Georgia has climbed out of the abyssal hole it dug itself into during the first week and showed two solid performances against Auburn and N.C. State this past weekend. As expected, sophomore Sydney Snead has become the real star of this team with consistent performances and scoring career-bests 9.95 and 9.9 on vault and floor, respectively, last Monday. Arkansas will look to bounce back from the huge loss of senior and all-arounder Amanda Wellick to a torn Achilles, and it will be interesting to see who replaces Wellick in all four events. After a rough and shaky showing against Missouri following the injury, the Razorbacks will want to bring back solid and confident performances for their first SEC matchup on the road.
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Caroline: Has to be Georgia. Arkansas has got a lot of figuring out to do now that it’s without Wellick, which I think will hurt them more than any beam mishaps can hurt Georgia.
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Christina: Georgia. The team has had two solid performances this past weekend that gives me hope it is just going to continue improving and that the first meet of the season is behind it. I don’t expect Arkansas to challenge Georgia at home, especially now that it lost its best gymnast.
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Elizabeth: *Fingers crossed* but I think Georgia has figured out beam, and the home floor advantage should hopefully give the scores a boost if not the team’s confidence. Plus after last week’s showing from the Razorbacks, there’s a long way to go to figure out what the next step after Wellick’s injury is.
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How will No. 23 Arkansas fare without Amanda Wellick this Friday at 7 p.m. ET at No. 16 Georgia?
— NCAA Gym News (@NCAAGymNews_) January 18, 2017
Kentucky is coming off its best weekend in a while, scoring the program’s highest score ever (196.950) and doing so on the road. Additionally, freshman Mollie Korth received this week’s SEC Freshman of the Week award, a well-deserved recognition. The Wildcats are riding a fantastic momentum and should put up another solid performance this time at home. Auburn will want to bounce back from a likely disappointing weekend losing to SEC rival Georgia at home. This young Tigers team is still trying to find its footing after the graduation of superstar Caitlin Atkinson last season and likely will aim to score a 49+ on each event this time around and to improve its vault and beam totals. This will also be the first road meet for the Tigers this season, and we cannot wait to see how they handle the pressure against a strong Kentucky team. On top of that, this will be the famous Excite Night in Lexington, where the marketing department stepped up its game big time. We would not be surprised to see a record crowd for Kentucky this Friday night. Indeed, the Wildcats somehow got to have Pentatonix member Kirstin Maldonado come to the meet as a special guest. Fans will be able to win a meet and greet with the star, as well as a special UK Gymnastics edition of the American Girl Doll. Kind of a big deal for a regular-season NCAA gymnastics meet. (Your move, Utah!)
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Caroline: Call me crazy, but I think we’ll make it unanimous — Kentucky’s gonna snag the W for this one. If the Wildcats can keep their momentum going and get the bonus adrenaline (and maybe a little home scoring) from the huge night their program has set them up for, this could be another record-breaker. Auburn, on the other hand, has been struggling the past few weeks to keep their stamina up and stay on the apparatus. They’ve had a few bright spots, but they’ll need to have more than a few to beat Kentucky with this kind of a setup in Lexington.
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Christina: Kentucky. If you had told me two months ago that I would be predicting a Kentucky win over Auburn, I would have laughed in your face…especially after the last two seasons where the team was just plagued by injuries. But Kentucky looks amazing this season and the addition of Mollie Korth has been a huge boost for the team. Auburn still looks a bit rough and not as confident as it should, but I believe the scores will be tight, although I give the edge to Kentucky.
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Elizabeth: Kentucky. Auburn hasn’t looked super great this season so far and is going to a surging Kentucky team that is coming off its best score EVER on a night where the marketing team has outdone itself. It’ll be hard to beat the Wildcats, even on a good day.
