Friday, April 16	Scores	Stream
1:00pm ET/10:00am PT – Semifinal I [1] Florida [4] Michigan [5] Cal [8] Minnesota	LINK	ESPN2 4-event VT UB BB FX Spanish
6:00pm ET/3:00pm PT – Semifinal II [1] Oklahoma [3] LSU [6] Utah [7] Alabama	LINK	ESPN2 4-event VT UB BB FX Spanish

Drama upon dramas to start the day. Word from the arena is that Cal left the warmup area a few minutes before the end of warmup, and then all the parents and supporters left the stands. But then they all just ran back in and ran to different events, and they have been given some extra touch time. College gymnastics. This was the exact same time other teams were posting about their COVID results.

Anyway, the national semifinals?!? It’s a thing. Remember that we now have six judges, with the middle four scores counting, so the decimal places are about to get ugggoo.

Rotation order

Stream and broadcast have started. Bart didn’t tell us anything about Cal. Darkness in the arena. Lights and such. Anthem.

Bart reports Cal team was pulled from floor for COVID-related reasons and missed 42 minutes of warmup, then all gymnasts were cleared to return to competition. ???????

I’m living in a box of insanity.

But also we’re about to start. Touch is finishing. Minnesota sticking some vaults. Thomas doing bars.

Rotation 1

Bauman – BB – Michigan – full turn, hit – smooth bhs loso series – switch 1/2 to split, nice switch 1/2 position – straight leg side somi, arm wave correction, not large – side aerial to full, step back. Solid start.9.8125

Florida gets a bars hit from Richards, some legs, slightly deep on DLO.

Quinn with a bounce back out of her rudi for Cal, stayed in bounds. Double pike, solid landing. 9.850

Haven’t gotten any scores yet.

Richards 9.775 on bars.

Lazzari UB – Florida – good first hs – tkatchev, clean – a bit late on next cast – pak, very high, som elegs, not a lot – this is clean work – good final cast hs – FTDT, small shuffle back. Good.

Wilson – BB – Michigan – bhs loso series, long, solid – cat leap to switch side, high, slightly crooked – good full turn – double tuck, very high, small hop. 9.8875

Hooten – VT – Minnesota – clean 1.5 – medium hop forward, good

Bordas – FX – Cal – another opening with a larger bounce back – 1.5 to layout, keeps back foot down there – switch to ring 1/2 to wolf jump, a bit out fo control but fine –

Skaggs – Ub – Florida – great counter on tkatchev into pak – DLO, some legs apart, good stick. Nice. 9.8875

Ramler – VT- Minnesota – Y 1.5 – very similar to Hooten – clean, medium hop forward

Farley – BB – Michigan – bhs loso loso, secure but low – split jump 1/2, with a check – 1.5 turn. nice – side aerial, hit to split jump – gainer pike, stuck.

Schoenherr – UB – Florida – toe 1/2 to jaeger, high – moments of slight hip angle but the bail looks good – strong final cast hs – double front 1/2 out, small movement on landing.

Loper – VT – Minnesota – hits her Y1.5 – very slightly deeper than her usual but only a little hop to the side. Looks a lot better from the TV side angle. 9.9625, which means she got some 10s with that hop. That was a 9.950 from the side and a 9.850 from the front view.

Clausi – FX – Cal – double pike, better control on her opening – a bit deep on double tuck with a slide back

Brooks – BB – Michigan – secure bhs loso loso series, quite nice – switch to switch, some back knee but good –

Thomas – UB – Florida – maloney to clear hip to pak, lovely legs together there – van leeuwen, nice – solid cast hs on high – DLO, bounce back.

Brooks got 9.950 on beam.

Wojcik – BB – Michigan – aerial to beat jump, glorious – switch to split, perfect – bhs bhs loso, secure this time – full turn with an adjustment, overturns – 1.5, smallllll slide.

Gallentine can’t cast out on low bar and tries again and ultimately has to hop off. They have five hits, but it means that the 9.775 from Richards will have to count, and no 9.9s in this rotation. And she falls again on dismount.

49.2375 for Florida on bars. Minnesota was 49.3875 on vault.

heiskell – BB – Michigan – cat leap to side aerial, solid – swotcj tp straddle 1/4, small arm wave – step back on series – 1.5, small hop. A good routine, but they already have solid scores so may not be a counter. Oh, 9.900. That’s anchor-high for me.

