2:30 ET / 11:30 PT – NC State @ Georgia
5:00 ET / 2:00 PT – Oklahoma @ UCLA

It’s Senior Day for the gymnasts from Georgia and UCLA, so a little nostalgic look at highlights for these seniors before we get to the day’s action. Along with Alabama, these teams are going to have the biggest shoes to fill next year.

Comments on scores and routines after the jump when the action begins.

Georgia has its true lineups back today, with Ding and Nuccio back in on their events and Worley on bars and beam. This is very close to what we should expect in the postseason, if not the exact lineup.

We’ll start the actual meet a bit later than usual because of the senior presentations.

Since Georgia is at home (and they already have 3 high home scores), the Gymdogs don’t have much room to move up in RQS save for about a tenth if they were to record a season-high. They won’t be able to catch UCLA or probably Alabama, but they’ll want to try to stay ahead of Nebraska for now.

We’re underway now. 9.800 for Davis on vault. Fine score, but she can go higher with a stick. Shouldn’t matter as much with Ding in the lineup, though. Less pressure on the early vaulters than there was on Friday. Exact same can be said for Couch’s 9.800.

Persinger goes 9.825, followed by Kaylan Earls with a 9.750 (step forward). Jay will be disappointed by the landings from most of these early vaulters. At this point in the season, anything less than a stick starts to be a disappointment. The top vault teams have 4 people who can go 9.9 even when not producing their best work.

Kat Ding shows the rest of her team how to do it with a 9.925. It’s nice to see her start well. You never know how people are going to react on Senior Day/Night. Sometimes it can just be a river of tears the whole meet with no chance for a good performance. After 1 Rotation: Georgia 49.175, NC State 48.750. NC State had a bunch of 9.7s, but was led by Fincham’s 9.850


Tanella is able to stick her landing on bars pretty consistently now, which is making her a valuable contributor even though she’s having an off season in terms of making other lineups. 9.850.

We’re a little slow with the scores here for a moment at the Georgia meet. Sounds like Davis went career high (9.950) which is excellent for her. She’ll be the featured routine next year. So far I’ve seen Tanella at 9.850, Couch at 9.775, Davis at 9.950, Nuccio at 9.825, and Ding at 9.925.

Kat Ding goes 9.925. Everyone was hoping for a 10, but not quite there this time. Overall, Georgia went 49.325 on bars, and Georgia leads 98.500 to 97.550 after 2. Never got a score for the missing routine (Shayla?) but it didn’t count toward the team score. No surprise there. Sigh. It was a 9.775 from Shayla, so fine. . . no disaster there.

On beam, Couch recovers from Friday with a 9.825. Kat Ding had a major wobble on a full turn and goes 9.725, so they’ll need to drop it if they have an eye on something over 197. They’ll have to average 49.375 on the remaining events if they want to move up at all in RQS.

Earls steps up with a 9.900 on beam. Is that her first of the season? She’s been entrenched in the 9.8 range for a number of weeks now. Other than that they’ll be counting 9.825s with Shayla still to go.   Shayla goes 9.950 with an iffy landing. You feel they really wanted to give her a 10 today.

Georgia leads 147.825-146.475 after three events, so the Gymdogs need just a 49.175 to hit 197 today.

We’re beginning the final rotation of this meet now, with Earls scoring 9.850 to lead off floor. No Worley in this lineup (which is three weeks in a row now and will probably continue, I would think). get ready for some big scores in this rotation. Persinger at 9.900, so they should go well over 197 if these first two scores are any indication.

If not for the issue on beam, this would have been a career performance for Kat Ding. Really excellent 9.925 on floor. Thrilled for all these seniors ending the right way on floor. This is a major rotation, especially on an event that’s been such a problem for them this year – 49.550 for the rotation.