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No. 11 @AuburnGym is at No. 9 @UKGymnastics for a battle for the SEC night session. Which team will prevail Friday at 7 p.m. ET? #NCAAgym
— NCAA Gym News (@NCAAGymNews_) January 18, 2017
Alabama will look for its first win of the season during this meet, and the Tide is surely fueled and motivated to do so after a loss on its home turf against LSU last weekend. Junior Kiana Winston has emerged as the solid and consistent performer so far, leading her team over the 197 mark. Alabama has looked in great shape so far, and we can expect nothing less than improvements as the season goes on. The Missouri Tigers definitely won’t give it away so easily. This young team has impressed so far, with huge contributions from its freshman and sophomore classes and with the long-anticipated return of Morgan Porter. The Tigers are coming off a fantastic double-meet weekend, recording two wins and breaking their program vault record previously established in 2004 with a huge 49.425. Now back in its home arena, Mizzou will look to keep climbing in the rankings and to continue scoring in the 196 range.
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Caroline: With this being at Mizzou, I think it’ll be close, but I have to give Bama the edge. I think it’s the more consistent team overall and has the highest scoring potential. However, I do think the Tigers will give the Tide a run for their money. I think this will be the most interesting meet to watch this week.
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Christina: Alabama. I think this will be a fun meet between these two teams, and I believe Mizzou will put up another strong performance against its SEC opponent. That said, I think Alabama remains the stronger team with the highest scoring potential, and the Tide will certainly look to score another 197+ this weekend.
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Elizabeth: I’m taking a risk here and picking Missouri. I’m seeing this meet as being Alabama’s random upset away loss of the season, and Missouri has been hot and will take advantage of any Alabama mistakes.
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No. 4 @BamaGymnastics squares off against surging No. 8 @MizzouGym Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET! Who leaves with the W? #NCAAgym
— NCAA Gym News (@NCAAGymNews_) January 18, 2017
The Utes return home for this quad meet against Denver, Boise State and UIC. Sadly, they will be without their superstar sophomore Sabrina Schwab as she tore her ACL this week in training and is now out for the season. This is a big blow for the Utes, and they will need some of their gymnasts to step up and fill in the gaps left on all four events. Freshman Missy Reinstadtler was already slated to make her debut on beam and floor, replacing Schwab and senior Baely Rowe on each event respectively. Utah will keep relying on freshman Mykayla Skinner for big scores, as Skinner swept all events at the BYU meet and once again earned both Freshman of the Week and Gymnast of the Week awards for the Pac-12. The Denver Pioneers are also led by powerful freshmen in Maddie Karr and Sam Ogden. Karr has had a stellar freshman campaign so far, scoring well into the 9.9s on multiple events, while Ogden has proven herself a steady competitor on uneven bars. The only thing to keep an eye out for with this team is its lack of depth that could potentially become a problem if bad luck were to strike, as the Pioneers are already putting only five up on vault and floor. So far so good, but they can’t afford a bad routine in these conditions. Boise State won its quad meet over the weekend with a 195.300 and recorded its first win against Stanford since 1997. However, the Broncos had a slow start on floor and could not get anything higher than a 9.775 on vault, so they will want to put up stronger performances on these events if they hope to pass the 196 mark.
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Caroline: Schwab’s absence and Reinstadtler’s introduction to scoring routines will make this meet maybe a little more interesting than it originally would have been, but I do think it’ll go to the Utes. Denver and Boise are also looking strong, so it’ll be very interesting to see which of them comes out with the silver at this meet.
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Christina: I will go with Utah because it’s a home meet, but I also think Denver will probably give the Utes a good run for their money. Utah is expected to show some new lineups, introducing Reinstadtler on beam and floor, so we will see how she handles the pressure, but I still predict the team to win this quad meet.
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Elizabeth: Utah at home is nearly impossible to beat, and I think the Utes will be fine without Schwab — at least for now. But Denver won’t finish as far off as some might think. It should be a good competition.
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No. 7 @DU_Gymnastics, No. 15 @BroncoSportsGYM and No. 56 @UICFlames_WGYM are at No. 5 @UtahGymnastics Friday at 9 pm ET. Who wins? #NCAAgym
— NCAA Gym News (@NCAAGymNews_) January 18, 2017
Michigan has been struggling a bit this season. The Wolverines were upset by rival Ohio State last weekend and had an underwhelming performance at Utah the week before. Hopefully now that the team is back home and won’t have the stress of traveling and the start of the season, it will perform to its potential and pick up a win against Illinois. Speaking of the Illini, they also got off to a slow start but have since improved. Lizzy Deluc picked up right where she left off last season and the freshmen are slowly developing into solid competitors.
