Live Blog

Sunday Live Blog – March 10, 2019

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Sunday, March 10 Scores Stream
12:00 ET/9:00 PT – Brown, Penn, So Connecticut @ Maryland LINK BTN+
FLO
1:00 ET/10:00 PT – North Carolina, Ball State, Rutgers @ Kent State LINK FREE
1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Eastern Michigan @ Western Michigan LINK
1:00 ET/10:00 PT – William & Mary, Centenary @ Temple LINK FREE
2:00 ET/11:00 PT – [17] Missouri, Lindenwood @ SEMO LINK
4:00 ET/1:00 PT – [24] Stanford @ [2] UCLA LINK P12N
4:00 ET/1:00 PT – [18] Nebraska, [21] Arizona State, Pittsburgh @ [6] Denver LINK DU($)
Altitude
5:00 ET/2:00 PT – Southern Utah @ [19] Washington LINK FREE

After the weekend we’ve seen, I can only imagine… Continue reading Sunday Live Blog – March 10, 2019 →

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Live Blog

Saturday Live Blog – March 9, 2019

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Saturday, March 9 Scores Stream
1:00 ET/10:00 PT – DIII East Regional @ Cortland LINK FREE
CHANGE: 2:00 ET/11:00 PT – [1] Oklahoma @ [7] Michigan LINK BTN
3:00 ET/12:00 PT – Northern Illinois, Illinois State, UIC @ Illinois LINK BTN+
FLO
3:00 ET/12:00 PT – DIII West Regional @ UW-Stout LINK FREE
4:00 ET/1:00 PT – Bowling Green @ [22] Ohio State LINK BTN+
FLO
4:00 ET/1:00 PT – George Washington, Arizona, TWU @ NC State LINK ACC+
5:00 ET/2:00 PT – Cornell @ Bridgeport
8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Elevate the Stage
([9] Alabama v. [13] Auburn)		 LINK FLO

News on the Michigan/Oklahoma front. The meet was pushed back two hours because Oklahoma had travel problems (presumably no diamond-encrusted walkway for KJ, in which case, that airline should be permanently shuttered). It will no longer be on TV but will still be streamed at the link provided. Continue reading Saturday Live Blog – March 9, 2019 →

Live Blog

Friday Live Blog – March 8, 2019

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Friday, March 8 Scores Stream
7:00 ET/4:00 PT – [25] Penn State @ [3] Florida LINK SEC+
7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Central Michigan @ [12] Kentucky LINK SEC+
7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Bridgeport, Towson, Centenary @ Rutgers LINK FREE
7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Maryland, West Chester, So Connecticut @ Temple LINK FREE
7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Yale @ New Hampshire LINK FREE
8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Elevate the Stage
([8] Georgia, [10] Minnesota, [20] Arkansas, Michigan State)		 LINK FLO
8:00 ET/5:00 PT – [15] Oregon State @ [4] LSU LINK SEC+
9:00 ET/6:00 PT – Southern Utah @ Utah State LINK FREE
10:00 ET/7:00 PT – [14] Cal @ San Jose State LINK FREE
10:00 ET/7:00 PT – Iowa, Sacramento State @ [19] Washington LINK FREE
10:00 ET/7:00 PT – Air Force, Seattle Pacific @ UC Davis LINK FREE

It’s a little different this Friday without the usual SEC Network meet lineup—but both Florida and LSU have dual meets at the regular times, so not that different. The Georgia and Minnesota performances at Elevate, though, should be the most intriguing of the day, and I’ll put main live blogging focus on that one.

Continue reading Friday Live Blog – March 8, 2019 →

Stuff and Nonsense

Things Are Happening – March 8, 2019

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A. Russian Championships

The end.

So, um, it was Russian Championships. To best sum things up, this was the most composed performance of the meet.

