The Dismount: Week Three

Things are starting to finally settle down after the third week of action. Oklahoma finally entered the rankings while many teams put their gymnasts to the test on the road for the first time—some exceeding expectations while others faltered. There were a lot of competitions to keep track of, and we don’t expect you to have caught everything. So catch up on everything you might have missed, from event winners to highlights and more.

No. 9 Alabama at No. 1 LSU
Full Results	LSU: 197.450		Ala.: 196.725
VT: Finnegan 9.900	UB: Finnegan 9.975	BB: Guerrero 9.950	FX: Hambrick 9.950	AA: Hambrick, Finnegan 39.550
LSU broke its attendance record with a sold-out crowd of 13,729 attendees. LSU posted its second highest bars score in school history with a 49.625. All six gymnasts went 9.9 or higher on the event.

The famous stick crown saw lots of action last night in front of a sold-out, record-breaking crowd for the Tigers. While each apparatus had records broken, it was bars that had fans talking. LSU’s performance on the event cemented itself in the books as the second highest total in school history with a 49.625, helping it to a season high score. Finnegan landed a career high and a near perfect score on the event as freshman Sami Durante proved to be LSU’s shining lead off spot on the apparatus, scoring a career best 9.9. Another Tiger freshman making a splash was Christina Desiderio, who set a season best 9.875 on beam, along with sophomore Kennedi Edney. Not to be overlooked is the Crimson Tide, whose 196.725 is a season best so far. Senior Nickie Guerrero won beam easily with a 9.950, and transfer Peyton Ernst saw her second week of action on the same event, a treat for fans and the Tide alike.

No. 25 Oregon State at No. 2 Utah
Full Results	Utah: 197.450		OSU: 196.300
VT: Merrell-Giles, Skinner 9.950	UB: Skinner 9.975	BB: Skinner 9.925	FX: Merrell-Giles, Soloski, Lewis 9.925	AA: Skinner 39.725
Utah freshman Alexia Burch made her collegiate debut on beam.

This was the first ‘Ute Proud’ event ever held at a gymnastics meet, and the Utah team debuted a specialty leotard inspired by the colors and beadwork on the Ute Tribe’s authentic regalia. This matchup also marked the first official conference meet for both teams. Utah performed strong at home and recorded its highest team score of the season so far. The Utes were led by their dynamic one-two punch of all arounders Mykayla Skinner and MaKenna Merrell-Giles, who finished first and second, respectively, in the final AA rankings. The Utes were testing out a new beam lineup this week, this time with senior Maddy Stover as a lead-off and Mykayla Skinner as anchor. Freshman Alexia Burch competed on beam as well, which marked her collegiate debut in a competition lineup. The new lineup proved successful for Utah as it scored a 49.200, its best score of the season so far on the event. The Utes also scored their best score of the season on floor with a 49.550 where junior Macey Roberts made her season debut. Oregon State greatly improved from its season opener last weekend, and recorded its best team score yet with a 196.300. The Beavers also improved on all events, scoring above 49 on all four for the first time this year. Sophomore Sabrina Gill continued to have outstanding performances and received a new career high in the all around with 39.350. The Beavers’ best rotation was vault for a 49.125, highlighted by a Yurchenko 1.5 from Dani Dessaints and a Kasamatsu from Mary Jacobsen. One of the other highlights for the Beavers was sophomore Isis Lowery on floor as she won over the entire arena with her fun, entertaining and highly energetic routine, earning roars and claps from the Utah crowd.

No. 3 Michigan at No. 21 Illinois-Champaign
Full Results	UM: 194.975		Ill.: 194.325
VT: Meeks 9.850	UB: Zaziski 9.900	BB: Hodan 9.900	FX: Balthazor, McLean 9.875	AA: Balthazor 39.100
Illinois’ Kasey Meeks becomes the first freshman to win back-to-back event titles since 2009 Rae Balthazor’s titles came on her first ever competitive floor routine and all around performances for Illinois

