It’s the final weekend of the regular season and the penultimate weekend for teams to earn RQS scores before regional selection on March 26. While there aren’t many top matchups—save for juicy competitions between Oklahoma and Alabama and Georgia and Utah—there are some interesting non-conference meets to keep an eye on, as well as the Big Five competitions that will determine which teams compete in which session at the Big 10 Championship next weekend. 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 need.
No. 16 Boise State and No. 19 BYU at No. 8 Washington: Thursday, March 15 at 9 p.m. ET
Washington hosts the two highest-ranked MRGC teams for its senior night on Thursday. The Huskies set a decade-high mark at home last weekend and can conceivably go even higher; they’ll want to pad their RQS as much as possible to minimize the number of teams who can overtake them later in the weekend. It’ll be the last home appearance for seniors Hailey Burleson, Joslyn Goings and Zoey Schaefer, so expect strong scores for them, as well as potentially making appearances in more lineups than usual. Boise State has scored 196+ every week since the beginning of February, so it has the consistency and scoring ability to upset if Washington falters. Keep an eye on BSU’s Shani Remme, who has been electric all season. She’s ranked higher in the all around than Washington’s Burleson (No. 13 vs. No. 20), so it’ll be interesting to see how they match up. BYU’s scoring ceiling is only a few tenths below Boise State’s and the Cougars won their last meeting; if team leaders Shannon Hortman Evans and Jill van Mierlo are on, they could threaten too.
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No. 15 @DU_Gymnastics and No. 26 @CycloneGYM take on No. 11 @RazorbackGym Friday at 8 p.m. ET! Who wins? #NCAAgym
— NCAA Gym News (@NCAAGymNews) March 12, 2018
No. 15 Denver and No. 26 Iowa State at No. 11 Arkansas: Friday, March 16 at 8 p.m. ET
Denver and Iowa State head to Arkansas to take on the Razorbacks for each team’s final meet of the regular season. The Razorbacks and Pioneers met last week at the OU quad, with the Pioneers coming out on top. Neither team had their best meet of the season, particularly on the beam. The Cyclones join the two teams after hosting their senior night last weekend, a meet that the team scored a season high 196.700. The Cyclones will look to carry that momentum into this meet while the Pioneers and Razorbacks look to fare better on beam and refine their performances from a week ago. Just like last weekend, this should be quite the battle between the two, but don’t count out the Cyclones if they replicate their week 10 performance. Seniors Haylee Young (Iowa State) and Amanda Wellick (Arkansas) should continue to lead their teams amongst younger members the likes of Sophia Steinmeyer and Ariana Orrego for the Cyclones and Sophia Carter and Sydney Laird for the Razorbacks. After missing all of last season due to injury, Razorback redshirt freshman Sarah Shaffer continues to impress as well—mainly on vault, bars and floor. As always, watch for Pioneer sophomore Maddie Karr in the all around as she continues a stellar second-year campaign. Freshman phenom Lynnzee Brown continues to work back towards full strength, and her classmate Mia Sundstrom continues to have steady performances in the all around, apart from a beam miscue at OU last week. As regionals draw closer, RQS continues to gain even more importance. This meet presents both Denver and Iowa State with a chance at increasing their RQS with solid, hit road meets since each team still has a 195 to drop. The Razorbacks won’t have as much of an opportunity to advance this week, since all of their home meets have similar numbers.
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No. 15 @DU_Gymnastics and No. 26 @CycloneGYM take on No. 11 @RazorbackGym Friday at 8 p.m. ET! Who wins? #NCAAgym
— NCAA Gym News (@NCAAGymNews) March 12, 2018
No. 1 Oklahoma at No. 6 Alabama: Friday, March 16 at 8:30 p.m. ET
Oklahoma heads down south for its first of two meets to close out the regular season, and Alabama should be feeling ready, confident and hungry to defeat the Sooners. The Tide is coming off a win against Auburn and a comfortable road score to add to its RQS. The team has crucial consistency in seniors Kiana Winston and Nickie Guerrero who will be the ones to watch on Friday as they perform for the final time at home (until regionals heads to Coleman Coliseum in April). Guerrero is can’t-miss on floor. Her scores have been building continuously all season, and she’s eager for perfection—what better night to achieve that than on senior night? Guerrero is capable of high scores on vault and beam as well while Winston will add a strong bar routine. Despite OU’s dominance, nothing is ever a sure meet for the Sooners. It’s been defeated once by an SEC school and had a season low 196 a few weeks ago. However, it recovered nicely to remain No. 1. The Sooners’ main goal will be to put up yet another 198 and bring its RQS past the record, actually needing “just” a 197.875 to do so.
