Fantasy Central: Week 1

It’s Tuesday again, and your fantasy lineup is due soon. Not to worry! We have all the info you need to play like a pro this week. 

NOTE: Lineups will close early this week, at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday!

Injury Updates

  • Linda Zivat – Michigan State – in a boot during the fall, confirmed as broken foot (12/30)
  • Brenna Brooks – Washington – in a boot (12/30)
  • Sami Strickler – Iowa State – unknown surgery (1/1)
  • Lena Greene – Oregon State – torn achilles (1/2)
  • JerQuavia Henderson – Iowa – in a boot on a scooter; out for 2020 season (1/3)
  • Rachel Dickson – Georgia – torn achilles (1/3)
  • Jillian Hoffman – Utah – sprained foot (1/3)
  • Emily White – North Carolina – torn ACL (1/4)
  • Jordyn Jaslow – Arizona State – knee brace and on crutches (1/4)
  • Gabrielle Cooke – Illinois State – rolled ankle (1/4)
  • Mia Quigg – Illinois State – tweaked ankle in warmups; limited to bars (1/4)
  • Kate Grotenhuis – Minnesota – back surgery; will miss 2020 season (1/4)
  • Shannon Evans – BYU – tweaked knee, will miss “a few” weeks (1/6)

Week 1 Byes and Doubles

Byes: Bridgeport, Cornell, UW-Stout

Doubles: Alaska, Penn, SEMO, Southern Utah

Experts Say…Your Hot Tip for Week 1 

Keep in mind that Nebraska has a very tight turnaround; it competed Monday at BYU and is heading back to Utah on Thursday to visit Southern Utah. Some gymnasts thrive in quick turnarounds, but some struggle. I’d assume it’ll be extra tough this early in the season, when endurance is low. Be cautious with Nebraska gymnasts.

Texas Woman’s and Washington will be in Ann Arbor: This is an early-season chance for your Texas Woman’s standouts to be in a slightly looser score scape than Division II usually enjoys. Likewise, Lindenwood will be at Illinois, where it put up a solid meet last year.

Florida opens its season at home, so look for big numbers to fly in the O-Dome. Oregon State will also enjoy its home opener; the Beavers thrive in Corvallis.

Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em

Are you struggling to decide when the time is right to pull a gymnast who keeps letting you down? Wondering whether that surprise star has what it takes to score well in the weeks to come? Never fear! We’re going to weigh in.

General notes: It doesn’t sound like Shannon Evans  will be out for long, but it seems unlikely that she’ll be back this weekend, so soon after the Monday matchup. We don’t know why Adnerys de Jesus sat out for Nebraska; it’s possible she was being rested since the Huskers compete again so soon, but consider her status unknown for now.

Vault

Lauren Guerin had a stellar sophomore debut, led by a 9.925 score on her Yurchenko full, including a perfect 9.950 from one judge. Sydney Soloski competed her first scored vault for Utah for a 9.800 and seems likely to remain in this lineup. Paige Williams (unknown injury) appeared on vault and floor at the Minnesota intrasquad.

LSU added Maddie Rau to the roster today—she’s not available yet in fantasy, but note that she’s likely to knock Lexie Nibbs out of the vault lineup.

Ragan Smith had a strong debut for Oklahoma but was weakest on vault. KJ Kindler is not the type to keep subpar routines in lineups, so give Smith a week off of the event to see whether she’s kept in that lineup—start her on the other three, though! Aleeza Yu didn’t compete at all last week; her status is unknown, but she has a history of back problems.

Start: Lauren Guerin, Sydney Soloski, Paige Williams, Soraya Hawthorne, Kai Rivers, Collea Burgess, Bri Slonim, Morgan Lowe, Maddie Rau

Sit: Ragan Smith, Lexie Nibbs, Aleeza Yu, Erynne Allen

Bars 

I’m sure you know by now that Payton Murphy is going to be a strong all arounder for Western Michigan; her 9.800 on bars this weekend confirmed that she’s ready to be a steady worker on the event. Angelica Labat proved herself to be more than a dynamic vaulter, with a 9.775 bar set in her collegiate debut. Yale star freshman Reagan Walker has been training bars; she’s coming back from injury and is a very risky play, but if you’re bold, she should score well if she competes.

Tristan Brown of Michigan State is usually a reliable bar worker but struggled week one. The Spartans had a rough start on bars; if you have enough other routines, let Brown settle in for a week and pull her from your lineup. We thought Maddie Quarles would compete vault and bars for the Gophers, but she seems only to be likely for vault at this time. Alyona Shchennikova’s errors were more than just simple mistakes; pull her from bars until she has some more time to train at full strength after her Achilles injury. Suzanne Yoculan stated on Facebook that the plan is to have Marissa Oakley (tweaked shoulder) back on bars versus LSU only if she’s fully pain-free; hold her out just in case if you have other options.

Start: Payton Murphy, Kylie Gorgenyi, Angelica Labat, Jenna Swartzentruber, Elexis Edwards, Reagan Walker, Cortney Bezold

Sit: Tristan Brown, Maddie Quarles, Alyona Shchennikova, Marissa Oakley, Rae Balthazor, Aleeza Yu

Beam

If you missed UC Davis at Sacramento State last week, you missed Kelley Hebert putting up a stunning 9.900 set in the midst of a team meltdown and just two weeks after an injury; she’s an easy choice on beam. Samantha Sakti was stellar in her UCLA debut; she seems a lock to stay in that lineup and hit big numbers.

