Saturday, March 13 |
Scores | Stream |
1:00pm ET/10:00am PT – Penn State @ Rutgers | LINK | BTN+ |
1:00pm ET/10:00am PT – LIU @ NC State | LINK | ACCN |
2:00pm ET/11:00am PT – [7] Minnesota @ [21] Illinois | LINK | BTN+ |
2:00pm ET/11:00am PT – Ball State, Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan @ Central Michigan | LINK | FREE |
3:00pm ET/12:00pm PT – [17] Southern Utah, Air Force @ Arizona | LINK | FREE |
5:00pm ET/2:00pm PT – San Jose State @ [14] UCLA | LINK | FREE |
5:00pm ET/2:00pm PT – UW-Whitewater @ UW-Stout | LINK | FREE 1 FREE 2 |
6:00pm ET/3:00pm PT – William & Mary @ North Carolina | LINK | FREE |
In initial action today, Penn State leads Rutgers 97.875 to 97.700 after two events. Penn State did not have a great bars rotation, but picked it back up with a season high on vault to get closer to 196 pace.
LIU got its best vault score of the season against NC State, which is on track for a very high 196 after two events. Going over 196.800 would make this a top-5 all-time score for NC State. Also the ranges on these LIU floor scores have been something else.
Minnesota/Illinois time.
We’ve hit the “what if someone did bars with sunglasses on?” portion of the meet having not started yet.
Rotation 1
Mueller – VT – Illinois – hits a yfull, medium bounce back, some flexed feet and piking. 9.775
Montgomery – UB – Minn – hecht mount – blind to jaeger and falls – took that one too far out, no chance to catch – ends with a double front with 88 lunges back, weird dismount, that looked like a touch warmup double front landing that you’re not really trying to save
Biondi – VT – Illinois – good stick on her y1/2, strong vault, just some piking. 9.900 is still something. Watch out.
Hooten – UB – Minn – short first hs – blind to piked jaeger to overshoot, very good height in jaeger, some piking on overshoot – blind to double front, pulls it around, lunge back. Tentative on a couple handstands but fine. 9.650 is really tight.
Ah never mind, 9.825. That makes more sense. I was thinking like 9.800, so was surprised to see that 9.650, but it was a mistake.
O’Donnell – VT – Illinois – fairly out of control on her yfull landing with a bounce back and then an additional step to stop herself – good amplitude. 9.650
Willmarth – Ub – MN – tkatchev, hit, just a bit of feet – bail, hit – short cast hs on high – pretty solid finish position on giant full into double tuck, hop back. 9.875
Takekawa – VT – Illinois – good height – yfull – medium bounce back. 9.800
Loper – UB – MN – maloney, strong amplitude and form into pak – maybe a bit late on 1/2 turn on low bar – short cast hs on high bar – excellent giant full, pulls in a bit on doubel tuck but lands comfortably. 9.925
Townes – VT – Illinois – good Y1.5 – nearly holds the stick, small slide back – some knee position deductions, but strong work.
9.925 with a 10.000/9.850 split. ALERT. ALERT. No idea how that 10 happened. She didn’t stick.
Sales – UB – Minn – bail, good vertical position, nice toes – correct hs on high – blind to khorkina and oooof, took that khorkina very close to the bar and couldn’t catch. Minnesota counting a bars fall now. 9.100
Powe – VT – Illinois – hits a yfull, medium step back and some piking in the air. 9.800
Ramler – UB – Minn – good first hs – maloney to pak, lovely – van leeuwen, legs together – hitting her hs – toe on finishing position looked strong – FTDT, sticks it, a bit staggered with an arm wave to hold the stick. Not one of her 10-worthies, but would be fine with 9.950. 9.925. Alright.
Waight stuck a y1/2 in exhibition for Illinois.
After 1: Illinois 49.200, Minnesota 48.650
A major development there as Minnesota counts a fall. Minnesota is still looking to get rid of a 196.975 road score, which if the remaining rotations are huge, could still happen, though not by much. The hope of moving up on Cal or Utah this week is probably gone. If Illinois went 49.2 on vault, Minnesota could very well get a huge score there.
Rutgers now leads Penn State by .125. Rutgers going to floor and Penn State going to beam.
