By Elizabeth Grimsley with contributions from Caroline Medley and Christina Marmet
The Mount is back for another season! In the weekly preview of the weekend’s events, we give you an update on any injured gymnasts, choose who we think will win some of the top matchups, produce mini previews of the matchups to come and provide every link to scores and videos you could possibly need to follow your favorite teams and gymnasts. We want your input too! Participate in the Twitter polls or comment here to let us know your thoughts. Note that all times are eastern.
Injury Report
Each week an injury report will be included in The Mount to keep you up to date on gymnasts who are out of action and those that are expected back from injury. Note that this is not an exhaustive list, and if you know of anyone that’s hurt not listed here, let us know and we’ll add them! View a full rundown here.Out or Questionable for Week 1 Action
Each week an injury report will be included in The Mount to keep you up to date on gymnasts who are out of action and those that are expected back from injury. Note that this is not an exhaustive list, and if you know of anyone that’s hurt not listed here, let us know and we’ll add them! View a full rundown here.Out or Questionable for Week 1 Action
- Auburn: Sarah Garcia (hip surgery)
- Brown: Gabby Hechtman (left lower leg in boot – Sept. 2016)
- Central Michigan: Kasey Janowicz (compartment syndrome surgery – Sept. 2016)
- Denver: Diana Chesnok (ankle surgery – Sept. 2016)
- Florida: Ericha Fassbender “will not be with Florida team for 2017 season. Could return to team for the 2018 season.”
- George Washington: Kaitlin Cowles (shoulder surgery), out for 2017 season
- Iowa State: Sydney Converse (fractured tibia), Micole O’Dell (torn Achilles), out for 2017 season
- Michigan State: Holly Ryan (unknown)
- Minnesota: Mary Korlin-Downs (torn ACL)
- Nebraska: Ashley Lambert (“second surgery in a week” – Nov. 2016), Caitlyn Orel (leg surgery)
- New Hampshire: Makenzie Kerouac (ankle surgery)
- Oklahoma: Bre Showers (out for eight weeks), Jade Degouveia (illness, will miss first meet)
- Oregon State: McKenna Singley (foot in a boot – Snapchat, Nov. 2016)
- Penn: Megan Finck (torn Achilles)
- Penn State: Chanen Raygoza (right foot in a boot – Sept. 2016)
- Rutgers: Charly Santagado (torn ACL)
- Sacramento State: Annie Juarez (ankle)
- SEMO: Kenna Skepnek (left knee brace – Oct. 2016)
- Stanford: Nikki McNair (left foot in boot – Oct. 2016)
- UC Davis: Alexis Brown (left arm in a cast – Sept. 2016)
- UCLA: Kyla Ross (shin splints, in boot over holidays on Snapchat), Anna and Grace Glenn (torn labrums, both out for 2017 season)
- Washington: Emily Liddle (knee surgery – fall 2016)
- William & Mary: Gaby Johanek, Eileen Malecki – both out for 2017 season
Top Matchups
No. 9 Georgia at No. 2 LSU: Friday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m.
We sure are getting a great matchup right off the bat, aren’t we? Based solely off preseason intrasquad and the fact that this meet is in Baton Rouge, the scales are leaning in LSU’s favor. Georgia will be sans its three-best gymnasts from 2016 in Brandie Jay, Brittany Rogers and Mary Beth Box while LSU basically kept all its top routines from last year’s national-runner-up team. The competition will also be the debut of at least five new faces for the teams. Georgia’s Sabrina Vega will compete for the first time since the 2015 Secret Classic but more realistically for the first time since the 2012 Olympic Trials; LSU’s Ruby Harrold will make her debut after competing for Great Britain in Rio at the 2016 Olympic Games; Georgia’s Jordyn Pedersen will show her bars prowess after deferring a year to try for Canada’s Olympic team; and LSU’s Kennedi Edney and Georgia’s Rachel Dickson will try to prove why they were some of the nation’s best club gymnasts.
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Caroline: LSU for the win! You thought it was hard to beat LSU at home last season — just you wait. This year, the Tigers maintain all their key routines and add some truly incredible and unique new ones. Georgia may be a little shaky without last year’s senior triumvirate, and LSU has home floor advantage.
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Christina: LSU! It is home and is a stronger team overall than Georgia.
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Elizabeth: I have to go LSU on this one. The Tigers just looked better overall at their preview compared to Georgia. I know it held with time to improve before the season starts but that plus home floor advantage will give the win to LSU.