George – FX – Cal – front 2/1 to front tuck is short this time with a hop back – rudi, little hop forward. Not her very best landing control.

Brown – UB – Denver – maloney to pak, very small legs apart – good cast hs on low – hits van leeuwen – great final cast hs – DLO, stuck. Some leg separations, the rest was ideal.

49.475 beam for Michigan. Big deal for them.

George still gets 9.900 on floor for basically the only time her front 2/1 to front tuck landing hasn’t been strong.

DeSouza – FX – Cal – anchoring now – small movement on her double pike but tough to tell from our angle – back 1.5 to front full, very nice – good leg form, shows control – rudi to double stag, good control and height. Nice one. Strongest of the rotation for me.

Lynnzee Brown 9.900 on bars, saw one judge goes 9.850. That’s tighter.

Scharf with a larger bounce on beam dismount.

DeSouza goes 9.925 to get Cal to 49.425 on floor. Not quite the 49.500 score goal we had for them, but given some of the struggles on landing, they will take that score and run away and hide.

Hannah McCrary doing floor makes me think about how Helen McCrory died today and I’m not OK.

McCrary hits a well-controlled rudi to start, a bit deep on double pike with a slide –

After 1
Michigan 49.475
Cal 49.425
Minnesota 49.3875
Florida 49.2375

Basically, everyone is happy about this start except Florida. Florida is in a hole currently, just like in the regional final after the first rotation, and needs to pick it back up with one of those 49.6s on beam that they do. Michigan will be the most pleased, but also has to go to their floor nemesis.

Liz’s pants are called “COVID THIS.”

I still don’t really understand how, if there was a COVID contract tracing issue like 7 seconds before the meet, how you would know enough to clear them by the time the meet started. More info needed.

Rotation 2

Remlinger on bars for Minnesota with a good stick on her FTDT. 9.7625

Richards – BB – Florida – falls on her bhs loso loso series. Really crunch time now.

Bauman – FX – Michigan – bounce back lunge on her double pike – another lunge back on double tuck – 1.5 to layout was stronger. 9.8375

Sadighi – VT – Cal – hits a yfull, slightly deep, slide back –

Hooten – UB – Minnesota short first hs and ends up with a large lunge back on her double front – so some things to take. 9.7375

Skaggs – BB – Florida – wolf single, slightly shaky but fine – swithc to split, lovely positions – bhs loso is quite nice – aerial, strong – cat leap to switch side, good horizontal split position – side aerial to full, stuck. EXCELLENT post-fall routine.

Stuck Yfull from Li on vault. 9.8375. Just a little pike. Vault scores for fulls look tighter.

Willmarth – UB – Minnesota – nice tkatchev – good vertical on her bail – giant full is late into double tuck but drops into that dismount with a good stick.

Lazzari – BB – Florida – bhs loso loso, small check despite being a little short – great split positions – side aerial to full, small hop

Wojcik – FX – Michigan – double pike, drops out of it, small bounce – split leap full to popa is quite nice – front 2/1 to front pike, nailed landing – rudi to straddle jump, great control. Good work.

George just 9.800 on vault for Cal after a bounce back

Loper – UB – Minnesota – maloney to pak, clean – pretty solid 1/2 turn on low – giant full to double tuck, stuck. Pretty.

DeSouza – VT – Cal – hop forward on Y1.5 but not too large, will be an important higher score for them.

Baumann – BB – Florida – bhs loso, small arm wave – switch to split, nice – aerial, leg-up check but saves it! – full turn, good – switch 1/2, some feet, good 180 – 1.5, nearly holds the stick

Clausi – VT – Cal – pulls out her Y1/5 but it’s short with a lunge back. Not the vault score for Cal. Will fall back.

Heiskell – FX – Michigan – double pike, secure landing – 1.5 to layout, clean work –

Sales – UB – Minnesota – shoprt hs – bail looks solid – 1/2 turn to khorkina, hit – better final cast handstand, that one wa right on – DLO is verrrry deep, lunge forward. Cal and Minnesota both opening all kinds of doors.

Thomas – BB – Florida – switch to split leap, great – one-arm bhs to loso, great – aerial to bea to korbut, slightly off line landing her swingdown, side aerial to full with a hop back. Shouldn’t be her hugest, but an important and confident hit. Still gets 9.9125 which is a bit high there.