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Caroline: I am so hoping that Michigan can put it together and finally hit at least five routines per event. I am so hoping. Regardless, I think the Wolverines will win, but I hope they can do it much more decisively than they’ve shown so far this season.
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Christina: Illinois. I haven’t predicted a surprising upset yet this week so here it is! I can see Illinois riding its momentum from last weekend, and Michigan has still looked a little rough on the edges. So for fun, I’m going with Illinois!
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Elizabeth: I think Michigan will finally pull it all together and Paige Zaziski in particular will show the gymnast she was at Arkansas.
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Will No. 12 @UMichWGym bounce back against No. 19 @IlliniWGym Sunday at 2 p.m. ET? #NCAAgym
— NCAA Gym News (@NCAAGymNews_) January 18, 2017
No. 3 Florida at No. 52 North Carolina: Friday, Jan. 20 at 7 p.m.
This should be an easy win for the Gators, and it will be interesting to see if Rowland rests some of her top athletes and plays with her roster and lineups a little bit here. Florida showed a strong performance last weekend against Kentucky and tallied a nice 197.600 for its home opener. UNC will definitely want to improve on its performance at the Lindsey Ferris Invitational, where it struggled on beam and floor and lost to GWU and Penn. This was the first meet of the season for this young team, and we can only hope some of the jitters will be gone for its first home meet. Besides, this dual meet embraces the theme of “Be True,” Nike’s campaign to support equal rights and the LGBTQ community, which is something unprecedented in NCAA gymnastics. So kuddos to you Tar Heels for making history.No. 21 Minnesota at No. 30 Michigan State: Friday, Jan. 20 at 7 p.m.
Michigan State is quietly doing well this season. Freshman Ella Douglas and super senior Nicola Deans are leading the team with their strong and consistent performances across the events. Meanwhile, Minnesota is still struggling to find an identity after Lindsay Mable. Bars has been a huge weakness in 2017, so improving that event even a little bit will be a good start.
No. 36 Stanford at Southern Utah: Friday, Jan. 20 at 9 p.m.
The Thunderbirds haven’t competed yet, as they started the season with two bye weeks in a row, so it is quite hard to predict how they will look against Stanford. They did have their intrasquad over the weekend in front of over 2,600 fans. The freshmen got to show off their routines to the crowd for the first time and to get some jitters out of the way. Stacie Webb won vault (9.90) and floor (9.875). Dani Ramirez, Tyly Bozzuto and Madi McBride tied for the top score on uneven bars at 9.85, and Bozzuto won beam with a 9.90. As a team, the Thunderbirds scored a 196.000, which is basically three points higher than Stanford’s scores this season so far. Indeed, the Cardinals had another rough showing last weekend at their quad meet against Boise State, UC Davis and Yale. With their star and best gymnast Elizabeth Price out sick, the team was not able to score above a 49 on any event and was also forced to count a 8.875 on uneven bars after freshman Kaylee Cole was unable to finish her routine and was given a 1.000. The Cards were still struggling to find momentum on floor, where their highest score was only a 9.800 by Rachel Daum. With Price hopefully back and healthy, we can only hope for them to finally get out of the 193 range and show their true potential.
No. 1 Oklahoma at No. 28 West Virginia: Saturday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m.
This is the first conference matchup for both teams, and Oklahoma should easily come away with a W. This will also be the first time the Sooners hit the road, and it will be interesting to see if they can match the scores they have received at home these last two weeks… Which is likely since OU is known for often performing better on the road than at home. The West Virginia Mountaineers will want to bounce back from a disappointing performance last weekend against Pittsburgh where they counted a fall on bars and a few low 9.5-9.6s routines on that event as well as on vault and beam.
