. Good. 9.775. Are we sure they didn’t invert those first two scores?

Reeves – BB – ASU – joining partway through because of replays – switch to split, some back leg? – aerial, keeps arms moving into her back neck injury but fairly slow – 1.5, small hop – 9.750 with a 9.850/9.650 split.

DeSouza – FX – Cal – double pike, hit, chest a bit down – switch side to popa, nice extension – back 1.5 to front full, pulls it around, good leg positions – rudi, secure landing – 9.900.

Four 9.900s for her today for a 39.600

White – BB – AS – bhs loso series with a step back – aerial with a check bend to the side – split jump to stag ring is quite nice – side aerial to full, good stick. I don’t understand 9.850 here. She had two larger checks?

Schank – FX – Cal – double tuck, controlled landing, some chest position – double pike, overcooks it with a large bounce back, nearly OOB but I don’t think so – switch side to popas, overturns her switch side to get into combination – back 1.5 to layout. 9.725

Clark – BB – ASU – bhs loso loso series very strong – switch to split, excellent positions – aerial, smoothly done – bhs to 1.5, stuck. Really nice work. 9.950. OK hello.

Clausi – FX – Cal – double pike, large bounce back, stays in – switch side to popa – 1.5 to layout, just a bit of knees – double tuck is solidly landed. 9.850

Scharf – BB – ASU – bhs loso and a major break – a lean back and then brings it back and has to do a leg-up wobble – side somi, hit – switch to split – 1.5 dismount, got no punch and falls, which will give the meet to cal.

George – FX – Cal – front 2/1 to front tuck, strong – switch ring to split leap full, perfection – I like that they integrate her back tumbling requirement into choreo so that it’s not like “hi, I have to do my layout stepout now” – rudi, solid. Nice finish. 9.950

FINAL: Cal 197.100, Arizona State 196.650

A huge score for Cal to improve that ranking. Certainly their best meet thus far, and also combined with some much loosere judging than we saw in the last meet. Much more comfortable work on all the events, especially vault and floor which looked more competitive today.

A loss for ASU, but their second-best score of the season and best road number yet, so a worthwhile result. They didn’t bars the way they can bars, which made a big difference.

80 thoughts on “Sunday Live Blog – February 14, 2021”

  1. I’m so so ready for Sara Ulias on two events!! Is there any potential lineup already?

  2. UCLA lineups:

    Vault: Tratz, Poston, Frazier, Dennis, Campbell, Andres.
    Bars: Kooyman, Steele, Ulias, Esparza, Dennis, Frazier.
    Beam: Poston, Frazier, Esparza, Dennis, Campbell, Sakti.
    Floor: Andres, Taubman, Ulias, Sakti, Wright, Frazier.

    Any surprises?

    1. OMG KALYANYYYYY!! she is my favourite, I would have thought she won’t start the season till the Utah meet just to have her ankle totally healthy

    2. So much for Waller’s hint that Tratz might do the all around vs Washington. She’s only listed for Vault!

      He also said his recent All Arounders (Frazier, Dennis, Campbell) would likely get some rest vs Washington, but Marz is still listed on all four events, Dennis on three, Campbell on two

      1. Well resting all three and still getting a useable score is pretty much impossible. I assume they may rest Marz a bit next week if needed but based on the floor lineup today, they are not super competitive without them in lineup.

    3. Floor is…interesting but I understand load management given the 3 meets in 10 days. Maybe they can figure out exactly what depth girls can slot into the first 2 floor slots by having most of them in lineup.

  3. they still play basketball on PAC-12 schedule right? or am I the only one who is looking at the wrong site

    1. I am a bit torn. I like it that they call out the mistakes without sugarcoating the biggest hop as “just a small step”, but that is peppered with a number of infuriatingly daft platitudes…

    2. Wasn’t excited about that comment but aside from that, I’m really enjoying the commentary – not afraid to call out mistaces, very nuanced from the female commentaror (whos name I didn’t catch).

  4. UCLA’s bars summary:

    Kooyman’s arm was bloody.
    Steele was rusty.
    Ulias fell from high bar.
    Esparza was Fri (pron free) flowing.
    Dennis good Ni-s (pron knees).
    Frazier out of this world like Marz (pron mars).

    1. When Ulias consistently hits her routine it’ll be UCLA’s best. The others are simply boring, safe, minimalist, and no improvement from high school.

