Category Archives: NCAA Preview
2022 Level 10 Nationals
The full scores—including the juniors—may be found here, but I’ll run through the major senior results along with what you need to know for future NCAA purposes. (Verbally committed seniors are noted with their school and the year of their first competition season, not year of academic entry, because we don’t care about that book-lerning nunsense.)
SENIOR F – Top 10 AA & Notables
Rk | Name | NCAA | VT | UB | BB | FX | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Selena Harris | UCLA 2023 | 9.900 | 9.800 | 9.650 | 9.900 | 39.250 |
While “needing more talented names on the roster” wasn’t exactly the reason UCLA failed to advance to nationals this season, the Bruins absolutely could have used this level of all-arounder in 2022 and have shed enough routines after the season for that need to remain in 2023. | |||||||
1 | Faith Torrez | Oklahoma 2023 | 9.775 | 9.750 | 9.900 | 9.825 | 39.250 |
Though the national champions are losing a couple critical scores from this year’s team, it’s not a ton of routines, so they can expect a net gain in depth and quality by adding a gymnast of Torrez’s caliber. | |||||||
3 | Miki Aderinto | Cal 2023 | 9.750 | 9.800 | 9.700 | 9.525 | 38.775 |
eMjae Frazier is the name in next year’s class, but Aderinto will be a crucial addition for Cal given what a large and significant senior class the team had in 2022, as the current underclasswomen transition to having to take on more scoring responsibility. | |||||||
4 | Gwen Fink | North Carolina 2023 | 9.800 | 9.750 | 9.425 | 9.575 | 38.550 |
With two top-10 finishes, this was a very good session for North Carolina, which achieved goal #1 this past year by returning to regionals. | |||||||
5 | Addi Lawrence | Missouri 2023 | 9.575 | 9.700 | 9.425 | 9.800 | 38.500 |
#5 Missouri isn’t losing any routines from this season’s lineups, so… | |||||||
6 | Polina Belanovski | Towson 2023 | 9.650 | 9.700 | 9.200 | 9.700 | 38.250 |
Really nice gets in spots 6 and 7 for Towson and Yale here, two teams that were already setting scoring records this past season. | |||||||
7 | Megan Brueck | Yale 2023 | 9.650 | 9.650 | 9.225 | 9.650 | 38.175 |
8 | Madina Rose French | ??? | 9.625 | 9.300 | 9.550 | 9.650 | 38.125 |
9 | Kaya Forbes | North Carolina 2023 | 9.750 | 9.625 | 9.175 | 9.550 | 38.100 |
10 | Claire Stippich | Kentucky 2023 | 9.550 | 9.475 | 9.325 | 9.675 | 38.025 |
13 | Ashley Cowan | LSU 2023 | 9.550 | 9.800 | 8.775 | 9.800 | 37.925 |
Note: While Cowan is verballed to LSU, she was not part of November’s signing announcement. | |||||||
16 | Kayla Lee | Arizona St 2023 | 9.250 | 9.350 | 9.425 | 9.800 | 37.825 |
18 | Leah Moreno | New Hampshire 2023 | 9.500 | 9.775 | 8.950 | 9.450 | 37.675 |
18 | Cecilia Cooley | Denver 2023 | 9.175 | 9.600 | 9.650 | 9.250 | 37.674 |
47 | Kayla Pardue | So Utah 2023 | 9.725 | 8.100 | 8.375 | 9.600 | 35.800 |
SENIOR E – Top 10 AA & Notables
Rk | Name | NCAA | VT | UB | BB | FX | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Nikki Smith | Michigan St 2023 | 9.900 | 9.750 | 9.650 | 9.725 | 39.025 |
The deeply accomplished L10s just keep coming for Michigan State, with sister of current team member Nyah taking the title in this age group. Though the younger ones are doing a lot of the work for MSU, there will still be some important replacement work to do next year, so…check? | |||||||
2 | Anna Roberts | Stanford 2023 | 9.875 | 9.500 | 9.550 | 9.825 | 38.750 |
Stanford had a very good session here with multiple top performances, and coming off that wildly encouraging finish to the end of the 2022 season, things are looking up. | |||||||
3 | Amani Herring | Penn St 2023 | 9.700 | 9.475 | 9.550 | 9.775 | 38.500 |
Like Stanford, Penn State also put two people in the top 10 here, but unlike Stanford, Penn State did not have an encouraging end to last season, finishing a historically low 40th place. So this strong L10 class is coming not a moment too soon. | |||||||
4 | Sydney Morris | ??? | 9.675 | 9.650 | 9.500 | 9.625 | 38.450 |