No. 17 Washington, No. 48 San Jose State at No. 13 California: Saturday, Jan. 21 at 8 p.m.
Washington has been hit with a slight injury bug with Madison Copiak questionable with back spasms and Evanni Roberson missing the first meet after jamming her ankle around the time of the season preview. Malory Rose is also out with a knee injury, so the lineup depth isn’t what it could be. California is off to a solid but not phenomenal start. There have been mistakes here and there preventing the Bears from being a step above and really in the nationals conversation, but fixing those small things and the team is right up there once again. Freshman Cassidy Keelen has been a great addition so far for the team and upperclassmen are showing progression as well.
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Date
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Time (ET)
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Teams
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Score Link
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Video Link
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Availability
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Fri, Jan 20
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7:00 p.m.
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Arkansas at Georgia
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Fri, Jan 20
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7:00 p.m.
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Auburn at Kentucky
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Fri, Jan 20
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7:00 p.m.
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Ball State, W&M at NCSU
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FREE
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Fri, Jan 20
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7:00 p.m.
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EMU at CMU
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FREE
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Fri, Jan 20
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7:00 p.m.
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UF at UNC
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Paid
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Fri, Jan 20
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7:00 p.m.
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Minnesota at MSU
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Paid
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Fri, Jan 20
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7:00 p.m.
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UW-LC at UW-EC
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Fri, Jan 20
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7:00 p.m.
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Western Michigan at Kent State
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FREE
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Fri, Jan 20
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7:00 p.m.
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Winona at UW-O
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Scores
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FREE
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Fri, Jan 20
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7:30 p.m.
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Lindenwood at SEMO
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Fri, Jan 20
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8:30 p.m.
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Alabama at Missouri
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Fri, Jan 20
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8:30 p.m.
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TWU at LSU
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Fri, Jan 20
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9:00 p.m.
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Boise State, Denver, UIC at Utah
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FREE
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Fri, Jan 20
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9:00 p.m.
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Stanford at SUU
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Paid
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Fri, Jan 20
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9:00 p.m.
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Utah State at BYU
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FREE
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Fri, Jan 20
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11:00 p.m.
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UW-Stout at Alaska
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Scores
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FREE
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Sat, Jan 21
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12:00 p.m.
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Brockport, RIC at Ithaca
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Scores
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FREE
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Sat, Jan 21
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12:00 p.m.
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Yale at Penn
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Paid
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Sat, Jan 21
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2:00 p.m.
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UW-W at Gustavus Adolphus
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Sat, Jan 21
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3:00 p.m.
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NIU, SPU at Oregon State
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FREE
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Sat, Jan 21
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3:30 p.m.
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Cortland at Cornell
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Scores
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Sat, Jan 21
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4:00 p.m.
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Iowa at Ohio State
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Paid
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Sat, Jan 21
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4:00 p.m.
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Maryland at Penn State
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FREE
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Sat, Jan 21
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4:00 p.m.
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Pitt, SCSU at UNH
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YouTube
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Sat, Jan 21
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4:30 p.m.
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Illinois State at BGSU
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Sat, Jan 21
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6:00 p.m.
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Iowa State at Arizona
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Sat, Jan 21
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6:00 p.m.
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UC Davis at ASU
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FREE
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Sat, Jan 21
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7:00 p.m.
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Brown, Nebraska, West Chester at Rutgers
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Sat, Jan 21
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7:00 p.m.
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Oklahoma at West Virginia
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Sat, Jan 21
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8:00 p.m.
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Sacramento State at Air Force
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Scores
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FREE
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Sat, Jan 21
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8:00 p.m.
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SJSU, UW at California
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Sun, Jan 22
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1:00 p.m.
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Ursinus at Temple
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Scores
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Sun, Jan 22
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2:00 p.m.
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GW at Towson
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Sun, Jan 22
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2:00 p.m.
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Illinois at Michigan
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FREE
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Mon, Jan 23
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11:00 p.m.
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UW-Stout at Alaska
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Scores
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FREE
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Byes
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Doubles
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