Unfortunately, BTN+ dropped this meet, so we didn’t get to see it on FloGymnastics. It was a tightly scored competition, and Michigan’s lowest team score since February 2012. The Wolverines started out just shy of their usual pace on bars, which was the only event where they broke 49.0. The second rotation included many vaults in the 9.7s, something we rarely see from the team. Emma McLean closed vault only performing a full, rather than her usual Yurchenko 1.5. On floor, the struggles continued, with Michigan counting a fall and only scoring a 48.225. After a rough floor outing, Olivia Karas was pulled from the beam lineup, and Polina Shchennikova took her place making her Michigan beam debut. Though beam was a better event, tight scoring kept Michigan just under 195. For Illinois, vault and floor went much more smoothly than last week, highlighted by a debut floor performance by Rae Balthazor which won the event title. The Illini struggled on bars, however, counting a fall and only scoring 47.775 on the event. Though the Illini had no falls on beam, four scores of 9.75 or lower kept the team from breaking 49.0 on the event.

No. 4 UCLA at No. 17 Arizona
Full Results	UCLA: 197.300		Arizona: 195.750
VT: Hano 9.900	UB: Ross 9.925	BB: G. Glenn, Ohashi, Lee 9.950	FX: Schneider, Hano, Tratz 9.900	AA: Ohashi 39.450
Madison Kocian competed for the first time since her shoulder surgery Anna Glenn made her Bruin debut competing two exhibition routines Felicia Hano competed in the all-around for the first time

The meet started off fast, as UCLA had to “speed up the meet because of prior engagements.” As a result and instead of alternatively going one at a time, two events were happening at once. The Bruins decided to test their depth, and several gymnasts made their first appearances or performed in exhibitions. Kyla Ross only competed on uneven bars while Katelyn Ohashi and Felicia Hano were in the all around, the latter for the first time in her career. Ohashi was back in the vault lineup for the first time in two years. Most significantly, sophomore Madison Kocian returned from shoulder surgery to compete on balance beam. Redshirt freshman Anna Glenn made her UCLA debut with two exhibitions on vault and beam while sophomore Stella Savvidou performed an impressive floor exhibition, doing all of her tumbling one-handed. With so many new faces in the lineup while resting some of the big names, UCLA still managed to score a 197.300, an encouraging mark that only shows what this team is capable of. Arizona also had a strong showing and earned its highest team score of the season. The Wildcats scored new season highs on bars and floor, and sophomore Maddi Leydin competed in the all around for the first time in her career. Beam was tougher as they were forced to count Kennady Schneider’s 9.550—who did not get credit for her acro connection—after Victoria Ortiz fell on a side aerial and did not perform a dismount. All in all, this was also an encouraging showing for Arizona as it heads into its next Pac-12 matchup against Utah.

No. 5 Florida at No. 5 Kentucky
Full Results	UF: 196.325		UK: 195.950
VT: Korth, Slocum 9.925	UB: Gowey 9.825	BB: Dukes, Gowey, Hyland 9.900	FX: Dukes 9.925	AA: Korth 39.500
Kentucky’s 49.350 on beam is the fourth best team score in program history.

This was the battle of the fives: prior to this meet both teams were tied at the fifth ranking nationally, making this meet-up not just a interesting one for fans but for the rankings as well. In the end, the Gators chomped their way for the win, but the Wildcats didn’t go down without a massive fight. For Florida, the highlights came with Rachel Slocum and Rachel Gowey. Slocum made a splash last year with her near-perfect vaults, but in 2018 she struggled in Florida’s first meets. However, she came back with a 9.925 and a share of the vault title in Lexington. Gowey meanwhile had her fifth beam win of her Gator career, tying with Dukes and Hyland. While Kentucky did fall to Florida, the Cats were on the Gators’ tails until the end. Sophomore Mollie Korth remained Kentucky’s most valuable player, winning the all around over Florida’s Alicia Boren and tying Slocum on vault. Junior Sidney Dukes won floor with a career high 9.925, setting up a string of fantastic performances, including a 9.85 from freshman Ella Warren.

