If you’re checking into a live blog about this meet, it’s probably because you saw Oregon State’s score last week, and you’re wondering if things are still bad. In that case, I’ll tell you in advance that things are probably still pretty bad. Since last weekend, we’ve learned that Colette Yamaoka, one of only two bars gymnasts returning from 2020, is out for the season. Lacy Dagen also won’t compete this weekend, though she might be back in the future, and Jenna Domingo (yes, the anchor of last week’s bars disaster) also will not compete today. It’s a little yikes. Still, I expect a better result for the Beavers today. This team has a history of resiliency, and even if technical excellence is out of reach in 2021, giving up is not on the agenda, and at the very least, it’ll likely reduce last week’s tally of counted falls.
As for Washington, who knows what to expect. High routine-volume returners Meaghan Ruttan and Brenna Brooks weren’t mentioned in the preseason press release and Ruttan has been removed from the team roster, leading us to speculate that these two are COVID-19 opt-outs. (We’re working on confirming this, but haven’t been able to do so yet.) On the other hand, the Huskies are led by standout senior Geneva Thompson and add a huge freshman class that includes Skylar Killough-Wilhelm. Lineups will be a total crapshoot, but there’s an edge for the Huskies in that their weaknesses are less known than the Beavers…? right?
Rotation 1: Oregon State VT, Washington UB
Poniewaz (OSU): Solid FTY, hop back. 9.825
Killough-Wilhelm (UW): Hop change to pike Jaeger to overshoot, good, blind to half to double back with a hop back. Good debut for the freshman. 9.675 is a little confusing but it’s week one for the Huskies, what are you gonna do.
Peterson (OSU): Yurchenko full on pike off with a major hop back and chest down. 9.725
McNamara (UW): Blind to Jaeger, narrow straddle position but clean. Nailing the handstands, leg sep on the Pak, blind full with leg flicker to double back a bit deep with a step. 9.6
Bird (OSU): Another decent full, Beavers all business here. 9.775
Bowles (UW): Too far on her Deltchev and falls. Overshoot, didn’t repeat the Deltchev and might not get credit. Blind full double back deep with two steps forward. 8.4 yeah that’s about right.
Yanish (OSU): Subbed into the 4 position here, presumably trading with Sydney Gonzales. Her usual gorgeous FTY with medium hop back. 9.825
Brovedani (UW): Blind full clean to Tkachev, bit of feet, handstands just OK. Bail fine but not special, blind full again to double back with a step back. Landings not here today. 9.325 hello?
S. Gonzales (OSU): WAY back on the table on her full on pike but lots of amplitude. Big step. 9.85
Thompson (UW): Blind to Jaeger, good bail. FTDB with a step back.
M. Dagen (OSU): Even deader stick on the 1.5 than she got last week. Wowza. 9.95
Thomas (UW): Missed the first handstand I think, blind to Jaeger a bit clunky, decent Pak. Shy on another handstand, messy blind full to double back deep with a big step forward.
After 1: Oregon State 49.225, Washington 48.000
These landings for the Huskies read “interrupted preseason zero stamina” to me. They should be proud of five hits, forget about everything else and just do a bunch of endurance work this week, it’ll work itself out.
Vault is the Beavers’ best event by far and it looked great today, capped by Madi Dagen’s astounding 1.5. She’s genuinely one of the country’s best vaulters.
Rotation 2: Washington VT, Oregon State UB
Katie McNamara had a weird miss in warm up and it looks like she won’t be competing.
Smith (UW): Tucked FTY, she’s historically done a 1.5. 9.7
Young (OSU): New one. Maloney to overshoot, just okay form, double lay piked down aggressively and deep. Don’t think that’s UTL. 9.4
Killough-Wilhelm (UW): FTY, really pretty, small hop down. Touch of pike on replay. 9.8
M. Dagen (OSU): Bail to handstand, toe on to toe shoot, half turn and falls. Toe on to blind full to double back stuck. Also not starting from a 10.0 there. 9.1
Cunningham (UW): FTY, flared out and lovely with a small hop back. 9.75
Hoiland (OSU): Blind to pike Jaeger, caught it this time, missed a handstand, pretty bail. Her extension is great. Blind full double back with a little hop. Good, solid hit on a grown-up bars routine. 9.775
Thompson (UW): Dead stick on a FTY. She’s gone 9.95 on this before. 9.9 today.
Poniewaz (OSU): Toe on to Ray to overshoot, messy but better than last week. FTDB with chest way down and a step. 9.75
Thomas (UW): Yurchenko layout, open and stuck. Possibly the best I’ve ever seen that vault but would really like another 9.95 start. 9.6 is fine.
Bird (OSU): Bail, stalder out of it, big Tkachev that looks a lot better from the front where you can’t tell how badly lacking in rotation it is. FTDB with a hop. 9.775
Peterson in for Mack (OSU): Form on cast handstands, front giant to bail. Blind to double front and sits it immediately.
After 2: Oregon State 97.025 – Washington 96.750
That was… okay? for an event that neither team particularly likes. If my math is right OSU only had three routines starting from a 10.0 and two of them had falls, but the Poniewaz-Bird-Hoiland core is legit and Hoiland should probably be anchoring.
I have major personnel questions for Washington, which isn’t using several of its key freshmen. Hoping that McNamara is okay, but the absences thus far of Taylor Russon and Cathy Eksteen are very questionable.
