The Mount: Week Nine

Preview, The Mount
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As we’re over halfway through the season and now ranking by RQS, results and scores become more important with regionals coming ever closer. We also enter a weekend weekend full of non-conference competition with some exciting competitions of the horizon. With conference pride on the life, who will prevail? As always, you’ll find everything you need to follow along with all the meets happening this weekend, including previews of the top matchups, Fantasy Gymnastics resources and every scoring and video link you could ever need.

Elevate the Stage with No. 16 Nebraska, No. 17 Georgia, No. 26 Stanford and No. 33 Illinois: Friday, March 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET

Elevate part three—Augusta addition—has arrived. These meets have been entertaining so far, and this one should be no different. As usual, there are really two contests going on here: Nebraska and Georgia will be battling for the title, and Stanford and Illinois will be competing for third. Both Nebraska and Georgia have had highs and lows this year and need a big road score now that RQS has kicked in. For Nebraska, starting with a hit—and a not too hoppy—vault rotation will be key. Kynsee Roby has been faltering in the bars and beam leadoff spots recently, so the Huskers will be looking for hits from her this week. Many of their routines in early and mid lineups come from a rotating group of freshmen, something that is always risky since those scores are prone to slip into the 9.7s. Look for another solid all around performance from Sienna Crouse this week; she notched 39.550 in both of her last two outings, her first all around performances of the year. Georgia is still only fielding five on vault and floor, which is always a risk and compounded by the bouncy podium. The Gymdogs need to add a sixth on both events before they can start hitting big, more competitive numbers. Emily Schild is finally back on bars, which has taken pressure off of that lineup. As Suzanne Yoculan promised, we don’t need to hold our breath watching beam: Despite some wobbles, the Gymdogs were fall-free last week and have been consistent there in 2018.

In the bottom half of the meet, Stanford is out ahead of Illinois by quite a bit, but Illinois has yet to put together a fully hit meet. If the Illini can find consistency, they could challenge the Cardinal. Stanford has been truly all over the place on bars, which dominates its season narrative and gives the Illini their opening. Elizabeth Price and Kyla Bryant continue to shine, though, and are must-watch performers. Illinois puts up a vault lineup of six Yurchenko fulls that tend to stay in the 9.7s, which depresses its big score potential. Bars and beam are highlights for the Illini, though recently consistency issues from Bridget Hodan and Rae Balthazor have hampered both events. Karen Howell and Haylee Roe are having strong seasons for the Illini; watch for Howell on beam and Roe on floor.

Alicia Amy Caroline Christina Elizabeth EmilyHF EmilyM Rebecca Tara
Nebraska Nebraska Nebraska Nebraska Georgia Nebraska Georgia Georgia Nebraska

No. 29 Central Michigan at No. 18 California: Friday, March 2 at 10 p.m. ET

The Golden Bears are coming off their best meet of the season and caused quite an upset by beating Utah by half a tenth when things came down to the last routine. Now the Bears only needs to keep hitting like they can to continue climbing up the rankings now that RQS is in play. After weeks of struggles on uneven bars, they finally hit for a huge event score of 49.550, counting nothing less than 9.875. They are the favorites in this matchup and should feel even more confident in front of their home crowd once again. It will be challenging for the Chippewas to challenge, but it’s not out o the realm of possibility if California slips back to its old ways. CMU will need to put up a strong uneven bars rotation right off the gate as it is its strongest event and where Cal is still a bit unreliable. Don’t miss sophomore Denelle Pedrick on vault as she competes one of the few double twisting Yurchenkos in the NCAA, as well as senior Katy Clements on beam and floor.

