It’s been approximately 703 years since we’ve had any new college gym to watch, but no more…
WELCOME TO THE FIRST LIVE BLOG OF THE 2021 SEASON! (Do you have any idea how good it feels to type that?!)
In the spirit of Halloween, Iowa State is treating us to a “Spooky Showcase” intrasquad showcasing what it has in store for the upcoming competition season.
https://twitter.com/CycloneGYM/status/1321799146672705536?s=20
The Cyclones are coming off a strong 2020 season: They scored 196-plus in all but three meets and posted their highest team total since the George W. Bush administration.
Today’s event also marks 2015 Big 12 all around champion Haylee Young’s public debut as assistant coach for her alma mater.
In addition to our live coverage, you can watch along via Facebook Live on Friday, October 30 at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Rotation One: vault, bars
Diab: Really nice Tsuk full on a mat in the pit. Good height and distance.
Steinmeyer: Yurchenko one and a half to (intentional) faceplant on the pit mat.
Parker: Another solid Yurchenko full onto a comp surface.
Al. Moldonando: HIGH geinger to bail. Love her deliberate handstand positions throughout. Pretty and high double tuck dismount.
Cooke: Clear hip shaposh and Pak, very nice. Damn, double front half out dismount more or less stuck!
Maxwell: Blind change to straddled Jaeger, great. Really aggressive handstands throughout; overcooks a couple, but that’s definitely what you want to see at this point in the year. Nailed the landing on her DLO.
Turner: Again aggressive handstands, saved by her coach 🙂 Good technique on the Shaposh. Stream stalled on the dismount, but she got a ton of distance.
Horowitz?: Fantastic handstand positions. Shaposh to Pak just floated. Beautiful DLO. Basically competition ready.
Apologies for any misidentifications, folks! A few thoughts while the second group is warming up: Vault is looking strong. Technique and form in the air looked great, all were definitely landable. Extremely impressed by how aggressive the Cyclones are going on bars, no tentative mistakes and no falls. Looked very clean across the board, too.
The team is excited about the number of 10.0 vaults they have this season (as they should be).
Also, really love seeing all these
Rotation Two: bars/vault
Ros Vaquer?? : Blind change to straddled Jaeger, good. Tight form on bail, good. Gorgeous handstands throughout. Little underrotated on the DLO. Overall very nice.
Langkamp? Nice piked Jaeger, very stretched arms. Super crisp bail. Wow, drilled her DLO. Another one that looks like a midseason routine.
Steinmeyer: Blind change to piked Jaeger, a hair close but didn’t bother her flow at all. DLO to knees (totally fine for preseason)
De Jesus: Big Ray, very nice. Her usual lovely form and floats the DLO.
Parker: Shaposh a little piked. Again, slight pike on DLO, but she FOUGHT for that landing!
Maxwell: Massive Yurchenko one and a half. Nice!
Cooke: Yurchenko one and a half. Didn’t quite get the block off and had to twist late.
Horowitz?: Fantastic Yurchenko full. Stuck.
Boychuck: Well done Yurchenko one and a half. Stiff legs on the landing and hand to take a step back.
An. Moldonando: A little short on her Yurchenko one and a half (prob because of the big mat, got decent height from her block).
So yeah, the Cyclones are bringing the fire on vault and bars this season! Really love how hard they’re going (and props for putting safety first with extra mats and masks).
Whoever’s doing the camera just called Kaia Parker a college gym queen, and yes. That is correct.
Rotation Three: beam, floor
De Jesus: bhs loso with a small foot up, nice. Straddle jump to sheep, nice. Cat leap to side aerial, no problem. Hop off dismount, love to see it.
Vezina: Side aerial to bhs, so pretty. She has really great wrist and hand movements. Leaps a little shy, but very nice side aerial to full dismount.
Steinmeyer: Front toss, great. Bhs loso with some legs, but rock solid. Switch split to switch side, excellent. Round-off one and a half dismount, awesome!
Parker: One and a half wolf turn, well done. Bhs loso, some legs but solid. Switch split, beat, switch side, fantastic. Side aerial, awesome. Stuck one and a half. Someone said, “She killed it,” and I agree!