Morris, a former elite who was a top-10 junior for several years, has not yet announced a commitment anywhere, so keep an eye on that. | |||||||
5 | Ava Pedrahita | Penn St 2023 | 9.675 | 9.550 | 9.375 | 9.800 | 38.400 |
6 | Kylie Eaquinto | BYU 2023 | 9.675 | 9.525 | 9.400 | 9.725 | 38.325 |
7 | Taralyn Nguyen | Stanford 2023 | 9.850 | 9.150 | 9.375 | 9.875 | 38.250 |
Underpowered vaulting was probably the most significant deficit Stanford faced in 2022, so these high vault scores from both their top-10 finishers are worth noting. | |||||||
8 | Lily Clapper | Michigan 2023 | 9.550 | 9.625 | 9.425 | 9.625 | 38.225 |
The younger Clapper sister is verballed to Michigan but was not in the November signing class. | |||||||
9 | Nastia Rudnitskaya | Kent St 2023 | 9.625 | 9.750 | 9.225 | 9.600 | 38.200 |
10 | Mila Brusch | Denver 2023 | 9.850 | 9.575 | 9.250 | 9.475 | 38.150 |
I guess the theme of this session is younger sisters, but here we have another who isn’t going to the same score as the older sister, with Mila heading to Denver rather than Auburn. | |||||||
13 | Natalia Pawlak | Pitt 2023 | 9.600 | 9.700 | 9.075 | 9.625 | 38.000 |
Pawlak competed for Poland at junior Euros in 2018. | |||||||
16 | Nirel Bart-Williams | Illinois St 2023 | 9.600 | 9.725 | 9.050 | 9.425 | 37.800 |
21 | Deana Sheremeta | George Washington 2023 | 9.550 | 9.200 | 9.100 | 9.750 | 37.600 |
Looks like sisters not going to the same school as each other officially wins the session. | |||||||
25 | Naya Howard | Georgia 2023 | 9.625 | 8.825 | 9.500 | 9.500 | 37.450 |
41 | Brooklyn Rowray | Minnesota 2023 | 9.500 | 8.600 | 9.525 | 8.775 | 36.400 |
50 | Jayda Lealaogata | ??? | 9.375 | 9.700 | 7.700 | 8.800 | 35.575 |
SENIOR D – Top 10 AA & Notables
Rk | Name | NCAA | VT | UB | BB | FX | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gabrielle Gladieux | Alabama 2023 | 9.725 | 9.650 | 9.600 | 9.775 | 38.750 |
Alabama has a mighty hefty class entering next season, and while they’ll have some serious score replacement work to do (i.e. Graber), a L10 champion in Gladieux won’t even have to bear the brunt of the expectations with elites like German in the group. | |||||||
2 | Olivia Zsarmani | Michigan St 2023 | 9.725 | 9.725 | 9.575 | 9.650 | 38.675 |
Michigan State’s “I want all the L10s” strategy continues in this age group with two more top-10 finishers who are joining next year’s class. | |||||||
3 | Sarah Moraw | Minnesota 2023 | 9.875 | 9.475 | 9.550 | 9.675 | 38.575 |
Minnesota will like the look of that beam result as they try to pencil in the shape of a competitive beam lineup in the post-Ramler, Loper era. | |||||||
3 | Payton Harris | Ohio State 2023 | 9.825 | 9.625 | 9.425 | 9.700 | 38.575 |
Last year, it was Ohio State and Michigan State that pretty much won L10 nationals, and they’re keeping it up this year. | |||||||
5 | Casey Brown | Cal 2023 | 9.775 | 9.625 | 9.375 | 9.725 | 38.500 |
Cal will very much enjoy that vault score and the potential Y1.5 here since vault difficulty was pretty much entirely what separated them from Minnesota at regionals. | |||||||
6 | Makayla Tucker | ??? | 9.725 | 9.650 | 9.425 | 9.675 | 38.475 |
7 | Jennifer McMillan | Oregon St 2023 | 9.725 | 9.850 | 9.275 | 9.550 | 38.400 |
“Yes, please, bars scores” – Oregon State | |||||||
8 | Bryce Wilson | LSU 2023 | 9.825 | 9.425 | 9.325 | 9.725 | 38.325 |
Check off another vault/floor star on LSU’s list. | |||||||
9 | Sage Kellerman | Michigan St 2023 | 9.775 | 9.600 | 9.375 | 9.500 | 38.250 |
10 | Lilly Tubbs | Washington 2023 | 9.600 | 9.375 | 9.525 | 9.525 | 38.025 |
13 | Cally Swaney | Arkansas 2023 | 9.625 | 9.675 | 8.950 | 9.575 | 37.825 |
16 | Bridget Bourque | Kentucky 2023 | 9.675 | 9.675 | 8.925 | 9.425 | 37.700 |
20 | Abby Martin | Arizona 2024 | 9.575 | 8.850 | 9.450 | 9.750 | 37.625 |
20 | Kimberly Smith | Arizona St 2023 | 9.675 | 9.600 | 9.450 | 8.900 | 37.625 |
30 | Alea Byrne | Illinois 2023 | 9.575 | 8.525 | 8.925 | 9.825 | 36.850 |
34 | Brooke Ferrari | TWU 2023 | 9.225 | 9.650 | 8.650 | 9.175 | 36.700 |
