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.
Injury Updates
Bold indicates confirmed season-ending injuries or absences.
- Cammie Topp – Illinois State – torn achilles (1/29)
- Crystal Gwinn – Bridgeport – in a boot (2/1)
- Kennedi Edney – LSU – elbow sprain; limited to beam and floor (2/1)
- Emily Balasco – Southern Connecticut – torn achilles (2/2)
- Alma Kuc – Cal – arm in a sling (2/2)
- Jessie Aman – Cornell – on crutches (2/2)
- Audrey Barber – Maryland – out due to “academic issues” (2/2)
- Chloe Camello – Air Force – in a boot (2/2)
- Rae Balthazor – Illinois – arm surgery (2/3)
Week 6 Byes and Doubles
Byes: Alaska, Bowling Green, William & Mary
Doubles: Bridgeport, Brown
Experts Say…Your Hot Tip for Week 6
Bridgeport came through its unprecedented triple meet weekend unscathed, the highlight being Maya Reimers putting up a 9.900, 9.900 and 9.925 on floor in consecutive days. One might expect a well-earned bye week coming up for the Purple Knights, but that’ll have to wait until week seven, as they’ll have two more back-to-back meets this week instead. Watch out for some of the top athletes to be rested from at least one of those meets this weekend, but that’s actually helpful for fantasy gym as their scores won’t be averaged.
Iowa State has also had some unusual scheduling the last few weeks, with a double meet weekend followed by a bye followed by another double, but is back to normal single meet weekends for the rest of the season. The Cyclones have put up some impressive scores at times this season, but you may have kept them out of your lineups because of the scheduling—now’s the time to start them, given their trip to Gainesville on Friday; Florida is one of the top destinations for friendly road scores.
Arkansas is back on home turf this week, where it has performed exceptionally well on both bars and floor. Also expect generous scoring when Arizona State and LSU visit Oregon State this weekend.
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.
Vault
Alyssa Baumann seems to have found her rhythm after early season troubles, so we’d be surprised if she were taken out of the lineup now. Chloe Widner missed the OSU meet with a disciplinary issue, but it sounds as though she’ll be back this week.
Kennedi Edney was limited to beam and floor last week due to a reported arm injury so we’d caution against starting her unless the rest of your lineup is very consistent. Pauline Tratz seems to only compete one of vault or floor each meet and hasn’t been consistent on either—we’d sit her for now until lineups become more consistent.
Start: Alyssa Baumann, Chloe Widner
Sit: Kennedi Edney, Pauline Tratz
Bars
Helen Hu had an off routine last week, but don’t let that keep you from starting her in what should be a friendly scoring environment at Alabama. Similarly, Zaza Brovedani could be in for a big score while the Wildcats are visiting UCLA.
Karrie Thomas has now been missing from OU lineups for two meets with no explanation; the Sooners are often tight-lipped about injuries, so we’d sit her until we get more information or until she reappears. Drew Aldridge had a scary fall mid-routine last week; we’ve had no update on a possible injury, but we’d sit her just in case. The news of an NCAA investigation doesn’t sound like it’ll get resolved within a week, so we’d sit Audrey Barber on all events until we get more information.
Start: Helen Hu, Zaza Brovedani
Sit: Karrie Thomas, Drew Aldridge, Alma Kuc, Audrey Barber
Beam
Katarina Derrick returned to the lineup last week and put up a decent score—with Arkansas at home this week, we hope she’ll be able to replicate the success she saw on beam last season. While Christina Desiderio’s wrap looked scary, she put up a solid performance on beam last week and we’d expect her to stay in the lineup.
It seems unlikely that Shallon Olsen will return to the beam lineup anytime soon given her absence in three straight meets. While we got good news that Nicole Webb should be back at some point this season, we’d wait to include her in lineups until we have more concrete information or until she actually competes again.
Start: Katarina Derrick, Christina Desiderio
Sit: Shallon Olsen, Nicole Webb
Floor
Despite her absence from the lineup early in the season, Amanda Cashman seems like a sure bet after her 9.925 performance against Auburn last week. Similarly, UCLA lineups are notoriously hard to predict, but it’s hard to imagine Norah Flatley not competing after her 9.950 against Washington, so we’d take the risk. Guard Young hinted that Abbey Miner may be given a rest week at some point—she’s too solid to keep out of lineups without more concrete info, but make sure you have built-in backups in your lineups in case it turns out to be this week.
With Cashman solidly in the UGA lineup, we’d keep Mikayla Magee out for now until we know why she was kept off vault and floor this weekend. Maggie Nichols is a tricky one—after two consecutive floor absences with no explanation we’d lean toward sitting her unless everyone else in your lineup is very reliable. Kaitlyn Higgins was missing from the Minnesota lineup this weekend, but it’s unclear whether that was due to injury or lineup shuffling—we’d leave her out until lineups stabilize.
Start: Amanda Cashman, Norah Flatley, Abbey Miner
Sit: Mikayla Magee, Maggie Nichols, Kaitlyn Higgins
Week 6 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.
Vault: Faith Leary has started competing both vault and floor after being seen in a boot early in the season; after a 9.850 vault debut she’s an easy pickup and available in 72 conferences as of Tuesday morning. Stefanie Schweikert (17 conferences) hasn’t gone below 9.775 this year, and Cinny Lamberti (77 conferences) has a 9.800 and a 9.825. While only available in six conferences, Sydney Jennings has achieved a 9.900 this season, so she’s a must-get if one of those conferences is yours. Marissa Nychyk (31 conferences) has also hit that 9.900 mark.
Bars: Cortney Bezold has been getting better every week and is only available in seven conferences—see if you’re one of the lucky ones. Haley Pitou (23 conferences) is putting up late-season scores, as are Jade Vella-Wright (16 conferences) and Becky Rozsa-Thompson (27 conferences). If those aren’t available, try for Grace Rojas (28 conferences), Sofia Iribarren (42 conferences) or Esperanza Abarca (43 conferences).
Beam: Mickayla Stuckey made her beam debut on Sunday with a 9.825—she’s available in 73 conferences and could be a great mid-season pickup. Hannah Cohen has competed twice after an unexplained absence to start the season and has already hit a 9.900 and a 9.825; she’d be a great addition in 58 conferences. Hannah Vandenkolk (38 conferences) has been steady for Washington, and Carley Bayles (76 conferences) has recently come into the lineup for Utah State. Alyssa Worthington is somehow still available in 14 conferences despite scoring back-to-back 9.900s. Others to have achieved a 9.900 include Julianna Roland (15 conferences), Bianca Leon (77 conferences) and Delaney Garin (65 conferences).
Floor: Claudia Goyco has been a star for Ball State and is still available in 45 conferences while Maya Reimers is somehow still available in 12. Sabriyya Rouse (23 conferences) should shine for Maryland while Barber is out, and Nasha Manitkul-Davis (77 conferences) is getting into a groove after a shaky start to the season. Others to look for are Brittney Vitkauskas (11 conferences), Tara Kofmehl (26 conferences) and Jade Brown (36 conferences).
Notes from the Fantasy Roundtable:
Anna Glenn tweeted that she would be back soon, so she may be worth picking up if you have room to spare on your roster; she’s still available in 21 conferences. Meanwhile, Jillian Hoffman and Jazmyn Foberg have both appeared in exhibitions recently. However, both are on teams with highly competitive lineups, so watch them closely to see if they begin competing; Hoffman is available in six conferences and Foberg in five.
Article by Jenna King with additional reporting from Mary Emma Burton.
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