When the lineup for this meet was originally announced, we had absolutely no idea how good Minnesota would be in 2019 or that it would be able to challenge for the win at this meet. It has momentum on its side, but it still hasn’t faced off against a top-tier team in almost a month (not including Michigan), so anything could happen. Georgia could really use a good score since five of its top six meets in 2019 are at home. This is neither unusual nor particularly upsetting for the Gymdogs—since clearly their ranking is fine—but it is something to watch.
Each of the top two teams has one clear problem event. Georgia’s bars has been wildly inconsistent this year while Minnesota is still shuffling underclassmen through the first half of the floor lineup to try to find a group that can hit well enough that the Loper-Ramler-Williams trio doesn’t have to patch any major holes.
Michigan State has been sneakily good this year, and it’s absolutely still in the fight for regionals, especially if it can replicate its season high performance from last week. Arkansas, on the other hand, has been inexplicably disastrous on bars this year considering the talent level of the roster. We’d love to see the Razorbacks pick up the pace and remind us that they’re not the worst team in the SEC; but it’s hard to tell how much optimism to have.
Also don’t take your eyes off the all around! No. 7 Lexy Ramler and No. 10 Sydney Snead going head to head is pretty quality.
ROTATION 1: MINNESOTA VAULT, MICHIGAN STATE BARS, GEORGIA BEAM, ARKANSAS FLOOR
QUAGLIA – MINN: Y full, a little hinky in the air, has to drag it around, solid landing with a hop.
SONIER – MINN: Tiny hop on the landing of her Y full.
SALES – MINN: Okay full, little wonky in the air again.
RAMLER – MINN: One and a half with a little knees but great dynamics, hop straight forward.
LOPER – MINN: One and a half, gorgeous, hop forward and turns to salute.
HOERNER-O’MALLEY – MSU: Nice Jaeger, bit of feet, missed the dismount.
EWING – MSU: Caught a stuck dismount.
SHIRLEY – MSU: Was focused somewhere else but think she lost her swing in the middle, dismount came in underrotated and dove forward to save it.
MITCHELL – MSU: Waaaay over on the first handstand, gets it back but big deduction. Ray, bit of feet, bail, stuck dismount.
LING – MSU: Gienger just gorgeous, a bit soft on the catch on her bail, I think full out dismount.
SNEAD – UGA: Triple serues, cat leap split straddle way short of splits. Double full dismount stuck-ish.
DICKSON – UGA: Front aerial to straddle quarter, full turn, BHS LOSO felt a little tentative but landed well. Switch split, one and a half twist with KNEES and a hop.
MAGEE – UGA: Fell on a switch side. Really pretty.
OAKLEY – UGA: Great recovery from the fall. Super confident, stuck dismount.
BAUMANN – UGA: Side aerial LOSO, pulls the front foot off the beam but works through. Full turn, big check on a switch side. Almost comes off the same way Magee did but gets it back. Hop on dismount.
VEGA – UGA: Wait, moderately serious check on her choreo?? Front aerial to split or something, BHS LOSO solid, full turn. Side aerial back full great.
YAMZON – ARK: Solid opening double back. Larger lunge. Second pass looked solid, front lay front full wonderful.
HAMBRICK – ARK: Double back, slightly overrotated, lifts the heel of her front foot in the lunge but keeps it under control. One and a half twist… was that supposed to be connected? Switch side Popa or SOMETHING, one of those that just keeps twisting and you don’t know where it was supposed to stop. STUCK double pike to close.
ELSWICK – ARK: Really nice on the double Arabian. Great double back, very controlled lunge,
MCGLONE – ARK: Double lay lovely, hops back a bit to lunge, missed the second pass, tour jete half Popa, front lay front full WHAT. Lunges forward and almost out of bounds but turns it into a funky little kick that’s even in time with the music.
SHAFFER – ARK: Double arabian, a little forward on the landing, ever so slightly overcooks her double back as well. Love the dance. One and a half front lay I think, really nice.
CARTER – ARK: Last routine of the rotation so we can live and breathe it with no distractions. Double back, one and a half front full gorgeous. The technique. The dance. Switch half split full I think…
ARKANSAS 49.400, GEORGIA 49.325, MINNESOTA 49.150, MICHIGAN STATE 48.850
So we don’t currently have scores for the Big Ten pair but the SEC scores are STRAIGHT crack. I kind of love it.
Well, the Big Ten pair didn’t get the crack. Sorry fellas.
ROTATION 2: ARKANSAS VAULT, MINNESOTA BARS, MICHIGAN STATE BEAM, GEORGIA FLOOR
YAMZON – ARK: Leg split on to the table on her Y full but the usual solid vault, hop back I think.
PENNESE – ARK: Twisting on hard, Y full, piked by halfway and lands with her chest way down. Step / dive forward.
SHAFFER – ARK: Comes in just short on her Arabian, tries to hold the stick for a second, eventually takes a quick stutter step back. Still really pretty.
QUAGLIA – MINN: Blind to pike aeger to overshoot, feet throughout but it’s not the worst thing. Blind full double back.
WILLMARTH – MINN: Ray, loooovely, hitting handstand,s great bail. Blind full to double back with a hop.
LOPER – MINN: Maloney to Pak, actually really nice, blind full double back with a tiny hop.
SALES – MINN: May or may not have missed a handstand at the top. Blind… what the hell??? Peeled on the downswing out of her blind for some ridiculous reason. Repeats it, Markelov great, step on dismount.
RAMLER – MINN: Maloney to Pak, Van Leeuwen, full out stuck. Ok 10.
SHIRLEY – MSU: BHS LOSO, solid, touch of form. Split to beat to double stag. Then all of my streams died at the same time for a second. Sorry.