52 | Ashley Szymanski | ??? | 9.600 | 9.650 | 9.225 | – | – |
SENIOR C – Top 10 AA
Rk | Name | NCAA | VT | UB | BB | FX | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Priscilla Park | Arkansas 2024 | 9.625 | 9.700 | 9.400 | 9.750 | 38.475 |
With Senior C, we predominantly get into gymnasts who won’t start until the 2024 season, but you know I’m eyeing that bars score anyway. | |||||||
2 | Neve King | North Carolina 2024 | 9.650 | 9.600 | 9.325 | 9.700 | 38.275 |
3 | Ava Jorgensen | BYU 2024 | 9.675 | 9.700 | 9.325 | 9.550 | 38.250 |
4 | Gabriella Ladanyi | Alabama 2024 | 9.450 | 9.700 | 9.400 | 9.575 | 38.125 |
The daughter of coach Robert Ladanyi. | |||||||
4 | Jurnee Lane | ??? | 9.425 | 9.525 | 9.350 | 9.825 | 38.125 |
6 | Reese Samuelson | W Michigan 2024 | 9.450 | 9.650 | 9.475 | 9.525 | 38.100 |
7 | Anya Pilgrim | Florida 2024 | 9.775 | 8.900 | 9.525 | 9.800 | 38.000 |
The former elite from Hill’s was the big favorite in this session and would have won pretty comfortably if not for the bars fall. | |||||||
8 | Lillian Lewis | Alabama 2023 | 9.500 | 9.500 | 9.425 | 9.550 | 37.975 |
Though most of the gymnasts in this age group won’t compete in college until the 2024 season, a few will join Alabama next season as part of that massive class: Lewis and Gravier | |||||||
9 | Zoe Gravier | Alabama 2023 | 9.500 | 9.550 | 9.350 | 9.525 | 37.925 |
An MG Elite refugee, Gravier ended up at First State and is now heading to Alabama. | |||||||
9 | Ava Molina | ??? | 9.225 | 9.550 | 9.525 | 9.625 | 37.925 |
SENIOR B – Top 10 AA
Rk | Name | NCAA | VT | UB | BB | FX | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Chloe LaCoursiere | Alabama 2024 | 9.750 | 9.850 | 9.200 | 9.775 | 38.575 |
It continues being a seriously successful nationals for Alabama. | |||||||
2 | Kaia Tanskanen | Missouri 2024 | 9.525 | 9.650 | 9.600 | 9.700 | 38.475 |
2 | Brynlee Anderson | BYU 2024 | 9.575 | 9.550 | 9.650 | 9.700 | 38.475 |
4 | Olivia Coppola | Illinois 2024 | 9.575 | 9.675 | 9.350 | 9.750 | 38.350 |
5 | Holly Snyder | Georgia 2024 | 9.600 | 9.700 | 9.200 | 9.750 | 38.250 |
The Georgia rebuild will have to start with recruiting, and there a few encouraging results at this year’s nationals with Snyder here and Battle in A. | |||||||
5 | Devyn Valuch | ??? | 9.600 | 9.500 | 9.400 | 9.750 | 38.250 |
5 | Ady Wahl | ??? | 9.700 | 9.500 | 9.325 | 9.725 | 38.250 |
8 | Cadence Gormley | Kentucky 2024 | 9.625 | 9.650 | 9.350 | 9.575 | 38.200 |
9 | Kristin Lin | Washington 2024 | 9.550 | 9.500 | 9.325 | 9.800 | 38.175 |
10 | Jamison Sears | Alabama 2024 | 9.625 | 8.900 | 9.725 | 9.875 | 38.125 |
Another elite who was favored to win her session but felled by a bars miss, just like Pilgrim in Senior C. | |||||||
10 | Julia Krzywanski | ??? | 9.525 | 9.475 | 9.425 | 9.700 | 38.125 |
SENIOR A – Top 10 AA
Rk | Name | NCAA | VT | UB | BB | FX | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lily Smith | Alabama 2024 | 9.550 | 9.850 | 9.575 | 9.900 | 38.875 |
Winning three of the six senior sessions is a lot for a single school at one nationals. | |||||||
2 | Julianne Huff | Auburn 2024 | 9.800 | 9.675 | 9.350 | 9.775 | 38.600 |
3 | Morgan Price | Arkansas 2023 | 9.750 | 9.800 | 9.450 | 9.500 | 38.500 |
Price is going to be an early joiner for Arkansas next season, so perhaps noting the high bars score is more relevant in this case. | |||||||
4 | Delayney Rodriguez | Kentucky 2024 | 9.600 | 9.475 | 9.625 | 9.650 | 38.350 |
4 | Camie Winger | ??? | 9.350 | 9.675 | 9.550 | 9.775 | 38.350 |
6 | Jaydah Battle | Georgia 2024 | 9.775 | 9.200 | 9.650 | 9.675 | 38.300 |
7 | Whitney Jencks | Nebraska 2024 | 9.275 | 9.650 | 9.450 | 9.750 | 38.125 |
8 | Brinlee Christensen | So Utah 2024 | 9.500 | 9.700 | 9.375 | 9.525 | 38.100 |
9 | Sydney Jelen | ??? | 9.000 | 9.750 | 9.675 | 9.525 | 37.975 |
10 | Taylor DeVries | Oregon St 2024 | 9.475 | 9.675 | 9.400 | 9.400 | 37.950 |
NCAA Week 9 Preview
Here’s a rundown of the various randoms I’m thinking about heading into the…second-to-last weekend before conference championships. You know, the big one.
