Nationals day! Championship o’clock! Whatnot! A mere 2 hours until we get to start prognosticating about how these rosters will change next season.
Oklahoma starts on vault, Florida on beam, Utah on floor, and LSU on bars (in the live blog on Thursday, I was looking at the wrong session draw assignments).
In the warmup period, Trinity got up and did a little bit of beam in the 8th spot, after the Thursday lineup and Nguyen did their sets. She didn’t do a full hit routine, but she also didn’t do that on vault before competing in the semifinal, so who knows at this point. Also the Oklahoma mat movers completely ate it trying to put the mat in place for Dunn’s dismount. A real shame you can’t GIF real life.
So, the LSU intro video definitely destroys the earth at the end. Biggest talking point is another year with 2 of the four teams in white leos. Yeah, there’s not a lot to say so far.
Rotation 1
Blakely – BB – Florida – aerial to bhs is strong – swtitch to switch 1/2 to beat, feet in switch 1/2, solid landing – gainer full, stuck. Good start.
Sievers – VT – Oklahoma – nearly holds the stick, step forward in the end
Jeffrey had a little arch on her first hs on bars, deep on her FTDT, not as much as day 1, but a step back. Brenner a little bouncy on her first pass on floor, a bit crooked on popa but fine. Controlled step on final pass.
Stern, small hop forward on y1.5, following 9.8625 for Sievers. Seeing plenty of 9.900s for Stern. Cowan step back on DLO on bars.
9.8375 for Jeffrey. 9.900 for Blakely.
Levassuer – VT – OU – larger pace forward on her Y1.5, not sticking yet…
Lazzari falls on her bhs loso loso series. Big squat on dismount
Gilstrap – FX – Utah – front lay to rudi, pretty form, rebound back – switch to switch ring 1/2, nice. Clean one.
Bowers – VT – OU – Y1.5, smaller step forward.
Tatum holds the stick on her FTDT on bars with a stagger. Was shy on the first handstand.
Bowers goes 9.900 with the step. Torrez comes into the vault lineup and finds a stick on her y1.5, deep landing to absorb it. But if they were already happy to go 9.900 for all these steps…
DiCello – BB – Florida – hits candle mount – wolf double, hit – switch to split, comfortable – smooth bhs loso series hit – aerial, comfortable – gainer full stick, very good.
Finnegan large lunge forward on bars dismount.
Trautman with a near stick on her Y1.5, just a little rebound, following 9.925 from Torrez.
Paulson hits back 1.5 to front lay final pass on floor.
9.950 for Trautman takes Oklahoma to 49.5625 on vault. If they’re going over 49.5 for not their best vault rotation, it’s going to be a long day for everyone else.
Shchennikova – hits Ray to pak, feet on ray – late on 1/2 turn on low – DLO is deeper with a hop forward today.
Wong – BB – Florida – switch to split leap – bhs loso, nice – full turn, smooth – aerial to beat, lean correction – 2/1, hop back
9.800 for Shchennikova. Smith with a clean rudi to loso on floor.
Bryant – UB – LSU – hits first hs – blind to jaeger – some pike swining through to bail, gets to vertical – double front 1/2, small movement. Good.
McCusker – BB – Florida – following 9.9125 for Wong – wolf double, nice – aerial, solidly done – bhs loso, secure landing – switch to split leap, lovely obviously – gainer full, stuck. Look at you, Miss Riley.
Nguyen replaces Richards on beam. Big move. I like it. But will it pay off.
Rucker had a bit of a lean on her opening pass on floor, tried to hold the stick with ended up leaning and stepping some.
LSU went 49.3125 on bars. I’m seeing lots of 9.950s for McCusker. 9.9375 score.
Nguyen – BB – Florida – onodi to bhs, keeps moving through the combination – full turn, holds it – switch to split leap, nice – bhs 1.5, hop to the side. Florida avoids counting the fall and got super solid after it. Will be a huge rotation score.
O’Keefe a bit of a slide forward dance out on her final pass but a solid one. 9.900.
Nguyen goes 9.875 to get Florida to 49.525. O’Keefe’s 9.900 takes Utah to 49.500. So we’ve got a race, and Florida is keeping themselves in it early.
After 1:
Oklahoma 49.5625
Florida 49.525
Utah 49.500
LSU 49.3125
A test coming up for Utah as they’ll have to produce the vault landings, or at least close enough to get 9.9 with a big lunge, that can stay with OU’s bars and just floor scoring in general.
Rotation 2
Sievers – UB – OU – good first hs – maloney to pak, good legs together – hits 1/2 turn on low – FTDT, hit.
O’Keefe struggles on yfull, lands chest forward with a hop. Arenas holds the stick on her 1.5 beam dismount with a lean.
9.7375 for O’Keefe, 9.925 for Sievers.
Brenner – VT% – Utah – hits y1.5, knees, medium hop forward. And gets a 9.900
9.8875 for Nguyen on floor. Fletcher folds the stick on FTDT on bars.
