As last year, both days of nationals will be brought to you live on the ESPN family of networks, starting with the first semifinal on ESPN2, then the second semifinal and Super Six on ESPNU, plus the dedicated event feeds and four-event quad window for streaming.

So now, the links.

The conference championships are upon us once more!

I’ve previewed the Pac-12 and SEC Championships in their own posts, but there will be plenty of other action to follow on Saturday beyond those two meets, like Oklahoma winning the Big 12 Championship. Michigan enters Big Tens as the heavy favorite now that Nebraska has been relegated to the first session, George Washington is looking for a third conference title in four years as well as a score to get up into the top 18, and also there are other meets you’ll pretend to follow then won’t because there’s too much going on simultaneously. (Not autobiographical.)

As part of the project to manage your day, here is the annual composite schedule of all the conference meets:

You will not survive.

More of the smaller conferences should take the cue from the MIC, which is holding its championship on Friday this year instead of Saturday, and therefore everyone is 7000% more likely to watch.

“No one ever pays attention to us!” *holds meet at the exact same time as all the famous schools*

“We don’t get the leotard bonus!” *ensures no one has ever even watched team before*

Saturday is the RQS deadline (can’t record a score for RQS after the 24th), which is also dumb and limiting and should be changed. Put some conference champs on Sunday and Friday. Make a weekend of it.

Remember that the conference championships also usher in the beginning of four-judge season, as opposed to two judges. Now, four judges will score each routine, with the high and the low thrown out and the remaining two averaged. It just means that you have to bribe double the judges to get the score you want.

Danger zone watch
Your danger zone teams this year are New Hampshire, Central Michigan, Iowa, Arizona, Utah State, and North Carolina. Six enter, three will leave.

Check out the RQS Scenarios for specific details about how that will play out and what scores each of the teams will be looking for. It’s a little different this year because the lowest-ranked teams (Utah State and North Carolina) actually control their own fates and could clinch spots with huge scores tomorrow, which would leave Central Michigan, Iowa, and Arizona in the lurch.

New Hampshire is the most likely of the six to advance (needs just 195.500), while Central Michigan and Iowa will be rooting for a low-scoring national atmosphere and lots of misses because everyone’s RQS scores staying the same would be good for them as they currently sit in the top 36.

*Meets marked BTN or ESPNU will be broadcast live on TV and may also be streamed online for those who have cable-subscriber log-ins or subscriptions to participating Sling, Roku whatnots.

*Meets marked SEC+ or ACC+ may be streamed for those who have cable-subscriber log-ins or subscriptions to participating Sling, Roku whatnots.

*Meets marked ESPN3 may be streamed on the WatchESPN app for those who have a participating ISP.

*Meets marked [School]$ are streamed through school-specific services and require a subscription to that school’s web streaming.

*Meets marked FREE are streamed through school-specific services and require no log-in or subscription fee.

Marquee Meets

[20] Georgia @ [4] Utah
Oh, the old rivalry—renewed with an extra dash of Yoculan. Makes everything spicier. Now we’re going to need Greg Marsden to run out onto the floor (and get a yellow card) just for nostalgia’s sake. Please.

A sense of it all: Both teams have technically won 10 college gymnastics national championships, but Georgia uses the endpoint of the NCAA recognizing women’s sports so that it can say Georgia has 10 NCAA championships and Utah has 9, since one of Utah’s titles came in the AIAW years. Utah, meanwhile, uses both the NCAA and AIAW years so that it can say Utah and Georgia each have 10 college gymnastics national championships. So it’s a whole ordeal. The “number of championships” controversy is one of my favorite things about this rivalry, and you have to pick a side. Continue reading NCAA Week 11 – Schedule and Links →

*Meets marked SECN, BTN, or P12N will be broadcast live on TV and may also be streamed online for those who have cable-subscriber log-ins or subscriptions to participating Sling, Roku whatnots.

*Meets marked SEC+, ACC+, or FSGo may be streamed for those who have cable-subscriber log-ins or subscriptions to participating Sling, Roku whatnots.