Final Score: Georgia 197.375, NC State 195.525
Georgia should be happy with this performance. I still don’t see them taking SECs (I can’t imagine they will be able to outscore both UF and Bama), but this is the kind of meet where you say “that’s the way I want them.” They shouldn’t change a thing. This is the lineup, this is the team.
A short break, and then we’ll have UCLA and Oklahoma

Oklahoma @ UCLA
Olivia Courtney has a concussion and will not compete. This team really can’t catch a break this year. There’s always an injury. UCLA is also reporting that EHH is warming up her 2010 floor routine. That was by far my favorite of hers.

Have I mentioned lately that I don’t care for mascots?

Olivia Courtney is there for the introductions, good sign. Honestly, I forgot Kozai and Ti Liu were on this team.

Rotation 1: UCLA on vault, Oklahoma on bars
Darren just told us that Sawa is doing an exhibition on floor today. Wasn’t the whole thing that she wouldn’t be able to do that because of red shirt issues?

Baer on vault – better than it has been, small step (9.825)

Ward – OU – just a little overbalancing on a handstand, but otherwise strong, stuck landing. (9.775)

MDLT – UCLA – very similar to Baer. A bit more dynamic, but not as much control on the landing. (9.800)

Brewer – OU – She does the one foot at a time toe on thing, which is distracting, but very clean. (9.850)

Larson – UCLA – Best distance so far, but the hop back as well. Not good landings from the last two for this part of the season. (9.900 – a touch too high)

Spears – OU – misses two handstands and a hop on the dismount, not her best, but fine.

Peszek – UCLA – pretends it’s a stick, but she’s actually low and takes a big step forward. (9.875)

Nowak – OU – totally flung out her double tuck dismount, but held onto it well.

Frattone – UCLA – perfect stick. Senior Day. Watch for the 10. She gets it. It’s the exact same vault as a 9.950 she got recently, but we’re fine with it. I’m really happy for her.

Olson – OU – very low on the DLO full with a lunge forward, but otherwise extremely strong. (9.800 – so nearly everything was on the dismount)

Zam – UCLA – hops back – she needs to be sticking this now, so that’s a weak performance. (9.900)

Ferguson – OU – looked strong but we didn’t see much of that.

Cindell does a fine exhibition on bars, but it probably shouldn’t go into the lineup.

After 1 Rotation: UCLA 49.500 Oklahoma 49.175
Frattone was really the only one who brought it in that rotation. Peszek made a bit of a rookie mistake in trying to hold onto a stick that wasn’t there and ended up incurring more deductions because of it. Everyone except for Frattone has work to do. Oklahoma had a few mistakes, an overbalanced handstand, a low landing, and enough to keep the score down.

OK, it looks like Val is crying and we don’t even get to hear it. Is Tauny giving an acceptance speech about her 10? Love it. Oh, she’s just telling people to buy season tickets. HA.

Rotation 2: Oklahoma on vault, UCLA on bars


Brewer – OU – a little lack of height and a hop back – (9.750)

MDLT – UCLA – fine routine but not her best – hop back on dismount and a missed handstand – (9.775)

Spears – OU – didn’t show it (9.800)

Larson – UCLA – one of the better routines she’s done. A leg separation on the bail and a shuffle on the landing. (9.850)

Ward – OU – off on direction and a big hop back – not the strongest. (9.800)

EHH – UCLA – not quite as clean as she usully is on the bars themselves, but just a little step on the landing. (9.825)

Olson – OU – didn’t show it either – pick it up cameras! (9.850)

Peszek – UCLA – one handstand I wasn’t happy with, and a big step on the landing, otherwise strong. (9.825)

Mooring – OU – Yhalf with a small step. Clean. (9.850)

Zamarripa – UCLA – Absolutely beautiful on the bars, but another step on the dismount (pretty big too). They haven’t stuck a dismount yet. Not acceptable. (9.875)

Stone – OU – Solid yfull with a step back. Should be their highest score yet. (9.900)

Gerber – UCLA – beautiful stick on her dbl arabian dismount – the best she’s done that skill – but a few form breaks on the bars. (9.950 – high)

Exhibition from Frattone – one of the better ones she’s done. Pretty clean from Craddock as well except for a late giant full.