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No. 1 @OU_WGymnastics heads to No. 6 @BamaGymnastics Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET! Who wins? #NCAAgym
— NCAA Gym News (@NCAAGymNews) March 12, 2018
Big Five Meet with No. 11 Nebraska, No. 24 Ohio State, No. 28 Maryland and No. 30 Illinois at No. 46 Michigan State: Saturday, March 17 at 2 p.m. ET
It’s Big Five time! If you’re not familiar with the Big Ten, here’s how this works: Rather than seeding the conference championship by ranking like most conferences do, seeding happens at two Big Five meets the weekend before the championship. The 10 teams that make up the conference are split in two, and the top three finishers in each meet land a spot in the coveted night session (four teams compete in the early session at the championship and six at night).
In the first Big Five, Nebraska is the easy favorite. The Huskers are undefeated in conference matchups and ranked well above the rest of the field; they should sail into the night session, barring disaster. With Taylor Houchin and Kynsee Roby looking to be back to full form, Nebraska should be feeling confident. Ohio State is the other likely night session qualifier. The Buckeyes have put up consistent high 195s to mid 196s and are coming off a fairly strong senior night despite falling to N.C. State. That performance included big totals on beam and floor (49.350 and 49.400). With some polishing still to do on vault and bars, the Buckeyes will be tough for the rest of the field to catch. The big battle in this meet will likely be between Illinois and Maryland for the third spot. Illinois has a recent history of hitting at Big Fives and Big Tens, but we have yet to see how Nadalie Walsh’s team will perform when it counts. Maryland has been the Big Ten’s Cinderella story in 2018, coming from a last place finish in the conference last year to stun opponents like Iowa and Rutgers. The Terps have a lower ceiling (and lower floor) than the Illini, but they have been more consistent recently. The question for Maryland is whether the team can hit a big number away from the Xfinity Center; the Illini, on the other hand, have hit many of their high scores on the road. Rounding out the five is Michigan State. The Spartans are struggling this year. They lost many routines to medical retirement and injury and have relied heavily on freshmen. Lea Mitchell is an all around highlight, and senior Hailee Westney has been consistently strong on bars and beam all year.
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The first Big Five meet of the weekend features No. 11 @HuskersWGym, No. 24 @OhioState_WGYM, No. 28 @TerpsGymnastics and No. 30 @IlliniWGym at No. 46 @MSUgymnastics Saturday at 2 p.m. ET. Which THREE teams will advance to the night session of Big 10s? #NCAAgym
— NCAA Gym News (@NCAAGymNews) March 12, 2018
Big Five Meet with No. 7 Michigan, No. 22 Minnesota, No. 25 Penn State and No. 32 Iowa at No. 52 Rutgers: Saturday, March 17 at 5:30 p.m. ET
Big Five number two! In the matchup at Rutgers, Michigan is the obvious favorite. Fresh off of a senior night upset over Utah, the Wolverines are carrying big confidence into this weekend. Michigan has won the last four Big Ten conference titles and is looking for a fifth. The Wolverines’ only big vulnerability is a vault rotation that can get hoppy. Recently, the team has been cautious, only vaulting one Yurchenko 1.5. Watch to see whether Emma McLean adds the extra half twist here in the anchor spot. Minnesota and Penn State are fairly evenly matched and should both qualify to the night session. Both teams are capable of a mid-196 score and have been on a roll the past few weeks. Lauren Bridgens scored the first 10.000 on bars for the Nittany Lions last week and has also been stellar on vault. Briannah Tsang is an all star all arounder for the team and will battle for that title. For the Gophers, Lexy Ramler continues to be an outstanding performer on all four, and Ivy Lu is a gymnast to watch on bars and beam. Iowa is unlikely to catch either PSU or Minnesota; it would take some big mistakes from the other teams for the Hawkeyes to slip into the night session. Beam has been a problem for Iowa, where wobbles tend to keep half of the lineup below 9.800. Rutgers rounds out this group; the Scarlet Knights have had many highs and lows this season. Last week, the team only put up four bar routines due to injury, keeping the team total below 190. For Rutgers, the goal is to put up full lineups on all four events and shoot for an elusive 195. Watch for Makenzey Shank’s excellent beam work and Jenna Rizkalla’s Ilg vault.