Alicia Amy Caroline Christina Elizabeth EmilyHF EmilyM Rebecca Tara
Cal Cal Cal Cal Cal Cal Cal Cal Cal

No. 7 Michigan at No. 1 Oklahoma: Saturday, March 3 at 5 p.m. ET

This is another big out-of-conference matchup for the Sooners who faced UCLA a few weeks ago in what ended up being one of the most memorable meets in recent memory. They are coming in as the best team in the country and as favorites to take the win at home. After a rough week, the Sooners were back to normal against WVU last weekend and scored yet another 198+. They continued to test out their depth and change lineups around on vault and floor, and it will be interesting to see if they start solidifying these as postseason inches closer. Junior Nicole Lehrmann competed in the all around for the first time in her career and joined the dynamic duo of Maggie Nichols and Anastasia Webb. The Wolverines have been stagnant in the high-196 to low-197 scores for the last few meets and will look to add another strong road score in Norman to improve their RQS. Michigan could definitely challenge if Oklahoma has a bad day, although it would take a lot for the Sooners to have two meets in the same season let alone a few weeks of each other. To realistically come close to the Sooners, the Wolverines will need to hone in on their vault landings, especially when measuring up against one of the best vaulting teams in the country. The return of Emma McLean on her two strongest event would provide them with a huge scoring boost. McLean did not compete on floor last week whereas she usually anchors the lineup, only vaulted a Yurchenko full rather than her usual one and a half and was pulled from the beam lineup. However, Michigan can always count on its strong trio of all arounders in Paige Zaziski, Lexi Funk and Brianna Brown to bring in big and consistent scores week after week.

Alicia Amy Caroline Christina Elizabeth EmilyHF EmilyM Rebecca Tara
OU OU OU OU OU OU OU OU OU

No. 13 Arizona State at No. 25 Minnesota: Saturday, March 3 at 5 p.m. ET

We’ve been looking forward to this matchup for weeks; both teams have surged this year and become contenders as spoilers to higher-ranked teams at regionals, and both feature some of the best artistry in the nation. The Gophers and Sun Devils are gorgeous on beam: Look out for Minnesota’s Ivy Lu, who notched a 10.000 two weeks ago. Arizona State’s Anne Kuhm is gorgeous on the event, as is Justine Callis. Keep an eye on bars as well, where Lu and Kuhm also excel. This meet will also be an exciting freshman phenom battle. ASU’s Cairo Leonard-Baker and Minnesota’s Lexy Ramler are arguably two of the most exciting newcomers in the nation, and the numbers live up to the hype: Both have an all around low of 39.000 and their highs—39.6 for Ramler and 39.575 for Leonard-Baker—could not be closer. ASU is easily the favorite here, but don’t count the Gophers out when they’re in the Maturi Pavillion.

Alicia Amy Caroline Christina Elizabeth EmilyHF EmilyM Rebecca Tara
ASU ASU ASU ASU Minn Minn ASU ASU ASU

Other Notable Matchups

No. 21 Ohio State at No. 9 Kentucky: Friday, March 2 at 7 p.m. ET

While many teams see competing at home as an advantage, Kentucky has struggled to keep the momentum. Though the Wildcats got their highest score of the season last week at home, three of their home meets are their lowest scores of the season. Alex Hyland has been a pivotal member of the team and was the only Wildcat to compete in the all around last week as Mollie Korth rested. Hyland and Korth will look to lead Kentucky into another home win. Ohio State’s Alexis Mattern is back in the all around and will challenge the Kentucky gymnasts for the coveted title. Look for the Buckeyes to take advantage of bars, Kentucky’s weakest event, where they have three stellar performers in the lineup. Both teams are strong on floor and the meet could come down to the final performance.

No. 36 Arizona at No. 10 Arkansas: Friday, March 2 at 8 p.m. ET

Arizona got its full lineup back last week and was able to put up a fight in the desert against rival Arizona State, but a devastating injury to freshman Peyton Bellows a few weeks ago hurt the Wildcats’ vault and floor lineups indefinitely. Luckily freshman Adra Parks has been able to step in on vault and has recently been put in the floor lineup to give the Wildcats solid enough scores. Arkansas got in a high road score last week and saw the return of Amanda Wellick to the all around. While the Razorbacks may be the favorite to win this meet, don’t count out Arizona to try and grab some individual titles. Arizona’s Madison Cindric will be in a heated competition with Arkansas’ Jessica Yamzon and Wellick for the all around crown while Sarah Shaffer and Kennady Schneider will fight for floor.