*Meets marked ESPN3 may be streamed on the WatchESPN app for those who have a participating ISP.

*Meets marked BTN+/FLO may be streamed either through a paid subscription to BTN+ ($10/month) or a paid subscription to FloGymnastics ($30/month).

*Meets marked [School]$ are streamed through school-specific services and require a subscription to that school’s web streaming.

*Meets marked FREE are streamed through school-specific services and require no log-in or subscription fee.

Marquee Meets

[4] Utah @ [7] Michigan
Our top-10 dual meet for the weekend sees Utah come off its little vacation for a clash in which Utah will be the favorite but Michigan is nonetheless in with a solid shot. At least, we’ve seen Michigan score at home what Utah tends to score on the road, if that’s any indication. Which it isn’t. Nothing matters.

Critical for Michigan, as I’ll keep talking about through the rest of the season, is enduring vault. Those early Michigan Yfulls could conceivably drop a tenth each to Utah’s fulls, which would be extremely difficult to recover from. Michigan needs to get through the first three vaults with 9.800s, and then go 9.850s-9.900s for Zaziski, Townsend, and McLean, to stay in contention. Continue reading NCAA Week 10 – Schedule and Links →

*Meets marked SECN or P12N will be broadcast live on TV and may also be streamed online for those who have cable-subscriber log-ins or subscriptions to participating Sling, Roku whatnots.

*Meets marked SEC+ or ACC+ may be streamed on the WatchESPN app for those who have cable-subscriber log-ins or subscriptions to participating Sling, Roku whatnots.

*Meets marked ESPN3 may be streamed on the WatchESPN app for those who have a participating ISP.

*Meets marked BTN+/FLO may be streamed either through a paid subscription to BTN+ ($10/month) or a paid subscription to FloGymnastics ($30/month).

*Meets marked [School]$ are streamed through school-specific services and require a subscription to that school’s web streaming.

*Meets marked FREE are streamed through school-specific services and require no log-in or subscription fee.

Marquee Meet

 [7] Michigan @ [1] Oklahoma

Our lone top-10 clash this weekend will be an American Cup palate cleanser (probably) (but I mean come on), as a still-depleted Michigan heads to Oklahoma in the hope of snatching a big away score. Oklahoma is certainly the heavy favorite here, but Michigan nonetheless has some important milestones to reach, in particular looking to snatch a 197 road score for the first time this season. Continue reading NCAA Week 9 – Schedule and Links →

*Meets marked SECN or P12N will be broadcast live on TV and may also be streamed online for those who have cable-subscriber log-ins or subscriptions to participating Sling, Roku whatnots.

*Meets marked SEC+ or ACC+ may be streamed on the WatchESPN app for those who have cable-subscriber log-ins or subscriptions to participating Sling, Roku whatnots.

*Meets marked ESPN3 may be streamed on the WatchESPN app for those who have a participating ISP.

*Meets marked BTN+/FLO may be streamed either through a paid subscription to BTN+ ($10/month) or a paid subscription to FloGymnastics ($30/month).

*Meets marked [School]$ are streamed through school-specific services and require a subscription to that school’s web streaming.

*Meets marked FREE are streamed through school-specific services and require no log-in or subscription fee.

Marquee Meets

[8] Oregon State @ [3] UCLA

Surprisingly, the only top-10 matchup on the schedule this weekend is Oregon State’s visit to UCLA, rounding out the action on Sunday. Oregon State’s ability to come up with useful 9.850-level routines from presumed non-competing sophomores like Minyard, Lazaro, and Greene has allowed the team to stay close with those pecking around the outside of the Super Six conversation despite losing so many gymnasts after last season.

While the Beavs won’t be expected to defeat UCLA in this one, they still have a 194 road score from that “you ALL get a 1” meet at Pitt that needs to be dropped for RQS. And it will be as long as they…basically show up at this meet. There are few better places to get your big road score, and a 196.650+ would assure OSU of staying in the top 8 when we switch over to RQS on Monday. That’s the score to watch. Continue reading NCAA Week 8 – Schedule and Links →