After two rotations: UCLA 98.825, OU 98.375.
Oklahoma is certainly not having their best meet. The landings haven’t been there for nearly all the routines so far. UCLA stuck only one dismount of six during the bar rotation, which will not cut it. The handstands are getting a bit better, though.

Rotation 3: UCLA on beam, Oklahoma on floor


Gerber – UCLA – very clean as always, but a hop on the dismount which is uncharacteristic. (9.825)

Spears – OU – little hop back out of the mount, some of these dances elements aren’t quite there either, falls on the front double full. Not strong. (9.150)

Baer – UCLA – extremely clean on the beam, but a poor landing that should incur a significant deduction. (9.675)

Olson – OU – oh, K.J.’s choreography (love that she does something different, but I often have issues with it) – was she supposed to tuck her front full? Doubt it. That could be an issue – fine rudi dismount, but that second pass will cost her. (9.750)

Larson – UCLA – absolutely great routine with a stuck dismount – I’m pleasantly surprised with her consistency on this event in the second half of this season. (9.875)

Brewer – OU – apparently an OOB on the mount, we didn’t see it – but picked up the quality after that. Still, not a great day for Oklahoma so far. (9.700)

Zamarripa – UCLA – perfect on all the acro – takes an uncharacteristic fall while doing a 2.5 dismount – it was going to be a great score. Why are they having her do the 2.5? Seems like there’s no need. (9.400 with a fall – it was going to be that great.)

Nowak – OU – big lunge back out of double pike mount but no OOB, and very low on the front layout. This will be another lower score.

EHH – UCLA – a little wobble on the illusion turn, but otherwise strong routine. Hop on dismount. They’ll need another hit from Peszek now. Will be interesting to see if they let her do the standing full. (9.900)

Stone – OU – best floor routine of the rotation by far – should get them into the 9.8s for the first time. (9.850)

Peszek – UCLA – no standing full because they needed the hit – a bit of a hop on the dismount – necessary hit and will be a solid score, and they should still go over 49. (9.925)

Ferguson – OU – a little bit of legs on the middle pass – really strong dismount. They needed that routine – only minor deductions. (9.875)

After 3 Rotations: UCLA 148.025, Oklahoma 147.250
Oklahoma had a weak floor rotation from the first four gymnasts, and they couldn’t recover. Not UCLA’s best on beam either, but enough to retain a sizable lead. I’m still not happy with anyone’s landings.

Rotation 4: Oklahoma on beam, UCLA on floor
This is Oklahoma’s best event, so they can make up some ground here, but I do expect UCLA to get some big scores on floor. UCLA needs a 48.975 to go 197 at this meet. Oklahoma needs a 49.250 to reach 196.500.

Nowak – OU – didn’t know where the judges were for a second – very clean on series – a little wobble on the side aerial – gainer full dismount – best leadoff for OU today by far. (9.800)

Frattone – UCLA – clean – good leadoff – well done – good that they’ve dropped the shushunova. (9.850)

Mooring – OU – very nice hit routine – I agree with Allison about the sheep jump – (9.825)

MDLT – UCLA – I assume she is filling in for Courtney – or maybe Val is just in love with this choreography and wants people to see it as many times as possible – solid routine from her – better than it has been – I’d like just a little more control on the front landing elements. (9.850)

Brewer – OU – had a good routine going, but no chance on the double tuck dismount and falls – just a weird day for Oklahoma. (9.350)

Zamarripa – UCLA – love her layout stepout out of her second pass – she’s a bit more in control of this routine than she has been, but still dismounting with the rudi. (9.900)

Stone – OU – the only thing I don’t like about this routine is the two swingdowns – dismounts a little low with a step to the side. (9.850)

Pritchett – UCLA – fine half in half out mount, but not quite her best – low double pike to finish. (9.825)

Spears – OU – looked a little uncertain at the beginning but got more confident through the routine – big hop on dismount. (9.850)

Peszek – UCLA – this routine has grown on me a little – not sure why – good double pike to finish – I saw a few deductions, but this should be a high score. (9.950)

Ferguson – OU – tremendous dismount after a great routine – where would they be without her?