Rotation 2
Grotenhuis – VT – Minn – short landing on her yfull – chest down and a lunge forward. 9.675
Borden – Ub – Illinois – jaeger, nice, some feet, into a similarly high overshoot – front 1.5 dismount, sticks with a stagger. 9.850
Gerdes – VT – Minn – solid amplitude on her yfull but a larger bounce back – 9.800
Biondi – Ub – Illinois – good first hs – hits jaeger, some flexed feet from her as well – very minor angle in bail – a couple vertical positions to take – DLO, a little flat but very far, holds the landing, 9.925
Scores FLYING for Illinois
Hooten – VT – Minn – does her Y1.5 – lunge forward with a little extra slide, but solid form. 9.875
O’Donnell – UB – Illinois – blind to jaeger, good, better extension there – again just a slight hip angle on bail but pretty – cast hs on high with an arch that she pulls back – full to double tuck, step forward. 9.825
Quarles – VT – Minn – coach right in the way of the camera so can see literally none of it – looked like small step on her Y1.5? 9.900
Ewald – Ub – Illinois – jaeger, solid – good hs out of it – pak, solid legs together position and height – short 1/2 turn on low – hitting casts well – FTDT, bounce back. 9.875
Ramler – VT – Minn – hits her Y1.5, medium hop forward. 9.875
Mizuki – UB – Illinois – good first hs – piked jaeger, catches just a little close – short cast hs on high – some angle on overshoot to low – giant full, solid position into double tuck, deep landing with a large bounce forward. 9.825
Loper – VT – Minn – also with kind of a large hop forward on her y1.5, great form of course. 9.850
Knight – short first hs on high – blind to a solid piked jaeger – toe 1/2 to straddle back, gets to vertical well – better final cast hs on high, but missed the first couple – giant full, just a tad late into a good double tuck. 9.950
Illinois 49.425 on bars. Which is, you know, verrrryyy loose.
Minnesota 49.300 on vault, which is a very good score, but they did not get the landing control to really take advantage of how high that score could have gone.
FINAL: NC State 196.900, LIU 193.100
That is the 4th-highest score in NC State history and the highest score in LIU history.
After 2: Illinois 98.625, Minnesota 97.950
Now it’s time to get on Illinois record watch with this scoring pace. It’s basically all I do at this point. It’s the only way to cope with this judging.
Mia Townes hit beam leading off for Illinois – a check on kickover front, smooth bhs loso series – cat to side aerial to tuck full, holds stick
Koch – FX – Minn – front 2/1 to front tuck, hit, not the highest but comfortable – split leap full to wolf full, around, just a little shy on wolf position – lay full side pass – rudi, secure landing, just some leg crossing. 9.800
Borden – BB – Illinois – aerial to fhs to straddle 1/4, glorious, smoothly connected – beat to sheep jump, small adjustment – front lay full, small hop. Very nice. 9.875
Sales – FX – Minn – double pike, short lunge forward – strong straddle positions – wolf jump 1.5, pulls it around, slight lack of precision – uh oh falls on her front full final pass, no punch into that in combination
Biondi – BB – Illinois – bhs loso series, great height, hit without check, just a little foot adjustment – switch to stag ring, very nice position – side aerial, step back to correct it – 1.5 dismount, large lunge forward. 9.825
Leneave – FX – Minn – double pike, lunge back and OOB – switch 1/2 position looks nice – 1.5 to layout, takes the step right into the corner but keeps this one in – double tuck, pulls it around under control, just some cowboy. 9.700
Noonan – BB – Illinois – bhs loso series, good extension – switch to gainer loso, hit under control – beat to stag ring with a larger wobble, bend at the hips – gainer full, stuck. 9.875
Rutgers finishes with 195.525, defeating Penn St which had to count a fall on beam and got stuck with 195.325
Ramler – FX – Minn – split ring jump full, somewhat out of control on landing – double pike, nice height – switch ring, perfect obviously – switch 1/2, nice – 1.5 through to 2/1, stuck landing – 1.5 to layout, soft knees there are she pulls around the layout. 9.925
Takekawa – BB – Illinois – side aerial to bhs, hit smoothly – switch with some hesitation into gainer loso, secure landing – bhs gainer full, stuck. Great except for that weird switch leap. No one cared about it. 9.950
Hooten – FX – Minn – full in, excellent control, chest up – switch side to popa, high – front full to pike, stuck landing, super high – double tuck, solid, chest up. She overturns that switch side a little so that she doesn’t have to do the full popa, but even that is not as extreme as most people. There’s not a lot to take for her on floor. 9.950
Scott – BB – Illinois – kickover, very high into bhs – switch to split, good lift to hit those positions – cat to aerial, pretty smooth – gainer full, stuck. Another comfortable routine.
Loper – FX – Minn – front lay to rudi, lovely – switch ring to split leap full, good – 2.5 dismount, well controlled on the step – back 1.5 to layout, smoothly done on all those landings.
Scott goes 9.950 on beam as well, so Illinois goes 49.525 on beam, a program record
Illinois is now at 148.150 and needs just 49.225 on floor to set a new team score record.
Loper goes 9.925, so Minnesota did have three great scores on floor to get up to 49.300, but it’s not going to turn this into a counting meet.