Rotation 3: Oregon State BB, Washington FX
Poniewaz (OSU): Kickover front, check, BHS LOSO tentative but okay. Solid leaps, BHS gainer full stuck. 9.75
Smith (UW): Double back with a rebound back, Rudi to double stag. Wolf full tuck 3/2 to knee, fun series. One and a half to front layout. Solid start! An event she hasn’t done since Eastern Michigan and it looked good. 9.675
Young (OSU): Front aerial back tuck, slow with foot form and a check. Full turn to beat is a fun little series, switch half is weirdly off axis. Side split 1/2 jump and hops straight off the beam, hilariously finishing presenting it with her arms on the ground as though as she were still on the beam. Gainer front full dismount with a step. 9.275
McNamara (UW): Let’s hope she’s okay. Triple turn, punch Rudi bouncy and out of bounds. Switch ring switch half, her resting facial expression on floor looks like she’s trying not to laugh. One and a half front lay with leg separation. She’s alive. 9.45
Peterson (OSU): Full turn, switch half more or less to split. BHS BHS LOSO. Tentative on leap series, gainer pike with a hop. 9.8
Killough-Wilhelm (UW): Double back, shuffly, pretty front double full to arabesque, very Hailey Burleson. Good leaps. She does look pretty gassed but one and a half front lay is good. 9.8
L. Gonzales (OSU): Front aerial, check, front aerial, check again. Now she’s in trouble because she can’t do her acro series any more. Orphan BHS. Cat leap kickover front. Side aerial back full. 9.35 and that’ll be counted.
Thompson (UW): Overpowers the double back but keeps it upright, just pulls the back foot. Tour jete half switch half, the leaps are better than I remember seeing them. Front lay front full, super open. Rudi to Shush is great. 9.75
S. Gonzales (OSU): Front aerial side somi, slow but probably countable. Full turn, pretty split choreography low to the beam, switch half BHS with an arm swing. Side aerial back full stuck. Good recovery. Following a fall isn’t fun, following a fall from your sister’s gotta be worse. 9.8
Cunningham (UW): Front through double back, good, slightly long lunge but kept her feet planted. Solid leaps, great double pike. 9.875
M. Dagen (OSU): BHS LOSO, leg up check. Switch switch beat with questionable splits, side aerial back full stuck.
After 3: Oregon State 145.525, Washington 145.300
I was a Washington fan in 2014 and honestly this is really nostalgic for me. The desperate, unmanageable personnel issues feel so familiar. At the time I couldn’t email the SID to ask where the heck all the freshmen were, but now I’m allowed to do that and I’m definitely going to.
Rotation 4: Washington BB, Oregon State FX
Thomas (UW): Full turn, kickover front and falls. Falls on the second attempt too. Switch straddle 1/4, solid dismount. 8.325 yeaaaah.
Mack (OSU): Front lay Rudi good. Double pike, chest down and rebounds a bit, I keep losing the last skills of these routines, I’ve been live blogging for five and a half hours and I’m flagging a bit. 9.85
Thompson (UW): Finally in the AA, she’s looked great on beam for years. Candle mount, good, headstand walkover choreography. Full turn, switch split 3/4 good. Her splits are GOOD this year, must have put in some work in the offseason. BHS LOSO, leans and falls. Maybe that’s why she hasn’t been in the beam lineup. One and a half dismount, big step. 9.125 for a 38.525 AA.
Force (OSU): Good double pike, pulls the front foot a bit, solid leaps. Front lay front full with leg separation, great landing on her double back, looked like she was gonna stick it for a second. 9.85
McNamara (UW): BHS LOSO with a bent knee but well landed. Cat leap switch side beat jump tentative but there, side aerial with a check. Side aerial tuck back full stuck. They took out her aerial to scale :(((( 9.75
Bird (OSU): Front lay to Rudi, solid leaps, two and a half with a good landing. Pretty good control throughout there. 9.8
Bowles (UW): Pretty choreo. Side aerial BHS, soft in the elbows and wobbly but keeps it on. Full turn to sissone, wolf jump 1/1 around and clean. Beat jump side aerial back full stuck.
Peterson (OSU): Good double back, I love her switch half Popa to knees, that’s a really smart way to get out of it. Those could be totally different leaps. My brain is goo currently. Double pike underrotated but ultimately fine after a couple steps.
Brovedani (UW): Front aerial BHS smooth, switch ring with question on the position. Cat leap side aerial back full stuck. 9.7
Dagen (OSU): Front double full, a little bouncy. Double pike overrotated with a big scoot back and her heel on the line, didn’t see a flag up. 9.900 is crack. It took two full meets for the Gill floor nonsense to start this year but finally it’s here.
Killough-Wilhelm (UW): BHS LOSO, off line and falls after a bend check. Full turn, kickover front to beat, switch to split, side aerial 1.5 dismount with a hop.
Yanish (OSU): Double lay, overrotated and big scoot back as usual. Front full front lay, low and awkward landing. Switch side Popa good, double back decent. 9.95 hahahahhaha
Cathy Eksteen in the exhibition for Washington. Laughing so hard. Why would you put five up on vault and floor when you literally have a totally fit freshman. I assumed she was out because she was injured but hello???
FINAL: Oregon State 194.925, Washington 192.725
That was hilarious. I don’t even care. I had a good time. I can’t analyze that.
Washington needs more humans and Oregon State improved by getting more humans is the summary, I guess. Man, what a ride.
VT: Madi Dagen (OSU) 9.950
UB: Kaitlyn Hoiland, Kayla Bird (OSU) 9.775
BB: Kristina Peterson, Sydney Gonzales, Madi Dagen (OSU) 9.800
FX: Kaitlyn Yanish 9.950 (OSU)
AA: Madi Dagen (OSU) 38.750
Live blog by Rebecca Scally
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