No. 5 Florida at No. 20 Missouri: Friday, March 2 at 8 p.m. ET

This week will be a test for Florida in how well it can do when not one but two of its gymnasts are out with season-ending injuries. It’s also a chance for head coach Jenny Rowland to play around with the depth it has in underclassmen. Last week senior Kennedy Baker had an Achilles injury on floor that ended her season. Baker has been a massive contributor for the Gators, and losing her floor routine will hurt as she is an automatic 9.950 in most occasions. Mizzou has held its own in the SEC and impressed by coming in second at the Mardi Gras invitational. While Florida is the favorite, the Tigers won’t go down without a fight.

No. 35 North Carolina at No. 6 Alabama: Friday, March 2 at 8:30 p.m. ET

The Tarheels versus the Crimson Tide is an exciting non-conference matchup to look forward to. Alabama has been a consistently strong team for years, but North Carolina is gaining notoriety nationally. The Tide hasn’t been its most consistent self this season, though. It’s recorded 195s and has been dealing with major injuries from crucial players. North Carolina is ranked just inside the top 36, but don’t count them completely out against Alabama. One event to look forward to is floor, where North Carolina actually outranks Alabama (yes, really). Both teams have huge tumblers—the Tarheels with Khazia Hislop and Morgan Lane and Alabama with Nickie Guerrero and Kiana Winston—but North Carolina could upset in the event if it continues its trend this season.

No. 11 Washington at No. 28 Southern Utah: Saturday, March 3 at 3 p.m. ET

This will be the last regular season home meet for the Thunderbirds, and they will want to put up a good show in front of their home crowd. While the visiting Huskies are coming in as the favorites, the Thunderbirds could cause an upset if they have one of their best days, as their highest score of the season is 196.800, which is well within Washington’s scoring range, especially on the road. The all around battle could get interesting between Husky Hailey Burleson and Thunderbird Autumn Jorgensen as they have both recorded similar totals throughout the season.

No. 23 Iowa State, No. 37 Kent State and No. 2 UCLA at No. 16 Nebraska: Sunday, March 4 at 3 p.m. ET

The annual Master’s Classic is back and big this year, featuring No. 2 UCLA fresh off of a season-high of 198.075. The Bruins will look to put up a monster road score to put pressure on Oklahoma for the No. 1 spot. The Bruins have a low road score still to drop, and OU is home this weekend, so things could get interesting at the top of the rankings if not this week, definitely in the weeks to come. Nebraska comes into this meet after a lukewarm home performance, and will look for a cleaner showing, especially after competing once already this weekend at the Augusta Elevate the Stage quad. Kent State will hope to bounce back as well after its first loss to Eastern Michigan in 20 years, and Iowa State will look to continue a strong road trip, featuring a season-high last weekend.   

No. 15 Auburn at No. 3 LSU: Sunday, March 4 at 3:30 p.m. ET

Even though Auburn had a tough outing last weekend, this is a team that is able to gain back momentum quick. Auburn is lead by a team of underclassmen, including Gracie Day, Drew Watson and Allie Riddle—three gymnast who are needed when rotations become tight. LSU continues to hold the highest score in the nation but is having trouble keeping up with the likes of Oklahoma and UCLA. Myia Hambrick and Sarah Finnegan will attempt to lead the Tigers back to 198 glory while Auburn will look to crack into the 197 range again. This meet could be a close one if all gymnasts are on their game, which will make for an exciting final rotation where LSU ends on floor and Auburn on beam—both programs’ best events.

No. 28 Southern Utah at No. 12 Denver: Monday, March 5 at 9 p.m. ET

Denver plays host to Southern Utah in its final home meet of the 2018 season Monday. Last week at Elevate the Pioneers put up six gymnasts on every event for the first time this season, and Lynnzee Brown returned to the bars lineup while Emily Glynn competed vault for the first time. The meet represented a full hit meet on the road for the Pioneers—the first one over 196 in 2018. The team looks to finish its home season with a bang and finally break 197. The Thunderbirds narrowly defeated Iowa in the team’s meet last weekend, yet still failed to break 196. They’ll hope to conclude their double meet weekend with what is hopefully the second good score of the weekend. It will be the second time the teams face off against each other in 2018; the matchup was close last time around after mistakes from the Pioneers. However, ultimately the Pioneers have a higher ceiling if they hit. Look for the Thunderbirds to capitalize if the Pios do make mistakes, though.