Rotation 4
Koch – BB – Minn – good full turn – bhs loso series, hit pretty smoothly, just some knees – beat to split jump 3/4, struggles on that split jump, short of 180 – kickover to scale, a bit deep but works it out into that scale – 1.5, stuck
9.925. Well damn. Wait until you guys see Ramler then. You’re going to lose your shit.
Ewald – FX – Illinois – rudi to loso, comfortable landing, some elg crossing – wolf jump 1.5, around, slight slide – split leap full to jump full, again a little out of control on landing – 1.5 to front full, low but stuck . 9.825
Montomgery – BB – Minn – secure loso series – beat to straddle 1/2 to tuck jump, hits her straddle – switch 1/2, small correction – 1.5 dismount, step forward and then an odd second lunge. 9.825
Noonan – FX – Illinois front 2/1, minor slide forward – rudi, high but a bounce back – switch ring to split full – 1.5 to a well-laid-out layout, good finish. 9.875
Loper – BB – Minn – bhs loso and falls – not a good day for Minnesota – the rest was perfect. 9.275
Biondi – FX – Illinois – double pike, under control, chest up – front full to layout, also solidly controlled – switch side to wolf full – double tuck, short, chest forward and a step. 9.875
Sales – BB – Minn – bhs bhs loso, solid landing, some soft knees – switch to straddle 1/4, very nice 180 positions shown, slightly hesitation in between the two – gainer pike, stuck. 9.925
Townes – FX – Illinois – front 2/1, hit with a crossover step – wolf jump 1.5 is good, clear position and definitely around – 1.5 to front full, hit, some knee bending – split leap full to popa, again very high – 9.925
Korlin-Downs – BB – Minn – bhs loso series, lovely, well extended – beat to split jump to stag ring, great as well – side aerial to layout full, stuck. That was a treat. Stronger than the 9.925s they’ve already given. 9.925 here as well.
Mueller – FX – Illinois – double pike is a struggle, large stumble back, multiple steps – front lay to front full, some knees – double tuck is under control. 9.800 with 80 lunges back.
Ramler – BB – Minn – good full turn – bhs loso series, nicely done – aerial to beat, perfect – beat to split ring jump – side aerial to full, stuck. Excellent.
10.000 for Ramler. Yeah, it was excellent. And they basically had to because every cough got 9.950 on beam today.
Scott – FX – Illinois – front 2/1 with a slide forward – shows strong 180 positions – 1.5 to layout, great layout positions, just a little leg break in the 1.5 – rudi, nicely done. 9.975. Goodness.
Minnesota will end up on 196.850, which will not count.
Illinois goes 197,625, which is a program record, with a program record beam score as well.
Minnesota didn’t have a good one today and Illinois did. Also some truly preposterous scoring with no basis in the reality of the routines.
That will move Illinois up ahead of Georgia and into 16th place.
Let’s meet back here for UCLA/San Jose State.
Illinois score has been lowered to 197.575, so now they are tied with Georgia. Though Illinois would still be ahead on the tiebreak.
Meanwhile, Arizona has fallen to Southern Utah but did so with a critical 196.000, which will see the move into the regionals spots for the time being in 35th place, bumping Nebraska to 36th, and West Virginia down to 37th. Nebraska competes tomorrow.
OK, let’s do this. UCLA/San Jose State. The meet where Mercedes Sanchez wins bars. Right?
Looks like UCLA is going full strength on lineups today – a sign that they still REALLY need a score. Another low 197 isn’t going to cut it in today’s score-scape. Though they do have some senior-day themed exhibitions – Waller on bars and Shapiro and Tratz on beam.
So, is Norah Flatley just not happening this season? it’s getting a little late.
There are intro walks, and then there are Marz Frazier intro walks.
Rotation 1
Tratz – VT – UCLA – strong yfull, only a small rebound in place, chest a little forward. 9.875
Solomon – UB – SJSU – good first hs – maloney to bail, leg break, gets to vertical – borderline final cast hs – stalder with a pause getting it to handstand, into double tuck, step back. 9.700
So is the theme of this meet that we have to wait a whole song for each vault?
Poston – VT – UCLA – hs pike 1/2, medium slide back, chest up pretty well. 9.875.
Someone’s getting a 50 today.
Lopes – UB – SJSU – maloney to to bail, some hip angle there – pretty solid final cast hs – giant full to double tuck, holds stick with a little squeeze, good. 9.600
Wright – VT – UCLA – just does land her Y1.5, very deep and a lunge back to save it. 9.675
Sanchez – UB – SJSU – good first hs – blind to jaeger to overshoot, small leg break on overshoot – good jaeger toes – giant full, quite late, into double tuck, solid landing. Good. 9.750
Frazier – VT – UCLA – hits her yfull, lands a bit short trying for the stick, small hop forward, usual hip angle. 9.800
MacPherson – UB – SJSU – good first hs – tkatchev, pretty solid, good height – toe on to bail, legs together, slightly short but only slight – full directly to FTDT (!) with a lunge back. Lots to like there. 9.775
Dennis – VT – UCLA – only a small slide back on her yfull, very good. Expect 9.900 given those early 9.875s. Which is not enough separation, but you know, they went too high early. 9.900
Milne – UB – SJSU – maloney to pak, small leg breaks on both – a little short on 1/2 turn on low – solid cast hs on high – DLO is very good, stuck landing. Again very nice.
Campbell – VT – UCLA – she also has a hop back on her yfull but the rest of it was excellent. She goes bigger than Dennis and Dennis doesn’t get deducted for dynamics, so…9.875
Mazury – UB – SJSU – blind to paked jaeger, a little late on blind but hit – pak – took it too close and lost her entire rhythm changing direction but continued – DLO, stuck. great finish. 9.650
After 1: UCLA 49.325, San Jose St 48.725
A lot to like about that SJSU bars rotation. Pretty competitive, especially given their preparation travails.
