This is one we’ve been looking forward to since schedules were released! The Huskers and Huskies are both teams that are right on the edge of the new scaled down nationals picture. Both should hover in those dreaded No. 8-12 spots all year, the spots that say we might qualify to Ft. Worth if we hit at regionals, but we might also miss by a hair.
And, lucky us! We get an early-season look at both teams that will have that No. 8 qualifying spot in mind head-to-head. Happy day. Even happier? Nebraska’s homegrown sports streams are now free!
Anyway, the gymnastics. From what we can tell, Washington might be a little short handed to start the year. Freshman Talia Brodevani tore her ACL, classmate Hannah Vandenkolk has not been seen doing gymnastics in recent training clips and Kristyn Hoffa’s status is questionable. Will the Huskies have six vaults? We’ll find out tonight!
Nebraska looked good for a season opener at UCLA last week. It will want to focus on floor mistakes, like sliding front feet and stepping forward on tumbling landings, but the pieces are there for a good season, with upped difficulty—hello, Taylor Houchin—and some strong freshmen to fill out lineups.
A heads up, this is a “tumble and rumble” meet, happening alongside a wrestling dual, so it’s possible it will move a little more slowly than usual.
Note: Catelyn Orel (Neb.) is out for several months with a knee injury, Kynsee Roby (Neb.) is out after foot surgery, Talia Brodevani (UW) is out with an ACL and Hannah Vandenkolk and Kristyn Hoffa (both UW) are questionable.
Tonight’s competition leos✨ #BOE pic.twitter.com/YNtShXqHfV
— Nebraska Women's Gym (@HuskersWGym) January 12, 2019
https://twitter.com/UWGymnastics/status/1084246146472660992
Well folks we’re 10 minutes out and I have yet to see a score link! GOOD START.
KIDDING. UW found it, here you go: http://www.huskers.com/fls/100/19WGym/index.html
This thing might start on time! We’re getting the hype video and march in BEFORE start time, a rarity in the Big Ten. Thank goodness.
It’s possible we’ll get a fair bit of wrestling on this stream? It’s billed as both sports, so. We shall see.
https://twitter.com/UWGymnastics/status/1084253973316419584
Fa la la la sorry UW. I’ll blog any I see. Ugh.
Rotation 1: Nebraska vault, Washington bars
Wrestling is going first. A man is holding another man’s leg. Ouch! This looks painful! Did he just get elbowed in the side? These men are flexible! Whoops, out of bounds. Oh, they got to go back to the middle.
I know nothing about wrestling, clearly.
I can HEAR vaults. I can hear ladies cheering. The men are still dancing on the big red mat.
I just can’t help but wonder how smelly this mat that they keep jamming their faces into is.
It’s nice that Northern Iowa and UW have the same colors. That makes this a little symmetrical at least.
GYMNASTICS!
Johnston (Neb.): FTY, piked down and a step back. 9.675, just about right.
Baaaack to the stinky mat. People were excited for something called a reversal.
Verceles Carr (Neb.): FTY, better body in the air, still some pike, small step. 9.75
N. Iowa man just headbutted Nebraska man in the butt.
Quinn (Neb.): FTY, nice, hop back on the landing. A good block. 9.75
wrestlingwrestlingwrestling
de Jesus (Neb.): Phew lot of freshmen. Y1.5, twisted a little early on the table, small step. A good but not great vault. 9.8, yes exactly.
These wrestle men are much faster than the first pair. Zooming around!
Crouse (Neb.): Y1.5, big block, small hop forward. 9.85
The season has begun with a #StickHuskies from @brenn_hopeee!! pic.twitter.com/a1eyBt2x09
— Washington Gymnastics (@UWGymnastics) January 13, 2019
Houchin (Neb.): DTY, and she falls backward out of it.
One man is sort of doing a planche on top of another man. WHAT IS WRESTLING.
Curtis (Neb, exhibition): Very piked FTY.
Oooh, one man almost flipped another on his back. I don’t know if that is important but it FELT like it was.
TIED WE ARE TIED MY FRIENDS. We told you this would be a good one. Too bad we can’t see half of it. Endless side eye goes here.
https://twitter.com/UWGymnastics/status/1084260731556634626
After one: Neb. 48.825, UW 48.825
Rotation 2: Nebraska bars, Washington vault
I don’t even know, my friends. It’s how I imagine rams fight, but then suddenly one guy RUNS AROUND and catches the other in the side! I bet these moves have names and get points but.
It’s unclear to me what the whistles mean. Does something happen for too long? Oooh, apparently it was a stalling call. Now we know! You can’t stall!
Hargrove (Neb.): She was announced, but WILL WE SEE HER? There is some big crawl-pushing happening. OKAY I see a leotard. Ray, nice, but loses her pak, bends her knees and falls. She did touch her hands, though, so she gets credit. Stalder + double tuck, stuck. Not a great start, but I believe that is new construction for her? 8.875
Honest question, do wrestlers use chalk? Do their hands get sweaty and slip off of one another? How do they hold on so well?? (Probably the answer is they’re great athletes and have been doing this all their lives. Probably.)