  5. I really wish UCLA would have more single bar releases on bars. I get bored watching their bars year after year with minimal releases.

      1. I view bars routines without single bar releases similar to 2 pass floor routines — it’s ok every once in awhile when the other routine components are absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, UCLA does it way too often and it sometimes seems like a cop out. Ross and Frazier doing it — fine because the rest of the routine is difficult and done very well. But they’ve used that composition a lot over the last several years (others schools do it too).

  6. I know there are a ton of mats below them, but these full force belly flops on bars always make me wince.

    1. I probably bet nailed for this comment but UCLA should concern themselves about their gymnastics. I am a huge UCLA fan but I feel this season their concern is how popular they can be instead of how good they can compete. They are traying way too hard to be the cool girls. Especially some of the team, I don’t have to name them, you’ll know.
      Not classy

      1. Who do you think is more concerned about being cool? I see gymnasts who are getting attention for viral routines and advocacy work also doing the work to carry the team during a building year.

      2. Agree 100%. More focus on gymnastics, less focus on getting attention for “viral” floor routines (but good job, PR team) and political issues. Nothing wrong with using your platform, but at some point, that “platform” starts to look a little fluffy.

    1. I don’t get why don’t they use Sekai on vault, she is completely healthy and could score two tenths higher than Marz’s this vault

      1. This is my biggest ??? because yes Sekai’s 1.5 isn’t the best but surely this was the meet to put her in the lineup to get more experience? I understood Waller’s strategy of scratching in the first couple of meets but now it’s making me scratch my head a little.

  7. Who else on vault could potentially work into the lineup for UCLA as the season goes on?? Other than Sekai but her 1.5 is always pretty spotty…not sure this lineup can get much better though these were scored pretty conservatively compared to the crack fests of LSU/UF and Metroplex…

    1. The ideal lineup this year would have been Lashbrooke or Esparza in the first spot and then Wright, Poston, Tratz, Campbell, and Dennis. But with those first two injured they don’t have the depth to get a consistent 6th score. Flatley would be another backup Yfull option who has been out too.

      Still I am kind of sad to see Oklahoma getting a Y1.5 out of Audrey Davis or Alabama getting one from Blanco but UCLA isn’t able to get one from Campbell or Dennis. At least next year Chiles, Lee, and Moors will be very good for the vault lineup, and Malabuyo and Padurariu might contribute solid Yfulls too.

      1. Yeah UCLA needs better vault coaching, it sounded like Ross had to coach herself to her 1.5 and only got it because she was crazy driven (and quite talented despite the challenge of being a thousand feet tall).

  8. Jesse Owens was Ohio State and not UCLA.
    Jackie Robinson was UCLA.
    Common announcer error.

  9. I don’t know about you, but I love this commentator!! she is very precise and informative and comments the routine not some random background stories

    1. She can be a bit blunt, sounding purely critical. But I do appreciate she speaks accurately to each performance.

    2. Oh no. “She has THE LOOK, THE LINES”
      Just stop. She’s clearly just evaluating the gymnasts body. Yuck.

      1. If you are right, I’d prefer vocabulary that speaks directly to execution rather than anatomy.

      2. There’s nothing re anatomy, you are reading into it, her head is held high, good leaps, toes. That’s my take anyways.

      3. Your take is wrong 🙁 it would be nice if we could,d interpret those comments innocently but they’ve been code for “thin” ever since it became inappropriate to outright comment on gymnasts’ weight.

      4. Sorry, but lines and body type are important. I agree they shouldn’t have to starve for it, but there are alignment and proportion issues that make some people better suited for gymnastics than others.

  10. I don’t know if the UCLA/Washington scores feel tight because we are used to SEC fantasy scores, or if the judges really are a bit restraint in their scoring, but that’s a meet you can’t complain about overscoring.

    1. I agree. Scores are tight in comparison, but they are accurate. Now let’s get that across the board so we can really reward exceptional performances!

    2. When you have multiple routines with SVs under 10 and multiple falls, it’s tough to get the crack scoring going. If these routines were hit cleanly, scores would be higher. The PAC is not immune to overscores.

    1. I think his name is Jim Watson. He’s done PAC meets for several years now and is usually with Amanda Borden (or Sam Peszek when she did gym meets).