Steele and Andres telling us about supporting trans people. BUT I THOUGHT THE TRANSES WERE COMING TO TAKE ALL TEH WOMEN SPORTS AWAYYYY.
Rotation 2
Lopes – VT – SJSU – hits a yfull, fairly large lunge back, will get deducted for chest down as well. 9.750
Campbell – UB – UCLA – good first hs – maloney to bail, some legs on maloney – a hair short on final cast hs – pretty solid control on double front, small step. 9.825
Kelperis – VT – SJSU – tsuk full…going for layout but there was some tucking/piking in there, step, hit. 9.700
Kooyman – UB – UCLA – very short first cast hs – maloney to pak, close on pak and has to muscle the handstand out of it, survives it – a bit late on 1/2 turn on low – better final cast hs – DLO, not bad on landing, a little deep. But a struggle overall. Will need to drop. 9.650
MacPherson – VT – SJSU – lunge back on yfull, mostly solid, a little pike – good distance and direction. 9.800
Ulias – UB – UCLA – good first hs – toe 1/2 to jaeger, catches a little close today but lovely in the air of course – toe on to bail, looks pretty good – stalder to double tuck, slide back. Not her most precise set but not a lot built in so should still be fine. 9.850.
Kirsch – VT – SJSU – Y tucked full – large lunge back there – also solid distance. 9.550
Esparza – UB – UCLA – a bit short on first hs – maloney to pak is excellent – good hs on low – van leeuwen, very nice – slight hip angle in final hs – DLO, stuck landing, just some legs apart. Good. 9.875
Marquez – VT – SJSU – also with a y tucked full, definitely did not look like she was going to have enough block there but she got it around, bounce back. 9.550
Dennis – UB – UCLA – good first hs – maloney, very flat, can’t really swing back out of it – tries to cast and improvise, toe on and can’t do anything with it and has to hop off – resumes and just does her dismount – DLO. Will have to count the Kooyman score now.
Orcutt – VT – SJSU – ylayout with a very large bounce back
Judges are like, we have LITERALLY NO IDEA what to do with Nia’s routine.
Frazier – UB – UCLA – rotation resumes after 80 years – good first hs – maloney to pak, hit, nice form on pak, high – van leeuwen, legs together – one short cast hs – DLO, very strong landing. Good.
Steele UB Exhibition – maloney to pak, some leg break on maloney – slides through hs on 1/2 turn on low bar, late – DLO is still a problem, deep landing, two large lunges forward, managed to not fall though
Lilia Waller will do gymnastics – UB Exhibition – giant fulll to 1/2 turn to overshoot – toe shoot to high bar – DLO onto her knees. Well it was gymnastics.
“Please enjoy this video that empowers gay rights”
ARE KALYANY AND EMMA STRUMMING UKELELES AND SINGING TOGETHER? What a moment.
Anyway I think there’s supposed to be a meet. As per usual with UCLA, it’s like the 4th-most-important thing that’s happening at any given moment.
Also the US women’s national team is out. I feel like I’ve lived 15 lives since Kyla was doing deep breathing with Nia before her bars routine.
Rotation 3
Poston – BB – UCLA – solid opening dance combo – bhs bhs loso, secure landing, some knees – 1.5 dismount, hop forward. 9.800
Marquez – FX – SJSU – 1/2 to rudi, slide back, pretty good – wolf jump full to tuck jump 1.5, somewhat indistinct in landing position – double tuck, solid landing, deep. 9.750
Sakti – BB – UCLA – standing loso loso, super high as always, solid landing – switch to split – side somi. chest a little forward but avoids a check – side aerial to full, rebound to hold landing. 9.900
Henley – FX – SJSU – double tuck, chest down, step back – switch side to popa, gets up into her straddle positions, a little under on full turn in the end – rudi to split jump, lots of travel out of it lack of control, again good height on rudi – 1.5 to layout, pretty solid, very slightly under. 9.575
Frazier – BB – UCLA – switch, correction out of it, no combo – switch again, now to split jump to get her dance combo credit – aerial to back tuck, solid – side aerial to beat jump – gainer front full dismount, hop back. 9.775
Kelperis – FX – SJSU – back 1.5 to front full, hit, a little leg crossing but well done – split leap 1.5, pulls it around – double tuck, chest well down with a stagger on landing – 9.700
Campbell – BB – UCLA – wolf turn double, good – bhs loso, small check – switch to split, good lift, hits her splits – switch 1/2, not bad position – gainer full, secure landing. A couple small adjustments but one of her more confident beams. 9.875
MacPherson – FX – SJSU – double pike, good height, slightly awkward finding her footing on the mat – switch ring to switch side, shows ring position – 1.5 to front lay – split leap to sit split like she’s the Produnova – double tuck, short landing, lunge forward. 9.750.
They’re the endurance to get those last passes away from some really strong floor routines here.