EHH – UCLA – LOVE that she’s doing the 2010 routine. It was excellent. Really great routine – for my money it was her best of the season – maybe that’s just the choreo. Now it’s with all the crying. She gets a 10 from one judge, but I don’t think you can give it to her with the double tuck mount.

Exhibition from Sawa on floor – ouch – botched her second pass and landed on her neck, but she’s fine. High fives Olivia Courtney mid-routine. Nice, but just a layout as her dismount. Hopefully they figured out a way for this not to be an issue with red-shirting.

Final Score – UCLA 197.525, Oklahoma 196.475


Nice to see the senior presentations.

Today’s important action: 
7:00 ET / 4:00 PT – [5] Georgia @ [20] Michigan
8:00 ET / 5:00 PT – [9] LSU @ Iowa
8:30 ET / 5:30 PT – [14] Missouri @ [4] Alabama
9:00 ET / 6:00 PT – [6] Nebraska @ [7] Utah

We’ll start with Georgia, where word comes today that Shayla Worley is battling an injury, making my post from yesterday essentially moot. Awesome. Gina Nuccio is also out for this meet, and Kat Ding is limited to bars. After all the discussion about how healthy this team was this year, they’ve been bitten at the worst possible time. And now they have a two-meet weekend. Fun fun fun fun. The 4,5,6 performers on floor now are Box, Tanella, and Couch. Not what one would be looking for.

This meet is obviously about making do for Georgia, but our other top teams competing today will be looking to show finalized lineups in preparation for the postseason, which will give us an excellent opportunity to compare quality. Alabama is the most naturally talented of the teams competing today, but they have hit their potential only twice this season. Even though the score last week was fine, blowing the lead was not, so there is still something to prove today.

Follow along after the jump for all the nonsense from 7:00 ET / 4:00 PT

I’m really rooting for Michigan to have a strong performance this week. It’s been such a poor season for them so far, but they’ve recorded their two highest scores of the year in the last two weeks and still have a shot at being a #3 seed at a Regional (that’s actually a big deal, then they would potentially need only one implosion to sneak into Nationals). It’s still unlikely, but the nice thing is that they have no seniors, so no one is going out on this sour note.

We’re underway, and Christa Tanella has recorded a 9.875 on bars as leadoff. Does our famous Michigan scoring not extend to Ypsilanti? Noel Couch follows with a 9.775, to match Stephanie Colbert’s vault score. Michigan started with a score they hope to drop in Zakharia’s 9.650. Zakharia is not much of a vaulter, but such is the necessity of this season.

Big vault score of 9.925 for Zurales. This has been the event Michigan has been able to manage on the most this year. Over on bars, it looks like Georgia is going to be able to hold firm without Nuccio in the UB lineup, at least so far.

Another big vault score for Michigan, 9.925 from Sampson. They need to build up the advantage here if they want to have any hope of a relatively big score because the scoring pace will fall as the meet goes on. Unfortunately, now they will have to drop Sugiyama’s fall and count Zakharia’s vault.

Chelsea Davis converts again on bars for 9.925. How much will they be relying her on this event next year without Ding and Nuccio? Ding goes 9.950. Dear Judges on Sunday, we all expect you to go 10 for Kat on bars. You have my official permission to do so. No one will hold it against you.

Disaster for Michigan on vault. Two falls to end the rotation from Sugiyama and Miele. Uh boy . . . it could very well go down from here. Let’s hope not.

After 1 Rotation: Georgia 49.325, Michigan 48.500
Important strong start for Georgia. I expect them to be fine on vault as well. Beam and floor without Ding, Worley, and Nuccio will be the deciding factor. By the way, perhaps my most pleasant surprise of the season has been Kat Ding’s new ability to hit beam and floor. So refreshing.