After knee surgery a few weeks ago, Maddie Karr stunned everyone competing in the all around week one, totalling a casual 39.500. She’s a start on all four, but stands out especially here.

We saw Maggie O’Hara with a fall in the December Michigan quad; Gabby Wilson competed in the exhibition spot and also fell. It seems likely the two will compete for the lineup spot, and I’d sit both until we have a clearer picture of that situation. Anna Kaziska can be somewhat inconsistent; I’d hold her off for this double meet weekend if you have enough other options.

Note that, per LSU, Reagan Campbell is questionable this week with a toe injury. The team also notes that Alyona Shchennikova is close to making the beam lineup.

Start: Kelley Hebert, Samantha Sakti, Maddie Karr, Gabriella Douglas, Raena Worley,  Hannah Joyner, Abby Paulson

Sit: Maggie O’Hara, Gabby Wilson, Anna Kaziska, Grace Glenn, Karen Howell, Reagan Campbell

Floor

Don’t let Alaska’s double meet weekend scare you away from Sophia Hyderally: Alaska competes more doubles than most teams due to its location, and she has always thrived. We don’t know why Clair Kaji didn’t compete floor last week; she did warm up. She’s worth the risk of starting anyway, with no score below 9.750 in 2019. Sabrina Vega didn’t compete floor due to the flu; expect to see her back to full strength this week. Savanna Force had no misses on floor last year; don’t let her uncharacteristic first week scare you away.

We know that Olivia Trautman has a sprained foot and is questionable for the first few weeks; that sort of injury makes her least likely on floor. If you risk her anywhere, don’t let it be here. Keep holding onto Jillian Hoffman; she’s out for a few weeks, so don’t put her in your lineups yet. It seems likely that Megan Roberts is the person Vega will replace.

Christina Desiderio is questionable for LSU with a hip flexor injury.

Start: Sophia Hyderally, Clair Kaji, Arayah Simons, Sabrina Vega, Halle Remlinger, Alexis Hankins, Savanna Force, Abby Fletcher

Sit: Olivia Trautman, Jillian Hoffman, Megan Roberts, Christina Desiderio

Week 1 Pickups

Trying to figure out who to pick up to replace an injury? Looking for a ninja to up your weekly beam total? We’ve got you covered, down to the data on who should still be available.

Fantasy Gym tweeted that trading will likely open after this weekend. We’re providing some insights so you can be prepared when it happens!

Vault: Bri Slonim is available in 74 percent of conferences; the Ball State senior missed 2019 with injury but had a 9.815 RQS in 2018 and has shown her big Yurchenko full in training updates. Look for Kambrie Brandt (95 percent available) who debuted with a 9.800. Bridget Killian (11 percent available) is worth checking for vault and beam. Grab all arounder Hannah Scharf (11 percent available) if you can. Check on Morgan Lowe (62 percent available) as well.

Bars: Amelia Mohler (82 percent availability) is a strong bars/beam two-event gymnast: she scored a 9.800 and 9.850 respectively, and had NQSs around 9.800 on each piece last year. The Aleeza Yu absence makes a vault/bars hole for a lot of players. Replacement options include: Camille Johnson (79 conferences), Alissa Bonsall (five conferences), Marissa Nychyk (56 conferences) and Stacie Harrison (71 conferences). Cortney Bezold (57 percent) is poised for another strong season led by her full-twisting double layout dismount.

Beam: Sacramento State’s Amber Koeth got off to a 9.825 start. She’s widely available and had a 9.775 NQS in 2019. Cassidy Rushlow is available in 48 conferences and scored a 9.825 last week. Samantha Sakti remains available in one conference; make sure it isn’t yours! Hailey Poland, Jenny Leung and Avery Stauffacher all scored 9.800 or better and are largely available.

Floor: If you need a floor worker, Ashley Hofelich is available in just over half of conferences; she’s a solid vaulter as well. Arayah Simons debuted on floor with a 9.900 for Illinois and is available in 14 conferences. Jessica Ginn (22 percent available) scored a 9.850 on floor. Alexis Hankins is set to debut her full-in for Ohio State this weekend; check to see if she’s available in your conference (84 percent).

Other notes: Amoree Lockhart wasn’t available for drafting (but was randomly assigned to a few players) and should be available in 87 conferences; she competed beam (9.825) and floor (9.875). Luisa Blanco and Maddie Rau should also be available by the time trading opens. Let the battle begin!

Notes From the Fantasy Roundtable

Our editor Kalley was at the Minnesota intrasquad. She reported back that, according to Jenny Hansen, most of the Gopher freshmen are limited with injury, aside from Halle Remlinger who we expect to see on vault, floor and possibly bars. Be cautious with the other freshmen, and remember that the Gophers return nearly their entire postseason lineup on each event.

We also saw tidbits from the Central Michigan intrasquad on social media. Hannah DeMers and Denelle Pedrick are set to lead the team in the all around.

We saw Rae Balthazor training bars on Nadalie Walsh’s Instagram Story. Balthazor didn’t seem to travel with the team, and is coming back from a foot injury. Her current status is unknown.


Article by Emily Minehart with additional reporting from Jenna King, Kalley Leer and Rebecca Scally

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