Esparza – BB – UCLA – full turn, overturns slightly – bhs loso, hit – switch to straddle 1/4, keeps the combo going but does have a lean correction switch – aerial to beat, pretty – side aerial to full, stuck, chest down. 9.825
Mazury – FX – SJSU – front lay to front full, hit, solid layout position – a little crazy landing her dance combo but got up into her split positions – double pike, chest forward but more control than the last couple. Good. 9.800
Dennis – BB – UCLA – bhs loso with a huge break and falls – is Nia OK? No? Or is this supposed to tell us that she’s not coming back next season, because she is having a senior day fall-apart. Nearly a second fall on her dismount, large lunges back.
Orcutt – FX – SJSU – back 1.5 to front full, step to the side, just does keep it in bounds – switch to ring 1/2, shows the ring, just a little low – 1.5 to layout, has to really whip around that layout to get it. 9.625
So UCLA goes just 49.175 on beam after that 49.100 on bars, which is not going to help the score quest too much. They need some clasic UCLA senior day floor business at this point.
Shapiro does exhibition on beam – bhs bhs loso series, strong – switch to switch, very good – small correction on full turn – side aerial, hit – gainer full, stuck.
TFW Nicki Shapiro’s beam exhibition is basically the best routine in the lineup.
Tratz is also doing beam exhibition – cat leap to kickover with a check, keeps it on – split jump – aerial with a sloowwwwww movement into bhs. That counts. Maybe? Switch to split is good, leaps are solid – gainer layout full, stuck.
Elsewhere, UNC just got 49.150 on vault, and today is an URGENTLY NEED A SCORE prospect for them.
Rotation 4
As much as we love watching Taubman and Waller talk, I think there is a routine happening right now
Kelperis – BB – SJSU – cat leap to side aerial, solid work – switch to switch, a little low but fine, check working out of it – punch front full dismount, hit, step back. Looks like we missed some things because she got 8.325
Andres – FX – UCLA – 2.5 to front tuck, lunge forward but pretty comfortable – double tuck, secure landing – switch 1/2 to popa, good extension – switch. Nice, her best of the season. 9.850.
Mazury – BB – SJSU – side aerial, hit – bhs loso series, minor check – beat to split jump 1/2, really nice position there – ooooof 1.5 dismount is well short, sits it. This was going to be an OK score for San Jose St for a while and now…9.150
Wright – FX – UCLA – 2.5 with a crossover step, bit of a slide – rudi to double stag, didn’t really commit to doubgle stag shape up there – split leap 1.5 to straddle 1/2, a little short of split positions – 1.5 to layout, good stick. That was her most controlled tumbling so far as well. 9.875
MacPherson – BB – SJSU – switch to split, nice position on that switch – bhs bhs loso, lovely as well, check on landing – full turn, another small correction – standing loso, hit – 1.5 dismount, step. Nice job. 9.700
Frazier – FX – UCLA – whip through to double tuck, very secure landing – double pike, slide back – split leap full to popa to popa was pretty crazy in the split leap full again. Lots to take if they want to. Can we please get her a new dance combination? 9.775
Milne – BB _ SJSU – wolf to split ring jump, pretty nice position there – aerial to beat to swingdown, smoothly connected – side aerial to full, stuck. Another very strong routine. 9.750 is tight for that. You would have given UCLA 9.850 for that routine and you know it.
Campbell – FX – UCLA – front 2/1, finds the stick on that one – split leap full to popa, good positions and very precise landings – double tuck, small movement back – front lay to front full, another secure landing, just a bit of knees at the end. Well done. 9.925
Henley – BB – SJSU – bhs loso, hit, tight position though – switch 1/2, very very short of split position – side aerial is solid – 1.5 dismount, stuck. Good acrobatically but struggled on some dance. 9.600
Tratz – FX – UCLA – double pike, a little bounce back – switch ring to split leap full, good split full – back 1.5 to layout, somewhat short on landing but controls it – double tuck, lunge back but did well to keep the front foot down. 9.925. Sure.
Sanchez – BB – SJSU – aerial, small hesitation into bhs but kept moving – full turn with a wobble, squeezes to bring it back – aerial to beat was pretty – split jump to sheep, some feet – gainer pike, small hop. 9.675 is a makeup for some of those other scores.
Dennis FX – UCLA – front loso to double tuck, a little short, step forward – front full to layout, excellent – split leap full to split jump full to straight full, looked solid – rudi with a bounce back. Well, they can’t give it a 10 now and I’m sure they’ll be disappointed about that. Still tried. 9.925. More like it from Nia, though. Comfortably hit routine.
FINAL: UCLA 197.100, San Jose St 193.575
Kind of a miracle that UCLA got to 197.100 there given how things were going in the middle. Which ties a season high. Honestly, how was this a season high? The score allows UCLA to move back ahead of Kentucky for 13th place but will keep UCLA seeded #4 for Pac-12s next week.
Did Illinois just get a score just 0.025 shy of being one point higher than their season high? And they became the 100th team to score a program record in the past 3 weeks.
Illinois deserved the win today, but those scores are crack. 197.250 is more accurate with the routines they put out today.
