[UPDATED 1/25/2020 5:26 p.m.] Ohio State will join Nebraska at Michigan State on Friday, Jan. 30.
[UPDATED 1/26 2:49 p.m.] Lexi Graber will be out this week after a car accident. Shania Adams and Luisa Blanco are likely all arounders, replacing Graber’s routines.
[UPDATED 1/26 6:33 p.m.] LSU at Auburn has been postponed due to COVID protocols and contact tracing.
Fantasy gym—like everything since March—is a little different this season. The official game isn’t running because of all of the uncertainty. We know a number of you are playing in private leagues, so Fantasy Central lives on!
We’re keeping the College Fantasy Gymnastics weekly cadence as our guide: As far as we’re concerned, the fantasy “week” begins with any Wednesday meets, and ends with Tuesday meets; that’s why you’ll find us here every Tuesday talking about “next week”.
Reminder: Alaska, Bridgeport, Brockport, Brown, Cornell, Cortland, Gustavus, Ithaca, Penn, Southern Connecticut, UC Davis, Ursinus, West Chester and Yale are not competing this season.
Injury Updates
- COVID-19: Lauren Navarro, Taylor Lawson, Wesley Stephenson, Grace Waguespack – Stanford – opted out (1/21)
- Long Term: Ella Sirjord – Minnesota – unknown season ending injury in December (1/21)
- Unknown: Sarah Hargrove, Martina Comin – Nebraska – unknown injuries (1/21)
- Long Term: Ella Warren – Kentucky – not competing in 2021 (1/21)
- Long Term: Chloe Lashbrooke – UCLA – torn Achilles (1/22)
- Long Term: Brenna Brooks – Washington – unknown season ending injury (1/22)
- Unknown: Claudia Goyco – Ball State – unknown injury (1/24)
- Unknown: Jenna Domingo – Oregon State – hand wrapped (1/24)
- Unknown: Lacy Dagen – Oregon State – unknown ankle injury (1/24)
- Unknown: Norah Flatley – UCLA – tweaked ankle (1/24)
- Long Term: Toni Williams – Rutgers – boot and scooter (1/23)
- Long Term: Jordyn Duffield – Rutgers – boot and scooter (1/23)
Where Is She?
Here are the gymnast absences we’re following up on from the past week:
| Kennedi Davis (UA) | 1/23 |
| Zaza Brovedani (UA) | 1/23 |
| Hannah Joyner (Rutgers) | 1/23 |
| Taylor Russon (UW) | 1/23 |
| Gabi Wickman (UW) | 1/23 |
| Lena Greene (OSU) | 1/23 |
| Nicki Shapiro (UCLA) | 1/23 |
| Kalyany Steele (UCLA) | 1/23 |
| Sekai Wright (UCLA) | 1/23 |
| Tyler Davis (USAFA) | 1/24 |
COVID Schedule Changes
Michigan will not be competing this week or next: The entire athletic department is on a pause due to positive cases of the more contagious strain of the virus found in the department. We will update this post if Ohio State, its opponent this week, joins another matchup. It remains unknown how the Big Ten will handle situations like these regarding regular season conference standings.
Week 4 Byes and Doubles
Byes: Gustavus Adolphus, Hamline, Michigan, Stanford, UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Stout, UW-Whitewater, Winona State
Doubles: Texas Woman’s
Keep in mind that California has its debut this week, but Stanford is still out until mid-February.
Deep Cuts for Deep Leagues in Week 4
Tips for those of you in leagues with 10-plus players, where you need to be a little more creative to fill out lineups; especially in SEC bye weeks.
Vault
I hope you haven’t forgotten your Ball State specialists! Marissa Nychyk nailed her signature tucked Yurchenko one and half; we think the 9.775 was low, so don’t let the number scare you away. She’s stellar. MAC rival Hannah Demers is great here, too, and she’ll get you solid scores on all four pieces. Over in the MIC, Courtney Mitchell scored a 9.900 this week for Lindenwood. Illinois State gets underway this week; Alaska transfer Izzi Fox is set to compete a big Yurchenko half; she should feature in the all around.
