We just passed the halfway point in the 2018 and the postseason outlook is continuing to shape up. These next string of meets are crucial to teams’ RQS picture as the switch from average rankings will happen Monday. Plus, we have a whole slate of exciting meets on tap as well. As always, you’ll find everything you need to follow along with all the meets happening this weekend, including previews of the top matchups, Fantasy Gymnastics resources and every scoring and video link you could ever want.
No. 7 Alabama at No. 16 Auburn: Friday, Feb. 23 at 8:30 p.m. ET
Alabama may be down two crucial members of the team Friday night. Senior Mackenzie Brannan announced in an Instagram post she ruptured her Achilles and is now out for the season. Throughout her time with the Crimson Tide, Brannan has been consistent on the uneven bars, and this year has regularly put up 9.900s. Another missing gymnast in the lineup could be Wynter Childers, who has been out recently with a wrist injury. Bars has been a strength for Alabama this season and will now need to fill two regular positions. Freshman Lexi Graber has stepped up to the plate and delivered high scores, but Brannan will be difficult to replace. A likely candidate could be Jennie Loeb, who was in the lineup to start the season but has since been outside the top six. But Brannan and Childers’ status could force head coach Dana Duckworth to play with depth, one of her favorite pastimes. Auburn is coming off a win against Rutgers and has a team primed to fight. Junior Abby Milliet has been consistent as a three-eventer and will look to challenge Alabama for the beam title while sophomore Gracie Day could capitalize on bars if Alabama looks vulnerable. Auburn broke into the 197s a few weeks ago and have been keeping steady in the mid-196s since, but this week it will look to rise back up to the former once again, especially in a big rivalry matchup like this one.
| Alicia | Amy | Caroline | Christina | Elizabeth | EmilyHF | EmilyM | Rebecca | Tara |
| Auburn | Alabama | Alabama | Alabama | Alabama | Alabama | Alabama | Alabama | Alabama |
No. 7 @BamaGymnastics is at No. 16 @AuburnGym Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET! Which team wins this fierce rivalry? #NCAAgym
— NCAA Gym News (@NCAAGymNews) February 20, 2018
No. 13 Boise State at No. 18 BYU: Friday, Feb. 23 at 9 p.m. ET
This MRGC matchup will provide Boise State with an excellent opportunity to improve its RQS outlook before those rankings officially kick in. Last week, the Broncos had their strongest showing yet with a season high 196.875, highlighted by a personal best all around score from Courtney McGregor. She and fellow all arounder Shani Remme will be the leaders of the charge for a 197, but it will take more 9.900s from the supporting cast if they’re going to get there. Mary Frances Bir on vault, Alex Esmerian on beam and Sandra Collantes on floor can all put up big numbers, but they’ll all have to put it together on one night to find that magic number. BYU won’t go down without a fight, though. As one of the big surprises this season, the Cougars have put up multiple 196 scores—at home and on the road—and have beaten unexpected opponents like Denver and California. Shannon Hortman Evans scored a huge 9.950 on floor last week and has put up three 39.300+ all around scores in her last four outings. She’ll be leading the way for the underdog team, backed by event specialists like Brittni Wilde Hawes, Natasha Trejo Marsh and Avery Bennett. Notably missing has been Mackenzie Douglas, one of the Cougars’ top scorers on vault and floor, absent this past week after falling on her vault at Southern Utah two weeks ago. Her ability to contribute could make or break BYU’s chances of beating its conference rival.
| Alicia | Amy | Caroline | Christina | Elizabeth | EmilyHF | EmilyM | Rebecca | Tara |
| BYU | Boise St | Boise St | Boise St | BYU | Boise St | BYU | Boise St | Boise St |
It's an MRGC showdown! No. 13 @BroncoSportsGYM takes on a surging No. 18 @BYUgymnastics Friday at 9 p.m. ET! Which team wins? #NCAAgym
— NCAA Gym News (@NCAAGymNews) February 20, 2018
Elevate the Stage with No. 6 Michigan, No. 12 Denver, No. 37 Utah State and No. 38 Bowling Green: Friday, Feb. 23 at 9 p.m. ET
This should be an exciting addition to the Elevate series! Michigan and Denver will be locked in a battle for the first and second place spots, and Bowling Green and Utah State are evenly matched to fight for third. Michigan is the favorite, but the Wolverines are still sorting out lineups without Olivia Karas. Emma McLean performed in the all around last weekend for the first time this year, but struggled mightily on bars. Lauren Farley, a staple on bars and beam, was pulled from those lineups last minute without explanation. Without Farley and Karas, Michigan needs McLean to factor into the all around picture. She may not be the ideal bar worker, but she is going to have to improve and be consistent if Farley really is out for any length of time. Denver is also dealing with depleted lineups. Freshman phenom Lynnzee Brown has been out for a couple weeks with an ankle injury but has been seen out of a boot and training bars this week. The Pioneers will be glad to have her back but don’t count on seeing her in lineups just yet. For now, the Pioneers look to make do with the pieces that are available, the team being led by sophomore Maddie Karr, who is coming off of a career high all around score and senior Nikole Addison. Denver continues to put just five up on vault and floor, and, albeit having fared relatively well apart from last week on floor, counting two OOBs, it is a big risk and could give Michigan the opening it needs to run away with the meet.
