The Mount: Week 1

It’s time for our second edition of “The Mount” this season. In this weekend preview, you’ll find everything from our picks for winners of a handful of competitions, mini-previews of the matchups to come and a full chart with every link you’ll need to follow your favorite team.

Each week we’re choosing a handful of notable competitions and picking who we think the winner will be in our college pick em part of the preview. But we don’t want to be the only ones with opinions. We want to hear your opinions too! So play along by answering who you think will win each matchup by participating in the polls. And if you feel strongly about your choices, feel free to let us know in the comments below.

After just one competition last weekend, things are really ramping up this week with 26 Division-I meets going on between Friday and Sunday. And there are some great matchups right off the bat.

Oklahoma at LSU: Saturday, Jan. 9 at 5 p.m. ET
Oklahoma Notes | LSU Preview

It’s a bit unusual to have such an important competition this early in the season. Coaches typically like to ease into things and let their teams get back into competition mode before facing off against formidable opponents. But Oklahoma and LSU are throwing that reasoning away and saying, “We ain’t afraid of no one.” But maybe not in as many words… Most will automatically go for Oklahoma as the favorite, but don’t forget the meet is being held in Tiger territory. While the Sooners are known for starting the season out strong, LSU will have the crowd and a bit of home-mat advantage on its side. It’s really gearing up to be one of the most exciting competitions of the season and it’s in the very first week. it’ll be the first real test for both teams’ freshmen. Are they able to replace the standout seniors lost from the year before? We’re looking at you Sarah Finnegan, McKenna Kelley, Lexie Preissman, Julianna Cannamela and Nicole Lehrmann (and just reading those names makes it look like the Tigers are in better shape going in).

Alabama at UCLA: Sunday, Jan. 10 at 5 p.m. ET
UCLA Notes

UCLA really packed on the difficulty in terms of opponents this season. This will be a tough test for the Bruins to start out the season. Alabama also has a lot to proove. With about two-thirds of its roster consisting of underclassmen, the Crimson Tide will have to work out which newcomers will fill which holes in 2016. And they’ll have to do it fast. Because you can’t be figuring things out against a team like UCLA, especially when it’s at home. Keep in mind Alabama typically starts out a bit slow — but nothing on the level of Stanford-slow. Meanwhile, you never know what to expect with UCLA. The Bruins are without Samantha Peszek, so that’s a hole to climb out of from the very start. The team will need to depend on Katelyn Ohashi producing solid routines and not being another Bruin burnout like we’ve unfortunately seen too many times in the past. The outcome of the competition will really depend on the level of readiness shown by everyone on UCLA’s squad as well as Alabama’s ability to groom new talent.

Georgia at Michigan: Saturday, Jan. 9 at 4 p.m. ET
Georgia Notes  | Michigan Preview

With one meet already under its belt, Michigan looks to continue its success from last weekend’s near-197 in Mexico. Meanwhile, Georgia, coming off a bit of a disappointing 2015 where it failed to make the Super Six, is looking to show it can get back to its winning ways. The Gym Dogs’ main goal for the competition will be starting 2016 off with near-full difficulty. Typically slow to add in extra E-passes and upgrade vaults, the team will need to get numbers under its belt in the arena if it wants to hang with the big girls this season. The Wolverines on the other hand, will look to correct small mistakes and eliminate some falls from the opener and keep its small roster healthy and consistent. The outcome of the meet will really come down to Michigan’s ability to stay on the consistency train it hopped on in 2015 as well as how much and how well Georgia senior Brittany Rogers will be able to contribute after deferring the semester to train for the world championships and Olympics.

Auburn at Oregon State: Sunday, Jan. 10 at 5 p.m. ET
Auburn Notes | Oregon State Notes

This is another interesting matchup but for slightly different reasons than the previous ones. Both Auburn and Oregon State are coming off successful 2015 campaigns but will most likely suffer a drop in 2016. Auburn set records left and right and qualified for the Super Six but lost a great senior class that produced many high-scoring routines. Oregon State qualified to nationals after not doing so the year before. Like the Tigers, the Beavers lost a collection of seniors that produced 9.9-quality routines that will be missed. And with both teams, it’s uncertain what the freshmen will do when thrust into the spotlight. Auburn’s got a massive class coming in. Oregon State has nearly as many newcomers. Beaver Mary Jacobsen competed all four events at the team’s Orange & Black intrasquad and showed off a 10.0 start value vault, so she should be an asset to the squad. Meanwhile, Auburn boasts more E-level tumbling, which should stand out against Oregon State’s relatively easier (but by no means actually easy) sets. It’ll really come down to consistency. Who can stay on the beam and hit the other three pieces with minimal deductions the most will come out on top.