Chelsea Davis starts vault with a 9.800, which is solid for her. She can sometimes go 9.850 with a stick, but that’s about her range. Fine for a leadoff. Hires will have the pressure today, and they’ll need something from Earls to make up for the lack of Ding. [Davis’s score has been raised to 9.850]

Persinger puts up a big 9.900, while Annette Miele has gone 9.525 on bars, meaning Michigan will be fighting against an early low score again. They can’t keep putting themselves in these positions.

9.8 range scores from Sampson and Sugiyama will keep Michigan afloat on bars. They don’t have big scoring potential much of anywhere, so they need to get a 49.1-49.2 to try to make up for vault. Kaylan Earls puts up Georgia’s third 9.800 on vault, so this looks like this rotation will go lower than bars.

Georgia got high scores from Hires and Persinger and a bunch of 9.800s to score 49.225, which is just OK. For this meet they’ll take it, but they’d really rather not rely on having Breazeal in the lineup. Still waiting on a score for Brittnee Martinez for Michigan, unless they just put up five this week, which would be another low point. If that’s the case, Michigan goes below 49 again. They had a shot in this rotation with 9.850s from Gies and Sampson. So yes, Michigan showed just five UB routines, spare a thought for the memories of Botterman, Wilson, and Sexton.

After 2 Rotations: Georgia 98.550, Michigan 97.350
Georgia is currently on 197 pace, but I think they’ll gladly take anything around 196.800. They’ll need something in the low 197s to challenge UCLA with today’s score, but they’ll have another opportunity on Sunday – though they will have to do much better in trying to drop an already high home score.

Gies starts Michigan with a 9.625 on beam. The struggle to drop a score begins anew. Strong start for Georgia on floor with 9.825, 9.875. This has been Persinger’s best scoring performance of the season so far along with last week. She’s starting to deliver. Box and Tanella will be the big question marks here. This is a unique lineup decision by Jay to put some of the bigger concerns at the end of these lineups. Perhaps he wants to keep his usual workers in the same spots, but it does kill score building.

Through three beam routines, Michigan has not gone above 9.700. The bad news just keeps getting worse. Now they’re hoping to score 195. Zurales is carrying this team singlehandedly. 9.900.

Davis hits 9.750, and Box scores 9.800. Davis hasn’t looked secure at all on floor when I’ve seen her this year, and that’s about what we would expect from Box. It doesn’t help the scoring potential much, but they’re on track versus expectations. I don’t see Davis in the postseason six on this event.

Michigan finishes with a 48.725 on beam, meaning they have to go 48.925 (which they haven’t done yet today) on floor just to hit a 195. Meanwhile, Georgia manages to put up another 49.225. No one has been spectacular except for Ding on bars, but they are doing enough to still have a shot at 197, which I did not expect when the meet started. As long as they hit five routines on beam, they’ll take this meet any day given the lineup situation.

After 3 Rotations: Georgia 147.775, Michigan 146.075

Very unexpected fall from Noel Couch on beam, 9.150. She’s supposed to be the solid one. As a commenter just mentioned, Georgia has been extremely consistent this year, so this rotation will be an important test of their ability to handle competition adversity.

Moffat hits for 9.900. Clutch. She might just earn herself a lineup spot if she can do things like that. Still four more hits to go – Breazeal, Earls, Persinger, Tanella. The dream team. Breazeal did her job, 9.825.

Michigan has hit the first two routines for good scores for the first time today (9.800, 9.825 on floor).

We’re coming up on Alabama’s scheduled start time now, but the actual start won’t be for a while yet. We can probably wait for this meet to finish before shifting attention.

Michigan looks to be salvaging their night on floor. They just need one solid hit in the next two routines. Earls and Persinger have converted for Georgia, so it’s up to Tanella now. They need a 9.850 from her to go 197.