Blakely – FX – Florida – back 1.5 to front lay, bounce out, a bit low on layout pass. switch ring to switch 1/2 is hit – switch ring 1/2 is good – double pike, hit, little rebound.
Hoffman lands short on Y1.5 on vault with a step back –
Trautman – UB – OU – maloney to pak, nice – 1/2 turn on low, a bit of angle – DLO, hit.
Smith lands a bit short on her Omelianchik, slide back. They’re already counting a 9.7 in this rotation.
Blakely goes 9.8625, a but high for me. Oklahoma continuing to get 50s on bars.
Rucker – VT – Utah – y 1.5, shuffle back, two little steps.
Smith with a hop back on her double pike out on bars, very nice on the bars.
I didn’t see what happened in Arenas’s beam to give her 9.475, but LSU is working against that now. Jeffrey hits her loso series.
Baumann with a step forward on final double pike on floor.
Gilstrap with a small rebound on her yfull to finish what will be a low-scoring vault rotation for Utah. Looked like a LOT of people trying VERY hard to stick and coming up short.
Bowers – UB – OU – nice hs on high – blind to jaeger, great height, a little close on catch today – hits pak – 1/2 turn on low, clean – good hs on high – FTDT, holds the stick, little lean.
Richards – FX – Florida – DLO, chest down, rebound back – switc side, overturns a little into popa – back 1.5 to front full, under control, some knees
Davis – UB – OU _ hits first hs – higgins to piked jaeger, excellent – hits hs on high – pak, lovely – 1.2 turn on low, crisp – solid hs on high – higgins to double front 1/2 out, holds the stick with a stagger.
Oklahoma just had a “thanks for coming, bitches” bars rotation.
Wong – FX – Florida – uh oh, bounces out of bounds on her piked double arabian – back 1/2 to front full is under control –
9.925 for Davis, Oklahoma gets 49.6375 on bars.
I see a range of 9.75 to 9.90 for Wong before the OOB is taken. Bryant wobbles on her front on beam, slide back on rudi.
DiCello – FX – Florida – front 2/1, leg crossing and a crossover step – switch ring to switch 1/2, good – wolf double, around – back 1.5 to front lay, lower lay, controls the landing.
Finnegan – BB – LSU – candle 1/2 mount – bhs loso loso, was a little off line, held it with a small lean – switch to split, good – full turn – aerial, gainer full, stuck.
49.425 for Florida on floor, which will establish a solid margin over Utah.
9.925 for Finnegan, puts LSU at 49.2375 on beam.
After 2:
Oklahoma 99.200
Florida 98.950
Utah 98.650
LSU 98.550
Utah drops back a fairly sizable margin after that vault rotation. Oklahoma will still need to avoid a regional final incident here. As will Florida. LSU staying close-ish through their weaker events, but a lot of work to do on floor and vault.
Rotation 3
Morgan – UB – maloney to bhardwaj, hit – a bit of angle on 1/2 turn on low – shortish final cast hs – giant full to double tuck, hop back.
Pretty solid control from wong on ro 1/2 on pike 1/2, small hop back.
Dunn – bb – OU – wobble on her bhs bhs loso, leans, bends at the hips – split to straddle 1/2, secure – gainer full, stuck.
And it’s 9.9125 for Wong.
Richards – VT – Florida – Y1.5, magically finds a landing somehow, was a short vault, came in deep but managed to hold it with a little hop.
brenner – UB – Utah – blind to jaeger, to overshoot, hit – short final cast hs poisition – DLO, little rebound.
Dunn still gets 9.850, which they’ll take for that error.
Trautman – BB – OU – bhs loso, leg-up check – cat leap to switch side is nice – kickover, another large break, leg up to horizontal that time – hits dismount.
Memories of the regional final, but they didn’t come off this time.
Blakely – VT – Florida – solid y1.5, hop forward.
Sage Thompson sticks DLO on bars.
Clean double pike from Brock on floor – bounce back tuck tuck – hits her final pass today. Good set.
Good high Y1.5 from DiCello – bounce back –
I just saw a judge go 9.900 for Trautman. How with those two big wobbles? 9.825 final.
O’Keefe – UB – Utah – maloney to pak, nice – short 1/2 turn on low – sticks her double arabian with a stagger. Good.
Thomas – VT – Florida – of course she stuck it after landing every single one she tried today short. Trinity.
Bowers sticks her 2/1 dismount with a leg crossing.
It’s a 10.000 for Trinity, which will tie the 10s record.
Nguyen – VT – Florida – pulls out the landing on her y1.5, a little short and a slide back.
Isa – Ub – Utah – hits ray – vertical on cast hs – bail, good feet positions – giant full to DLO, low but pulls out the landing, hop-salute.
9.9125 for Bowers.
Nguyen goes 9.8875 to take Florida to a big 49.575 on vault. In this.
