LIVE BLOG: GymQuarters Invitational with No. 60 Seattle Pacific, No. 61 SEMO and No. 67 Centenary

Happy Friday! Happy last workday before a long weekend! Happy Valentine’s Day! Phew what a day.

GymQuarters is always a fun time, and this afternoon session should be pretty fascinating. Centenary, the lone Division III competitor, is up against MIC foe SEMO and MPSF’s Seattle Pacific. Don’t count the Ladies out just because of their division; they have two consecutive 191s coming into this meet, totals that best a few of the Division II teams’ scores in 2020.

SEMO is a vastly steadier team this year, with the addition of a massive freshman class that is regularly contributing more than 10 routines. It hit a near-194 last week to topple Lindenwood. Seattle Pacific is also coming off a high 193 last week to squeak past Illinois State and Air Force.

Darian Burns is one of the strongest gymnasts in the division. Her 39.375 total last week is competitive with Division I all around numbers, and she’s on the radar for an outside chance at regionals. Any strong score at this away contest is great to have in the bag. (Last year’s lowest all around NQS for an individual qualifier was a 39.165.)

My good people, I just checked the schedule and march in begins at 2:00. First vault should happen at 2:16. I’ll see you here then!

Alright I’m on my work laptop at my office desk, so forewarning that I’m only watching the main stream and there’s a (very small) chance I’ll have to pay attention to something else temporarily (why doesn’t my job know there’s daytime gymnastics today?!).

Kendall Knaps and Rose Deshler of Centenary are singing the anthem, and rocking it.

I guess now is the time for the usual “this is a podium meet” discourse. It is! That’s a fairly rare opportunity for these teams, who don’t have a conference meet on podium.

Our commentators are Olivia Karas (Michigan) and McKenna Kelley (LSU). Fun!

Rotation 1: SPU vault, SEMO bars, CC beam

Jones (SEMO): Stuck her double tuck, very nice.

Harris (CC): Bhs loso, some knees and a small check. The arena music is LOUD ah. Switch half to beat, missed her front leg in the half. She’s very steady and calm. Split to straddle 1/4, again just a touch shy. She’s just missing that last bit of extension. Front toss to beat, a tiny adjustment but good. Tuck front 1/1, good landing.

Spivey (SPU): Bit of a long wait for her. Following a Ylay from Fields. Ylay, big step back.

Knapps (CC): Bhs loso, bit off and she falls. Switch to tuck 3/4, clean. Cartwheel, for that sideways skill probably. Straddle 3/4, big fight to stay on, she holds! Gainer lay! Love that.

Pierce (SPU): Ylay, near stick, very good body in the air.

Miller (SEMO): She had a long wait too! Yeesh. Big pike Tkatchev to Ezhova, little close catch. Short handstand on the low bar. Good last handstand. DLO, big step back.

Wirth (I think I’m sorry!) (SPU): Front handspring front, big bound forward.

Baumgartner (CC): Big wobble on a straddle 3/4, bend in hips. Bhs bhs loso, some knees but so steady. Handstand froward roll! Yes. Great jump series. Low chest on gainer 1/1.

Bates (SEMO): Low chest on her double tuck, little hop. She had great height on her Tkatchev.

Chan (SPU): FTY with what Kelley is calling a slip and rough landing, trainer looking at her.

Burns (SPU): AH we cut away boo. Kelley says it was huge.

Mims (CC): Bhs loso, no deductions, really pretty lines. She’s very precise. Split + straddle 1/2, very good positions. Switch to switch half, small check and slightly low front leg in the half. Gainer 1/1 tiny hop. LOVELY.

Dumas-Guzman (SPU): Ylay, some hips and a step back.

Austin (CC): Bhs bhs loso, big check with some windmilling, but she saves it! Swtich  to back tuck, good. Check on full turn, just a shoulder drop. Cat to switch side, good. Front 1/1, small hop.

Kaziska (SEMO): Kelley saying she fell on her Tkatchev. Fall on her dismount as well.

Solorzano-Caruso (SEMO): Ray, caught pretty close, bail hand. Toe shoot. Blind 1/1 lat to double tuck hop forward. Some soft form throughout.

Sanders (CC): Bhs loso, some feet and soft knees but no movement. Switch to tuck 1/1 o beat directly into her dance. Beat to loso, drops her chest but holds it. Her dance is really intricate and well executed. Steady jump series. Front tuck 1/1, stuck. Good set!

Stephen (CC-exh): Front aerial and she’s off. Kelley and Karas think she’s in lineup but I don’t think so? Fall again on her split to yang bo. Bhs loso, solid. Small check on full turn. Split to tuck 3/2, drops chest a touch. Bhs tuck 3/2, small step.

AFTER ONE: THERE’S NO LIVE SCORES

If we hear them I’ll update, but for now :shrug emoji:. Centenary is so pretty on beam! That’s a must-watch rotation if you like beam. Some little nervy errors from everyone, but overall that was a clean first rotation from each team. Kaziska’s fall really opens up the all around, making room for Burns and K. Sanders if they stay clean.