Utah State is coming off a rough loss to Boise State, which featured a bars meltdown. Barring a repeat performance on that event, it is positioned to battle with Bowling Green. The Aggies’ Madison Ward is capable of huge vault and floor scores, and Autumn DeHarde has emerged as a floor star. Bowling Green is coming off of a better performance than Utah State, thanks to a few superstars in Jovannah East, India McPeak and Laura Mitchell. With hits from those three, the Falcons will put up a good fight.
| Alicia | Amy | Caroline | Christina | Elizabeth | EmilyHF | EmilyM | Rebecca | Tara |
| UM | UM | UM | UM | UM | UM | UM | UM | UM |
The second edition of 2018 @ElevateTheStage sees No. 6 @UMichWGym, No. 12 @DU_Gymnastics, No. 37 @USUGymnastics and No. 38 @FalconGymn face off in Toledo Friday at 9 p.m. ET! Which team wins? #NCAAgym
— NCAA Gym News (@NCAAGymNews) February 20, 2018
No. 22 George Washington at No. 31 Penn State: Saturday, Feb. 24 at 4 p.m. ET
Penn State continues to struggle to hit at home this year, largely due to beam consistency issues. Last weekend, the Nittany Lions pulled Gianna LaGuardia out of the vault lineup, only vaulting five, which also kept their total on that event low. To challenge a strong George Washington team, Penn State needs its all arounders Lauren Bridgens, Sabrina Garcia and Briannah Tsang to hit to their full potential. Garcia is a consistency wildcard and the usually steady Tsang had a miss on beam last weekend, so hits from those three are no guarantee. The Colonials also rely on several all arounders but have been more consistent throughout 2018. Their home and away scores are relatively similar, so if they come into Happy Valley and continue to hit as they have been, they should take this meet.
| Alicia | Amy | Caroline | Christina | Elizabeth | EmilyHF | EmilyM | Rebecca | Tara |
| GW | GW | GW | GW | GW | PSU | GW | PSU | PSU |
No. 22 @GWGymnastics heads to No. 31 @PennStateWGYM Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. Who wins? #NCAAgym
— NCAA Gym News (@NCAAGymNews) February 20, 2018
No. 71 Arizona at No. 17 Arizona State: Saturday, Feb. 24 at 6 p.m. ET
The Sun Devils are this year’s favorites against their in-state rivals for the Territorial Cup. They are coming off a strong showing at home against Washington, scoring in the mid-196s and will look to repeat that performance Saturday. This will be ASU’s last home meet, so a strong and confidence-boosting meet here before hitting the road for the remainder of the season will be crucial, especially with rankings switching to RQS Monday. Despite the loss of Nichelle Christopherson and potentially Katelyn Lentz (seen on crutches), the Sun Devils bounced back nicely but will want to get stronger on vault to have a comfortable lead right off the bat. Just like every week, don’t miss freshman Cairo Leonard-Baker in the all around and particularly on bars and floor. Keep an eye out for junior Anne Kuhm as well as she’s come into her own in the past couple of weeks. Arizona took a free fall in the rankings after only putting up two athletes on vault and three on floor thanks to a number of suspensions. The athletes who were out for disciplinary reasons—Christina Berg, Courtney Cowles, Maddi Leydin, Adra Parks—should be back this week, though, and the team should field full lineups once again. While the Wildcats are obviously better than their ranking, they will need to be at the top of their game to challenge for the win in Tempe as they have only scored above 196 once this season while ASU has done so four times and holds a higher season-high.