Ramler – UB – Minnesota – maloney to pak, great – hits cas ton low – legs right together on van leeuwen – toe on to FTDT, stuck, just a little deep

Heiskell went 9.9375 on floor. Michigan is running away with this. Expect floor scores to continue rising after that first rotation.

Brooks – FX – Michigan – ftdt, great – front tuck through to double tuck, bounce back – double pike, great control, chest just a bit down

Clapper – BB – Florida – bhs loso loso, very secure – switch to split, good – side aerial to full, a bit off line, hop back

Minnesota 49.125 on bars, Cal 49.150 on vault. Not ideal.

Michigan already has a 5000 on floor.

Brooks – FX – Michigan – open FTDT, controls her step well – front lay to front full, drops into it, shuffle on landing – double tuck, small slide.

Florida just 49.3875 on beam but because Cal and Minnesota both struggled, they’re into second place with that. Florida let off the hook big time here.

Brown – BB – Denver – kickover to bhs, connects it quickly – switch to split – some back leg but solid – aerial to wolf jump is good – holds stick on dismount. Nearly can’t just off podium.

After 2
Michigan – 99.125
Florida – 98.625
Cal – 98.575
Minnesota – 98.5125

This looks like it’s moving a specific direction now. Cal needs one of those bars and Minnesota needs one of those beams. Because expect Florida’s number to be big on floor. Floor is going to give out a 50 before the day is done.

Maggie O’Hara went 9.925 on bars with a stuck dismount that currently leads bars.

Sierra Brooks currently in control in the AA.

Rotation 3

Skaggs – FX – Florida – wolf double, good – rudi to double stag, small leg crossing, controlled – swplit leap full to jump full, good – 1.5 to layout, again slight leg break, but has the control, good start. 9.900

Heiskell – VT- Michigan – medium hop forward on y1.5, good. 9.900

Leadoff fall for Minnesota on beam.

Wojcik – VT – Michigan – Y1.5, a little short with a shuffle back. 9.875

Li – UB – Cal – good first hs – pak, lovely height – van leeuwen, legs togehter – small arch on cast hs on high, pulls it back – giant full, good vertical into double tuck, stuck. really nice. 9.8875

Richards OOB on her first pass on floor. Final back 1.5 to layout was better, but some landing errors to take here. Still gets out with 9.750.

Morrison – VT – Michigan – medium hop forward on Y1.5, some knees.

Loper BB – Minnesota – bhs loso is good – kickover to beat, very solid – switch to straddle 1/4, short on straddle 1/4 position – 1.5, small hop.

Schank – UB – Cal – great piked jaeger to overshoot – struggles on DLO with a larger bounce back

Lazzari – FX – Florida – double pike, lunge back – 1.5 to layout to stag, very clean – double tuck, solid. 9.9125

Bordas on bars with giant amplitude on her jaeger to overshoot, sticks double tuck. Very strong.

Michigan goes 49.350 on vault, which is not great for them, but they had the advantage from the other events, so that will be fine.

Sales with a nice bhs loso on beam but her switch side is a little off, leg-up check. Another error for Minnesota on what won’t be a huge score here.

Thomas – FX – Florida – DLO, protecting herself and a counce back but stays in bounds – huge leap combination, great splits, that’s how it goes – front full to layout, great. 9.925.

Kuc on bars had one late hs 1/2 turn on low but was otherwise strong.

Korlin-Downs – BB – Minnesota – candle mount, good – bhs loso, solid, chest only very slightly down – beat to split jump to stag ring, exceptional split – side aerial to full, stuck

Baumann – FX – Florida – double tuck, solid – 1.5 to front full, a little under on her front full this time, sideward step around – excellent lift into leaps – double pike, controls

Watterson – UB – Cal – pak, lovely – good handstand on low – but misses her foot and has to hop off. Well, that will be that.

Ramler – BB – Minnesota – small hesitation on full turn – aerial to beat is nice – beat to split ring jump, a little hesitation again – don’t think this will be a beam title routine – side aerial to full, slide back

9.925 for Baumann, Florida running away from Cal and Minnesota now.

Reed – FX – Florida – DLO with a pretty noticeable bounce back but does keep it in bounds – front lay to rudi, very good control – switch 1/2 was short of position, good lift in wolf 1.5 – double pike, small bounce up.

So Minnesota with 49.2125 on beam, Cal and Michigan 49.350s on their events, and Florida with 90000 on floor.