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The 2017 season kicks off FRIDAY! First up: No. 9 @UGAGymnastics at No. 2 @LSUgym at 7 p.m. ET. Who gets the first win of 2017? #NCAAgym
— NCAA Gym News (@NCAAGymNews_) January 4, 2017
No. 3 Alabama at No. 1 Oklahoma: Friday, Jan. 6 at 8 p.m.
This matchup might be even better than the first of the evening. Alabama always comes to play, no matter what time of the season it is. However, in the past years, the Crimson Tide has gotten off to some slow starts. Oklahoma on the other hand, nearly always looks prepared. Sooner freshman Maggie Nichols, fresh off an Olympic run, looks poised to become the next collegiate star, scoring a perfect 10 at the team’s preseason preview. Alabama also has some star-studded freshmen of its own in Maddie Desch, Shea Mahoney and Wynter Childers — although they haven’t looked nearly as polished as Nichols. It’ll be tough and most likely come down to tenths here and there, but the competition being in Norman, Okla., might be the deciding factor in the end.
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Caroline: Never count Bama out, but I’m calling OU on this one. Its preseason training has looked hot, and they’ve got a fire lit under them like almost no other team in the season.
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Christina: Oklahoma. Alabama is always rougher at the start of the year, and it does improve as the season goes on while you just know Oklahoma is going to be fire right out of the gates.
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Elizabeth: You can never count Alabama out — I’ve learned from experience on that one. However, I think Oklahoma is just too good to beat at this point. The Tide will have to hope for mistakes if it wants to pull off the upset.
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Another fantastic matchup to start the 2017 season! No. 3 @bamagymnastics takes on No. 1 @ou_wgymnastics at 8 p.m. ET. Who wins? #NCAAgym
— NCAA Gym News (@NCAAGymNews_) January 4, 2017
No. 13 Oregon State at No. 8 Auburn: Friday, Jan. 6 at 8 p.m.
Auburn’s season will once again start against Oregon State — just in Auburn, Ala., this time around. The Tigers lose arguably one of its best gymnasts ever in Caitlin Atkinson but gain what could be a near-replacement in Gracie Day. Day not only was a star in J.O., she has shown potential in being a star in the college world as well in preseason training clips. Supported by a handful returning from injury as well, Auburn shouldn’t drop too much from its 2016 level. Oregon State brings in an enormous freshman class, highlighted by international competitors Isis Lowery and Sabrina Gill as well as a handful of standout level 10s. That large group plus beam queen Maddie Gardiner and finally-healthy Kaytianna McMillan should allow the Beavers to put up a good fight against the Tigers.
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Caroline: The only reason I give this to Auburn is home floor advantage. Too close to call otherwise.
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Christina: I give the edge to Auburn. Auburn will look to bounce from the loss of Atkinson, but it is still a strong team that should win this match-up at home. Oregon State is kind of a question mark at this point with this huge freshman class and the (hopeful) return to competition of a few athletes for the first time in a while.
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Elizabeth: Auburn’s the stronger team but Oregon State just brought in a huge load of freshmen to help raise its competitive level in 2017. But I still have to go with Auburn. Gracie Day will be a star for the Tigers. I’m calling it now.
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No. 13 @beavergym visits No. 8 @auburngym Friday at 8 p.m. ET! Who you got? #NCAAgym
— NCAA Gym News (@NCAAGymNews_) January 4, 2017
No. 17 Arkansas at No. 4 UCLA: Saturday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m.
UCLA is probably one of the most anticipated teams of 2017. With a massive freshman class that includes Olympic gold medalists Kyla Ross and Madison Kocian as well as former elites Felicia Hano and Giulia Pino and J.O. greats Grace and Anna Glenn, Gracie Kramer and Mercedez Sanchez, the Bruins will almost have to strive to fail as success will almost certainly happen automatically. However, the big goal will be to stay healthy. Ross has been seen in a preventative boot due to shin splints, Anna Glenn is still coming back from a pre-college injury, Peng-Peng Lee has a history of injuries throughout her career and then there was that whole “everyone fractured their sternums last season” thing. Arkansas, on the other hand will have some work to do if it wants to beat UCLA in Los Angeles. Losing Paige Zaziski to transfer will be a tough pill to swallow but having Amanda Wellick one more season will certainly help. Developing the freshmen quickly will be essential and those upperclassmen not featured in the lineups in previous years will have to step up to help the Razorbacks succeed this early in the season.