Verceles Carr (Neb.): Hect mount, good first handstand blind + pike Jaeger + bail, good throughout. Almost over on last handstand, saves it. Blind full double tuck, stuck, deep landing. 9.825
Okay, we’ve learned that going back to the middle of the mat is called a “reset” which makes sense.
de Jesus (Neb.): Ray + bail, good, some knees on bail. Double Arabian dismount, step forward. 9.7
Crouse (Neb.): Hop change + Weiler. Giant half Geigner + bail, good. FTDB, small hop. She was very tidy. 9.875
We got so much gym in a row! Now the men who weigh 149 pounds are wrestling. There’s a lot of leg tangling happening. Rolling while tangled. It looks complicated.
Houchin (Neb.): Tkatchev, good, bail hand right on. EXCELLENT handstands. DLO, some leg sep but stuck. Gorgeous. 9.9
https://twitter.com/UWGymnastics/status/1084263466737827840
Johnston (Neb.): Ray, good catching position. Toe hand, bail hand messy legs. Short last handstand, double tuck big step back. That’s not up to the level.
https://twitter.com/UWGymnastics/status/1084264023099654145
It’s unclear to me how far off the stinky mat is too far. There’s a circle but it doesn’t seem to mean anything? When they joint crab walk all the way off the mat, the whistle man intervenes.
THIS IS KILING ME. Both teams have gone 48.825 in both rotations. So we’re still tied. Amazing. Also notable, we haven’t seen expected all arounder Megan Schweihofer for Nebraska. That is concerning. We’re not seeing enough filler to tell where she is or see injuries, since we always pan immediately to wrestling, but I’ll have my eye on that.
After two: Nebraska 97.65, Washington 97. 65
Rotation 3: Nebraska beam, Washington floor
This sport is wild. They are just holding each other tightly and then all of a sudden one POPS right up in the air and pushes the other down. It seems impressive!
I just realized right now that there’s a clock and score thing in the corner for the wrestling. Oooh the N. Iowa man laid on the Nebraska man for two seconds and we heard a whistle and the ref raised his hand. That seemed like a definitive moment!
The 157 pound division is starting. Oops immediately someone poked the other in the eye! That doesn’t seem fair. Now they’re doing a wheelbarrow move.
Curtis (Neb.): She fell last week, so she’ll be feeling the pressure. Wolf + front tuck, small hop. Bhs loso, completely solid. Tiny bobble on the full turn. Switch + switch, small bobble. RO 3/2 small hop forward. Good improvement for her!
Patrick Berger’s name is making me hungry. I can hear UW floor music and I’m furious I can’t see anything. Because, you know, you only want to see half of a meet THAT IS TIED.
Sorry, Berger’s first name is Tyler, not Patrick. Still hungry.
Verceles Carr (Neb.): Side aerial. Clean full turn. Bhs loso some back knee, but steady. This leo looks GOOD in motion. Split + split 3/4, not sure about that connection nor the split position. RO 3/2, stuck. 9.65, yeah, that connection.
https://twitter.com/UWGymnastics/status/1084267480233713664
I wouldn’t like my weight having so much say over my sport? The 165 pound men started.
Have you ever watched dogs play fight? They use their front paws straight out in front of them like little pokers to swat each other. This Nebraska guy is doing that sometimes and it seems like a very useful move!
Crouse (Neb.): She can be nervy here. Front aerial big break bhs. She kept moving, so it will depend on how the judges are feeling. Switch + split 1/4. Front toss, solid. Gainer full piked off the end, small step. 9.775, she got the connection.
“Riding time” is something one hears a lot while watching wrestling. Mhm.
One man pushed the other off the mat. That seems unfair too!
Schweihofer (Neb. ): PHEW!!! Just resting her shoulder some, maybe. Bhs layout two feet, medium break. Switch + switch 1/2 + beat, nice. She is moving very calmly. RO 2/1, flared and so pretty, small hop. 9.825
Oh man! One man is hanging on the other’s neck! They’re moving so quickly! They both fall down! That was a very dramatic 10 seconds.
NOW WE ARE WATCHING THE STANDS INSTEAD OF UW ARE YOU KIDDING ME.
Houchin (Neb.): Bhs loso wobble, leg up and steps back, but stays on. Front aerial, solid. Good recovery. Switch + split, good. Cat + side aerial, solid. RO 2/1 stuck. Really just that series wobble. 9.8, I’m not mad about this. It was about a .15-.2 mistake, and the rest was extremely clean.
There’s a lot of hand holding in wrestling. My question about chalk stands. Also head touching. I hope no one has lice.