After 3
Michigan 148.475
Florida 148.2125
Cal 147.925
Minnesota 147.725

Brown – FX – Denver – DLO, holds the stick, chest a little forward but made sure no movement – switch 1/2 to wolf full, pulls that full turn around – 1.5 to layout to sissone, strong – double pike, small movement.

So basically Cal and Minnesota hoping at this point that Michigan counts a fall on bars or Florida has another regional-final on vault. But three tenths between Florida and Cal is a lot to try to make up, with Cal going to beam.

Rotation 4

Baumann – VT – Florida – leads off – hits a yfull but prettty deep in those knees, shouldn’t be a huge score. 9.750

Small movement on dismount for Heiskell leading off bars. 9.850

Clausi – BB – Cal – kickover, attempted combo to beat jump with a little hesitation in between – bhs loso, very good -cat to switch side, hit – cat to side aerial to tuck full, small hop. 9.8375

Lazzari – VT – Florida – good yfull, clean in the air, small slide

Bauman – UB – Michigan – good jaeger to overshoot, has the toe point in jaeger – toe 1/2 to double front, small step, good.

DeSouza – BB – Cal – cat to aerial, very smoothly connected – bhs loso, secure – beat to sheep, just a tad forward – 1.5, stuck. Strong work. 9.9125

Skaggs – VT – Florida – nearllly holds the stick on yfull long enough. Good one.

Schoenherr – VT – Florida – y1.5 is wayyy short – did she put a had down? – Very deep landing and a lunge back. 9.6125

Wilson – UB – Michigan – piked jaeger a little close, loses her knees – good bail – hits final cast hs – DLO, stuck. Great finish.

Li – BB – Cal – aerial, small hesitation but continues into beat jump – bhs loso, hit, again smalll hesitation – full turn – beat to split ring, another little check

Reed – VT – Florida – huge y1.5 but does have a pretty large bounce forward out of it. Still gets a 9.900, which will be controversial.

Koulos – UB – Michigan – jaeger, nice toe point – bail, very slightly loose back – DLO, step forward

Thomas – VT – Florida – Y1.5, bit, medium step forward – may have just been enough to save this thing for Florida.

George – BB – Cal – aerial to back tuck, hit – hitch kick – beat to split ring, strong work – gainer full, small step. Hit.

Thomas 9.850 – not sure how Thomas was lower than Reed?

49.225 for Florida on vault. NOT GREAT.

Brown – VT – Denver – sits down her y15 NOOOOOOOOOO

Brooks nails DLO 1/1 on bars. Michigan cruising.

Ramler – FX – Minnesota – double pike, bounce back – switch 1/2 – 1.5 through to 2/1, pretty, chest just a little forward – 1.5 to layout, hit

Bordas – BB – Cal – good full turn – bhs loso with an arm wave correction they could not afford on a routine they needed 9.900, another break on aerial.

Wojcik falls on her deltchev! Michigan didn’t need it but still. AA implications.

The checks from Bordas mean Cal would need a 10 from Watterson in the final spot.

Watterson – BB – Cal – wolf double, beautiful – bhs loso, nailed – switch to split leap, nice split positions – cat leap to side aerial to full, small slide back. So that won’t be it, but she did what she could have done on beam.

Michigan done on 197.8625
Florida done on 197.4275

Hooten – FX – Minnesota – drops into double tuck to finish, a little steppy

9.9125 for Cal, which means Cal comes in less than a tenth behind Florida. Well, that won’t be controversial at all.

Loper – FX – Minnesota – rudi, small hop – switch to split full, good – 2.5 is lovellly – 1.5 to layout with a bounce out. Nice.

So Michigan and Florida will advance to tomorrow. Michigan clearly the best team of the day and ensured it wasn’t close. Florida…well Florida got lucky. This was not a good performance from Florida,where they opened the door every step of the way, but neither Cal not Minnesota were able to walk through it.

Cal will be ruing some of those routines where they normally get the scores but didn’t because that was in their hands.

FINAL:
Michigan 197.8625
Florida 197.4375
Cal 197.3625
Minnesota 197.1875

Loper’s final floor score is JUST not high enough so Sierra Brooks will end the session as the AA leader.

Loper is top on vault, Bordas is top on bars, Brooks is top on beam, and Brooks and Hooten are top on floor.

Switching over to a live GymCastic for thoughts now.

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OK. About an hour out from the second semifinal now. Will be tough to match the drama of that first semifinal, where Florida advanced with some serious Vanessa Ferrari 2006 vibes despite having an actual mess of a competition. A good day for the 5-up, 5-counters because Florida was able to drop a lot of bad without consequences.

