This is a close, close meet between two teams with immense peak scores this season. Southern Utah recently set a program record of 197.225 while Iowa State has scored above 196.500 five times and is more than capable of going over 197 itself. It’s also always worth remembering that scores at Southern Utah can be generous and that tends to affect both teams, so… hold onto your hats.
For the Thunderbirds, the story of why this year is better than the last few begins and ends on beam. It’s been a bugaboo in the past, and it’s still an event that they fight to survive rather than racking up huge scores. But since they can get plenty of those scores on other events, that’s fine; bars and floor can both go HIGH. Iowa State’s event to survive is vault, which struggles to score above 49, but on any given day the Cyclones could have a landing breakthrough.
On the NQS front, SUU is in an annoying situation because it has one very low road score and no opportunity to drop it until March, so while high scores at this weekend’s home double would be wonderful and very encouraging, they won’t help with the ranking situation a great deal. Iowa State’s three highest scores this season are all on the road, so it doesn’t have a crisis to resolve either, but it could still add a healthy two tenths to its inaugural NQS with a good day today.
Rotation 1: Southern Utah vault, Iowa State bars
Tervort (SUU): Beautiful FTY, nice and open, hop back. 9.825
Langkamp (ISU): Pike Jaeger, flexed feet, bail, muscling her cast handstands. Double lay stuck. 9.825
Smith (SUU): Yurchenko full on tuck off, little hop back. 9.825
Diaz (ISU): SPRINTS into her hecht mount, blind to Jaeger a little low but very clean. Shy on a handstand, lovely bail, double lay pretty and close to stuck, tiny foot shuffle. Aggressive work today from the Cyclones. 9.825
Kho (SUU): FTY, not the highest but good distance, hop back. 9.825
What’s up with this 9.825 streak??
Palacios (ISU): Blind to pike Jaeger, iffy handstand, great bail. Double layout pings off a bit, stuck. 9.775
Alfaro (SUU): FTY, good dynamics and smaller hop back. Lot of similar vaults today. 9.825
Burns (ISU): Missed her first handstand, great turnover on her Ray… well, too much. Caught wrong and fell. Toe on to bail, double lay hollow with a step back. 9.075
McClain (SUU): Good FTY, hop back. Running out of things to say about these rapidly, they’re all good in similar ways. 9.8
Vella-Wright (ISU): Short on her first cast, Maloney to Pak so clean, van Leeuwen, hop back on her dismount. SO CLEAN SO BEAUTIFUL. 9.8
Ma. McBride (SUU): There ya go! Stuck her FTY, beauty. 9.875
Horowitz (ISU): True Shap, iffy dynamics, to Pak. Shy on a handstand, blind full double back with a little hop. 9.725
After 1: Southern Utah 49.175 – Iowa State 48.950
Scores were’t that generous for either team there, there were a few that I thought should have been higher. But Southern Utah needs to get those landings sharper and Iowa State needs to cast to real true handstand, so you can’t feel too bad about it.
Rotation 2: Iowa State vault, Southern Utah bars
Steinmeyer (ISU): Good one and a half. Sorry, got back late from doing my laundry and saw it across the room. 9.85
Nipp (SUU): Jaeger is so beautiful, good DLO dismount, don’t know why she’s leading off. 9.8
Boychuk (ISU): One and a half, a little underrotated with a hop back. 9.775
Murakami (SUU): Blind to Jaeger to overshoot, unreal, stuck FTDB. She is perfect and shouldn’t be in the 2 spot! 9.85 is robbery but it’s because she’s in the 2 spot! LET HER ANCHOR
Converse (ISU): Pretty full with a HUGE hop and then also a large step back. 9.775
McClain (SUU): Jaeger, not much amplitude and a big of foot form, bail good. DLO with a hop. 9.8
Maldonado (ISU): One and a half, looks like she’s going to stick it and then has an odd shuffle situation, step forward. 9.925!
Rosza (SUU): Jaeger with beautiful turnover to bail, blind full double back stuck. Great. 9.875
Turner (ISU): FTY, a touch of pike down but clean landing, just a little hop in place. 9.875
Tervort (SUU) Clear hip to massive Gienger, too close, empty swing into her overshoot. Missed a handstand, double lay with a hop. 9.35
Maxwell (ISU): Beautiful but inconsistent vaulter. This is a good one. Great 1.5, little step back. 9.85
Kho (SUU): Maloney to Pak, very clean, right on the bar in a half turn. She doesn’t have the feel of a natural bars gymnast but not many deductions here. FTDB with chest down and a hop. 9.775
After 2: Southern Utah 98.275 – Iowa State 98.225
That was a good rotation, but it would be even better if Southern Utah had literally inverted the order of its bars team! ISU’s four 10.0 starts are super super impressive and all look secure and easy to land.
Rotation 3: SUU beam, IIowa State floor.