Torrez – BB – OU – strong side aerial to loso – full turn, hit – switch to straddle jump, comfortable – 1.5 dismount, hop forward
McCallum – UB – Utah – nice maloney to pak, small hesitation in cast 1/2 on low – good hs on high, sticks FTDT, good. 9.9375
Nice double arabian landing from Finnegan on floor.
9.900 for Torrez
Davis – BB – OU – bhs loso series, nice – aerial, smooth – split ring jump is well done – 2/1, stuck with leg crossing. Strong one.
bryant – FX – LSU – good control on double front landing – front lay to rudi, good layout position – switch ring to switch 1/2 – big one.
One judge went 10 on Davis’s beam. 9.950 final.
Smith – BB – OU – bhs loso, comfortable – aerial, held securely – straddle jump 1/2 to korbut, nice – full turn, hit – bhs gainer full, short landing, hops forward to try to cover it.
Bryant goes 9.9375 to take LSU to 49.450 on floor, which will lose ground to Florida and Utah.
9.900 for Smith on beam, Oklahoma goes 49.5125 on beam, which drops a little ground back but not much.
After 3:
Oklahoma 148.7125
Florida 148.525
Utah 148.200
LSU 148.000
Florida has kept it close enough htat they can still have dreams with one of their big bars rotations. Floor isn’t always the one for Oklahoma.
Rotation 4
Arenas with a good stick on a yfull.
Davis – FX – OU – front 2/1, controls step, leg crossing – back 1.5 to front full, controls the step
Blakely sticks her double front on bars.
Shchennikova a bit short on Y1.5, pulls out landing with hop back.
I’m seeing some 9.950s for Blakely. She goes 9.925 in leadoff, compared to 9.900 for Davis, so Florida gains an early smidge.
Nguyen – UB – Florida – good first hs – maloney to pak is hit – a bit late on 1/2 turn on low bar – gets up to handstand well on high – DLO, a bit deep, finds the stick.
Smith – FX – OU – double tuck, chest up, little rebound – back 1.5 to front lay is clean, good layout shape – switch side, overturns a quarter into popa – double pike, chest down, step forward.
Finnegan step salute forward on her vault. Morgan starts Utah with 9.9125 on beam.
9.900 for Nguyen on bars.
DiCello – UB – Florida – good first hs – Ray, hit – solid vertical – pak to toe on to van leeuwen, legs together – nice hs on high – FTDT, stuck. Well now.
But Ragan Smith went 9.9125, so not much room to gain anything.
Bowers – FX – Oklahoma – front full front tuck, good – double pike, chest down, step forward to present – switch 1/2 to wolf full, lovely positions –
Nice vault from Bryant, little rebound.
9.975 for Dicello!
Thomas – UB – Florida – good first hs – maloney to pak – hits hs on low – toe on to van leeuwen – a slight hesitation up to handstnad on high – DLO, holds the stick but an arm wave and chest forward.
So we’ll end up with a three-way tie for the 10s record.
Eaker with a step back on her gainer full beam dismount.
Bowers got 9.950 on floor.
Torrez – FX – OU – DLO, bounce back – split leap full to wolf full is nice – leg up full, wonderful – front tuck through to doubel tuck, little bounce back.
Wong excellent on her pak and van leeuwen positions – DLO, stuck landing. Good one.
Isa – BB – Utah – good candle mount – bhs loso loso, secure with some feet – full turn, hit – bea tto straddle 1/4, little lean – hits gainer full.
It’s 9.925 for Torrez, 9.975 for Wong.
Fletcher – FX – OU – whip to double tuck, bounce back – front lay to front full, controls the step – switch 1/2 to popa, hit – 2.5, controls the step forward.
McCusker clean on the pak and van leeuwen, stalder with the usual elbows into a stuck double tuck.
Florida gets a massive 49.7125 to finish on 198.2375. Big day for them.
But the 9.9375 for Fletcher will clinch it for Oklahoma.
Good side aerial loso for O’Keefe. Great one.
Sievers – FX – OU – FTDT, controls the step back – front tuck through to double tuck, chest forward, another controlled stick – switch side, over into popa. Another strong hit.
O’Keefe gets a 10 on beam, with Utah en route to a massive beam total.
McCallum’s beam will finish this off – wolf triple, good – wolf double, solid – bhs loso, secure with feet positions – split jump to straddle jump 1/4, hit – gainer tuck full, chest forward, hop.
Sievers 9.950 as OU goes 198.3875.
We’re having a disagreement here in the press area whether Florida deserved to win instead of Oklahoma. It’s up for debate, but I’m being convinced over here that Florida had as many overscores as Oklahoma. Those floor landings really weren’t scored in reality in that last rotation though, and we had those high early beam scores for the errors, and the vault landings, so I might be digging in my heels on Florida here.
FINAL:
Oklahoma 198.3875
Florida 198.2375
Utah 197.9375
LSU 197.525
I was happy with how Florida came out today with those lineup decisions, definitely stepped it up. Utah came close, but ultimately those short vault landings were never going to be able to keep up.