Now to a semifinal full of shrinking violets that I’m sure will be very chill.

We’re all worried about the floor scores rising for semifinal two because, sweetie there’s nowhere to go…

Oklahoma does have Audrey Davis on vault, but she’s leading off, which leads me to believe it’s a full today. No Karrie Thomas. Draper goes on bars.

It’s nearly meet time, and we haven’t had any dramas yet. What are you doing with your life Semifinal 2?

Touch warmup has started.

“Spectacular new Dickies Arena” – thought Bart was going to take a turn and start talking about spectacular new dicks.

Rotation 1

Gaskins – VT – Alabama – good open but a pretty large bounce back on full. 9.800

Desiderio – FX – LSU – good control on DLO – 1.5 to layout, arches it over a little but good control- hits her positions on switch ring and split full – double tuck, not the highest but controlled well. 9.900

Trautman finishes bars with a strong DLO landing. 9.900

Burch hitting beam with some small hesitations. Sticks gainer full. 9.875

Waligora – VT – Alabama – pulls out her Y1.5, good, hop forward, some knee bending

Levassuer – UB – Oklahoma – maloney, some legs to bail – lovely handstand on high – finishes with clean DLO, hop back

Olsen – VT – DTY – one of her more solid landings, bounce back, some knees and whatnot

Stanhope – BB – Utah – bhs 1/1 to bhs is under control –

Shehcnnikova – FX – LSU – front 2/1, some knees at the end but controls the step out this time – 1.5 to front full, took it far, slightly short with a stagger on landing – rudi to pak, slightly out of control again. 9.8875, floor scores continue being very high.

Graber – VT – Alabama – drops into it well, medium pace forward. 9.8875

Draper’s straddle pak make both Bart and Kathy yell. Still gets 9.8625

Isa – BB – Utah – hits candle mount – bhs loso loso, secure work – hits leaps pretty well -one check in there – hits gainer full, solid.

Quinn – VT – Alabama – large bound forward on her Y1.5 again. And another 9.800 for it. Again rather high for that landing.

Webb – UB – Oklahoma – shortish first hs – Pak is excellent – van leeuwen, good legs together position – toe 1/2 to double front 1/2 out, sticks it today, good.

Blanco – VT – Alabama – short landing on her y1/5 with a lunge back

Paulson – BB – Utah – side aerial to bhs, very tiny hesitation – switch with a pause before split jump, that could get interesting for credit – cat leap to side aerial to full, stuck landing. Good finish.

Alabam finishes with two 9.800s for 49.2875 on vault.

Dennis on vault as an individual and pulls out the DTY, landed a little short but major credit for doing it.

Smith – UB – Oklahoma – pooooooohhhhh peels off on her Ray

Edwards for LSU a little off on her front 2/1 landing, but not a large deduction – double tuck, some bouncing –

Randall – BB – Utah – bhs loso series, arm wave – beat to sheep, hit well, some angle in sheep, not bad – rulfova is very strong – 1.5 with a pace forward

Bryant – FX – LSU – double front with a large lunge forward this time – front lay to rudi, a little movement – switch 1/2 to popa, great height, a little under rotated – hits front double full but again rather out of control. Still gets 9.875

Davis – Ub – OU – great piked jaeger height, pak, clean – hits 1/2 turn position on low – great handstand – higgins to front giant to double front with a full tenth step forward

O’Keefe – BB – Utah – Utah has NOT been getting the scores they need before O’Keefe – side aerial to los is strong – switch to split leap, perfect 180s shown – check on choreography – cat leap to side aerial to full, doesn’t hold the stick, step salute

Oklahoma is able to drop the fall and goes 49.400 on bars.

Johnson – FX – LSU – full in, larger bounce back, just does stay in bounds – 1.5 to layout, lovely layout position, stuck – switch 1/2 to popa, good – double pike, strong.

Utah just 49.250 on beam. A much tighter approach to beam scoring than we saw in the first session.

Dom just tweeted that he “didn’t mean to put these pants in the dryer.” Girl, you know exactly what you’re doing.

Campbell – FX – UCLA – front 2/1, stuck landing – split leap full to popa, nice – double tuck, stuck landing as well, this is going well – front lay to front full, really nice work. Should get a big score.

If LSU is going to advertise that they learned this choreography, I want to see a little more commitment from them.