Yeah, agreed
Will Illinois jump Georgia?
It looks like Illinois’ score dropped a bit to 197.575, which would allow them to tie Georgia.
Is anyone else as nerdy as me and calculating the old version of the NQS, just to see if it changes things? I know it isn’t really fair, given how some teams could not start their season until later and they barely have enough scores to count, but I was curious about how much the one super high score (like Illinois just got) counting is throwing things off.
I’ve been doing obsessive calculations of the top 14ish, which includes a drop of the top score with the four counting meets (which is how NQS should have been counted this season, imo). It doesn’t have a huge impact on rankings for the top 14, but does have a big impact on actual NQS scores.
Nice to see LIU in with a 193 plus score. They are really missing Brown, Folino, and Titarsolej. Is Titarsolej out with injury? She didn’t compete the last few meets and is a game changer on UB and FX. The team could use Brown and Folino on VT, BB, FX.
Glad to see Bedminster back on VT/UB.
They are doing well enough this year all things considering. They should be able to challenge more next year.
Nobody talks about it because they’re not a top team, but for a few years now NC State has quietly had some of the wildest home scoring in NCAA.
UCLA announced lineups for 3/13/21 Senior Recognition Meet and Pride Meet:
Vault : Tratz, Poston, Wright, Frazier, Dennis, Campbell.
Bars: Campbell, Kooyman, Ulias, Esparza, Dennis, Frazier.
Bars Exhibitions: Steele, Waller.
Beam: Poston, Sakti, Frazier, Campbell, Esparza, Dennis.
Beam Exhibitions: Shapiro, Tratz.
Floor: Andres, Wright, Frazier, Campbell, Tratz, Dennis.
AA: Frazier, Dennis, Campbell.
Any surprises?
actually I’m surprised Flatley isn’t back yet, she has posted a lot of training vids, both bars and beam
She postet something like a “back on the beam” or something like that a few days back (on her birthday). I don’t think she is in form to perform yet.
at this point UCLA should aim for that 16th seed
I hate those UCLA leos. Why this cut?? Just why?? Also the shades of blue look like sweat…
i feel like UCLA has 10.0 vaults just for the sake of it. both 10.0 vaults obviously have a higher SV but they don’t have high scoring potential they just aren’t executed well.
Wright’s yes (I’d argue Andres looked better with her full the one time we saw it) but Poston’s vault is generally very well executed so definitely worth being in the lineup.
what happened to emma andres on vault, she’s better than half the lineup
Emma Andres has a solid vault – more so than Sekai and Margzetta – put her in! Also Chae Campbell is incredible, and definitely has room to turn that into a 1.5.
I was wondering the same thing about Andres’ vault. It was incredible the time she competed it
She has that massive ankle wrap with the ball in it all the time – she can’t be healthy.
for the judges to insinuate that chae campbell and kendall poston had equal vaults is not okay
I love Tratz but there’s no way her FTY = Chae’s FTY.
This vault rotation was reasonably scored today. But because of scores this week and it being senior night one could argue about of some of these scores: Tratz and Campbell 9.9, Frazier 9.825-9.85
As they commented yesterday Utah vault scores low comparatively. I’m we’re beautiful in the Air with distance and amplitude one leg back goes 9.825. Caroling matters
ucla obviously doesn’t have the team the expected this season (moors, padurariu,malabuyo and chiles deferring) but they were still a team with potential so i just don’t understand what they are doing with these lineups. norah is one of the best on bars and is injured but there are better people (steele or taubman) to go in than kooyman- she gets a low score and just puts pressure on the rest of the lineup
Both Taubman and Steele have fallen on their recent exhibitions so I think there are just things happening in training that we don’t see. A lot of UCLA gymnasts had barely any practice leading up to season.
they probably want to give the seniors as many opportunities to compete as possible which I don’t really understand. But Kooyman never fell (this year at least) and Kaly and Sara T have both fell in competition and in exhibition too even though they have bigger potential
well poor Kaly fell on her dismount for the 999th time this year so probably it makes sense to leave her out of the lineup unfortunately
Even with Flatley injured, they have so much potential. Wright is just wrong on vault, Andres had a great full a few weeks back (has been mentioned already). Kooyman is the same on bars, and she would’ve been replaced by Flatley if she were healthy (Taubman and Steele have been iffy). Floor and beam are also kind of hit or miss even though they have the talent on their team despite their deferrals
Continually baffled Savannah Kooyman keeps making UCLA’s lineup.
Something feels off with Dennis these past 4-5 weeks. It’s weird, she feels down and easily frustrated.
I am wondering if she’s hurt? She definitely has looked off. She may just be putting too much pressure on herself to succeed honestly given it’s her last few meets and she’s gotten a ton of attention for going viral.