| Alicia | Amy | Caroline | Christina | Elizabeth | EmilyHF | EmilyM | Rebecca | Tara |
| ASU | ASU | ASU | ASU | ASU | ASU | ASU | ASU | ASU |
.@ArizonaGymCats and No. 17 @SunDevilGym face off Saturday at 6 p.m. ET! Who wins? #NCAAgym
— NCAA Gym News (@NCAAGymNews) February 20, 2018
No. 22 Stanford at No. 10 Washington: Saturday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. ET
The Huskies are the favorites here after yet another fantastic showing last weekend where they continued their steady rise in both scoring and rankings. While the team remains strongest on floor, it has steadily improved on beam as well and recorded three 9.900s last weekend from Malory Rose, Hailey Burleson and Evanni Roberson. Burleson remains its best contributor and is one to watch in the all around. Stanford is coming off its best performance of the year so far, scoring a 196.425 and finally putting up six athletes on uneven bars thanks to Catherine Rogers returning from injury. While the scores on that event can greatly improve, it was crucial for the Cardinal not to count a fall and to gain confidence going forward. Do not miss senior Elizabeth Price who finally unveiled her perfect DTY last weekend and who scored another 10.000, this time on floor.
| Alicia | Amy | Caroline | Christina | Elizabeth | EmilyHF | EmilyM | Rebecca | Tara |
| UW | UW | UW | UW | UW | UW | UW | UW | UW |
No. 22 @StanfordWGym is at No. 10 @UWGymnastics Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. Which team wins? #NCAAgym
— NCAA Gym News (@NCAAGymNews) February 20, 2018
Other Notable Matchups
No. 11 Arkansas at No. 5 Florida: Friday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. ET
Arkansas has had a record-breaking season thus far. It’s reached record scores on balance beam thanks in part to freshman phenom Sophia Carter, and the apparatus is ranked in the top five nationally. Last week’s Mardi Gras quad meet proved to be a challenge with the Razorbacks coming in fourth out of four teams. But for now, it was an anomaly. Redshirt senior Amanda Wellick has been consistent as a three-eventer for the team and was able to stabilize the shaky performance in St. Louis, but the Razorbacks are going to need to be mentally strong as they take on the Gators in Gainesville. Florida’s only loss in the SEC has been to LSU, and it has the bragging rights of taking a win against number one Oklahoma. But the Gators aren’t guaranteed a win here and have looked vulnerable for the majority of the season. Head coach Jenny Rowland has been playing around with the lineups on multiple events. Alex McMurtry made her 2018 all around debut but Rowland will need to decide how much to push McMurtry before postseason, especially since the senior now has three beam falls in the last five meets.
No. 2 LSU at No. 15 Georgia: Friday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. ET
Both of these teams are coming off record meets in the last week. LSU notched two scores over 198, including one on Saturday that marks the highest in the nation in 2018. Georgia continues to make strides and has remained steadily in the 196s. Myia Hambrick and Sarah Finnegan should be back in the all around after resting on Sunday, and both gymnasts are having breakout years. Hambrick hasn’t scored below a 9.950 on floor and holds the No. 1 rankings while Finnegan is a mainstay in the all around nationally where she is currently ranked third. Hambrick and Finnegan have been on the hunt for a perfect 10 and will fight even harder to get one at this away meet. Georgia all arounders Sydney Snead and Rachel Dickson have been consistent, and Snead will look to perform to perfection again after last week’s floor 10. Though LSU has the luxury of depth, both are matched on beam, making the event an interesting equalizer.
No. 20 Missouri at No. 9 Kentucky: Friday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. ET
Missouri had a fantastic showing at the Mardi Gras Invitational where they placed second behind LSU but ahead of fellow SEC competitor Arkansas. Kentucky had a weak showing against Alabama and the frustration is showing for gymnasts and head coach Tim Garrison alike. The Wildcats and Tigers have a lot to prove in this conference matchup. Vault is a strength for both teams but Kentucky has the edge with Mollie Korth highlighting the event. Missouri has played around with depth on vault but Madeleine Huber and Aspen Tucker should be expected to show high scores. Bars is a weak spot for both teams and have counted falls on the event this season – but have also been shown to hit when it counts. Kentucky needs to mentally focus to be able to edge out Missouri and the Tigers will want to begin gaining consistency in its lineups.