UCLA @ Cal – Saturday afternoon is going to be a thing. In this season’s shifted hierarchy, UCLA currently ranks 4th in the Pac-12 to Cal’s 3rd, while Arizona State leapfrogged both to move into 2nd after last week’s two meets. It’s a different world. And yet in dual meet results so far, it’s pretty much been the same world. The normal expectations have held. UCLA and Cal have both defeated Arizona State and suffered their only losses in pretty tight meets away against Utah. Those are basically the results you would expect in any old season. This weekend, Cal will be eager to confirm that these shifted 2021 roles—where Cal is the numerical favorite against UCLA—are a real life thing with an actual win in a dual meet.
In practice, there hasn’t been much separating these #2, #3, and #4 teams in the conference in their scores all season. All three have been in the low 197s thus far for their good hits, so UCLA/Cal result—as well as their final season rankings—should be considered a toss-up. Arizona State hosts Arizona simultaneous to the UCLA/Cal meet, though ASU’s low home score is already a 197.150, which means there’s probably not a ton of room to continue improving that ranking this week. Meanwhile, UCLA is trying to drop a 196.600 and Cal is trying to drop a 196.075, so there’s clearer room for those two to raise their NQSs with quality performances in a bid to catch ASU.
Continue reading NCAA Week 9 PreviewNCAA Week 7 Preview
Marquee Meet
[14] UCLA @ [3] Utah
Friday, February 19 – 7:00pm MT – ESPNU
It’s…a different year for this UCLA/Utah rivalry. But it’s still UCLA/Utah. Typically, this meet is about parsing minor advantages and little ifs and buts and preparing for a judging apocalypse (it was just a year ago that Utah went 49.775 on beam and UCLA 49.800 on floor in the final rotation of a 198-a-thon). This year, however, Utah enters as a more convincing favorite than we’ve had in this dual-meet series in quite a few seasons.
Thus far, UCLA has peaked at 196.750, while Utah has scored over 197 in its last three meets and has dipped below that 196.750 mark only once in five competitions. Utah is ranked higher on all four events and, in both roster depth and preparation, has a major edge on UCLA this year. Now, expect to see a better UCLA team in this meet than what we saw during the annual “exploring depth” adventure at Washington last weekend. The Bruins were resting some important routines at that meet and should bring them back against Utah to have more complete lineups, including the full complement of potential 9.9+s at the back half of a floor rotation that can keep pace with, or beat, Utah there. Despite last week’s 195, UCLA will be aiming to hit the 197s this week.
Utah’s scoring aims will be noticeably higher, with the team’s primary advantages coming on vault and beam. UCLA relies on Yfulls from Campbell and Dennis for its top vault scores (and won’t have Wright’s 1.5 again this week), while Utah has four Y1.5s to end the lineup and therefore starts from a much higher place when the landings are on. Beam is Utah’s go-to event these days, compared to a UCLA team that has looked tight and tentative so far and has fewer natural, comfortable beamers than we have come to expect from UCLA beam lineups of yore. UCLA has been working beam lately like they’re at their first middle school dance, and if we see one improvement for the Bruins against Utah, it needs to be that.
If Utah opens up the expected lead because of vault and beam, there won’t be a lot UCLA can do. Beyond winning, Utah will be aiming to improve bars in its quest to get close to those 198s that the popular-girls table has started scoring. Bars is the event that has looked a little medium lately, particularly in the handstand and sticking departments. I mean, there’s only so much a Farden fist pump can do if you cut off your casts and lunge on landing.
Continue reading NCAA Week 7 Preview