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Caroline: Arkansas without last year’s seniors and Zaziski? Not likely. If the UCLA that shows up to this meet is the UCLA we’ve seen all preseason, they’ll take it home easily.
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Christina: UCLA. Stacked roster, at home, big expectations. The Bruins cannot not win this.
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Elizabeth: UCLA has too much talent to be upset at home by No. 17 Arkansas. So I have to pick the Bruins.
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Star-studded No. 3 @uclagymnastics welcomes No. 17 @razorbackgym Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. Which team will start 2017 with a W? #NCAAgym
— NCAA Gym News (@NCAAGymNews_) January 4, 2017
No. 7 Michigan at No. 6 Utah: Saturday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m.
Yet another good competition on opening weekend. It’ll realistically be the closest matchup as the meet could really go either way. Michigan and Utah looked at similar stages of preparation in their preseason showcases with various problems on each team. The Utes were more prepared than usual due to their intrasquad being on national TV while Michigan was still being quite cautious, holding out some of its best gymnasts in Olivia Karas, Paige Zaziski and Nicole Artz on beam. The meet will also feature the collegiate debut of Olympic alternate MyKayla Skinner, who showed she will at least be a force on vault, beam and floor from the start. Fellow freshmen Kim Tessen and Missy Reinstadtler will provide support. On the Wolverine side, Lexi Funk and Maddy Osman will compliment each other nicely as both have different strengths. Together, they make one heck of an all arounder.
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Caroline: Again, home floor advantage is going to be a big factor here, especially with Skinner anchoring the lineup with her history-making double-double. I think it’ll be Utah, but only by a hair.
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Christina: This is a tough one… Both teams have talented rosters and will look for the input of talented freshmen. It could go either way, but simply because it’s in SLC, I pick Utah.
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Elizabeth: I’m stumped on this one. I want to pick Michigan based on sheer talent but past troubles for the Wolverines and known SLC score inflation pushes me ultimately to choosing Utah.
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We’ve got a tough, close matchup between No. 7 @umichwgym and No. 6 @utahgymnastics Saturday at 7 p.m. ET! Who will be victorious? #NCAAgym
— NCAA Gym News (@NCAAGymNews_) January 4, 2017
Other Notable Matchups
Arizona State at Iowa State: Friday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m.
This meet will be one to watch solely for the fact that we get to see whether or not the Santos’s have been able to right the sinking Sun Devil ship that Rene Lyst left behind when she was fired from Arizona State last season. The team is already looking better and, more importantly, happier in preseason training videos. But don’t expect an immediate turn around. Rebuilding a program takes time, so even the smallest amount of improvement will be a success. Iowa State will get a chance to show its chops too. It’s had a number of unfortunate injuries this fall, so it’ll be interesting to see whether or not it has the depth to recover and proceed forward with little damage done.No. 14 Denver at No. 16 Minnesota: Saturday, Jan. 7 at 7:30 p.m.
Denver and Minnesota became semi-rivals last season with the teams squaring off against each other a number of times in 2016, with close, varied outcomes each time, including the Gophers earning a trip to NCAAs over the Pioneers at regionals. Denver loses Nina McGee but gains arguably the best J.O. gymnast in the 2016-2017 class in Maddie Karr. Minnesota lost a star of its own in Lindsay Mable but didn’t really gain a compatible replacement this season. Denver has the edge, but when these two teams meet, really anything can happen.
This meet will be one to watch solely for the fact that we get to see whether or not the Santos’s have been able to right the sinking Sun Devil ship that Rene Lyst left behind when she was fired from Arizona State last season. The team is already looking better and, more importantly, happier in preseason training videos. But don’t expect an immediate turn around. Rebuilding a program takes time, so even the smallest amount of improvement will be a success. Iowa State will get a chance to show its chops too. It’s had a number of unfortunate injuries this fall, so it’ll be interesting to see whether or not it has the depth to recover and proceed forward with little damage done.No. 14 Denver at No. 16 Minnesota: Saturday, Jan. 7 at 7:30 p.m.
Denver and Minnesota became semi-rivals last season with the teams squaring off against each other a number of times in 2016, with close, varied outcomes each time, including the Gophers earning a trip to NCAAs over the Pioneers at regionals. Denver loses Nina McGee but gains arguably the best J.O. gymnast in the 2016-2017 class in Maddie Karr. Minnesota lost a star of its own in Lindsay Mable but didn’t really gain a compatible replacement this season. Denver has the edge, but when these two teams meet, really anything can happen.