Other Notable Match Ups

BYU at No. 4 Utah: Friday, Jan. 8 at 8 p.m. ET
BYU Preview | Utah Notes
This meet will be all about Utah testing out potential lineups and allowing the freshmen to get comfortable competing in front of 15.000 fans. Because no matter how many nerves of steel someone has, it can be intimidating even standing in front of that many people let alone doing gymnastics. Newcomers and those who didn’t see a lot of time in the lineup in 2015 will need to prove they can make up for the losses of Georgia Dabritz, Tory Wilson, Corrie Lothrop and Becky Tutka if they want to come anywhere close to last year’s success. The meet will also be an important test for co-head coaches Megan Marsden and Tom Farden. Showing Greg Marsden’s retirement is nothing to worry about will be crucial.

No. 2 Florida at TWU: Friday, Jan. 8 at 8 p.m. ET
TWU Notes | Florida Preview 
Similar to Utah showing Marsden’s retirement is a non-issue, Florida has to do the same thing with the transition from Rhonda Faehn to Jenny Rowland. While the Gators will in no way lose this competition, they need to show the same dominance as they have in the past. Bridget Sloan needs to stay healthy and win all the things (we honestly wouldn’t be surprised if she’s perfect on at least one event) and Alicia Boren needs to prove she’s going to be just as dominant in college as she was in J.O. Then the rest of the team can fill in as needed and show there won’t be holes left over from Kytra Hunter, Rachel Spicer and Kiersten Wang graduating.

NorCal Classic: Sunday, Jan. 10 at 5 p.m. ET
No. 8 Stanford, No. 14 California, UC-Davis, Sacramento State at San Jose State
Stanford Preview
Will Stanford start where it left off in 2015 or will it act like a Division-III team until regionals? That’s seriously the big question surrounding this meet. The Cardinal lost a better class than its bringing in, and the amount the freshmen contribute effectively as well as how much Elizabeth Price competes will be the determining factor in how good this Stanford team is. As long as Stanford doesn’t finish fourth like last year, we’ll count it as an improvement. Is that bad? Cal has been steadily improving year after year. And it has a great chance of winning the classic again in 2016. The Golden Bears will need to be more than just Toni-Ann Williams and company if they want to really challenge. They’ll also need to improve their consistency — especially on beam — something that was a slight issue last year.

No. 15 Illinois at No. 23 Missouri: Fri, Jan. 8 at 8 p.m. ET
Illinois Notes | Missouri Preview
After a rough couple of years, Missouri is slowly building its program back up to the nationals-qualifying standard it was at in 2010. Illinois is also poised for a big year, with qualifying a full team to NCAAs a viable goal. Both teams have shown great progress over the preseason as well as a couple of areas to be concerned about. However, it is just the first competition of the season, so don’t expect either side to be in midseason form right off the bat. Keep an eye out for Illini Lizzy LeDuc’s collegiate debut as well as her teammates Sunny Kato, Giana O’Connor, Mary Jane Horth and Missouri’s Shauna Miller.

No. 26 Michigan State at No. 18 Arizona: Fri, Jan. 8 at 8 p.m. ET
Michigan State Notes | Arizona Notes
The Gymcats will take on the Spartans in a meet that will mark Tabitha Yim’s debut as head coach for Arizona. The former Stanford gymnast and assistant is already showing her prowess as a leader in the team’s preseason videos released on social media. Michigan State also travels to Tucson with a strong team, lead by senior Lisa Burt and junior Elena Lagoski, both of whom were named Big 10 gymnasts to watch for 2016.

No. 28 Iowa State at No. 20 Minnesota: Sat, Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET
Iowa State Notes | Minnesota Preview
The Cyclones travel to Minneapolis to take on the Gophers in the first meet of the season for both squads. Fan favorite Lindsay Mable will start out her senior year for Minnesota while Iowa State will look to improve upon a mediocre 2015.

These aren’t the only meets happening this weekend! To see all the matchups all in one place, take a look at our master schedule. You can also find live scoring and video links below.