No. 7 Denver, No. 59 Seattle Pacific, No. 43 UIC and No. 8 Boise State
Full Results	BSU: 195.850	DU: 195.050	UIC: 192.375	SPU: 186.875
VT: Addison 9.900	UB: Karr 9.900	BB: Remme 9.925	FX: Brown 9.900	AA: Brown 39.325
Nikole Addison scored a career high 9.9 on vault BSU freshman Tessa Otuafi made her collegiate debut on vault, scoring a 9.75

To say this meet was interesting would be an understatement. Denver again had to count a fall on bars after two new culprits came off in Diana Chesnok and Leah Lomonte, who is competing in place of the injured Glynn. Later, the Pioneers counted two scores in the 9.4 range on floor while only putting up five. The bright spot for the Pioneers was freshman Lynnzee Brown. However, Maddie Karr also performed well despite an uncharacteristic stumble on her vault. Even with that, the Broncos managed to keep this one interesting going into the last rotation, where the team had a fall from Courtney McGregor in the lead-off position. In the end, the back end of the Broncos’ lineup pulled through to erase the fall and comfortably win the meet. The Flames had two scores of 9.8+ on vault, coming from Kayla Baddeley and Mikailla Northern while the Falcons would like to just put this meet behind them and get back in the gym to prepare for the next competition.

No. 10 Arkansas at No. 24 Missouri
Full Results	Mizz: 196.325		Ark.: 196.150
VT: Speed 9.900	UB: Porter 9.900	BB: Burton, Yamzon 9.900	FX: Harris 9.925	AA: Yamzon 39.250

Despite a narrow defeat by the Tigers, the Razorbacks came away from this week’s meet with four individual event titles. Senior Braie Speed took home the vault title as sophomores Michaela Burton and Jessica Yamzon claimed a share of the beam title. Yamzon also took home the all-around title, her first this season and fourth overall in her career. Beam proved to be the highlight for the Razorbacks after struggling on vault and bars, earning a total 49.200 and highlighted by Burton and Yamzon’s 9.9s on the event. This was Missouri’s third-consecutive win over Arkansas, and its first over a top 10 opponent in two years. Highlighted by sophomore Morgan Porter’s 9.9 on bars, the meet was cemented as a win for the team when senior Kennedi Harris closed out Mizzou on floor with a 9.925.  

No. 11 Arizona State at No. 20 Stanford
Full Results	ASU: 196.250		Stanford: 195.650
VT: Price 9.950	UB: Price 9.950	BB: Price 9.950	FX: Price 9.925	AA: Price 39.775
Stanford’s Elizabeth Price scored a 39.775 in the all around competition, the highest score of the season so far. Price scored a “perfect 9.95” on vault for the second week in a row. ASU has surpassed the 196 mark in consecutive road meets for the first time since 2006. Kaitlyn Szafranski (ASU) made her bars debut and scored a 9.650.

Coming in as the third team in the Pac-12 in the week two standings, Arizona State showed why it was deserving of that spot. The Sun Devils had another fantastic showing and broke 196 for the second week in a row. Vault and bars were solid, but the highlight was their world-class beam rotation, which scored a 49.325 with a 9.9 from Katelyn Lentz and three 9.875s. Reigning Pac-12 Newcomer of the Week Cairo Leonard-Baker once again led the team with a 39.450 in the all around and two 9.9s on bars and floor. Stanford wasn’t too far behind, but bars is really what made the difference and what cost the Cardinal the meet. It didn’t have to count falls, but the first three routines in the lineup were very tight and tentative, scoring in the mid 9.6s. With five routines up and counting, even the 9.950 from Elizabeth Price could not save that rotation and help the Cardinal take the lead. It came back strong on beam and floor, and the former ended up being its highest scoring event of the night, showcasing three stuck double back dismounts—a double pike from Price and double tucks from Navarro and Bryant—for a 49.150. Price was once again stellar in the all around and won it with a huge 39.775, the highest all around score in the nation in 2018. She also scored a “perfect 9.95” for her effortless Yurchenko full for the second week in a row.

No. 56 Rutgers at No. 12 Nebraska
Full Results	Neb.: 196.3		RU: 192.975
VT: Crouse 9.825	UB: Houchin 9.9	BB: Epperson, Schweihofer, Hassel, Williams, Huang 9.825	FX: Crouse 9.9	AA: Epperson, Schweihofer 39.275
Torri Hutchinson (Nebraska) made her debut on bars Toni Williams (Rutgers) debuted on floor

Some of Rutgers’ struggles continued this week, but the Scarlet Knights also showed signs of growth in Lincoln, improving by almost a point and a half over last week’s total. Belle Huang’s beam title is the first for any of the Scarlet Knights this season, and Makenzey Shank’s 9.825 on floor is the team’s highest mark on the event yet. Nebraska’s home opener didn’t start as smoothly as the it may have wanted, with a 48.825 on vault—far short of last week’s 49.325. However, the Huskers put up a completely hit meet and bested their total from week two by almost a full point.

