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Rankings

RQS Update – Week 8

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Here’s your weekly look at the current RQS picture and what RQS/ranking teams can reach based on scores from their next meets.

For reference, these were the RQSs required last season for a series of benchmarks if you’re feverishly watching what a certain team might need:

Advance to regionals – 195.420 RQS
Seeded #3 at regionals – 196.380 RQS
Seeded #2 at regionals – 196.845 RQS
Seeded #1 at regionals – 197.355 RQS

Scores in bold will be part of the six scores used for final RQS and can no longer be removed.

1. Oklahoma – 197.855
Road Score 1: 198.125
Road Score 2: 198.050
Road Score 3: 197.550
Home/Road Score 1: 198.150
Home/Road Score 2: 198.025
Home/Road Score 3: 197.525
RQS: 197.855

Maximum possible RQS after next meet: 197.980

With four scores of 198 recorded this season, Oklahoma is sitting pretty, having already cinched the #1 ranking for next Monday because no other team can catch OU’s current RQS of 197.855, even if they all score a billion. Once again this year, Oklahoma looks like it is competing against itself in the ranking race. 

2. UCLA – 197.610
Road Score 1: 197.750
Road Score 2: 197.625
Road Score 3: 197.300
Home/Road Score 1: 198.025
Home/Road Score 2: 197.950
Home/Road Score 3: 197.425
RQS: 197.610

Maximum possible RQS after next meet: 197.755

UCLA can’t catch Oklahoma this week, so the goal will be to maintain this #2 ranking, though it will be a close fight with LSU. UCLA has the higher maximum RQS after this week and can therefore guarantee staying ahead of LSU regardless of what LSU scores with a 197.925. There is a very, very outside chance that Florida could catch UCLA this week as well, but it would take more than a 198 from Florida a weak meet from UCLA. The Bruins can remove any chance of being caught by Florida with a 197.350. 

3. LSU – 197.545
Road Score 1: 198.075
Road Score 2: 197.575
Road Score 3: 197.375
Home/Road Score 1: 198.175
Home/Road Score 2: 197.450
Home/Road Score 3: 197.250
RQS: 197.545

Maximum possible RQS after next meet: 197.730

The #2 ranking is in UCLA’s hands this week since the Bruins have the higher possible RQS, but LSU is in with a good shot. It would take at least 197.575 for LSU to have any chance at UCLA, so that’s the minimum score to watch when the two teams compete simultaneously on Sunday. LSU is also potentially at risk of being passed by Florida if the Gators have a big day, but LSU can ensure staying ahead of Florida with a 197.625 this weekend. 

4. Utah – 197.415
Road Score 1: 197.550
Road Score 2: 197.550
Road Score 3: 197.450
Home/Road Score 1: 197.700
Home/Road Score 2: 197.450
Home/Road Score 3: 197.075
RQS: 197.415

Maximum possible RQS after next meet: 197.540

Utah does not compete this weekend, so that maximum possible RQS is what will be attainable the following weekend. For this week, Utah will have to hope its 197.415 holds up against a potential Florida challenge.

5. Florida – 197.250
Road Score 1: 197.400
Road Score 2: 196.950
Road Score 3: 196.325
Home/Road Score 1: 198.150
Home/Road Score 2: 197.850
Home/Road Score 3: 197.725
RQS: 197.250

Maximum possible RQS after next meet: 197.615

It’s a huge weekend for Florida on the road against Missouri. With two road meets remaining and two 196 road scores to drop, the Gators need a big meet and could move up pretty dramatically if things fall just right (or could be stuck counting a 196 if things don’t).

The most attainable goal will be passing Utah. Since Utah doesn’t compete this week, Florida will be guaranteed to pass Utah by scoring 197.175. LSU and UCLA will be much tougher, but Florida would be in the game to pass LSU with a 197.825 and UCLA with a 198.150 if either of those teams do have a bad one.

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Rankings

Week 8 Rankings

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1. Oklahoma Sooners

RQS: 197.855
Previous ranking: 1

Oklahoma removed the taste of that (shudder) 196—like what dirty peasants score—by recording its fourth 198 of the season and reestablishing its margin of advantage over the remaining teams. It was not one of OU’s best performances, but it was comprehensive and acceptably March in quality, each event with room for improvement. Nicole Lehrmann entered the floor lineup this week (the one real lineup question we still have for Oklahoma, besides the identities of the basically equivalent Yfulls) and provided a realistic option, though hers is probably a stop-gap routine until Natalie Brown is able to return in full. Brown hit her first beam routine of the season this week, making that lineup look pretty finalized.