LU – MINN: Maloney to Pak, no van Leeuwen for now, double lay STUCK. Her usual with the chest a bit down to anticipate it but just fantastic.
MITCHELL – MSU: BHS BHS LOSO, bit of feet but really steady. Full turn, front aerial, one and a half twist dismount with a hop in place.
DOUGLAS – MSU: Double turn, switch half to split, soooo much oomph on those, round off LOSO I think?? Hip break and falls. Side aerial back full stuck.
HOYER – MSU: Was that supposed to be a split 3/4? It was not anywhere close. BHS LOSO with form, switch straddle quarter, cartwheel gainer full nice. Might have been an exhibition.
MAGEE – UGA: Pike full in, gorgeous dance. I don’t know if I’ve seen this one, I think she’s in for Perez-Lugones who has a foot or ankle thing. Switch side Popa BEAUTIFUL, something to front lay. Double pike a touch deep but a solid lunge.
BAUMANN – UGA: Major rebound back on her first pass, I think she stayed in but there were two or three steps in the process.
DICKSON – UGA: I love this routine. Double arabian, actually lunges out, more people should do that. One and a half front lay, switch side Popa gorgeus, get those straddles girl. Double pike solid.
VEGA – UGA: Nailed the full in. One and a half front lay, messy legs, switch ring tour jete half, doesn’t hit the split. Double pike solid.
GEORGIA 98.900, ARKANSAS 98.375, MINNESOTA 98.325, MICHIGAN STATE 96.875
CRAAAaaAAAAaAAAACK. Minnesota got absolutely robbed there.
ROTATION 3: GEORGIA VAULT, ARKANSAS BARS, MINNESOTA BEAM, MICHIGAN STATE FLOOR
WARD – UGA: Tsuk fulL! A touch pikey and leg form in the air but there and landed well.
VEGA – UGA: Okay full. Not much block, big bounce back.
DICKSON – UGA: Omelianchik, nice, step forward.
LUKACS – UGA: Solid DTY. Landing looks like it stung… deep and twisting into the ground, but okay with a hop.
SNEAD – UGA: One and a half, hop in place, the kind some people think are stuck but I do not.
LAIRD – ARK: Great Ray, maybe a bit of feet, solid bail. double lay with feet but nearly stuck.
HAMBRICK – ARK: Stringing hits together. Pike Jaeger, stuck full out dismount. Really pretty.
BURTON – ARK: Maloney to Pak, splits the legs out as usual. Double lay with a little hop back.
LOPER – MINN: BHS LOSO, okay, touch of knees. Full turn, kickover front to beat solid. Leaps, one and a half twist, hop to salute.
KORLIN-DOWNS – MINN: BHS LOSO, gorgeous, beat to split to split 3/4. Cat leap side aerial back full, lands with chest way down and hops forward.
SALES – MINN: Is Tiarre in the 5 spot a thing that’s been happening here? Triple series, fabulous, cat leap switch side.
RAMLER – MINN: 10 10 10! Just kidding. Full turn, BHS LOSO… the only thing I can ever pick out of this routine is MAYBE one knee there. Front aerial to wolf, a little deep in the knee bend there. Beat to ring leap, side aerial back full with a little hop.
EWING – MSU: Front double full lovely, something front lay. Really quality performer. Rudi to close. Spartans recovering well from beam.
SHIRLEY – MSU: Think this is her 2019 floor debut! RO direct to double pike, really solid, one and a half front lay to close with a step forward OOB.
DOUGLAS – MSU: Double pike, so much gas, front lay front full. Double pike to close. Love the choreo in this routine.
MITCHELL – MSU: Double back, little scoot into the lunge… lost the rest of that to Flo nonsense.
GEORGIA 148.075, ARKANSAS 147.750, MINNESOTA 147.550, MICHIGAN STATE 146.025
ROTATION 4: MICHIGAN STATE VAULT, GEORGIA BARS, ARKANSAS BEAM, MINNESOTA FLOOR
EWING – MSU: Beautiful Yurchenko arabian, step forward.
ROBERTS – UGA: Toe on to Maloney to bail, double lay with a leg split and a hop.
LUKACS – UGA: Tkachev is low, clear hip to Pak solid. Missing handstands, double lay WAY close to the bar but stuck with an arm swing.
SNEAD – UGA: Clear hip to Tkachev, bit of knees, double lay a little underrotated with a hop.
DICKSON – UGA: Fall on her Tkachev. Soared right over the bar, nowhere close.
OAKLEY – UGA: Really nice recovery.
HAMBRICK – ARK: BHS LOSO, really nice. Something to switch half, other stuff, gainer full of f the side.
DERRICK – ARK: BHS LOSO, gorgeous. I keep losing my place. Good routine.
HIGGINS – MINN: Front double full, comes in a bit under but steps around fine. Other stuff that I missed. Spacing out already.
SONIER – MINN: Double pike fabulous, Rudi I think, one and a half front lay. Really really good.
UNG – MINN: Double pike, underrotated, lunge forward. One and a hlaf twist, bounded out of it… wondering if she meant to connect.
LOPER – MINN: Great Rudi. Front full to something, comes in kind of sideways, keeps it mostly under control.
RAMLER – MINN: Weird landing on her one and a half to double full third pass. She’s been struggling with that. Everything else is fine.
WILLIAMS – MINN: Front double full, step back. One and a half front lay solid, Rudi gorgeous.
FINAL: GEORGIA 197.350, MINNESOTA 197.025, ARKANSAS 197.000, MICHIGAN STATE 195.025
OK I’ve got to go live blog something else but I’m going to be screaming about that one for a while. WHAT JUST HAPPENED.
Live blog by Rebecca Scally
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