9.9125 for Johnson and 49.500 for LSU to lead.

After 1
LSU 49.500
Oklahoma 49.400
Alabama 49.2875
Utah 49.250

Bad news for Utah to be in last after beam. They needed a big score there, and while they were a little shaky, I was also surprised to see those scores sit as low as they did. O’Keefe under 9.850 was surprising. LSU got what it needed on floor, as floor scoring continues to be verrrrry high, much higher than the other pieces.

9.9375 for Campbell is the high of the rotation but won’t lead the event.

Chae Campbell is down on vault in the warmup. Red alert. Very lock-legged landing on a Y1.5 attempt

Rotation 2

And now we’re starting after that

Durante – VT – LSU – solid control on yfull, small slide back. 9.875

Trautman with a small balance correction on her series on beam – kickover, small lean – 1.5 with a great stick. 9.9125. OK beam scores are back.

Shchennikova – VT – LSU – hits yfull but a large lunge forward, unusual for her, usually she’s more shorter than over. 9.8375

Davis – BB – OU – bhs loso series, nice – split ring jump, good – 2/1 dismount, holds hte stick but a lean forward at the hips

Arenas – VT – LSU – great distance on her yfull, tires to find the landing, small bounce back – 9.8125.

Edwards – VT – LSU – high Y1.5 – medium hop forward, good layout position. 9.875

Machado – UB – Alabama – maloney to pak, some leg breaks – good hs – van leeuwen, small leg crossing – toe full is crooked but pulls it out into double tuck, stuck. 9.8375

Dunn – BB – Oklahoma – bhs bhs loso, small lean, good full turn – gainer full, holds landing, a little forward.

Johnson – VT – LSU – excellent DTY today, just small movement on landing

Stanhope with a secure FTDT on floor – double tuck, controls landing as well – switch side to wolf full, a little off balance on landing there

Braytn – VT – LSU – handspring pike 1/2, best it has been in the air – holds the stick but kind of a strange hesitation on landing and an arm swing, which could mean that she doesn’t win vault.

Adams – UB – Alabama – maloney to pak, nice – good hs on low – van leeuwen, clean – nice hs – toe full a bit late – double tuck, large issue with a bounce back.

Woodard has a leg-up check on her kickover on beam for Oklahoma.

Rucker – FX – Utah – full in, little bounce –

Bryant gets 9.975, which is high for the landing but it was also the best vault we saw today, so it needed to be above Loper’s score (as did Johnson’s).

Campbell is going to vault, but won’t do the Y1.5 – medium bounce back on her full.

Doggette – UB – Alabam – tkatchev to pak, very clean – 1/2 turn on low is good – DLO, small step.

Smith – BB – Oklahoma – bhs loso, solidly done – aerial, excellent – straddle 1/2 to korbut, straddle was huge, maybe the tiniest bit off line on korbut – gainer full, stuck. Nice one.

O’Keefe – FX – Utah – doubel pike, very clean –

Blanco – UB – Alabama – good first hs – maloney to pak, great, just a little close on pak but covers well – still hitting her handstands – FTDT, stuck. Good one.

LSU 49.5125 on vault after those last two vaulters. Will be a big lead.

Webb – BB – OU – bhs loso series, hit – aerial, strong – switch to switch, good 180s, very small hesitation on landing. 9.9375 for her and Smith.

Frazier – UB – UCLA – maloney to to pak, good – van leeuwen, legs together – arches final cast hs but pulls it back – good DLO

O’Keefe just got 9.9625 on floor to lead the event now.

Soloski – FX – Utah – DLO, step back but jussst kept that front foot down – switch side to split full, good – front lay to front full, some knees, hit – 1.5 to layout, high layout. Good.

Hambrick going on beam, nice position on switch 1/2 – beat to split 3/4, small arm wave, again good split gainer full, stuck

LSU 49.5125 on this rotation, Oklahoma 49.525, and Utah will be higher than both. 49.600 floor for Utah. Alabama’s 49.3125 on bars will fall back.

Shepard – FX – NC State – double pike, secure landing, chest a bit down – split leap full to jump full, short back leg on the jump full – lay to full, does a good job to hold the landing without a step despite being under – double tuck, controls step

After 2
LSU 99.0125
Oklahoma 98.925
Utah 98.850
Alabama 98.600

Utah gets back to close after that floor rotation because floor scoring today, although their best events are done. They really need those Y1.5 landings to come through today.

