Wacky late-season non-conference duals are lowkey the most fun part of the gymnastics season, and this is a good one. Both are upstart teams with incredibly stylish gymnastics that have made great strides over the last few years. And both have a group of core gymnasts that absolutely need to deliver for the team to succeed.
Drew Grantham has been just a little off on vault for most of this season, and she hasn’t competed that event for the past two meets. But when she’s not in the lineup, the Wolfpack typically has to use a Yurchenko layout in her place, which is in itself a bit of a problem. Every event but vault is ranked in the top 25 for this team, but vault is a matter of survival. That said, I’ve fallen desperately in love with the Wolfpack beam lineup this year, and I can’t wait to watch it again.
Minnesota hasn’t been enjoying vault this season either, with some fairly lukewarm Yurchenko fulls joined by great, but mercurial, 10.0 starts. Bars and beam need to be great to bail out the leg events, and meets like last week, when the Gophers collectively forgot how to hit a handstand on bars, just can’t happen this close to regionals seeds being finalized.
Rotation 1: NC State vault, Minnesota bars
Cox (NCSU): Yurchenko tuck full, step back. 9.625
Quaglia (Minn): Blind to pike Jaeger, a little heavy with soft elbows, to overshoot. Blind full double back with a little foot shift. 9.825
Kent (NCSU): Pike down on her FTY and a little bit of flexed feet with a hop. 9.75
Willmarth (Minn): Ray, good turnover, bail good. Stalder with soft elbows and messy feet to double back, leg separation and a little step. 9.75
Grantham (NCSU): Yurchenko full, oh, so glad this is here. Pretty good with a little hop. 9.75
Loper (Minn): Nailed the first handstand, Maloney to Pak, blind full double back with a tiny hop in place. 9.85
Shepard (NCSU): The standard of both lineups just jumped up significantly. Huge, pretty FTY with a hop. 9.85
Lu (Minn): Maloney to Pak, great, half pirouette, double layout so airy with a little scoot back. 9.9
Beucler (NCSU): Soft on the table but wraps in quickly on her FTY and sticks it. Good one! 9.825
Sales (Minn): Bail, great, blind to Markelov with one foot flexed. Double layout a touuuch close to the bar with leg separation and a little scoot. 9.9
Negrete (NCSU): Pretty pretty FTY, leg form so perfect, little hop back. 9.85
Ramler (Minn): Maloney to Pak, van Leuuwen, so pretty. This is her good routine. Toe on to FTDB stuck. 9.925
Minnesota 49.425 – NC State 49.025
Great start for both teams! Minnesota’s best bar routines can score a LITTLE higher than that but can’t be too upset with a team score that high at a non-conference road meet. For NC State, breaking 49 on vault means that the world is full of rainbows and it can just cruise from here.
Rotation 2: Minnesota vault, NC State bars
Remlinger (Minn): Fine FTY, skippy step back. 9.8
Shepard (NCSU): Blind to Jaeger, pretty with great turnover, Pak, big arch on her half turn on the low bar. FTDB weird and falls forward onto her hands. 9.025
Quaglia (Minn): Pretty technique on her FTY, waits to initiate the twist, clean with a hop back.
Grantham (NCSU): Tkachev, little bit of knees, bail to toe shoot good. Double lay stuck. Great way to get back on track. 9.8
Sales (Minn): Comes in a touch forward on her FTY and scoots forward a touch. very close to stuck. 9.8
Robinson (NCSU): Blind to Jaeger, solid, nice Pak. Little slow on her half turn, shy on a high bar handstand, blind full double back on her heels and took a step back. 9.75
Ramler (Minn): One and a half, less knees than usual, stuck dead. Dang. 9.95
Cox (NCSU): Tkachev, slightly funky dynamics, having to work for her handstands. Good bail to toe shoot, FTDLO with a tiny step to the side. WOW great form too on that dismount. 9.85
Loper (Minn): One and a half, little hop in place. Tons of momentum, the Gophers look so excited. 10!
Kent (NCSU): Jaeger to overshoot, little flat on the low bar there, double layout with a hop back. 9.825
Quarles (Minn): Her normal great 1.5 with a little hop to the side. 9.925
Brooker (NCSU): Maloney, legs a MESS, to bail to toe shoot. Double lay solid with a hop. 9.825
After 2: Minnesota 98.900 – NC State 98.075
Wow, Minnesota. Stone cold there on vault. This could be a season high score for the Gophers if they can keep it together on floor. Some technical issues for NCSU on bars there but surviving with a strong event coming up.