After two days of competition, the women’s AA gold went to Angelina Simakova by a margin of 4 tenths, an important comeback competition for her after being limited last fall and competing only beam in the worlds team final. It does look like she missed on vault on the second day, but overall that counts as hitting here. The mostly solid performance allowed her to outpace pre-meet favorite Angelina Melnikova, who finished 2nd instead of 1st largely because of an absolute nightmare on floor, particularly on the second day when she fell twice on the first two passes, had a major struggle on a third, and SWEETIE WE’RE WORRIED ABOUT YOU. Over the other three events, Melnikova was the strongest at the competition.

But because of errors from the top two, it was Aliya Mustafina who recorded a higher score than either of them on the second day en route to a bronze medal overall. Mustafina brought back vault here (FTY) in preparation for her participation in all-around world cups this month, looked strong on bars obviously, had an acro series on beam which counts as a victory, and turning-turning-turning-through-the-years-ed her way to something competitive on floor. The four-event D isn’t there to get the huge AA scores, but no one is taking her spot any time soon.

That’s especially true as we also learned this week that Irina Alexeeva has elected not to continue on the Russian national team and will instead start NCAA this fall.

Continue reading Things Are Happening – March 8, 2019 →

Meet Preview

NCAA Week 10 Preview

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Full schedule and links

Marquee meets

[1] Oklahoma @ [7] Michigan
Saturday, 12:00 ET, BTN

The big-ranking clash of the weekend pits Oklahoma against Michigan, and most interestingly of all, the meet is in Michigan. I say most interestingly because this weekend we’ll have to reconcile the narrative of Michigan not enjoying the same spoils of super-high home scoring that other top teams receive (often true, but not exclusively this season) with the narrative that Oklahoma gets 9.950s showered upon it anywhere the team goes. Tight or loose, what will it be? On senior day, with Oklahoma coming to town, it’s hard to imagine Carol laying off the clear alcohols, but it might happen…

While Oklahoma’s performance last weekend against UCLA was not ideal (mostly because of beam), it was still a victory over the most compelling title challenger this season and continues to set Oklahoma up as the one to beat heading to nationals. This season, however, is a little different. In recent years, we’ve seen what has looked like an impervious Oklahoma team, one that seems ready for the postseason by about mid-February—with little for us to focus on in those late-season meets other than whether the scores are going to be high enough to set a new RQS record. That’s not the case this season. Oklahoma has done exceptionally well, of course, but we haven’t yet seen a “that will win the title” performance (even in that bonkers meet against Florida), nor have we seen the 24 best-case-scenario routines all compete at the same time.

There remains a sense of uncertainty around Oklahoma’s lineups because of the absences from meet to meet. Bre Showers is out for the season, Nichols hasn’t done floor in two months, Trautman was out on beam last week—we’re seeing depth imbalances in lineups, and as long as we’re seeing those, Oklahoma can look vulnerable. It’s going to be worth watching, then, how Oklahoma manages a Saturday-Monday turnaround this weekend without a ton of bonus routines and with several gymnasts who need to be managed.

For Michigan, this one is a little bit more about the score since Oklahoma comes in as the major favorite. Some straggling mid-196s are currently keeping Michigan on the cusp, in danger of falling down to an unbecoming regionals seeding. Those scores need to be removed in the coming weeks, and Michigan will be looking for at least something in the 197.3s here to keep its ranking the same for another week. Unlike some of the teams about to be discussed, Michigan would be pretty pleased if the season ended exactly as it is now—UCLA, Minnesota, and Cal coming to town as the seeded teams for regionals. Among the potential options, that one isn’t too bad.