Georgia was so close. Tanella scores just a 9.425 on beam, which counts. Georgia finishes with 196.575. Michigan, meanwhile, has an excellent floor to break the 195 barrier, at least.

Final Score: Georgia, 196.575, Michigan 195.300


Alabama hosting Missouri soon to get underway now. Only major lineup changes for them are Frost coming back in on floor (unsure . . .) and Priess coming back in on beam (definitely sure). Surprisingly, Alabama still has a low home score on their RQS, so this is a prime opportunity for them to move up on UCLA.

Buh, by the time this meet actually starts, Utah will have begun. I also now make it a point not to watch anything that happens at Alabama before the meet begins because I don’t like horror films, so I’m just blindly waiting for things to get themselves going.

Ah, I see we’ve started. Alabama is playing their one song again, fine 9.8-level vaulting from Clark and Priess. Very weak vault from Sledge. Low with a lunge forward. They’ll want to drop that one. 9.725. I might have gone even lower.

Missouri is also happening on bars, but the form is extremely poor. This is not a #14 in the country kind of rotation. Though they are improving significantly as we go through the lineup.

Big hop back from Stack-Eaton. The landings really aren’t there today. All of the first four have incurred at least a tenth on landing. Gutierrez gets them on track, just a little body position issue. I assume the judges will go 9.950.

Milliner has her usual legs and a step to the side. It would be a 9.850 from me, but I’ll assume 9.900 from the judges. Let’s see. Yep. Good exhibition from Kayla Williams.

So Alabama goes 49.325 on vault, which is low for them especially at home. I think we saw about .100-.150 of overscoring overall, so nothing to get worked up about.

After 1 Rotation: Alabama 49.325, Missouri 48.475


Taking a break now, so talk amongst yourselves.

Update: Alabama was able to withstand a low score from Demeo on bars and score well again. They are on solid low-197 pace right now, but they will have to drop a beam fall from Gutierrez. I expect them to be able to do so. Just Stack-Eaton and Priess who have to hit now.

Over in Utah, both Utah and Nebraska recorded massive scores on the opening event, featuring a 9.950 on vault from Robarts and a 9.925 on bars from Giblin. It looks like the Utah judges have changed back into early-season mode.

Some nice individual passes from a few of Missouri’s floor workers. Stack-Eaton was extremely clean throughout her beam routine, as was Priess so this is going to be a big score.

Alabama will score 197 if they go just 49.000 on floor, so they have a big opportunity to zoom up in RQS. I expect the scores to go into the 9.9s frequently for this rotation.

Ultimately not as strong as we might have thought from Alabama on floor, with some 9.7s to lead things off, but they score a 197.175, which is respectable and will help their RQS.

Nebraska scores a colossal 197.600 with their seven competing gymnasts. I said early in the season that this was unsustainable, but maybe they are proving me wrong. Watch out for this group. They just ensured they won’t be overlooked. Utah also managed a hefty 197.450, and they probably would have won if not for a beam rotation that was just OK. Both teams will enjoy a little bump of momentum. We could see this meeting again at Regionals in just a few months time (though maybe not as this result should shoot Nebraska up more than a tenth in RQS so that they can challenge Georgia next weekend when Georgia is off).

Otherwise, not much else to report around the country. LSU and Stanford both scored in the lowish 196s, which should do little to advance their causes. I still expect both teams to make championships, but that’s about all. There’s a lot of talent on each team, but too many holes. I feel a bit the same way about Oregon State, so they need to prove themselves as legitimate spoilers for finals with a strong showing tomorrow.

The Olympic year is officially here. You will be able to note immediately the change in tone from our broadcasters, who will spend their time talking about legacy and honor and glory (even more than usual). Obviously, I live for it. Last night, Nastia was very diligent about mentioning that the college scholarship is the real, achievable goal for so many gymnasts. Starting today, that’s out the window. It’s the Olympics, or you’re a failure. There is no next year.