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The second Big Five meet features No. 7 @UMichWGym, No. 22 @GopherWGym, No. 25 @PennStateWGYM and No. 32 @IowaGymnastics at No. 52 @RUGymnastics Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET! Which THREE teams will advance to the night session of Big 10s? #NCAAgym
— NCAA Gym News (@NCAAGymNews) March 12, 2018
Other Notable Matchups
No. 9 Kentucky at No. 64 Illinois State: Wednesday, March 14 at 7 p.m. ET
Kentucky has been on a roll in recent weeks, hitting big numbers on the road and at home. The Wildcats have sat just inside the top 10 for several weeks and will look to add another big away total before going into SECs, where they have locked up an appearance in the night session as the fourth-seeded team. Illinois State has had a tough year and last weekend didn’t manage to break 190 at the Illinois Classic after counting seven scores below 9.500. Beam especially has been a struggle for the Redbirds. Look for them to try to get back on 192 to 193 pace during senior night to pick up some momentum going into the MIC championship next weekend.
No. 18 George Washington and No. 44 Temple at No. 35 Kent State: Friday, March 16 at 7 p.m. ET
George Washington ended last week’s Senior Day by tying its program record, and this week the Colonials will try to finally break the record and truly send a game-changing senior class out in style. GW has generally remained consistent throughout 2018 so look for the usual suspects to appear in the lineups. Cami Drouin-Allaire, Jillian Winstanley and Alex Zois are the main all arounders for the Colonials, but Kent State senior Rachel Stypinski could very well win the title on Friday. The GW seniors and Stypinski are anchors for their squad, and as much as this meet is about the team, the real fight will be which of these four all arounders will get the title. Not to be left out of this conversation is Temple, who has just come off its highest program score yet, breaking 196 at home on Sunday. Freshman Tori Edwards is another all arounder to look out for, but it’s sophomore Jaylene Everett who scored huge on floor last week. If she repeats her performance, she will be able to add another big number to the Owls’ historic year.
No. 20 Georgia at No. 4 Utah: Friday, March 16 at 9:30 p.m. ET
This meet will mark senior night for the Utes who are back home after three road meets and a bye. They will want to forget their last two defeats against California and Michigan, the latter producing their lowest score of the season. Utah will keep relying on its four all arounders of Mykayla Skinner, MaKenna Merrell-Giles, Kari Lee and Missy Reinstadtler, as sophomore Kim Tessen’s status is day to day due to a shoulder injury and freshman Alexia Burch (knee) will be out for a second straight week. While the Utes are coming in as the favorites, fans should not entirely count out the Gymdogs. They are slowly getting into the groove of things and were able to finally put six athletes up on all events last weekend, thanks to the unexpected contribution of senior Jasmine Arnold on vault and of sophomore Jordyn Pedersen on floor. While an upset away is unlikely, Georgia will want to repeat the same performance quality to improve its RQS and potentially move into a seeded regionals position heading into conference championships.
No. 36 Arizona at No. 2 LSU: Saturday, March 17 at 5 p.m. ET
It’s senior night for LSU and emotions will be running high and lineup changes won’t be out of the question. Myia Hambrick finally got her perfect 10 on floor a few weeks ago but was rested against N.C. State last weekend, so look for her to appear back in the lineup to notch another 10 for the last time in the PMAC. Erin Macadaeg is known for her beam leadoff spot but has seen action on vault and bars this season, and if D-D Breaux really wants to make it a memorable senior night, we could see Macadaeg make one last appearance. Finally, Lauren Li hasn’t seen much lineup time this year but showed off her beam skills a few times in 2017–could senior night be her 2018 debut? Arizona has taken some hits this season, but it finally has a steady head coach now that “interim” has been removed from John Court’s title. The Wildcats have made strides on all four apparatus but are going to need to pull it all together to be able to compete with the Tigers. One fun throwdown to look out for is Kennady Schneider’s floor performance—on her best days, she can compete with Hambrick for the title. But more importantly for Arizona will be putting up a big road number to take itself out of the danger zone for RQS where it currently sits in the last regional qualifying spot at No. 36. With a 194.975 road score still to drop, the Wildcats can do themselves a favor with anything better, but will look to shoot for a season high over 196.325.
No. 1 Oklahoma at No. 50 Texas Woman’s: Sunday, March 18 at 3 p.m. ET
Oklahoma continues to sail through the season, and its second meet should continue the trend in what is becoming an annual visit to neighboring Texas Woman’s. The Sooners will easily take this meet, but they need to continue cleaning up floor and cannot lose focus like they did against Nebraska a few weeks ago. Scoring a 198.000 or better in either away meet this weekend means OU will drop a mid-197 from its RQS and go into conference champs counting only 198 plus scores. TWU is having a great season, and though the Pioneers won’t catch OU, they will want to use this meet to make conference rival Lindenwood nervous going into the MIC championship. Lindenwood scored the first 196.000 of the DII season (and in its program history) last week, and TWU will want to answer on Sunday. Breaking that total is rare outside of DI, but the Pioneers did it at the USAG championships last year. Look for them to go all out and repeat.
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