Elevate the Stage
[8] Georgia, [10] Minnesota, [20] Arkansas, Michigan State
Friday, 7:00 CT, Flogymnastics

How legit is Minnesota? That’s the question this Friday’s session of Elevate the Stage in Birmingham can answer. A host of high 196s (and last week’s massive 197.500) has allowed Minnesota to make an aggressive assault on the rankings in the last few weeks to get up to the top 10, just two spots below Georgia. That 197.500 means that Minnesota actually has the higher peak score than Georgia this season, and if things go just right here, Minnesota can pass Georgia in the rankings come Monday. Continue reading NCAA Week 10 Preview →

NCAA Schedule

NCAA Week 10 – Schedule and Links

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Thursday, March 7 Scores Stream
9:00 ET/6:00 PT – [16] BYU @ [11] Boise State LINK FREE
Friday, March 8 Scores Stream
7:00 ET/4:00 PT – [25] Penn State @ [3] Florida LINK SEC+
7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Central Michigan @ [12] Kentucky LINK SEC+
7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Bridgeport, Towson, Centenary @ Rutgers LINK FREE
7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Maryland, West Chester, So Connecticut @ Temple LINK FREE
7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Yale @ New Hampshire LINK FREE
8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Elevate the Stage
([8] Georgia, [10] Minnesota, [20] Arkansas, Michigan State)		 LINK FLO
8:00 ET/5:00 PT – [15] Oregon State @ [4] LSU LINK SEC+
9:00 ET/6:00 PT – Southern Utah @ Utah State LINK FREE
10:00 ET/7:00 PT – [14] Cal @ San Jose State LINK FREE
10:00 ET/7:00 PT – Iowa, Sacramento State @ [19] Washington LINK FREE
10:00 ET/7:00 PT – Air Force, Seattle Pacific @ UC Davis LINK FREE
Saturday, March 9 Scores Stream
1:00 ET/10:00 PT – DIII East Regional @ Cortland LINK FREE
CHANGE: 2:00 ET/11:00 PT – [1] Oklahoma @ [7] Michigan LINK BTN
3:00 ET/12:00 PT – Northern Illinois, Illinois State, UIC @ Illinois LINK BTN+
FLO
3:00 ET/12:00 PT – DIII West Regional @ UW-Stout LINK FREE
4:00 ET/1:00 PT – Bowling Green @ [22] Ohio State LINK BTN+
FLO
4:00 ET/1:00 PT – George Washington, Arizona, TWU @ NC State LINK ACC+
5:00 ET/2:00 PT – Cornell @ Bridgeport
8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Elevate the Stage
([9] Alabama v. [13] Auburn)		 LINK FLO
Sunday, March 10 Scores Stream
12:00 ET/9:00 PT – Brown, Penn, So Connecticut @ Maryland LINK BTN+
FLO
1:00 ET/10:00 PT – North Carolina, Ball State, Rutgers @ Kent State LINK FREE
1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Eastern Michigan @ Western Michigan LINK
1:00 ET/10:00 PT – William & Mary, Centenary @ Temple LINK FREE
2:00 ET/11:00 PT – [17] Missouri, Lindenwood @ SEMO LINK
4:00 ET/1:00 PT – [24] Stanford @ [2] UCLA LINK P12N
4:00 ET/1:00 PT – [18] Nebraska, [21] Arizona State, Pittsburgh @ [6] Denver LINK DU($)
Altitude
5:00 ET/2:00 PT – Southern Utah @ [19] Washington LINK FREE
Monday, March 11 Scores Stream
7:30 ET/4:30 PT – [1] Oklahoma @ [23] Iowa State LINK ISU($)

Links will continue to be added as they become available.

As always, Monday meets are not included as part of week 10 for ranking purposes, but I’m including the links here because I won’t post links again before they occur.

Our first elimination meets of the season will take place this Saturday with DIII Regionals. Only the top 3 schools at the west regional and top 3 schools at the east regional will advance (as full teams) to the DIII team final in two weeks.

Meets marked SEC+ or ACC+ may be streamed on WatchESPN for those who have a log-in from a TV provider subscription—U-Verse, Spectrum, DirecTV, Dish, Xfinity, Verizon, Sling, Hulu, or YouTube TV.