No. 23 California at No. 13 Washington
Full Results	UW: 196.325		Cal: 194.850
VT: Williams 9.900	UB: Schank 9.925	BB: George 9.900	FX: Williams 9.925	AA: Williams 39.325
Cal’s Alma Kuc was pulled out last minute with an ankle injury. The extent of it is unknown. Cal’s junior, Chelsea Shu, scored a 9.800 in her collegiate floor debut.

The Huskies competed at home for the first time this year, hitting 24 for 24 routines and putting up a very well rounded and consistent performance. Vault, surprisingly, has been the strongest event in 2018, and they showed fans why right off the bat with a plethora of stuck landings, including a stuck Tsukahara half from Haley Roy that earned a 9.875. Bars and beam were also strong and filled with stuck dismounts. Floor was a highlight for the Huskies as they scored a 49.375, featuring two 9.900s from Haley Burleson and Maya Washington. Sophomore Evanni Roberson was the best all arounder for Washington, scoring a 9.825 on all four events to finish in second place behind Cal’s Toni-Ann Williams.

In contrast with Washington, Cal won every single individual event title yet was pretty much a disaster as a team. The meet started out rough for the Bears as they had to count two falls on bars after Chelsea Shu and Yuleen Sternberg fell on their dismounts, and Kyana George overshot a handstand and had to hop off. Bars has been a problematic event all season, as they are ranked No. 41, and this week’s 47.900 is definitely not going to improve that. Vault was worrisome at first with a fall from lead-off Alicia Gallarzo, but the next five were solid, especially Toni-Ann Williams who essentially stuck her Yurchenko full. Ariana Robinson followed with her own stick. The Bears bounced back on floor and looked more relaxed as they essentially had nothing to lose at that point. Williams’ routine won her the floor title with a 9.925. Just like vault, the beam rotation started off with a fall from lead-off Sofie Seilnacht but it fortunately did not have to count. The Bears showcased unique mounts, and freshman Kyana George hit a double wolf turn, her eponymous skill in the J.O. code, for a 9.900 and the event title.

No. 41 Western Michigan at No. 14 Central Michigan
Full Results	CMU: 195.600		WMU: 195.425
VT: Pedrick 9.900	UB: Johnson, Mohler 9.900	BB: Clements 9.925	FX: Clements 9.875	AA: Spence 39.025
Macey Hilliker, CMU senior, got injured on floor. No specifics have been released. Amelia Mohler, WMU sophomore, scored a 9.900 on bars in her competitive debut.

From the first few routines, this was a close match up; after one rotation the two teams were tied. All the teams within the MAC are known for being equally matched and capable, so it was not at all surprising to see WMU keep things tight between themselves and CMU. Both of these teams showed great improvements between weeks two and three. CMU improved its overall team score by just over a point while WMU improved its by an impressive two points. For the Chippewas, a couple of the most notable performances came from Denelle Pedrick, Kennedy Rae Johnson and Katy Clements. All three gymnasts set or tied their career bests on their way to winning event titles. But unfortunately for CMU, the meet did not quite end how it would have liked as senior Macey Hilliker got injured while anchoring the floor lineup. The extent of injury is not yet known. On the other side of the competition, the Broncos closed out a fantastic day with sophomore Amelia Mohler, who was unable to compete in her freshman year due to an injury, scoring an incredible 9.900 on bars. During the second rotation, the Broncos vaulted their way into the history books when they put up a 48.950 team total, the second highest in program history.