2. UCLA Bruins

RQS: 197.610
Previous ranking: 3

UCLA went big in its Utah-meet-rehab competition by breaking the 198 marker and recording the highest team score of the week, enough to launch the Bruins back to the #2 spot. The score was built on excellent beam and floor rotations that, while not necessarily going to score 49.7s when we get down to it, were both very legitimate 49.5+ events. UCLA would be quite happy repeating those exact performances in the postseason—though watch the fight for the floor lineup once Tratz is back in. With Kocian debuting there, and Dennis’s night-and-day composition change, it may end up that Ross is now the #7 floor routine on this team. At the same time, do you really want to give away the potential for an AH KYLA 9.975 I HEART YOU score? Decisions, decisions. No one is sold on vault yet. I’d like to see the next few road meets used to finalize who the actual vaulters are.

3. LSU Tigers

RQS: 197.545
Previous ranking: 2

LSU drops a spot behind UCLA following a nonetheless perfectly acceptable victory over Georgia for 197.575, which just wasn’t the 198 it took to be in the top 2 this week. The Tigers will be pleased about not returning to their “weird mistake that counts so we get 197.1” ways, though there were still a couple weird mistakes—like Hambrick on floor. Her miss didn’t have to count but it did remove a potential huge number from the docket that would have bumped up the final total to something slightly more championshippy. Beyond that, we’re moving into the landings portion of the season, and LSU will need to get rid of those one-tenth lunges on vault to get the necessary score there. These 1.5s can’t be all 9.850ish.

4. Utah Utes

RQS: 197.415
Previous ranking: 4

Utah stays fourth after a surprising loss to Cal, a loss built predominately on not having the landings the way we typically expect—and not having Skinner to bump up those vault and floor totals, which probably took the team’s scoring potential down .200-.250. Breaking news, her scores are kind of important to the team. The 197.450 is still a very solid road total that Utah will welcome in the RQS picture and will use to stay comfortably in the top-5 heading to the postseason, with the big 5 teams continuing to cultivate a significant gap over everyone else.

Continue reading Week 8 Rankings →

Rankings

RQS Update – Week 7

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Beginning this Monday, teams will be ranked offically by RQS (What’s RQS?), so here’s a look at where the RQS picture currently sits, including where teams would be ranked if RQS were in place now and what RQS/ranking teams can reach based on scores from their next meets.

For reference, these are the RQSs required last season for a series of benchmarks if you’re feverishly watching what a certain team might need:

Advance to regionals – 195.420 RQS
Seeded #3 at regionals – 196.380 RQS
Seeded #2 at regionals – 196.845 RQS
Seeded #1 at regionals – 197.355 RQS

Scores in bold will be part of the six scores used for final RQS and can no longer be removed because the team in question has fewer than six meets remaining (or fewer than three road meets remaining).

1. Oklahoma – 197.535
Road Score 1: 198.125
Road Score 2: 198.050
Road Score 3: 197.550
Home/Road Score 1: 198.150
Home/Road Score 2: 197.525
Home/Road Score 3: 196.425
RQS: 197.535

Maximum possible RQS after next meet: 197.880

Oklahoma has that one low score hanging around after last week but also six opportunities left to drop it with the rest of the scores already looking solid. There is an outside chance that either LSU or UCLA could move up on OU’s #1 ranking this weekend, but Oklahoma can ensure retaining #1 on Monday by scoring just 197.100, which shouldn’t be much to ask.

2. LSU – 197.475
Road Score 1: 198.075
Road Score 2: 197.375
Road Score 3: 197.250
Home/Road Score 1: 198.175
Home/Road Score 2: 197.450
Home/Road Score 3: 197.225
RQS: 197.475

Maximum possible RQS after next meet: 197.665

LSU does have a chance to move as high as #1 after the weekend if the Tigers produce another big number and Oklahoma throws in another weak one, though it’s not the most likely outcome. LSU is already guaranteed to stay at least #3 but is quite close with UCLA, so it would take a 197.925 for LSU to ensure staying ahead of UCLA. 

3. UCLA – 197.460
Road Score 1: 197.750
Road Score 2: 197.625
Road Score 3: 197.300
Home/Road Score 1: 197.950
Home/Road Score 2: 197.425
Home/Road Score 3: 197.200
RQS: 197.460

Maximum possible RQS after next meet: 197.610

UCLA also has a very outside chance to move up #1 after this weekend, or a somewhat more realistic chance to move up to #2. Whether UCLA actually has a chance to move ahead of LSU with a strong result against Oregon State on Sunday will depend on the score LSU puts up against Georgia on Friday, so we’ll know more at that point.