The broadcast will begin at 11:30 ET / 8:30 PT on Universal Sports (with the men’s competition), then will change to NBC at 1:00 ET / 10:00 PT, because nothing says “fan-friendly” like switching networks in the middle of a live broadcast. But I’m glad at least some of it is on NBC because Universal doesn’t broadcast in HD. What are we, Amish? Every Universal Sports broadcast looks like someone spilled coffee on a WNBA game.

For those without our gracious American networks, you can watch the broadcast HERE.

Lots to care about in the gymnastics world this weekend. Today, we’ve got some great NCAA matchups between top teams and an important look at future competitors:

7:30 ET / 4:30 PT – [3] UCLA @ [4] Georgia
7:30 ET / 4:30 PT – Nastia Liukin Cup
8:00 ET / 5:00 PT – [5] Alabama @ [2] Oklahoma
9:00 ET / 6:00 PT – [9] Oregon State @ [7] Utah


First things first, UCLA @ UGA. Lineups tell us that Shayla is back on three events this week, Moffatt will be going on beam, and Box will be going on floor (no Nuccio on floor). Hit routines from this group will be paramount to complement our expected hits from the likes of Ding and Couch. We’ve also been given the UCLA lineups, but they always change, so it’s barely relevant. Of note is that Sam Peszek is still limited to just beam and that Kaelie Baer will remain in the lineup on vault and beam (change – no longer on beam). So basically it’s the same lineup as last weekend.


Follow along (preferably schizophrenically) with all the competing action after the jump from 7:30 ET / 4:30 PT



Things should get underway at the Nastia Cup within the next 10 minutes, and UCLA/Georgia should begin shortly after that. Can you believe it’s already the second to last weekend of the regular season for both of these teams? This season has FLOWN by.

On the snowboarding that’s on USN right before the Nastia Cup, there is someone named Stale.

At the Nastia Cup, we’ve seen a pretty nice Y2/1 from Charity Jones, a future Oklahoma gymnast. Well done, K.J.  And in our nightly “Please Feel Old” alert, Tyus Edney’s daughter is competing here.

Some changes in the UCLA lineup: Peszek is in on bars for De La Torre (odd), and Courtney is in for Baer on beam (good change).

NC: clean beam routine for Lauren Ramirez, and coach Amanda Borden is bubbling over. And a nice DLO and clean overall tumbling from Casanova on floor. Michigan probably wishes they could just get her on a plane right now.

It’s a good event rotation for both UCLA and Georgia. Georgia should be able to build on UCLA’s bars, and UCLA should be able to build on Georgia’s vault.

NC: clean bar routine from Grace Williams with a few missed handstands and little else you can take. McMurtry with very powerful tumbling on floor and should score well save for an OOB.

Georgia will a good start on vault, sticks from Davis and Couch. EHH apparently had some dismount trouble on bars for 9.750. Noel Couch gets a 9.900, which should inform our perceptions of the scoring tonight.

Georgia will be dropping Earls’s score on vault. Larson gets a 9.825 on bars. These are OK scores for UCLA, but not what they would hope for. They’re going to want 9.875s+ from the rest of the lineup. And Peszek delivers with a 9.900 – so much for bars being the hardest event to get back with her wrist.

NC: Haven’t seen Beth Rybacki in a while . . . a fall for her gymnast Charlie Owens. After one rotation, Charity Jones leads after her excellent Yurchenko double full.

Huge score for Georgia, 49.450 on vault, led by 9.950 from Kat Ding. UCLA gets a 49.300, so they will trail, but that’s not a bad score for them. They would love to see anything over about a 197.2, so that puts them right on pace. This next rotation should show us some real strength for both teams. Keep an eye on what Shayla does. It will inform the whole meet for Georgia mentally.

For UCLA on vault, it will be important for Frattone and Zamarripa to figure out their landings, neither were great last weekend.

NC: Solid Y1.5s from Casanova to start the second rotation.