No. 5 Florida at No. 33 N.C. State: Sunday, Jan. 8 at 2 p.m.
This meet will really be more about how each team does immediately versus how they do against each other. The Gators will debut a star-studded freshman class that includes Amelia Hundley, Rachel Gowey and Maegan Chant. Seeing how they are adjusting to the NCAA will be an important factor in Florida’s prospects this season. N.C. State also has some interesting things to watch for this meet. Freshman Alexis Beucler will show if she’s more like her junior elite days or her level 10 ones. The Wolfpack will also get the opportunity to compete in their newly renovated arena after having to compete an all-road-meet schedule in 2016.
NorCal Classic: Monday, Jan. 9 at 10 p.m.
No. 11 Stanford, Sacramento State, San Jose State, UC Davis at No. 10 California
The final meet of the weekend comes on Monday night with the five NorCal teams squaring off in a bye-filled competition that will last five years. But in all seriousness, it’ll be an opportunity to see if Stanford will Stanford its way through the start of the season, putting up Yurchenko layouts and five on each event, or if it will finally get a handle on things and look… prepared for once. *GASP* You’re right. Nevermind. That’s just silly. Fans will also get to see whether or not California’s performance last season was a fluke or whether 2017 will be the continuation of the Golden Bears’ rise to fame.
These aren’t the only meets happening this weekend! To see all the matchups all in one place, take a look at our master schedule. You can also find live scoring and video links below.
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Date
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Time (ET)
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Teams
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Scoring Link
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Video Link
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Availability
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Fri, Jan. 6
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7:00 p.m.
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Georgia at LSU
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Fri, Jan. 6
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7:00 p.m.
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Kentucky at EMU
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FREE
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Fri, Jan. 6
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7:00 p.m.
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UIC at Michigan State
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Paid
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Fri, Jan. 6
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7:30 p.m.
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ASU at Iowa State
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Paid
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Fri, Jan. 6
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7:45 p.m.
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Alabama at Oklahoma
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FSN/Fox Sports Go
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Fri, Jan. 6
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8:00 p.m.
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Ball State, Illinois at Missouri
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Fri, Jan. 6
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8:00 p.m.
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Oregon State at Auburn
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Fri, Jan. 6
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8:00 p.m.
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TWU, USU at Arizona
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FREE
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Sat, Jan. 7
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1:00 p.m.
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Bridgeport, UNH, W&M at Rutgers
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Sat, Jan. 7
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1:00 p.m.
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SCSU at Towson
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FREE
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Sat, Jan. 7
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3:00 p.m.
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Gustavus Adolphus at UW-O
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Sat, Jan. 7
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4:00 p.m.
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BGSU, BYU, Temple at PSU
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FREE
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Sat, Jan. 7
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6:30 p.m.
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Ohio State at Pittsburgh
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Sat, Jan. 7
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7:00 p.m.
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Arkansas at UCLA
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Sat, Jan. 7
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7:00 p.m.
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Michigan at Utah
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Sat, Jan. 7
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7:30 p.m.
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Denver at Minnesota
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Paid
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Sat, Jan. 7
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7:30 p.m.
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GWU, Yale at Little Boston
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FREE
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Sat, Jan. 7
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8:00 p.m.
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Winona State at USAFA
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FREE
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Sun, Jan. 8
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1:00 p.m.
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UW-EC, Hamline at Central Michigan
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FREE
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Sun, Jan. 8
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1:00 p.m.
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WVU at Maryland
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Paid
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Sun, Jan. 8
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2:00 p.m.
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Florida at N.C. State
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Sun, Jan. 8
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2:00 p.m.
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Iowa, LU, W. Michigan at NIU
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Paid
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Mon, Jan. 9
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10:00 p.m.
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Sac State, SJSU, Stanford, UCD, Cal at NorCal
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Tues, Jan. 10
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4:00 p.m.
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Brockport at Cortland
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Wed, Jan. 11
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7:00 p.m.
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Alaska at W&M
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Do you play Fantasy Gymnastics and don’t see a team some of your gymnasts’ teams competing this weekend? See if they’re on a bye this week (or competing twice) below, and check out the entire byes and doubles list here.
Byes
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Doubles
- William & Mary
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