The Bruins do have a solid buffer over Utah, meaning that it will take just a 197.250 for UCLA to ensure staying ahead of Utah.

4. Utah – 197.320
Road Score 1: 197.550
Road Score 2: 197.550
Road Score 3: 196.975
Home/Road Score 1: 197.700
Home/Road Score 2: 197.450
Home/Road Score 3: 197.075
RQS: 197.320

Maximum possible RQS after next meet: 197.465

Utah has a few lower scores hanging around than do LSU and UCLA (that road score still in the 196s, that home score at 197.0), so the peak RQS is not going to be as high. There is an outside possibility that Utah can catch UCLA this weekend, but it would take a 197.675 for Utah to have a chance to tie, and that’s only if UCLA throws in a score of 197.200 or lower.

Utah is quite likely to be able to fend off Florida, and can guarantee staying top 4 with a 197.075 this weekend.

5. Florida – 197.130
Road Score 1: 197.400
Road Score 2: 196.950
Road Score 3: 196.325
Home/Road Score 1: 198.150
Home/Road Score 2: 197.850
Home/Road Score 3: 197.125
RQS: 197.130

Maximum possible RQS after next meet: 197.335

Florida is at home this weekend and will therefore not have a chance to get rid of the 196 road scores, stunting the maximum RQS it can reach. The Gators do still have the slimmest of chances of catching Utah, but it would take a score in the 198s along with a low result from Utah.

Note the 197.400 in bold, which Florida is now guaranteed to keep around with just two road meets remaining. It’s not a bad score, but it’s not exactly the kind of score that’s going to catch the teams ranked above.

Florida is already guaranteed to stay at least #5 in the rankings, so the score this week is about improving the home totals and positioning to make a real move once one of the road scores can be dropped again.

Continue reading RQS Update – Week 7 →

Rankings

Week 7 Rankings

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1. Oklahoma Sooners

Average: 197.638
Previous ranking: 1

Oklahoma hangs on for #1 this week because of the sheer size of the lead built up over weeks of 198s, despite the 3-beam-fall 196.425 performance on Friday—the team’s lowest score since January 13, 2012. The last time Oklahoma scored that low, Maile O’Keefe was 9 years old, so just sit with that. The score will be dropped soon to preserve Oklahoma’s ranking, and there’s no reason yet to think this will turn into a thing, the positive bringing a positive because of the return of Natalie Brown, a necessary cog (particularly on floor) if Oklahoma is going to score its best.

2. LSU Tigers

Average: 197.481
Previous ranking: 4

The story thus far had been LSU not hitting up to potential, throwing in a score-smothering mistake in nearly every meet. That trend was reversed in a two-meet weekend in which the Tigers were able to rest people here and there and still put up two complete meets for 198s, restoring the #2 ranking and rendering the RQS picture much healthier. Of particular importance were the three hit routines from Ruby Harrold in the second meet, as her presence on those three events still should be part of LSU’s best-case-scenario lineups.

3. UCLA Bruins

Average: 197.357
Previous ranking: 2

UCLA recorded a perfectly acceptable score of 197.425 at home against Utah but will be displeased by the performance, not only losing the meet but performing far from its peak level, throwing in multiple mistakes, and regressing in quality closer to what we saw in the first meet of the season. Many of the errors didn’t seem like they would be repeated errors, though watch what happens with the Nia Dennis floor routine since she has struggled with that double Arabian multiple times this season and is averaging 9.757 despite being Nia Dennis. Downgrade? Kocian comes into the lineup? Maybe some decisions to make there. It’s very difficult to do a double Arabian for no deduction in NCAA unless you’re Kennedy Baker.

4. Utah Utes

Average: 197.329
Previous ranking: 3

Utah will certainly feel better about the meet against UCLA than the Bruins will (because of winning and all), though it was not a peak performance for the Utes by any means either, with victory determined mostly by committing smaller mistakes than UCLA did. The performance quality improved as the meet went on (floor was precise, beam mostly secure), though the team gave away quite a bit in the first half of the meet on vault and bars, not landing the way we would expect. That’s something still to be ironed out, though it seems like Utah has settled into final lineups already—I don’t necessarily see anyone else outperforming the people currently competing. 

Continue reading Week 7 Rankings →