There’s no place like home for Iowa, which has had a couple of challenging road meets so far this season and will be very glad to be back on friendly turf. This team is theoretically very strong, but it’s been using a lot of freshman routines in the opening weeks of the season and taking a few weeks to settle in. We’re also watching the status of senior Nicole Chow, who has compete only bars this season but has been an all arounder in the past.
Minnesota has also been working some freshmen into lineups, and we’re waiting to see if Ivy Lu is ready to make her debut in the beam lineup. The Gophers had a bit of a fiasco on that event in week one but recovered strong last weekend.
Ten minutes in and still waiting for the stream to come up! Love ya BTN+.
Okay, the stream didn’t come up until the beginning of the second rotation. From scores it looked like Minnesota was great on bars and Iowa was fully on the struggle bus on vault.
ROTATION 2: MINNESOTA VAULT, IOWA BARS
QUAGLIA – MINNESOTA: Okay full, big hop.
KAJI – IOWA: Sorry, I’m still getting settled. I saw a big leg split on her Pak salto.
SALES – MINNESOTA: Solid full, a touch piked, little hop back.
HARTZLER – IOWA: Really nice pike Jaeger, a touch short on her straddle back, blind full double back deep with a little hop back.
SONIER – MINNESOTA: They’re all pretty much doing the same full. Don’t know what to say.
SULLIVAN – IOWA: Great Ray, nailing these handstands, bail is gorgeous. Blind full double back wit a hop back. Really tidy routine!
RAMLER – MINNESOTA: Stick or close to it on her full. That should break the vault judges out of their funk here. They’re just being hard asses I think.
KAMPSCHROEDER – IOWA: Great Ray again, hittign the handstands, toe on to Pak with a little leg separation. Late on her half turn to get back up, double lay deep with a hop.
WILLIAMS – MINNESOTA: Huge full, hops all the way back off the sting mat.
CHOW – IOWA: Holy crap all these Rays. Just short on a handstand there, blind full double back STUCK. Really nice.
LOPER – MINNESOTA: ONE AND A HALF YES! With a step back but she landed it.
KRANITZ – IOWA: Towering over coach Larissa Libby as she gets ready to go. Huge Jaeger, tiny leg split heading for her Jaeger but it’s fine. A bit shy on some handstands, blind to double front with a big hop. Nice!
Montgomery in exhibition for Minnesota, Yurchenko tuck full with a side step. Solid. Greenwald for Iowa, missing handstands, huge Tkachev, double layout short and lunges forward, hand down.
MINNESOTA 97.700 – IOWA 96.875
Vault judges were just really mean there. Some of the scores for Minnesota are truly absurd and though I didn’t get to see Iowa vault I’m assuming the same there. Loved the string of Rays from Iowa and the back half of Minnesota’s vault lineup was stellar.
ROTATION 3: IOWA BEAM, MINNESOTA FLOOR
CARLSON – IOWA: Really aggressive on beam, fun to watch. Saw some questionable splits and a bend check on her mixed combo but solid to start.
CUTLER – MINN: Ooh, using the same music as Kaitlyn Yanish and I love it. Front lay front full, tour jete 1/2 split 1/1. Great Rudi and a double back to close. Great performance quality, really engaged with the crowd and such fun faces.
GILCHRIST – IOWA: Two foot layout hit! Wayyyy short on her switch half. Hitch kick side aerial is pretty nice, full turn, switch split solid, gainer pike stuck.
SONIER – MINN: Double Pike first pass, super energetic choreo and she’s on it. Really excited to see how many freshmen are in action from the Gophers. Rudi a little short, tried to resist stepping forward and couldn’t. One and a half front lay, side hop but stays in bounds.
KILLIAN – IOWA: Flic loso is great! Super long legs and seems really confident. Punch front solid. switch switch is short on splits. Double twist stuck at the end, team goes nuts.
BETTS – MINN: Double back, lunge a bit big but solid. Tour jete 1/2 tuck… 3/2 or maybe 2/1, I lost count. Lots of twizzling. Front full front tuck is really nice, really elegant style in this routine.
KAJI – IOWA: Flic loso gorgeous! Cat leap side aerial is lovely, switch split, all of her positions are so gorgeous. Front aerial is lovely, choreo has a kick into a true attitude which is such a rarity in gymnastics, full turne, gainer pike stuck. YES.
LOPER – MINN: Front lay front Rudi is SPECTACULAR. Switch ring tour jete 1/2 a little short of split, one and a half front lay, right on top of the landings today. Fabulous landings.
VANCE – IOWA: Flic loso with a little bit of feet, aerial round off A+. Love that skill. Switch 1/2 to split, looked okay from this admittedly unhelpful angle, side aerial back full and a hop. Really nice!