Hernandez (SUU): Full turn, front aerial to split tentative. Beat to double stag, BHS LOSO off, grabs the beam and falls. Side aerial tuck back full with a step. 9.15
Langkamp (ISU): Whip double back a little overpowered, scoots back, tour jete half Popa. Front lay Barani split jump, double back with chest a touch forward. Great start. 9.85
Smith (SUU): Round off LOSO nailed, side aerial a little off line but gets it back. Cat leap tour jete 1/4, one and a half twist and a big jump forward. 9.725
Diaz (ISU): Double back, doesn’t look underrotated but steps forward, switch side Popa. Front lay front full with a touch of extra bounce, double pike way short and a big step forward. 9.775
Murakami (SUU): BHS LOSO BHS is great, split to sheep so solid. Side aerial tuck back full with a hop to salute. 9.775
Diab (ISU): Front double full front lay, wow! Tour jete 1/2 Popa. Did she just go from Bad Guy to Tequila? Front lay front full stag jump, Rudi LOSO with a long lunge but really emphatic landing. GREAT routine. 9.85
Nipp (SUU): Front aerial to beat, BHS LOSO with a little check. Split split 3/4 lovely, gainer full a tiny bit deep but stuck.
Steinmeyer (ISU): Double back a little staggered but lots of power, switch side Popa a little underrotated, one and a half front lay and looks like a foot slips, has to shuffle to keep it to her feet. Double pike stuck-ish. 9.7
McClain (SUU): BHS LOSO, steady, switch straddle 1/4 a little short of position. Cat leap side aerial, full turn, one and a half dismount with a hop in place. 9.875
Converse (ISU): Double arabian MASSIVE and a big slidey step forward. One and a half through back double full solid. Tour jete half Popa, great Rudi. Tumbling difficulty through the roof, so impressive. 9.875
Jorgensen (SUU): Switch straddle quarter, punch front with a little foot shift. BHS LOSO underrotated somehow, grabs the beam and falls. Full turn, gainer full with a hop forward.
Maldonado (ISU): NAILED the Randi, spectacular. Apparently the ISU media guide says she might do the triple? That would be neat. Front double full punch front, close to the line and lunges back, nailed leaps, her dance is rockin’ too. Double pike short, step forward. 9.725 🙁 It was so good until that last landing.
After 3: Iowa State 147.300, Southern Utah 146.625
Oh, SUU. That’s okay, there are two great home scores already this year and two more chances to get a third. Great floor rotation for ISU but not as good as it could have been, few flukey rotation issues.
Rotation 4: Iowa State beam, Southern Utah floor
Steinmeyer (ISU): Full turn, kick front to beat jump slow and low. BHS LOSO, switch straddle quarter tentative, one and a half dismount with a lean forward. 9.825
Jorgensen (SUU): Great double pike, front lay front full stag jump OOB. Switch ring tour jete full, double back with chest a little down.
Turner (ISU): BHS BHS LOSO, back foot almost off the beam and a check but not a huge one. Switch straddle quarter great, gainer pike with a hop. 9.725
Jozwiakowski (SUU): Front double full punch front, open with a bigger lunge, tuck jump full. Triple full off in the air and falls painfully. Switch half wolf full.
Burns (ISU): Full turn, cat leap side aerial with a major bend check, manages to grab her leg not the beam and stay on. Switch straddle quarter short and with another big check, BHS LOSO solid, one and a half dismount. 9.475
Kho (SUU): Full-in, hop back to lunge, switch side Popa a little short. Front lay front full a little shuffly, double pike awkward. Picks up the front foot and then doesn’t know where to put it back down. 9.8
Semple (ISU): BHS LOSO, a little lean and oulls the front foot, full turn. Switch switch half beat jump. Side aerial back full, out of frame, can’t see the dismount. 9.85
Nipp (SUU): Double pike, scoots the front foot around, landings just not happening for SUU today. Front full front lay good, switch ring tour jete half. Double back a little deep, lunges fine. 9.875
Palacios (ISU): Side aerial BHS great, switch split half. Full turn, cat leap side aerial back full with weird dynamics but stuck.
McClain (SUU): Double pike, one and a half front lay great. Solid leaps, great double back. Hot day for McClain as others struggled. 9.925
Converse (ISU): BHS LOSO, split straddle half, kickover front, full turn, one and a half dismount stuck. GREAT final routine. 9.85
Ma. McBride (SUU): Double pike, front lay front full, getting landings. Double back with a little scoot. 9.875
FINAL: Iowa State 196.250, Southern Utah 195.775
Solid not special meet on both sides but Iowa State came out meaningfully the better (mostly due to not counting a fall!) and will be very happy with this as a NQS road score even if it wasn’t the Cyclones’ BEST best day. The 197 is out there waiting if they can string everything together. For Southern Utah today was a bit of a bummer but it was an absorbable, inconsequential bummer and a great Karley McClain day is a great day for everyone.
VT – Andrea Maldonado (ISU) 9.950
UB – Becky Rosza-Thompson (SUU) 9.875
BB – Karley McClain (SUU) 9.875
FX – Karley McClain (SUU) 9.925
AA – Karley McClain (SUU) 39.400
Live blog by Rebecca Scally
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