Teams Showcase Routines at Preseason Intrasquads

More teams held their preseason previews over the last week. In part two of our intrasquad recap series, we take a look at Denver, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Maryland, Missouri, Oklahoma, UCLA and Utah’s showcases. It was the first time for fans to see the 2016 editions of their favorite teams and the last time the gymnasts got to experience a less-stressful competition atmosphere before the season gets underway in January.

Denver
On Friday, Denver held its Gymboree Intrasquad where it scored a 195.25 by taking the top-five scores on each event. Nina McGee earned a 9.95 on floor and a 9.85 on beam. The team scored a 49.0 on beam, a 48.925 on floor, 48.85 on vault and a 48.475 on bars. Catch up on the social media highlights with our Storify and see more scores on Denver’s press release. To see what the Pioneers’ lineups might be when the season starts, check our potential lineups based on intrasquads from this fall.
​Florida
The Gators held their annual Orange & Blue intrasquad Thursday. The Blue team, led by senior Bridget Sloan, took the win over a young orange team that featured a plethora of freshmen and sophomores. The blue team featured Bridget Sloan, Kennedy Baker, Bianca Dancose-Giambattisto, Grace McLaughlin and Amanda Cheney while the orange team included Ericha Fassbender, Peyton Ernst, Ashley Hiller, Alicia Boren, Alex McMurtry and Bridgette Caquatto. Lacey Dagen, Claire Boyce and Morgan Frazier did not compete. Catch up on highlights from the competition in the video below, view a photo gallery here and see what the Gators’ potential lineups for the season might be here.
Iowa State
Iowa State scored a 194.675 at its showcase on Monday. The team’s highest event score was on beam where the Cyclones scored a 49.0. On bars sophomore Hilary Green earned a 9.925. Alex Marasco competed vault (not in the top-six lineup) with her Yurchenko full-on, back tuck off. For a full recap of the videos posted on Twitter and scores, check out our Storify. Iowa State’s press release also contains quotes from coaches. Visit our potential lineups page to see what the Cyclones’ lineups might look like when the season begins.
​Kentucky
At Kentucky’s Blue & White Intrasquad on Sunday, two gymnasts performed 10.0 SV vaults with Tiara Phipps’ front handspring front pike and Taylor Puryear’s Yurchenko half on front pike. On bars, Katie Stuart showed a full-twisting double layout dismount. The Wildcats showed three E passes (Marissa Beucler’s tucked full-in, Sidney Dukes’ double Arabian and a double layout from the first gymnast in the lineup). A few floor routines only had two tumbling passes. Check our Storify for all the quick hits and Kentucky’s press release for quotes from gymnasts. To see how Kentucky’s gymnasts might fit into the lineups when the season begins, see our potential lineups.
​LSU
LSU really elevated the preseason intrasquad game with its Gymnastics 101 event Monday night. Not only was there live video, but on-screen graphics AND commentary! It’s an amazing world we live in, you guys. Sophomore Myia Hambrick, junior Ashleigh Gnat and senior Jessica Sovona competed all four events and freshmen Sarah Finnegan and Julianna Cannamela made their collegiate debuts. If you weren’t around to watch the meet live, we did quick hits of every routine and curated relevant tweets on our Storify. You can also view updated potential lineups for the team here and watch highlights from the preview below.
​Maryland
On Friday, Maryland held its Red vs. Black intrasquad. Kathy Tang earned a 39.8 all around and competed an upgraded routine on bars. There were eight scores of 9.95 or higher, including a 10 from Tang on vault. Sarah Faller and Bailey Philbin were two of the gymnasts who competed bars, and Kathy Tang and Rachel Gurnett both hit beam. For the social media highlights, check ourStorify, and for full results see Maryland’s press release. Keep up with our potential lineups for Maryland and other teams here.
​Missouri
The Tigers showed off their hard work in the gym to fans at Friday night’s Black & Gold Intrasquad. With a solid competition throughout, the team ended with a total of 193.175, highlighted by five scores of 9.8 or above. Take a look at all the scores from the night’s competition (sans floor) as well as other highlights from the evening in our Storify. You can also check out a photo gallery here and potential lineups for the team here.
​Oklahoma
Oklahoma has been looking strong all preseason, and their preview Friday night was no different. Each event had a top score of 9.9 or above and few mistakes were made on the night. Catch up on what you missed from the preview in the highlight videos below or, for a more detailed account, check out our Storify from the event (including scores from 17 of the 29 routines). You can also see updated potential lineups for the Sooners based on the meet. Finally, FloGymnastics has more videos and interviews here.
​UCLA
The Bruins held their first Meet the Bruins event since 2013. The team showed off skills, partial routines and dance throughs to fans and looked quite solid for the most part. Read through some impressions from fans in attendance and see highlights in our Storify. You can also get a first look at six of UCLA’s 2016 floor routines below.
Utah
The Utes held their annual Red Rocks Preview where the Red team went up against the Rocks in an intrasquad-style competition. Freshman McKenna Merrell, sophomores Tiffany Lewis, Maddy Stover, Samantha Partyka and Kari Lee and seniors Kassandra Lopez and Breanna Hughes all competed all around. Overall the team looked well on its way to a strong 2016 season. However, there are still lots of areas that need to be improved. Beam was quite shaky and there were many missed handstands on bars, but vault and floor were, for the most part, solid. If you missed the action, catch up on every routine with our quick hits. Also take a look at our potential lineups page to get an idea of how Utah’s 2016 events are shaping up, read a recap from Utah and view a photo gallery from Desert News.

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