    2. Disagree about Utah. Maybe an occasional lift but when compared with Oklahoma, lsu, and other top teams their scores are pretty reasonable

  11. “You can maybe argue about judgeing in certain areas of the country.” The commentator is throwing some shade in the south-easterly direction…

      1. And at UCLA itself at home….

        Every big name team benefits from over scoring over the season

    1. That is gonna be rough… Although we only had the B team today, so it’s gonna be better (I hope…), but honestly, I would count it as a win if they come somewhere near Utah.

  12. Sakti last year had bad/sore elbow, so she did some hands free beam skills. Not sure if she just chose to keep that series this year regardless, or if she still has bad elbow. TV commenter also said that Sakti rather uniquely did not use her arm in a particular skill on Floor today.

    1. Utah would have to melt down for that to happen. They won’t, they are the clear superior team. So I’ll say 1% (or less) chance ucla wins.

  13. I feel like UCLA doesn’t really care about the scores this season. They know they will likely end up in the 5-8 range. Then it’s just about hitting at regionals.

    Although, they should be worried about being in the 9-12 spot and getting sent to the Utah regional as a third seed. If that happens, UCLA may be watching nationals from the couch.

    1. UCLA needs to be careful about viewing meets as throw away meets this year. Both ASU and Cal could pass them in PAC standings. They would still make session 2 because Washington, Arizona, Oregon St, and Stanford (will they even have a full team with the opt outs?) will be the bottom four. But UCLA has no business being a 4-seed at PACs with their current roster — they need to start putting it together.

      1. Plus, you never know when a meet will be cancelled due to covid issues; thus, limiting UCLA’s chances at obtaining those coveted 197s for RQS.

        They have 4 meets left in the regular season, plus PAC championships. I would think the goal would be four 197s this year for RQS, which doesn’t leave much room for error/injuries/covid.

      2. Totally agree, I wonder when UCLA is going to get out of second gear. They’re lucky that Campbell and Esparza can contribute big numbers already otherwise they’d be in even more trouble.

      3. I suppose you could say that compared to ASU roster-wise, but Cal’s roster is as stacked as ever. Once the Olympic-track athletes deferred, UCLA on paper could certainly be behind Cal this season.

      4. Honestly, it’s not that great a roster. The deferrals of Emma Malabuyo, Brooklyn Moors (on roster but not competing), Jordan Chiles, and Ana Padarariu was rough . . . plus losing Gracie Kramer, Kyla Ross, Madison Kocian, Felicia Hano, Grace and Anna Glenn, and the potential of Macy Toronjo. It’s a big shift. Next year could be a big one, though!

    1. Ha! My friend was watching Cal compete last year and her take was “They have beautiful gymnastics, but I feel like I’m watch gymnastics in slow motion.”

  14. Utah is best Pac 12 team by far… might be different if Norah Flatley is back soon but UCLA looks rough and Cal a bit under conditioned, tho choreo is outstanding.

    1. To be fair, this was a drop meet for UCLA. However they are definitely behind Utah and fighting to be in 2nd/3rd with Cal and ASU.

      With their injured & deferred roster, and then lack of training, hard to blame them. Might just be a wash of a season if they can’t starting improving next week and on.

  15. Ideal UCLA lineup for postseason:

    VT: Wright, Tratz, Frazier, Poston, Dennis, Campbell
    Bars: Dennis, Steele, Flatley, Campbell, Esparza, Frazier
    Beam: Poston, Esparza, Dennis, Campbell, Sakti, Flatley
    Floor: Andres, Tratz, Campbell, Flatley, Frazier, Dennis

    They need the VT sticks to make up for lack of 10.00 SV.

    Steele needs to be back to peak shape for UB. Need to at least stick the dismounts if they can’t get the handstands perfect. Ulias could be a good addition to UB, but very inconsistent still.

    Nervy still on BB, but they actually have good talent in their lineup. All easily capable of 9.8-9.9, just need to either stick the dismount or minimize the checks. Getting Sakti to be consistent will be key, as she can be a good anchor 9.95.

    FX is their one savior event. With Flatley back, they can actually put up a consistent 49.5-49.6 rotation, which potential upside if Campbell/Flatley/Frazier/Dennis have good landings – judges will go gaga for them.

    Major asterisk is having Flatley back and at peak shape. She provides 3 very valuable routines that the team desperately needs. If she’s only back at a minimal capacity, the team would need someone else to provide the coveted 9.9 routines.

  16. This just in…Samantha Peszek will be doing commentary for the UCLA@Utah meet Friday on ESPNU.

    (Maybe UCLA should sneak Sam into their starting lineups.)

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