Meets marked P12N will be broadcast live on TV on the Pac-12 Network and can also be streamed online at the link provided for those who have a log-in from a participating TV provider subscription. A number of providers have dropped the Pac-12 Networks recently, including U-Verse, so make sure you still have access even if you did in the past. The Pac-12 Network also provides an international subscription option for those outside the US.

Meets marked FLO may be streamed through a paid subscription to FloGymnastics ($30/month).

Meets marked BTN+ may be streamed through a paid subscription to BTN+ ($15/month) or through FloGymnastics ($30/month).

Meets marked BTN will be broadcast live on TV on the Big Ten Network and can also be streamed online at the link provided for those who have a log-in from a participating TV provider subscription that carries BTN.

Meets marked [School]$ are streamed through school-specific services and require a subscription to that school’s web streaming, which you probably aren’t going to pay for.

Meets marked ESPN3 may be streamed on WatchESPN for those who have a log-in from a participating internet service provider, which is most of them.

Meets marked ESPN+ may be streamed through a paid subscription to the ESPN+ streaming service ($5/month).

Meets marked FREE are free at the link provided.

NCAA Scoring Records

Team-by-Team Scoring Records

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For this week’s venture into numbers land, a look at the program records for every team—the top 5 team scores and the top rotation scores on each event. For those moments when you go, “Wow, I wonder if that’s a program record” and it probably is.

OKLAHOMA

Top Team Scores

1. 198.500 (March 6 2015)
2. 198.3875 (April 15, 2017)
3. 198.375 (March 3, 2018)
3. 198.375 (February 22, 2013)
5. 198.350 (February 17, 2017)

Top Vault Score — 49.700 (April 5, 2014)

Top Bars Score — 49.725 (March 24, 2018; February 1, 2019)

Top Beam Score — 49.775 (February 4, 2018)

Top Floor Score — 49.825 (February 1, 2019)

UCLA

Top Team Scores

1. 198.875 (February 22, 2004)
2. 198.575 (February 9, 2003)
3. 198.400 (February 16, 2003)
4. 198.350 (March 3, 2002)
5. 198.325 (March 7, 2004)
5. 198.325 (March 10, 2019)

Top Vault Score — 49.725 (April 3, 2004)

Top Bars Score — 49.825 (February 22, 2004)

Top Beam Score — 49.750 (April 21, 2018)

Top Floor Score — 49.875 (February 22, 2004)

FLORIDA

Top Team Scores

1. 198.425 (March 1, 2013)
2. 198.400 (April 6, 2013)
3. 198.325 (March 7, 2014)
4. 198.225 (February 13, 2015)
4. 198.225 (March 12, 2004)

Top Vault Score — 49.650 (March 12, 2004)

Top Bars Score — 49.725 (January 25, 2019)

Top Beam Score — 49.675 (January 26, 2018)

Top Floor Score — 49.875 (January 24, 2014)

LSU

Top Team Scores

1. 198.375 (March 6, 2015)
2. 198.325 (April 5, 2014)
3. 198.275 (April 14, 2017)
4. 198.175 (February 18, 2018)
4. 198.175 (March 15, 2019)

Top Vault Score — 49.825 (March 6, 2015)

Top Bars Score — 49.750 (March 17, 2018)

Top Beam Score — 49.725 (March 11, 2005; April 15, 2017; March 17, 2018)

Top Floor Score — 49.7125 (April 14, 2017)

UTAH

Top Team Scores

1. 198.600 (March 19, 2004)
2. 198.425 (March 23, 2002)
3. 198.250 (March 6, 2015)
4. 198.150 (March 16, 2018)
4. 198.150 (March 21, 2015)

Top Vault Score — 49.775 (March 19, 2004)

Top Bars Score — 49.700 (March 20, 1993)

Top Beam Score — 49.650 (March 25, 1995)

Top Floor Score — 49.800 (March 23, 2001) Continue reading Team-by-Team Scoring Records →