Going to jump in here and say that Karas and Kelley are a pretty great team! They’re obviously both really knowledgeable, and so far they’ve been spot on with IDs, which as we know is historically a problem with Flo streams.

Rotation 2: SPU bars, SEMO beam, CC floor

Durst (SPU): Blind full lat to bail hand, good. Low chest on her blind 1/1 to double tuck.

Fischer (SEMO): Bhs loso, good, after a balk, and she’s off.  Hop forward on her dismount.

Knaps (CC): Fall on her opening pass, a 2/1 I believe. Rudi back tuck! So cool.

Brane (SPU): Short handstand to half to Gienger, juuuust caught. Good bail hand. Short last handstand. Blind 1/1 double tuck, small hop.

Moffat (SEMO): Bhs loso, steady. Swtich to straddle 1/2, good. She has a great tempo and is very confident in her movement. Cat + switch side, slightly low chest. RO 3/2, big hop forward.

Jackson (CC): Double pike, low landing with big knee bend. Good rotation on switch side popa, just a touch short of 180. 3/2 to front lay, bit of a stutter step backward.

Magsanide (SPU): Blind to Jaeger, gorgeous. Blind 1/1 late to bail hand again a little shy. Blind 1/1 to double tuck, doesn’t get the rotation and falls forward.

Maxwell (SEMO): Little wobbly on her jumps. RO 3/2 hop forward.

Harris (CC): Big double tuck! Switch ring 1/2?! to I don’t even know what I was so shook! Small stumble on her combo pass. 3/2 to front lay was a better landing.

Jones (SEMO): Cat to front aerial bhs, very nice. Split 1/1, wow so solid. Maybe a touch shy. Switch to straddle 1/4, excellent. This is a great set. Side aerial to 1/1, not sure if it was meant to be tucked? Small hop.

Spivey (SPU): Gienger HUGE to bail, hit her feet. Double tuck good landing.

Oop SPU will go five up.

Solorzano-Caruso (SEMO): Switch half in combination, good. Bhs loso, check and turns to the side. Split 1/1, nice. Side somi + tuck 1/1, low chest but held the landing.

Burns (SPU): K&K love her lines and toes. Agree. Step back on her dismount.

Sanders (CC): Double pike soft knees but good chest up landing. Switch side popa, I want a little more split on those. Rudi. Front 1/1 to front lay, good.

Kaziska (SEMO): Hearing her switch to split 1/4 was solid. Stuck dismount.

Johnson (CC): Looong wait. HUGE double pike and she puts her hands down, ah. Switch side to shushunova 1/1, good. 3/2, misses her punch into the front lay and barely turns it over, sits it. She’s still really performing out, though, good for her. Double tuck, lets the landing go and sits, possible she wasn’t feeling great and just chose not to risk that last landing.

Slee is scratching on beam for SEMO. I think she was going to exhibition.

Austin (CC): Big double pike, excellent landing! Front lay front 1/1 to Shush, so good. Her lines are great. Hops out of her jumps a touch. Double tuck, slides her front foot a touch but so high. Wow, great routine!

Karas talking about the great difficulty we’re seeing; agree. These teams do not shy away from big skills.

Deshler (CC-exh): hops out of a combo pass a bit. Front lay front 1/1, pulls it down and sits it. K&K reminding us that some of these falls could be podium-related. Short on a ring.

AFTER TWO: NO ONE KNOWS

Floor felt a little rocky for Centenary, but this is a podium meet! Austin is a stellar performer, and the whole rotation is full of great choreography and performance. SEMO had some misses on beam, but some highlights, too. I wish we’d gotten Kaziska’s routine, because it sounded beautiful. SPU is not having a super steady meet, but its also not disastrous, and there’s plenty of time to pull it together in the second half.

Rotation 3: CC vault, SPU beam, SEMO bars

Lanzador (SPU): She’s sooo flexible love it. Front aerial to beat, good, very nice rhythm. Bhs loso, tiniest check, great extension. Switch to split to double stag, low back leg in the splits. Overturns her full turn, but covers it well. Gainer 1/1 stuck.

Desch (SEMO): 3/2 to front lay, good. Double tuck, low chest and steps forward, but stays up!

Jackson (CC): Ylay, piked a bit and not quite the amplitude.

Brane (SPU): Bhs loso good legs, small check. Cat leap, balks on something. Repeats to switch half, soft knees. Side aerial, steps back a bit unsteady. Switch to gainer 1/1 step back.

Sanders (CC): Yhalf, Karas says she was a bit squatty in the landing.

Moffitt (SEMO): Double tuck, really big, front foot moves a bit. Swtich to popa, great splits. 3/2 to front lay, some leg sep but good amplitude. Double pike, again, huge, better landing but still some movement.

Burns (SPU): Cat to HUGE switch 1/4. Check on her punch front. Kelley says her bhs loso was huge while we were watching floor. Gainer pike so high, good landing.

Kelley says Huff and Johnson both had good FTYs for Centenary.

Austin (CC): HUGE Yhalf, nearly stuck, just popped up a little bit in place. Wow, that’s a stunning vault.