WILLIAMS – MINN: Ultra dramatic routine this year. Front double full is fabulous, switch side Popa beautiful and super controlled landing. One and a half front lay is off the diagonal but she has space anyway. Really stellar so far. Rudi to close is beautiful.
CHOW – IOWA: Good to see her back on beam. Unfortunate fall on her back pike but really solid otherwise.
RAMLER – MINN: Oh this one is fun. Double pike, hop to lunge. Switch ring to switch 1/2, question mark on the front leg of the switch ring, Rudi is great. One and a half thru double twist, has to do it right on top of herself to stay in and steps forward.
Hartzler in exhibition for Iowa. Flic loso with a check,
MINNESOTA 146.400 – IOWA 145.725
Minnesota’s getting hosed here, and I know I shouldn’t be stressed about that in a dual at Iowa, but still guys. Iowa’s putting together a pretty serious meet. Kaji on beam was fabulous and I’m thrilled for her getting a 9.9.
ROTATION 4: MINNESOTA BEAM, IOWA FLOOR
SONIER – MINN: Flic loso little check, holds on. Full turn, beat to split 3/4 a litt.e short of split. Standing loso is really nice! Flic one-armed bhs 3/2 twist dismount STUCK.
CASTLE – IOWA: Her music is Tequila and the girls are actually yelling it which I love. Double pike is great, wolf full thru switch side is great. Crunches a layout on her closing combo pass but gets it around.
CUTLER – MINN: Flic loso, insane save, does a full turn on the beam trying to stay up there and does it. Cat leap side aerial nice and steady, full turn. Beat to split 3/4 short of split again, gainer pike stuck. Minimized the pain of the check there. Team is laughing as she goes for high fives.
GREENWALD – IOWA: Interesting music, sounds like a clock ticking to start, kind of creepy. Two and a half twist punch front. Switch side to two Popas, really nice. Ooh the DRAMA, girl. I love this. But I automatically love anything where the gymnast is hitting the floor with their fists. But it was great anyway. The rest of the tumbling was good too I forgot to write about it.
HIGGINS – MINN: Beat to sheep, full turn is pretty. Flic loso nice with a touch of back knee.Cat leap switch side gorgeous. Punch RUDI dismount with a step back. Amazing.
KILLIAN – IOWA: Again with the fabulous choreography and TRIPLE TWIST landed really well. Front full front pike. The Hawkeyes are consistently one of the most energetic sideline teams in the country. I keep missing people’s last passes but coach Larissa is THRILLED.
LOPER – MINN: Flic loso, really nice, she’s been on her game today it’s just unfortunate that the judges have it in for her. Cat leap kickover front, switch straddle 1/4, one and a half twist STUCK. I dare you guys to give her another 9.7 for that.
GILCHRIST – IOWA: Front double twist, a touch underrotated with a big step to the side, one and a half punch pike landed really well. Still excellent dance, this lineup is amazing. Handspring Rudi to close. Great landings after the wonkiness of the first one, but front double twists are hard for everyone.
SALES – MINN: Triple series, great! Just a slight pivot of her front foot, basically nothing, cat leap switch side with a big leg up check. Nice full turn, gainer pike stuck.
KAJI – IOWA: Double pike is wonderful, ooh fantastic dance again. Switch 1/2 split 1/1 I want to say? and then one and a half twist thru double full. Punch front for requirements and steps out of it, which is always the stupidest deduction. Double back no question. Fantastic!
RAMLER – MINN: Full turn is great, flic loso really steady, front aerial to wolf. Beat to ring is fabulous as always, side aerial back full and a stick. That should go high after a couple of 9.8s.
GUERIN – IOWA: Full in FABULOUS. She is teeny tiny but very powerful. Switch 1/2 Popa actually stuck. Good landings on leap passes are a thing you don’t know you’ve missed until you get one, and today we’ve had a bunch. Front lay front full, got a bit wonky in the air, awkward but okay landing. Really intense routine, double tuck to close, amazing.
Lu in the exhibition for Minnesota, she’s still working back from an abbreviated preseason. Flic loso is fine, something to switch half is good, full turn, side somi, gainer full stuck-ish. She’ll be in there soon.
Sullivan wrapping it up for Iowa. Front thru 5/2 twist! Super difficult. Very dramatic dancer as well. Great double back.
FINAL: MINNESOTA 195.475 – IOWA 194.350
Vault: Ramler 9.825
Bars: Lu 9.875
Beam: Ramler 9.950
Floor: Ramler 9.825
AA: Ramler 39.450
That was a fabulous meet. A bit of wonky scoring, as you’d expect – I don’t buy that Ramler was the best routine on either vault or floor, or that no one from Iowa cracked 9.800 on floor – but so much quality on both sides. I’ll be adding Iowa to my mental list of “best choreo in the NCAA” and also trying not to get any more attached to Minnesota than I already am but UGH.
Live blog by Rebecca Scally
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