No. 24 BYU at No. 8 Oregon State: Monday, March 5 at 10 p.m. ET

The Beavers are the heavy favorites in this out-of-conference matchup and may use this opportunity to rest some of their more prominent athletes, thus continuing to test depth. Senior Dani Dessaints has been out of the lineups for two weeks resting a sore knee, and it would be no surprise to see her out once again here if the Beavers want to ensure she’s completely healthy come postseason. One area of focus will be to improve vault landings, though. BYU has been making waves by scoring above 196 over the last three weeks. A road score in this range will be crucial to improve its RQS and its ranking. This will be, however, the second meet in two days for the Cougars after a first matchup on Friday against Utah State. Don’t miss their floor rotation and particularly senior Kyleigh Greenlief.

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 for all this weekend’s meets below.

DateTime (ET)TeamsScoring LinkVideo LinkAvailability
Fri, Mar. 27 p.m.UNH at NCSUScoresVideoACCN Extra
Fri, Mar. 27 p.m.tOSU at UKScoresVideoSECN+
Fri, Mar. 27 p.m.Penn, Yale at UMDScoresVideoBTN+/FloGym
Fri, Mar. 27 p.m.GW, RU at TowsonScoresVideoLive Stream
Fri, Mar. 27:30 p.m.UGA, Ill, Neb, Stan (Elevate)ScoresVideoFloGym
Fri, Mar. 27:45 p.m.Ariz at ArkScoresVideoSECN+
Fri, Mar. 28 p.m.UF at MizScoresVideoSECN+
Fri, Mar. 28 p.m.SEMO at IowaScoresVideoBTN+/FloGym
Fri, Mar. 28:30 p.m.UNC at AlaScoresVideoSECN+
Fri, Mar. 29 p.m.BYU at USUScoresVideoLive Stream
Fri, Mar. 29 p.m.Sac St at BoiseScoresVideoLive Stream
Fri, Mar. 210 p.m.USAFA at UCDScoresVideoLive Stream
Fri, Mar. 210 p.m.CMU at CalScoresVideo
Sat, Mar. 312 p.m.Springfield at CornellScoresVideo
Sat, Mar. 31 p.m.Ithaca at CortlandScoresVideo
Sat, Mar. 31 p.m.RIC at UrsinusScoresVideo
Sat, Mar. 33 p.m.UW at SUUScoresVideo
Sat, Mar. 34:45 p.m.UM at OUScoresVideo
Sat, Mar. 35 p.m.ASU at MinnScoresVideoBTN+/FloGym
Sun, Mar. 412 p.m.WCU at W&MScoresVideo
Sun, Mar. 41 p.m.Bridgeport, Brockport, SCSU at BrownScoresVideo
Sun, Mar. 41 p.m.UMD, RU, Towson at GWScoresVideo
Sun, Mar. 42 p.m.EMU at Ball StScoresVideo
Sun, Mar. 42 p.m.PSU, Temple, WVU at PittScoresVideo
Sun, Mar. 43 p.m.Centenary at Ill StScoresVideo
Sun, Mar. 43 p.m.Iowa at TWUScoresVideo
Sun, Mar. 43 p.m.Iowa St, KSU, UCLA at NebScoresScoresVideo
Sun, Mar. 43 p.m.MSU at UICScoresVideo
Sun, Mar. 43 p.m.WMU at NIUScoresVideo
Sun, Mar. 43 p.m.WIAC Champs/NCGA West RegionalScoresVideo
Sun, Mar. 43:30 p.m.Aub at LSUScoresVideoSECN
Sun, Mar. 45 p.m.USAFA, CMU, SPU at SJSUScoresVideo
Sun, Mar. 45 p.m.BGSU, LU at IllScoresVideoBTN+/FloGym
Mon, Mar. 59 p.m.SUU at DUScoresVideoAltitude TV
Mon, Mar. 510 p.m.BYU at OSUScoresVideoP12N/O

Don’t worry! We haven’t forgotten about Fantasy Gymnastics players. We have a number of resources to aid in your weekly success. Check out our updated injury report to see if any of your gymnasts have been out of action. We also have a list of teams on byes, as well as those with multiple competitions, this week.

Want to receive the latest collegiate gymnastics news in your inbox? Sign up for the NCAA Gym NewsLetter here.

Article by the editors at NCAA Gym News

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