Bars
Jolie Miller has two back-to-back 9.800s on bars for SEMO and could round out your lineup. Sofia Iribarren is a great bar worker for Illinois State, and Cortney Bezold has put up two solid scores for Eastern Michigan so far. Did you miss Pitt’s Pride meet? Katie Chamberlain notched a 9.875 and a 9.900 in her first two 2021 routines, and teammate Katrina Coca was right behind with a 9.875.
Beam
George Washington kicks off 2021 this weekend; grab Hannah Cohen if you need a beam worker. She excelled in 2020. North Carolina’s Elizabeth Culton is set to be a superstar; her big scores on bars and floor—but especially beam—are no fluke. If she’s available in your game, she’s a must. Belle Huang will again be a beam rockstar for Rutgers this year.
Floor
Don’t let Jade Brown’s average at Kent State scare you away; she’s a seasoned floor worker who topped out at a 9.925 in 2020. Carina Jordan has had a bit of a slow start for N.C. State, but her floor score improved by almost a point this week, and we think she’ll continue to climb as she settles in. Don’t sleep on Temple’s Faith Leary; she’s on track for another stellar floor season.
Starts, Sits and Pickups for Week 4
Are you playing in a smaller league and still looking for advice about big names? Are you in a deep league but not sure what to do with that OU beam specialist? These tips are for you!
Vault
If you stopped paying attention to Rylie Mundell on vault after her 9.700 week one, be sure to pop her back into this lineup after her 9.925 last weekend. Arizona State can’t quite figure out its six here, but Emily White scored a 9.800 at UCLA and seems likely to return. Washington had a rough first go, but one thing’s for sure: Geneva Thompson is still a stellar vaulter. UCLA chose not to vault Frida Esparza after five hits, but she’s an option for this lineup.
Bars
Don’t fret too much about Mackinzie Kane if she’s your bar specialist; she had a rough go of it, but after a solid 2020, we think she’ll be back and ready to go. It seems likely that Lexi Graber will remain out of this lineup after two rocky outings and then being replaced in the lineup last week; both Jensie Givens and Luisa Blanco have scored better. Don’t forget that California starts up this week; Andi Li and Gabby Perea will shine here.
Beam
Emilie LeBlanc was pulled from this lineup in favor of Jaylene Gilstrap. We expect they’ll compete for the spot week-to-week, but Gilstrap has the edge with a better hit in her one outing than LeBlanc had in her two. Oklahoma has some real lineup roulette happening while it waits for Olivia Trautman’s return; we know KJ Kindler sees an expanded role for Katherine LeVasseur, and she has exhibitioned on beam. Given last week’s meltdown, she might emerge here this week. Megan Skaggs made a 9.950-sized splash in her first 2021 beam outing; it seems likely she’ll be in this lineup again.
Floor
We can’t be sure how Kindler will rectify last week’s floor issues. Will Audrey Davis make an all around debut adding floor? Maybe! Will Vanessa Deniz get another shot? Who knows! Make decisions here at your own risk. Christina Desiderio has had two consecutive misses here for LSU. Between that and Kiya Johnson battling Achilles tenderness, it’s safe to assume that Alyona Shchennikova will be in this lineup for one of the two. If both are out, perhaps we’ll see Olivia Gunter get a start. We have no reason to think Maile O’Keefe’s absence was anything other than rest; she should be back next week.
Notes from the Fantasy Roundtable
We don’t think Kennedi Davis traveled for Arizona. Zaza Brodevani, on the other hand, did and was in prospective lineups, but we didn’t see her on the sidelines at the meet. Gabi Wickman didn’t make the trek to Corvallis with Washington. The Rutgers broadcast described Hannah Joyner simply as out and possibly returning next week. Don’t drop her yet!
Article by Emily Minehart
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