But she went viral last year. Maybe it’s the added pressure of having to lead the team along with Frazier (who are the main contributing returning athletes; Campbell being the other major contributor). Or it’s an injury we haven’t been informed about
Is it just my impression, or does UCLA look more than a bit tense tonight?
i just hope norah gets better because watching kooyman in the bar lineup gives me such anxiety
I think if Steele would manage that landing she would definitely replace Kooyman. It only seems that she is a bit incosistent because of some injury (not informed in that department). Taubman hit her debut pretty well but struggled afterwards in competition and exhibition
yikes Lilia’s bars were rough, but I’m happy she got to live her dream to compete for UCLA even if it’s just an exhibition
The annual UCLA senior meet tradition: Who the heck is this doing an exhibition on bars?
Being a huge UCLA fan in the past, I can’t handle watching UCLA this year. If you like to feel anxiety-crushing awkwardness, tune in to the livestream
Yeah, I feel exactly the same. I went back to 2019 regionals/nationals posts from Spencer back when they were top 2 along with OU, man those were times. Now it’s just anxiety-inducing to watch, because you’re basically waiting for something to go wrong.
It seems like no one cares that it’s senior night?
Eh, it seems like getting shafted at your senior meet is an occupational hazard as a UCLA gymnast. The only difference this year is that Nia is getting shafted, too, where usually it’s that everyone else gets shafted because the Big Special is the only one they focus on.
I mean – maybe Nia doesn’t want anyone to focus on her performance tonight.
They don’t even have a fancy senior video like every other class got!
They get an extra year if they want, I’m pretty sure that’s why.
Ulias’s bars are GORGEOUS and I will never get over them…so clean! She, Lexy Ramler, Trinity Thomas (hope she’s back soon 🙁 )and Muhlenhaupt are my personal favorites this season.
Lilia Waller – When “Take your Daughter to Work Day” doesn’t work out too well. Even when she plays dress-up.
Relax.
She is a walk on. She’s not taking anyone’s scholarship.
I feel like Norah just doesn’t want to compete. I think she has fun with the team, but she doesn’t care anymore. Also these videos are making me cringe SO HARD.
UCLA’s pride meet feels hollow. Like theyre trying too hard. It’s cringey.
They’re always trying too hard.
Wrong.
She missed months of training due to Covid and was injured.
She is just getting back to full training and isn’t competition ready yet.
Why is it always something dramatic for UCLA gymnasts when they aren’t in the line up?
I’m literally the biggest bruin fan and I still love them but these videos are … interesting
Marz needs a new beam dismount.
Mars needs a new attitude
Frazier with a 9.775 on beam? I’m dead. Biggest over score of the season. This is the stuff that drives fans crazy.
I didn’t think it was that much of an overscore. I would have agreed with the judge that went 9.750, but it isn’t outrageous
Insane scoring. 3 form breaks and a botched dismount. 9.7 would have been a gift. 9.65 reasonable
Omg the We Will Rock You in terrible fake mustaches….what are we watching? This is pure cringe hahahahaha
Loving San Jose St.‘s music on floor. They would do well in packed arenas with fans.
Is there a rule at SJSU that the floor music for every routine must be so horrible that it induces a migraine?
is it just me or ALL SJSU gymnasts have very intense floor music but not fitting choreo?
Exactly! Great music but slower choreography.
gosh Nia is really off today or I could say almost the entire year
Oh my god, another fall from Nia. Again, something doesn’t feel right.
Smells Like Teen Spirit floor (of course with Closer coming up in the next rotation). I can’t decide if I’m delighted, appalled, or just old.
How can UCLA scores be down this year??
You would think they must have lost Ross, Kocian, Hano, Glenn, Kramer, etc all at once!
What? They did lose all of those top gymnasts at the same time?
Nevermind.
But still, how can UCLA scores be down this year when they recruited these top gymnasts for this season:
Jordan Chiles, Emma Malabuyo, Ana Padurariu, Brooklyn Moors, etc.
What? They all didn’t show up due to Covid?
Nevermind.
You are right. No body was expecting them to be even close to last season considering the circumstances but the thing is, with Campbell, Ulias and Esparza, they should at least remain competitive.
Lack of preparation (A reason mentioned a billion times, I’m aware), might simply be this team’s issue this year. The consistency suffers as a result. Because if you take their season highs they are up there with the rest of the top teams (I recommend checking the different stats on roadtonationals if you’re bored) but they can’t seem to put 4 good rotations together.
Sorry even if ucla have scored the same in one rotation at meet as some of the top teams I still do not think that the scores are justified in comparison. Bars and beam are a bit of a train wreck. Vault is fine but not enough 10 starts to be competitive and floor is hit and miss. I still don’t think the caliber of the routines in each rotation is up there with any of the top teams if they were scored accurately against them.
Plenty of teams are doing better than UCLA without the elite/former elite big names. UCLA is far from the only team that has had issues because of covid this season.
Yes, how can any team possibly win without half the Olympic prospects. It’s not like Cal is showing far superior lineups with Level 10s and the same training challenges. These excuses for UCLA underperforming get tiresome. Oklahoma came to national prominence by getting the best out of a bunch of L10s for years. UCLA still has a much superior lineup on elite talent than most teams…yet can’t get 10.0 vaults while obscure teams field lineups with more difficulty…but UCLA cares about dancing at truck stops, going viral, and acting like they’re the only team that ever danced.