Hassel (Neb.): Bhs loso, solid. Front aerial, no movement. She is ON. Split + ring, again, so steady. Long pause before dismount. RO 3/2, stuck. Well then! That’s a solid anchor routine. 9.9
The move I think of as “pancaking” is apparently called a take down. The More You Know.
https://twitter.com/UWGymnastics/status/1084270817175920643
Hargrove (Neb., exhibition): She had a fall, missed most of it because in addition to being wrestlemania here, WordPress decided to forget how to do its only job.
After three: Nebraska 146.675, Washington 146.625
Oh my when wrestling fans cheer it’s like this low howl I hate it, but I guess something happened. I wish we were watching floor! Anyway, we’re not tied any more, but it is still CLOSE. And we should all know better than to underestimate UW beam.
“Blood time” is when there is stoppage to clean up someone’s blood, apparently. It is happening now, and we are watching it instead of floor, because reasons!
https://twitter.com/UWGymnastics/status/1084271916117045248
Rotation 4: Nebraska floor, Washington beam
Hey, up side, floor is a long event, so hopefully we’ll have a lot more gym than wrestling this rotation. Hopefully.
One man just JUMPED at the other and pushed his legs right out from under him! YIKES.
Oooh a challenge by Northern Iowa! THERE IS A CHALLENGE BRICK! A BRICK?! What even is this sport?! Oh my. I guess there was a question about an escape. And it is confirmed! No escape given! I don’t know what that means, but Nebraska man just smashed N. Iowa man into the mat.
Hargrove (Neb.): Double pike, good landing. She had good height and dropped the landing in. Front lay front 1/1, nice. Switch ring + shuhs, good ring position. I want her to perform a little bit bigger, but this is her first time out. Big MAN CHEERS for the dudes happening. Double tuck, deep landing, but I think she kept the front foot down. 9.75
N. Iowa is making another challenge! It is over a take down and apparently it is important because it would tie things and go to overtime. There’s overtime in wrestling, now we know.
Nebraska man won, no overtime, phew.
Johnston (Neb.): Double pike, little loss of control in the lunge, front foot slid some. Whip 1/2 + front 1/1, slides a bit on the landing, they could take a step, and her amplitude wasn’t excellent. Switch 1/2 + Popa, good splits. Double tuck, chest a touch low, but great landing feet-wise. 9.55, I’ll have to rewatch this one, but my guess is a lack of leap series with something to do with the shush?
Okay we are pancaking here, which I’ve already forgotten the real name for, so I’m clearly learning a lot here.
de Jesus (Neb.): 3/1, crossed legs but good landing. She’s such a performer. 3/2 + front layout stepout, walks right into her dance, nice. Switch side + popa, got the rotation, I want a bit more extension in her toes. Double pike, short and hops forward a bit. 9.725, the legs in that first pass and the last landing.
I’m tired of wrestling. Are you tired of my trying to blog about wrestling? There’s some sort of big hug going on right now.
https://twitter.com/UWGymnastics/status/1084276708021362689
Hassel (Neb.): Front 2/1, good, lands well. Cartwheel loso. 3/2 + front lay, good, that was her mistake last week. I missed her leap pass, but it ends with a wolf 1/1. Rudi + straddle, she went back instead of up, but stayed in bounds. 9.825
“Riding time still not a factor” WHAT DOES THIS MEAN.
Lots of the dog-arm pushing happening here. Announcer man seems to think this match is important!
Crouse (Neb.): 2/1 + front lay and stepped OOB. Just overcooked the lay. 3/2 + barani + straight jump, really pretty. Her twisting form is so clean. Switch side + popa. rudi loso, GORGEOUS, floats the loso. Very nice set. 9.7, one tenth for the OOB, one for the step.
https://twitter.com/UWGymnastics/status/1084278577292591107
“He’s racking up the near-fall points!” I guess a near-fall point is…when you almost pancake someone but not quite?
Houchin (Neb.): Pike full-in, lands a touch short, low chest and lunges forward. 3/2 + front lay, lovely. Switch ring + split 1/1, nice, not an angle where I could see the splits. Double pike, great landing this time. 9.875
Curtis (Neb., exhibition): Double pike, bounces back and takes a step. Ha! She does the worm. Switch side + wolf 1/2. Not really there on either jump. Double tuck. I missed her second pass tracking down the below UW video.
https://twitter.com/UWGymnastics/status/1084279738091401221
FINAL: NEBRASKA 195.550, WASHINGTON 195.250.
Not a disaster for either team, but not a stellar outing either. Having Schweihofer only on beam hurt the Huskers. I have no idea what to tell you about UW! I wish we had seen ANYTHING.
Sorry, Washington. And also, sorry to the entire sport of wrestling. May I never have to blog you again.
Live blog by Emily Minehart
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Omg I am laughing my butt off, Emily! Can you become a wrestling commentator?!?!