No. 15 Iowa State, No. 40 Texas Woman’s at Oklahoma
Full Results		OU: 197.525	ISU: 194.975	TWU: 191.425
VT: Dowell 9.925	UB: Nichols 9.95	BB: Nichols 9.925	FX: Jackson 9.925	AA: Nichols 39.625
Maggie Nichols added vault in her first all around performance of 2018 OU freshman Carly Woodard made her debut Meet was hosted as a “beauty and the beast” themed meet, featuring wrestling occurring simultaneously with gymnastics

Oklahoma hosted Iowa State and Texas Woman’s in the Sooners’ home opener Sunday afternoon. The Sooners were the highlight of the meet but not immune from missteps, as they had a few minor errors on floor that still translated to average scores in the 9.7 range. The team really brought the landings, though, especially on bars and vault where it had multiple sticks. Freshman Anastasia Webb competed in the all around alongside Nichols and scored a 39.4 while freshman Carly Woodard made her debut on beam, scoring a 9.875. The Cyclones, meanwhile, would like to put the beam rotation behind them as they had to count a fall after both Madeline Johnson and Meghan Sievers came off the apparatus, and Haylee Young scored just a 9.675 after having to fight to stay on the beam. The team did have its highlights, though. Hilary Green was the only Cyclone to score a 9.9 on bars for the team, and Young, Sophia Steinmeyer and Kelsey Paz all had scores over 9.8 on vault. Highlight events for the Pioneers were vault and floor, both events on which Mallory Moredock scored over 9.8.

No. 16 Auburn at No. 28 Georgia
Full Results	UGA: 196.725		AU: 196.375
VT: Johnson 9.900	UB: Cerio, Dickson, Snead 9.875	BB: Cerio, Krippner, Milliet, Snead, Vega 9.875	FX: Vega 9.950	AA: Snead 39.500
Courtney Kupets-Carter earned her first win of the season as head coach. UGA sophomore Jordyn Pedersen made her collegiate debut by competing on bars.

In its third meet of the week, the Gym Dogs came out strong with its first win of the season, and head coach Courtney Kupets Carter’s first win as head coach. After Monday’s impressive comeback performance against Oklahoma, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Georgia was poised with confidence and an energy that lead to its win over the Tigers. Auburn, which lead most of the night, couldn’t contest with Georgia’s multiple 9.9s and fell to the Bulldogs in the final rotation. Georgia sophomore Jordyn Pedersen debuted on bars while senior Jasmine Arnold, who has been a fixture in floor lineup this season, had her collegiate debut on beam. Floor is where the Gym Dogs shined brightest. After losing senior Gigi Marino to an achilles injury last week, the team has only been able to put putting in the lineup. The lack of depth didn’t stop it from scoring a 49.525, though, with two scores of 9.9 or better, including a 9.925 from junior Sydney Snead, who won the all around swiftly and didn’t score below a 9.825 all night. As Georgia had a stellar floor rotation, Auburn was treating the audience to their own high note on beam, with four gymnasts scoring above a 9.825 and three tying for the beam title, including redshirt junior Abby Milliet, who is proving to have quite the comeback story for the Tigers after an injury last season forced her to miss out.

No. 27 George Washington, No. 34 Towson at No. 18 West Virginia
Full Results		GW: 195.575	WVU: 195.400	Towson: 194.000
VT: Drouin-Allaire 9.875	UB: Winstanley 9.850	BB: Winstanley, Temkov 9.825	FX: Koshinski 9.900	AA: Drouin-Allaire 39.225

No. 32 Southern Utah at No. 18 BYU
Full Results	BYU: 195.750		SUU: 194.475
VT: Bennett, Douglas, Jorgensen 9.800	UB: Hawes, Hortman 9.850	BB: Jorgensen 9.875	FX: Douglas 9.875	AA: Van Mierlo 39.025
BYU broke its attendance record with a crowd of 5,112.

No. 48 Northern Illinois at No. 22 Kent State
Full Results	KSU: 195.925		NIU: 195.200
VT: Potts 9.850	UB: Marrero 9.900	BB: Stypinski 9.925	FX: Martucci, Stypinski 9.900	AA: Stypinski 39.425
Any highlights, notes, records broken, injuries, etc. about the meet. This is not the space for the recap.

No. 26 Penn State at No. 37 Maryland
Full Results	Md.: 195.550		PSU: 195.025
VT: Barber, LaGuardia, Tsang 9.800	UB: Tsang 9.900	BB: Hosek 9.900	FX: Farina 9.900	AA: Tsang 39.300
This marked Maryland’s second-ever win against PSU, and first-ever since joining the Big Ten conference.