Kathy’s tricks of the trade: When someone does an ugly leap, you don’t actually say it was bad, but you pause, and then a second later you say, “Judges are looking for whether gymnasts hit the full 180 degrees in split.”

Rotation 3

O’Keefe – VT – Utah – smaller step back on fuyll, looked like a little piking from our angle. 9.8125

Johnson on bars with a very small movement on DLO.

Draper – FX – OU – bounce back on opening double pike – front full to front full, solid control – great lift in straddle – 1/2 to rudi, a little leg crossing, hit. 9.9125. Oh floor today.

Hall – VT – Utah – Y1.5 – step forward but some more control than most of the 1.5s we’ve seen today. 9.875

Brock – UB – LSU – hits tkatchev, a bit short on next cast hs – bail, solid – angle on final cast hs – FTDT, good stick

Isa – VT – Utah – full is very clean, small step, some dynamics deduction.

Olsen – BB – Alabama – switch to switch 1/2, solid, some split deductioning – bhs loso, secure – aerial –

Dunne – UB – LSU – tkatchev good, counter into pak – a little late on 1/2 turn on low – short cast hs on high – DLO, finds landing with a little rebound. Good.

Stanhope – VT – Utah – another pretty solid Y1.5 it seemed – Garrett right in the way but the step didn’t look large.

Gaskins – BB – Alabama – has to use some strength to hold her candle mount – side aerial to split jump, hit – bhs loso, secure, knee bend in bhs – switch, short back leg, hesitant in some of those leaps – gainer full

Rucker – VT – Utah – huge Y1.5 but lands short with a step back –

La Pinta – FX – OU – 3/1, some leg crossing, small crossover step back, not too bad – finishes double tuck with a slide back

Bryant – UB – LSU – hit jaeger, a short hs in there – bail is solid – good final cast hs – 1/2 to double front, step back

Burch – VT – Utah – also short on her Y1/5 with a slide back. Not the vaults Utah wanted.

Shchennikova – UB – high Ray, a little close into a solid pak – 1/2 turn on low a little low – one short hs – pings off on DLO, finds the landing somehow, usual form. 9.900 of course.

Dagen – VT – Oregon State – Y1.5 – small shuffle back

Durante – UB – LSU – good first hs – 1/2 turn to jaeger, some legs on catch – pak and her arm slips off OUCHERS – LSU doesn’t need the score from her, but yikes.

But LSU’s 49.375 will extend the lead over Utah with just 49.2375 on vault. LSU will have three tenths on Utah so will be in control heading to beam.

Graber – BB – Alabama – bhs to lay pike and can’t hold onto it, falls

Webb – FX – OU – front 2/1, high, small movement of back foot – back 1.5 to front full, dances out, maintains good leg position on twisting – switch 1/2 to split full, some feet, solid 180s – rudi to stretch jump, nice one. 9.9875 WELL NOW. Will lead floor. Turns out Bart was wrong, and it’s 9.9625 to tie O’Keefe.

Blanco – BB – Alabama – aerial, hit – bhs loso loso, great extension, the smallest little squeeze to hold the landing – switch to beat, great splits – 2/1, small rebound in place

We see one 10 being flashed for Blanco. Not for that one. 9.9625 will lead beam.

Trautman – FX – OU – DLO, very solid, hop to present – front lay to front full to sissone – 9.925

Hambrick – FX – Arkansas – double tuck, great, chest up, well done – rudi to back layout to stag, strong, maybe a little crossed in rudi – clear finishing positions on leaps – double pike, chest somewhat down

After 3
Oklahoma 148.5625
LSU 148.3875
Utah 148.0875
Alabama 147.9875

There’s some distance between the top two teams now, but watch out for Alabama if LSU is a little iffy on beam because everyone gets a 9.9 on floor.

Not even a tenth separates every single floor routine in this semifinal. Good job at ranking the athletes.

Webb needs only a meh score on vault to move ahead of Brooks in the AA.

Rotation 4

Davis – VT – OU – good stick on yfull, nice. 9.8875

Desiderio on BB with a lean at the hips on her beat jump – bhs loso is secure – aerial, hit – cat leap to gainer full, stuck. How the judges evaluate that bend at the hips will tell us how this rotation will go. 9.725! Much lower than I thought. Emphasizes the insanity of regionals where she had the same-size deduction.