Baer starts UCLA on vault with a 9.800, about what we’ve come to expect from her. I still think there’s more potential in MDLT’s vault, but whatever. And EHH goes lower with 9.775, not a good start for UCLA on their best event.

Shayla’s bar dismount. It is its own character this season. 9.725.  It doesn’t matter because Chelsea Davis goes 9.950 to match Frattone’s score 4th up on vault. She’s really starting to prove that bars is her best event. She’s setting up the scores for Kat. Let’s see if it happens this week.

Another 9.900 for Zamarripa. She really needs to figure out that stick so she can go 10 again. Unfortunately, Kat Ding also misses performing at her best level with a 9.850. There was a chance for the big guns there, and they didn’t really convert.

After 2: Georgia 98.825, UCLA 98.750
UCLA will need EHH in particular to step up her quality on her better events.


NC: Alex McMurtry, an excellent vaulter, scores 9.900 which will not be beat. She’ll have to convert on her weaker events to get/retain this lead, though. Nice potential from Nia Dennis on beam, just a little shaky. Good skill set and line.

Rotation 3: Georgia on beam, UCLA on bars


So Noel Couch’s scores go, so go the charitability of the meet. Noel goes 9.900 on beam as the leadoff.

Over in Oklahoma, Alabama is on near 198 pace and is well ahead of the hosts. This kind of score will help them gain on UCLA and Georgia, even with the big scoring we’re seeing here.

Georgia is going huge on the scores on beam, and UCLA is underperforming on floor. Frattone goes 9.725, which is not very considerate of her.

More trouble for UCLA. Mattie struggles on floor. Judging issue on this routine. 9.475. OOB and a composition question. You’ll never get to do a DLO if you keep up that kind of performance. Now UCLA will have to count Frattone’s low score.

No pressure for Shayla in this routine, as Georgia already has a massive beam score. And she hits. First score up to her potential in a while. Georgia will have a big lead going into the last event.

NC: Leader McMurtry just went on bars and had terrifying legs. I don’t except that lead to stay.

UCLA manages to salvage a 49.200 on floor, so not terrible, but it does put pressure on the beam rotation. Georgia leads 148.300–147.950.

NC: More pretty powerful gymnastics from Nia Dennis on floor. Watch out for this one. Nice DLO from Lauren Beers on floor as well.

Rotation 4: UCLA on beam, Georgia on floor


Floor: Shayla out, Nuccio in

Gerber starts with her usual solidity – 9.850 (9.900 from one judge). Will be interesting to see how Courtney does in her return to the beam lineup for the first time since the season opener. Just a 9.675. They’ll need to drop it.

Georgia continuing the scoring trend on floor. The way things are going, UCLA, Georgia, and Alabama could be very close in RQS come Monday. Zamarripa with a fall, and UCLA is just . . . off. We can look forward to a sighing, dismissive press conference this week.

NC: Some nice bars difficulty from Shchennikova.

UCLA would need a 9.850 from Peszek to hit 197. They desperately need a big hit from her.

Georgia won’t be able to hit that 198 mark, but we can probably expect a big home score from Couch, meaning they’ll go very high indeed.

Peszek saves UCLA a little on beam, so they end up with a 196.975. It would have helped their confidence to hit that 197 mark, but after all that lackluster, it’s their highest road score of the season, and they will go up .060 in RQS, which will keep them ahead of Georgia, but the gap is closing. Alabam looks on pace for a similar score to Georgia, but their RQS will zoom up as a result.

FINAL: Georgia 197.700, UCLA 196.975


In other news, Alabama ended up blowing their lead after Oklahoma came back on beam and floor. Oklahoma beats Alabama 197.300–197.150, but both excellent scores.

After two events, neither Utah nor Oregon State are standing out. Utah leads 98.300–97.750.

In a final at the Nastia Cup, Charity Jones is our surprise winner, followed by McMurtry and Shchennikova in second and Grace Williams in 4th. McMurtry likely would have won if not for some serious form issues on bars.