Maxwell (SEMO): 2/1, great landing. Double pike touch short, steps forward. 3/2 to front lay, little low on the lay but great landing.

Tran (SPU): Split to switch half was strong. Front aerial, so steady. Bhs tuck 3/2 steps back.

Pierce (SPU): Pretty chest stand mount. Front aerial, breaks at the hips and some knee softness. Split to straddle half. Cat to pike front toss bhs, wow, great! Front 1/1 tucked, stepped to salute, maybe covered it?

Slee (SEMO): 5/2 wow so high! Little out of control on the step out. 3/2 to front lay, great landing. Tour jete 1/2 popa, good, maybe just not quite as crisp on the positions as she could be. Double pike, slightly low chest but true stick!

Matsune (SPU): Another fun chest stand mount, love the creativity. ONE ARMED FRONT WALKOVER TO BHS BACK PIKE WHAT. (was it a front aerial, I don’t know, but it was great). I missed her jumps because I was shook. Hitch to side aerial tuck 1/1, small step. So much bonus in there good grief. Wow.

Soloranzo-Caruso (SEMO): Double pike, huge, she bounces out some. FHS front full to front lay, stuck landing and she really floats. Really imprecise on her leap rotation, but great 180s. FHS rudi, another stick. Man, I’m impressed.

Reese (SPU): Bobble on full turn. Bhs loso, bobble and knees. She bent her arms in the bhs. Switch + switch, good. Cat to gainer loso, soft knees. Beat + straddle 3/4. Her quality of movement could be more refined. Cartwheel gainer 1/1, hop.

Kaziska (SEMO): 2/1, stuck, tiny bit of leg cross. Good positions in her leaps. 3/2 to front lay, good amplitude on the second salto. FHS rudi, nice controlled landing. That’s a very good set. SEMO is not here to mess around.

AFTER THREE: YOUR GUESS IS AS GOOD AS MINE

Wow, SEMO and SPU! What great rotations! SEMO is really excellent on floor, and I love the creativity SPU brings to beam. This meet is very fun all around, honestly. Not knowing the scores is sort of just making the whole thing a party.

Rotation 4: SEMO vault, CC bars, SPU floor

Adams (SEMO): Big Yfull.

Matsune (SPU): FHs rudi to split, good. She’s a little unsure in her dance movements. FHS front lay to front pike, some knees. 3/2 front pike, knees again. Just lacks a bit of polish.

Wilson (CC): Hearing she had a fall.

Maxwell (SEMO): Y tuck full, step back, great in the air.

Durst (SPU): Some leg sep on combo pass, but good landing. Double tuck, stumbles a bit. Misses splits in her leaps by a touch, not egregious.

Slee (SEMO): FTY, piked some and not quite the amplitude.

Jackson (CC): Ray! Little lacking in amplitude. Bail, some softness in her back. DLO, step back. Short handstands throughout.

Kaziska (SEMO): FTY, good shapes, a small hop back.

My apologies, I missed Ponder on bars, but she was pretty clean, just some leg form breaks and a hop on the dismount.

Solorzano-Caruso (SEMO): FTY, not a ton of distance, a little pike.

Kaziska went 9.65 apparently, could not tell you what is with that. She lacked some height I suppose, but yikes harsh.

Knaps (CC): Giant half to bail hand, held it. Short handstand. Double tuck. That’s not up to the level on the dismount.

Reese (SPU): Double tuck, good landing. Rudi, a little low and off to the side. Good leaps. 3/2 to front lay, looses her knees in the second but gets the landing.

SEMO is having a big cheer moment in a huddle and it’s giving me warm fuzzies.

Pierce (SPU): FHS 2/1, maybe a .1 deduction for some foot movement on the landing. She’s so intense! Tour jete 1/2 popa, honestly some of the best leaps we’ve seen today. 3/2 + 1/1, slid her foot a touch, but otherwise strong. That’s a great set.

Baumgartner (CC): Oh, her lines! Clear hip TRUE SHAPOSH! Pak switch kip. Uprise. Stuck dismount. That’s a fun set! Really clean, maybe missed a handstand in there and a few shape deductions.

Chan (SPU): Ends with a front lay to front 1/1, stutter step.

Burns (SPU): How fitting that she gets the whole arena to herself. I live for these kinds of moments. Front through double pike, great height, deep knees on her landing. She’s such a performer, you can’t take your eyes off her. HUGE switch side popa wolf 1/1. Double tuck, slightly low chest but she pulls it up.

FINAL: SEMO 193.525, oh okay we’re not getting the other two scores.

Man, that was fun, wasn’t it?! Really exciting gymnastics, really difficult gymnastics, and some strong performances. I’m coming away with a few new favorite routines for sure. If you get a chance, definitely try to catch these teams in action this year. What a fun group.

I’m hanging around on the stream for awards so we can get some scores!

Event winners:
VT: Of course I got up for two seconds after a very long delay and they started doing scores. Missed this one.
UB: Bates, Missed the number here too!
BB: Kaziska, 9.875
FX: Kaziska, 9.900
AA: Burns, 38.875


Live blog by Emily Minehart

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