Stern – VT – OU – very clean Y1.5 in the air – medium hop to the side

Shania Adams had to tuck the layout a little on her final combo pass –

Sabado – UB – Utah – jaeger hit, bit, small angle there – good cast hs on high – DLO, pikes in the air, dins the stick.

Bryant – BB – LSU – aerial to bhs is smooth – switch to straddle 1/4, hits 180 – front tuck is solid – 2/1 – stuck – came back into the lineup and nailed it.

Webb – VT – OU – stikcs her Y1.5, well that’s going to seal the AA.

Burch – UB – Utah – jaeger, hit, flexed feet – bail, hit, legs together – arches cast hs on high but pulls it back – DLO, stuck landing.

9.975 for Webb, wins AA and ties Bryant on the event.

Schoepfer – VT – OU – tucked 1.5 with a pretty large bound forward

HUGE break for Shchennikova on beam – and again on her onodi with a break at the hips – LSU falling away here? Bryant did go 9.925 though. Does stick her gainer full. But that should be lower than Desiderio.

James – FX – Alabama – stagger on her rudi landing –

Levasseur – VT – OU – medium pace forward on her Y1.5. OU cruising.

Trautman – VT – OU – a little short on Y1.5, slide back

Dean – BB – LSU following 9.4 from Shechnnikova that will have to be dropped – side aerial to bhs, good save without a check as her foot was a little off on her side aerial.

O’Keefe – Ub – Maloney to pak, hit – muscles up her 1/2 turn on low, but solid vertical position – double Arabian, finds the stick. 9.950, ties for bars lead.

Oklahoma is done with 198.0875, top of the day.

Hambrick finishes on vault for Arkansas with a hit Y1.5, medium crossover step.

Gaskins will a ball-shape landing on a pass on floor.

Isa – UB – Utah – Ray is nice – bail, good vertical position – hitting casts solidly – giant full to immediate DLO, slide back

Johnson – BB – LSU – bhs loso, secure work – switch to switch 1/2, super high and good split position, but a check on landing – kickover, again refuses to check despite being a hair off – 2/1, small hop back

Balnco – FX – Alabama – double pike, little bounce back – double tuck, solid – front full to front layout is clean.

9.900 for Isa gives Utah 49.5125 on bars. Making LSU work for it.

9.8875 for Johnson means LSU can pass Utah with a good hit here from Campbell

Campbell – BB – LSU – scheck on her loso series – again a small hesitation on full turn – good sissone – switch to switch 1/2 is hit, though didn’t attack the switch 1/2 the way she can. 2/1, hop back. Will be close.

Graber – FX – Alabama – can also get it for Alabama depending on this score – FTDT, controls the step back – good wolf position – front through to double tuck, little bounce back. Hit.

They need a huge score for her to go ahead of Utah.

Campbell 9.775 on beam is not enough to pass Utah.

Chae Campbell’s beam will finish out the meet – nice loso series –

Graber would need 9.9875 to tie Utah which would be a lot.

Graber gets 9.9625, which was high and exactly as high as everything on floor today.

It’ll be Utah advancing with Oklahoma.

FINAL:
Oklahoma 198.0875
Utah 197.600
Alabama 197.575
LSU 197.5625

So even closer than the last one.

Malia Hargrove’s like – AND ALSO MY FLOOR ROUTINE. Finishes with a controlled double tuck.

Like the first semifinal, we had one team run away with it, Oklahoma. In this one, LSU’s beam performance was similar to the errors we saw from Florida today, but there were teams to take advantage. I do think Utah had the best showing of the remaining teams besides Oklahoma.

So. Oklahoma, Michigan, Utah, and Florida tomorrow.

Oklahoma will start on vault, Utah on bars, Florida on beam, Michigan on floor.

Florida can come back, but based on today’s performances, you’d certainly think it’s a Michigan and Oklahoma race.

Also we’ve got to do something about the floor scoring. That was preposterous. Nearly every routine scored the exact same.

Individual champions:
AA – Anastasia Webb 39.7875
VT – Anastasia Webb, Haleigh Bryant 9.975
UB – Maile O’Keefe, Maya Bordas 9.950
BB – Luisa Blanco 9.9625
FX – Anastasia Webb, Lexi Graber, Maile O’Keefe 9.9625

So Bordas was the only one who held on from the first session. Not what I would have called. Also I believe Cal’s first-ever national champion.

3:30 ET/12:30 Pacific time tomorrow.