Palacios: Side aerial to bhs, lovely. Switch split to something… Sorry, husband asked me something and I missed it. Cat leap to side aerial to full. Love her.
Having some technical difficulties with her music, so we get to see the whole team dance instead 🙂 And now the wave.
Coach Haylee said she’s very proud of her beam squad.
Cooke: Third time’s the charm for Laura Cooke’s music. FHS double twist to double stag. Switch split to switch full, great. She’s having a lot of fun with her choreo. I heard piano rock music and had immediate flashbacks to the early ’90s, but this is very charming. RO one and a half to front full, NAILED IT.
Boychuck: Big double pike to open, great. This guitar music suits her dance style well. RO one and a half (I think?) to front lay, well done. Switch split to Popa. RO BHS two and a half to finish.
Ros Vaquer: Ooh, her music is cool! FHS double twist to punch front, gorgeous. Switch full to wolf full, good. RO BHS two and a half. Oh no, she went down…
Feed has (rightly) ended for now. We’ll keep you updated if/when it comes back up. Sending our best to Natalia Ros Vaquer.
Al. Moldonando: Sorry, I came back in late and missed the first bit! Front lay to front full was beautiful.
An. Moldonando: FHS double twist, obviously excellent. Fantastic salsa choreo. FHS double twist to punch front. Wonder if the first pass is a placeholder for the triple 👀 She is such a great dancer. Honestly, it’s almost as much fun to watch as her tumbling. Finishes with a big double pike. This is on my shortlist for best FX of the year.
Rotation Four: floor/beam
An. Moldonando: Punch front, great! Bhs loso, some legs and a check. Nice split jumps. RO two and a half dismount, great. Am I disappointed it wasn’t a triple? Maybe.
Maxwell: Comes off on her bhs loso. Very pretty switch split jump to back tuck aaaand the feed went down again. Sorry!
Turner: Flawless candle mount then dismounts to take her own mat off. Boss move. Bhs bhs loso, great. Switch split to switch half, lovely positions. Love the kick out of her full turn. Forward roll, very fun! Piked gainer dismount with a hop. She looked so poised and in control throughout, gorgeous.
Boychuck: Wolf turn, good. Bhs bhs loso with soft knees and a small check. Cat leap to side somi, well done. Switch split leap to split jump, solid. Gainer full dismount, great!
Semple: Bhs loso, lovely. Really like her rhythm. Switch split split to switch half, a hair shy on the latter. Side aerial to full with a teeny tiny hop. Very pretty routine.
Al. Moldonado: Fanning herself, I love it. Bhs loso a little too slow and she hops off. Pretty full turn. Side aerial with a leg up that she hides well. Nice amplitude on her split leap and switch side. Side gainer full with a little hop, good.
Miexi Semple is excited to finally have other Canadians on the team, haha.
Steinmeyer: Fun dance. FHS double twist got a little hung up in the air and she somehow saved it, wow. Nice jump combo. FHS full punch lay, well done. Big double tuck to finish. She had a lot of fun with the dance (as did her teammates).
Parker: Dang! Big double piked (with pointed toes, I might add) to open. Really solid positions on her leaps. Front tuck through to double tuck, nice! Showing off her balletic style in the middle choreo. Layout placeholder to finish. Great routine.
Langkamp: WOOOO! Whip to double tuck opening pass. Fanning herself off as she should. Switch half to switch full. Front lay whip half to split, great. Nailed her final double tuck. Wow.
Diab: FHS double twist front lay to Shushunova! Big height on her jumps. FHS front lay front full. FHS Rudi loso, gorgeous.
So Iowa State wants to make a big statement on floor in 2021, huh? Wasn’t expecting to see full routines today, but wow! I really like the variety of skills and that the choreography fits each gymnast’s style (and not the other way around).
Obviously, a lot can happen between now and the start of season (this year more than most…). If this meet is any indication, though, the Cyclones are gunning to break into the top twenty this season.
Live blog by Claire Billman
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