Rotation 3: NC State beam, Minnesota floor
Beucler (NCSU): Standing LOSO, switch straddle 1/4. BHS LOSO off to one side with a lean, full turn, hitch kick switch side. BHS gainer full stuck. 9.75
Ramler (Minn): Ring full, double pike with chest a little low. Switch half split full, Rudi pretty good, keeps landing with her feet a little apart and the lunge just looks a little unconvincing. One and a half through double full with a scoot back. 9.775
Foland (NCSU): Kickover front BHS BHS fantastic. Switch split a little funky in the middle but gets through. Full turn, front aerial, cartwheel to one and a half dismount with a step forward. 9.8
Betts (Minn): Front full front lay, slightly awkward landing, tour jete half tuck 2/1 jump. Double back with chest down and a little rebound. 9.8
Kent (NCSU): Split to LOSO, full turn, BHS LOSO with a lean. Switch to pike, toe point really stands out on that skill, good dismount. 9.8
Remlinger (Minn): Double pike, weirdly travels sideways with a scoot out. Switch side Popa, one and a half front layout with a big step forward. Double back. 9.825
Nelson (NCSU): Front aerial LOSO, very UCLA, clean and steady. Switch straddle quarter awkward with a position issue, cat leap side somi with another shaky landing. Side aerial back full stuck.
Sales (Minn): Had a video issue and missed this one but commentators are talking like it was good. 9.875
Negrete (NCSU): Full turn, front aerial BHS good. Switch switch half, very good, side straddle half. So pretty and so steady. Double full twist with a hop. 9.875
Loper (Minn): Front lay to Rudi. Switch ring tour jete full. Two and a half twist, really good, Y turn, one and a half front lay. Great routine and she looks thrilled, just grinning and skipping around. 9.85
Grantham (NCSU): BHS LOSO, full turn, side aerial side somi. Cat leap switch side, good dismount. 9.875
Williams (Minn): Front double full, great straddle leaps, one and a half front lay and missed the punch, finished it sort of underneath her self but got it to her feet. Rudi with another scoot back. 9.8
After 3: Minnesota 148.050 – NC State 197.200
On track for a great total for both teams heading into strong events. Minnesota was pretty lukewarm on floor, but that’s normal.
Rotation 4: Minnesota beam, NC State floor
Montgomery (Minn): BHS LOSO, full turn, switch beat split 1/2. Front tuck, cowboyed with a little scoot, one and a half twist stuck-ish. 9.75
Kent (NCSU): Double pike, little scoot,. good leaps, whip half front lay. Double back, great landing. 9.8
Lu (Minn): BHS LOSO, great, turns out the front foot. Cat leap switch half beat jump and works through a slight alignment issue. Full turn. Side somi, gainer full with a hop. 9.925
Shepard (NCSU): Nice double pike, slightly long lunge, front lay front full. Double back and a quick hop to lunge that makes me feel something was a little off. 9.875
Loper (Minn): BHS LOSO good, full turn, kickover front to beat. switch straddle quarter. One and a half with a hop. Great, so steady. 9.925!
Nelson (NCSU): Two and a half punch front, iffy landing on her leap pass, underrotated what I assume was meant to be a wolf jump full quite badly. One and a half front pike, very good. 9.8
Korlin-Downs (Minn): BHS LOSO, little off, arm swing. Beat split double stag with a small check. Full turn, side aerial back full stuck dead. 9.925
Negrete (NCSU): Double pike, good, Front full front lay, tried to stick it and had to scoot back, double back. Great routine. 9.85
Sales (Minn): BHS BHS LOSO, little adjustment. Switch switch side and weight back, swing check and gets it back. Gainer pike with a big hop forward. 9.8
Beucler (NCSU): Great double pike, Popa wolf full very good. One and a half front lay, double stag switch side. Great double back. Really good routine, someone is yelling 10 which honestly I always love to see at small teams. 9.9
Ramler (Minn): Full turn, BHS LOSO great. Front aerial to wolf, beat to ring jump, side aerial back full stuck. They’ll probably go 10 for that honestly. Okay, 9.975
Grantham (NCSU): Double back huge and kicked out, good landing. Front lay front full, solid leaps, got the Rudi and basically landed already crying. 9.925
FINAL: Minnesota 197.625 – NC State 196.550
Definitely some soft scoring there but a great result for both teams. Season high on both sides and some landmark individual results. There are still some moving parts, but Minnesota will likely enter the top ten nationally after this week.
VT – Ona Loper (Minn) 10.000
UB – Lexy Ramler, Tiarre Sales (Minn) 9.925
BB – Lexy Ramler (Minn) 9.975
FX – Drew Grantham (NCSU) 9.925
AA – Lexy Ramler (Minn) 39.675
Live blog by Rebecca Scally.
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