No. 53 Sacramento State, No. 29 San Jose State at No. 49 Utah State
Full Results		USU: 195.450	SJSU: 194.275	Sac St.: 193.275
VT: Pascoe-Long 9.825	UB: Sampson, Peel, Ward 9.825	BB: Relova 9.875	FX: Pascoe-Long, DeHarde, Leary 9.850	AA: Won 39.075
Utah State’s 195.450 is the second highest home-opening in history and the highest opening since 2004.

No. 41 Eastern Michigan at No. 30 Bowling Green
Full Results	BGSU: 195.025		EMU: 193.950
VT: East 9.850	UB: Augustine, Rubin 9.775	BB: McPeak 9.850	FX: East 9.875	AA: Valentin 38.975

No. 44 Temple at No. 31 North Carolina
Full Results	UNC: 195.300		Temple: 194.375
VT: Hedelund, Hislop, Nettles 9.825	UB: Donaghy 9.800	BB: Allen 9.900	FX: Robinson 9.900	AA: N/A

No. 46 Ball State, No. 61 William & Mary at No. 33 North Carolina State
Full Results		NCSU: 196.350	BSU: 194.750	W&M: 193.300
VT: Knight 9.900	UB: Tamburro 9.850	BB: Knight 9.900	FX: Grantham 9.875	AA: Knight 39.450
NCSU posted its highest team total since Feb. 2012

No. 46 Michigan State at No. 35 Minnesota
Full Results	Minnesota: 196.075		MSU: 194.925
VT: Loper 9.900	UB: Lu 9.900	BB: Ramler 9.950	FX: Loper 9.900	AA: Ramler 39.450
Ona Loper (Minnesota) debuted in the all around.

No. 50 New Hampshire at No. 36 Pittsburgh
Full Results	Pitt: 196.225		UNH: 195.175
VT: Petrikis 9.850	UB: Conrad, Brett, Brechwald, Diggan, Mulligan 9.875	BB: Conrad, Lauter 9.875	FX: Brechwald 9.875	AA: Brechwald 39.300
Freshman Sophie Bochenek made her collegiate debut. Pitt’s 49.275 on bars is the highest in program history. Pitt’s 196.225 is the third highest team total in program history.

No. 37 Ohio State at No. 45 Iowa
Full Results	Iowa: 195.725		tOSU: 195.300
VT: Youd 9.850	UB: Zurawski 9.875	BB: Kaji, Youd, Swartzentruber, Lowe 9.850	FX: Sullivan, Snyder 9.875	AA: Sullivan, Swartzentruber 39.100
Each team scored its first 195 of the season Iowa broke its home opener attendance record

No. 63 Alaska, No. 79 Centenary College at No. 54 Lindenwood
Full Results		LU: 194.500	UAA: 188.300	Centenary: 184.125
VT: Sokolowski 9.825	UB: Henry 9.800	BB: Sokolowski 9.825	FX: Franklin 9.800	AA: Fox 38.425

No. 62 Pennsylvania at No. 55 Yale
Full Results	Penn: 191.900		Yale: 191.475
VT: Podsednik 9.750	UB: Wang 9.800	BB: Moore, Matsuda 9.775	FX: Levi, Firmstone 9.750	AA: Baldovino 38.350

No. 66 Brown at No. 51 Bridgeport
Full Results	BU: 193.275		Brown: 191.250
VT: Gardner 9.700	UB: Doran 9.825	BB: Ramirez 9.800	FX: Aycock, Reimers 9.825	AA: Reimers 38.850

No. 63 Alaska at No. 58 Illinois State
Full Results	1st Team: Score		2nd Team: Score
VT: Winner Score	UB: Winner Score	BB: Winner Score	FX: Winner Score	AA: Winner Score

No. 60 Cornell, No. 68 Southern Conn. at No. 75 Cortland State
Full Results		Cornell: 192.500	SCSU: 189.825	Cortland St.: 185.150
VT: Shen, Prescott 9.725	UB: Shen 9.825	BB: Schulz 9.825	FX: Haklik, Schulz 9.725	AA: Shen 38.875
Freshman Emma Schulz (Cortland St.) tied the school record on balance beam.

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Article by the editors of NCAA Gym News