Reread. Post didn’t say win nor underperform.
UCLA’s entire press machine makes them look like a clown college. Obviously college gymnastics should be a time for fun and finding themselves, but it’s like they took to a whole new level the past two seasons. I’m not at all surprised that serious elites like Hurd, Wong, McCusker, and Suni Lee signed elsewhere – I can’t imagine this level of clowning around is universally appealing.
You are correct on the clown college. I’m so over their schtick. This is a sport. I miss Peng and Kyla.
Clearly, Chris Waller is doing wrong in terms of conditioning and injuries. Norah injured (was supposed to just be a minor injury), Chloe with an ACL tear, Esparza not able to do vault and floor, Kalyany not able to compete, etc. To their credit, they got back Nia on bars but she’s also downgraded on floor.
Cal also had just as many restrictions as UCLA and got off to a rough start too, but their gymnasts are in better condition. Again I’m not blaming the athletes but the coaching team can’t just hope that Jordyn Wieber turns up to fix their conditioning problems.
Nobody is criticizing UCLA because “scores are down” and you know it. People are criticizing because they can’t hit a full meet, make silly mistakes, have inexplicable skill decisions, etc.
Injuries and injury management were a problem under Val too. I do think I’m starting to realize just how influential Jordyn was.
Yes, UCLA’s elite recruits deferred a year for the Olympics (true) but why were Esparza, Campbell, and Ulias their only level 10 recruits anyway? Michigan, Denver, Oklahoma, Cal, LSU etc. all had better level 10 classes this year too.
UCLA meanwhile is continuing to pursue all these elites most of whom don’t have the form to star in college anyway (Moors), or whose injury history makes them a question mark (Malabuyo, Padurariu). They’re lucky that WCC has cleaned up Jordan’s form since she signed with UCLA or she would be in the same boat with Moors. Meanwhile, Florida is getting the elites with amazing form (Wong, Hurd, McCusker, Jones).
When you consider that UCLA should actually have the best recruitment of any team given their school status, location, history, etc. what they actually do have is concerning.
Conditioning is another factor, it seems as soon as Jordyn left that they’ve regressed to 2016 levels here. Esparza still hasn’t gotten onto VT/FX, Flatley still out with a minor injury, Nia and Marz downgraded on FX this year, etc.
In terms of recruiting, there is a limit on scholarships that can be granted for the program each year (I think it’s 12? And that’s 12 athletes in the whole program.) Therefore, if a high ranked L10 has been offered a scholarship at another team it’s very likely they would take that over being a walk on at UCLA.
Because of the deferrals this year, a one year scholarship offer was made to Addy De Jesus. But eventually she chose Iowa State as they offered her a full scholarship for all of her college years, whereas UCLA only had the space for one year.
Esparza, Campbell, Ulias is a fantastic slate of L10s. Campbell is one of the top freshmen in the country. TBH if she gets to compete at Nationals I would not be shocked if she won a share of the floor title.
Their conditioning doesn’t really seem like an issue to me, but the ankle problems are becoming a thing, and the beam lineup has been struggling for two years now. Those things are way more concerning than recruiting problems, where they are more than fine.
Oh, and there’s no reason for Marz or anyone else to do peak difficulty on floor. After Nichols won the title with two easy passes and scoring went crazy, E passes just don’t matter. Literally why bother?
Thank you. We should be thankful this season even exists with COVID. People need to stop being so hard on these gymnasts.
ucla is going to need to step it up if they want to get past regional semi finals
The chances seem low (for both).
Shapiro is unfortunately incosistent and doesn’t seem to hit when it matters, when she was actually in the lineup she missed. Now that she’s doing exhibition it was basically up there compared to the rest of the rotation
yes ucla lost an amazing senior class and didn’t gain the freshman class they expected. no one was really expecting them to be as good as they were last season or the season before. the freshman and marz have carried the team through this season and the some of the team has had some high scores (tratz and dennis) but overall they have been inconsistent and overscored.
I am confused by Marz’s score on floor. Did she go OOB?
wait what happen in margzetta’z routine
Her leaps were crazytown.
i would just like to thank chae campbell for carrying ucla this season.
She should win Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. She has been superb.
i’m actually crying, so happy for mercedes
UCLA really could have done with Mercedes in their line up tonight!
You know UCLA is in trouble when Mercedez Sanchez’s bars would have been a counting score. >_<
Chae nia and paulines routines on floor were not all equal. Nia was short on one pass and bounced out of another and still gets the same as the others… crack is one thing but I really struggle with the lank of ranking correctly against routines in the same line up.
y’all owe kiya johnson an apology for complaining about her 10 because the fact that nia was able to do that routine with no stuck landings and go 9.925 is not okay
Facts
i’m so baffled about nia’s score because this has nothing to do with senior night there is no way a judge can look at that and decide to give it a 9.9 let alone 9.95
Dennis way over scored. The one slide alone was a full tenth. Add in the other minor issues and it was a 9.85. She should be grateful for blind judges