No. 29 West Virginia at No. 1 Oklahoma: Friday, Feb. 23 at 8 p.m. ET
The Sooners showed us they are human last weekend and had one of their worst showings since 2012, particularly on beam where they counted two falls and tallied their lowest total in a decade. We are, however, talking about Oklahoma and beam, so fans shouldn’t panic quite yet. Senior Natalie Brown was finally back on the event for the first time this year but had a fall, so it is possible we might see freshman Carly Woodard return to the lineup for the time being as she has proven solid and consistent in previous meets. The Sooners also made changes to the vault lineup, something we rarely see from Oklahoma at this point in the season as it usually has its lineup finalized by this point. It will interesting to see if the Sooners stick with that lineup, with Anastasia Webb and her Omelianchik out for good, or not. West Virginia is coming off its best performance of the year where it scored above a 196 for the first time. While it is unlikely Oklahoma will have a repeat of last weekend that could open up the door for WVU, the Mountaineers will certainly look to repeat and even improve on their last showing. Do not miss seniors Zaakira Muhammad and Kirah Koshinski who are must-watch on vault and floor.
No. 39 Pittsburgh at No. 14 Nebraska: Saturday, Feb. 24 at 8 p.m. ET
Nebraska is coming off of a solid performance against Oklahoma, keeping up with the Sooners in their off meet. Anika Dujakovich was back in the vault lineup after missing a few weeks due to injury, but Megan Schweihofer, a regular all arounder, didn’t compete. Schweihofer has been seen in training updates this week, though, so watch for her to return this weekend. Pittsburgh continues its strong season, looking for one more solid road score before RQS kicks in. Haley Brechwald continues to be a standout for the Panthers and should put up a strong performance. Nebraska is likely to win the contest easily, though Pittsburgh could put up a fight if the Huskers get sloppy with landings, an issue in several meets this season.
No. 4 Utah at No. 21 California: Sunday, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. ET
The Utes are coming off an incredible win against UCLA on the road and should have no difficulties winning once again in Berkeley. They will, however, want to put another solid score on the board to improve their RQS if they want to climb back up the rankings. Mykayla Skinner and MaKenna Merrell-Giles remain crucial leaders of the team, but Kari Lee and Missy Reinstadtler have also been consistent all around gymnasts week after week. After a rough start of the season, the Golden Bears are finally competing to their potential and hit a complete meet on the road to score above 196 for the second week in a row. Freshman Kyana George looks more confident on all four events and could form a great one-two all around punch with senior Toni-Ann Williams, who was rested on floor last meet. Senior Arianna Robinson is a must-watch on vault as she continues to improve her piked Ilg, where she scored a career-high 9.950 last weekend.
No. 8 Oregon State at No. 3 UCLA: Sunday, Feb. 25 at 6 p.m. ET
While UCLA still managed to score well into the 197s last weekend, it wasn’t its best performance of the season. The Bruins had uncharacteristic mistakes on floor, which ultimately ended up costing them the meet. This matchup against Oregon State could be another depth meet for the Bruins and an occasion to rest some of its gymnasts, but they will want to control their nerves and adrenaline on floor exercise. They also had difficulties on vault with a fall from Pua Hall and Gracie Kramer being pulled from the lineup. It might also be a perfect occasion to test out Kramer’s tucked Y1.5 vault as she has lacked consistency in the past but has shown progress in exhibitions as of late. It will be tough for the Beavers to beat UCLA, but they could definitely surprise if the Bruins have a bad day. They are coming off a season-high score of 197.300 and did so while resting athletes like Dani Dessaints and Sabrina Gill. Having Dessaints back could definitely boost the Beavers’ score, especially if she performs her Yurchenko 1.5.
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 for all this weekend’s meets below.
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Don’t worry! We haven’t forgotten about Fantasy Gymnastics players. We have a number of resources to aid in your weekly success. Check out our updated injury report to see if any of your gymnasts have been out of action. We also have a list of teams on byes, as well as those with multiple competitions, this week.
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Article by the editors of NCAA Gym News
Are you sure about the times for many of the eastern time zones? 9 pm seems awfully late to start a gym meet.
Yes, these times are ET but may start in states like Colorado or California, so the local times are earlier.
Also worth mentioning is that LSU’s Sami Durante will be returning to compete against her mom’s former team, which she was once committed to. Do you think there will be tension and animosity? What sort of dynamics are going to be at play?
Typically, these “big storylines” don’t really amount to anything. Jay Clark’s first trip back to Athens after resigning was very low drama despite all the hubbub before the meet.