The Mount: Week 4

Results

The Big Storyline: Alabama was a bit vulnerable in the absence of Lexi Graber and in the midst of a rough all around day from Shania Adams. But the Crimson Tide will still accept this road score. Kentucky will be happy to have finally hit a beam rotation en route to its own season high score.

Implications: Rankings-wise, both teams should remain about where they were last week. In terms of lineup notes, Alabama junior Shallon Olsen added beam for the first time this season; it’s unclear whether she’ll remain in the lineup, but she hit for a 9.850. 

Controversies: There were some interesting scoring gaps at this meet. Makarri Doggette’s beam score had a 9.400/9.600 split, and Kentucky freshman Bailey Bunn went 9.85/9.65 on vault. Speaking of vault, there were an unusual number of crashes—gymnasts who bailed out of harder versions and just plain weird falls. Lastly, Alabama sophomore Mati Waligora’s bar routine originally showed a 9.900 start value, but it was later raised to a 10. This was likely because her Jaeger to bail was not given proper connection value by one judge.

Results

Recap 

The Big Storyline: Missouri was never expected to overtake the No. 1 team in the country, but it was having its best meet of the season until it had to count two falls on beam. Jena Swanson had a good night for the team on her three events, and once she finds a balance of power on her Y1.5, she will be able to provide a high score weekly. Florida scored the highest team score in the NCAA this season, which was led by its season best bar rotation. Impressively, the 197.850 was accomplished without having the team’s top performers on floor. Sydney Johnson-Scharpf was scratched after falling on beam and experiencing tight muscles. Alyssa Baumann was also absent from the event but is expected to return to the lineup against LSU. However, we did get to see Ellie Lazzari make her floor debut with a stunning routine. Thomas solved her beam struggles from the past two weeks in a pressure set situation for the Gators to take home the event title and a massive 39.750 in the all around.

Implications: Florida is no doubt the top team in the country and should be able to hit 198, once it gets its top athletes in the floor rotation. Missouri showcased improvements on vault, bars and floor, which was a preview of what the program can be in the coming years as the young team continues to gain experience and get healthy.

Records: Gabrielle Gallentine scored a career best 9.925 on bars. Megan Skaggs had a career best 9.950 on bars. 

The Big Storyline: SEMO narrowly edged Texas Woman’s in Cape Girardeau, powered by a great all around meet for Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso in which the freshman picked up three event titles. Freshman Lydia Webb scored a 9.800 in her debut as a Redhawk in the anchor position on floor. Redhawk star Anna Kaziska was notably absent.

Implications: A higher score later in the weekend would mean that Texas Woman’s remains securely above SEMO in the rankings. Solorzano-Caruso remains a top-50 national all arounder and the No. 1 all around gymnast in USAG standings.

Records: Stuyniski’s meet-winning beam score is a career high, and Goyco’s 9.900 on floor matches her career high.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Georgia came out in week one swinging strong on bars, but it has not been able to keep up the momentum. Struggles on the event propelled the team to a sub-196 score and the program’s first ever loss at home to Arkansas. The Razorbacks have been stellar this season while others have faltered, and they continued to thrive at Georgia. Floor and beam are must-watch rotations for the Razorbacks.

Implications: If there’s a team who really needs this bye week, it would have to be the Gymdogs. Georgia should benefit from the week off to help get athletes healthy and give other athletes, who have been thrusted into the all around, a break. Arkansas continues to prove themselves as a prime candidate for the evening session of the SEC championship and a team on its way to a potential national championship appearance.

Records: Megan Roberts scored a career high 9.900 on vault with her Y1.5. Arkansas won its first meet at Georgia in program history. 

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 6 Arkansas at No. 10 Georgia 

Why You Should Cancel Plans for It: This could be one of the most exciting meets in the SEC this season. Arkansas had its third-highest score ever last week against Florid, posting a 197.250. Georgia has showcased some promising highlights in its first three meets, but has been hit by some early season injuries to key lineup contributors. Nevertheless, we expect them to put up a hard fight against Arkansas. The Gymdogs own the series 11-3, but are coming off of a loss last season to the Razorbacks. This meet should be a nail-biter all the way to the end. 

What We’re Watching: Bars is where both teams lack depth, which will likely play a factor in which team comes out on top. Rachel Baumann has been a rockstar for Georgia and competed on bars for the first time in her collegiate career last week. Bailey Lovett has one of the most floaty double layouts in the NCAA this season. Kennedy Hambrick is well on her way to having her best year, but has struggled with the landing on her Yurchenko 1.5. Georgia freshman Katie Finnegan made her collegiate debut last week on beam after recovering from a preseason injury. We could also see her on bars this week. 

What Else You Should Know Before Tuning In: Georgia lost Marissa Oakley, Victoria Nguyen and Mikayla Magee in week two to injuries. It is unknown the severity of the injuries at this time. However, we did see Magee training on bars earlier this week. Georgia will want to get these athletes back into the lineups to perform at its best. Arkansas is slowly easing Kiara Gianfagna and Amanda Elswick back into lineups. Gianfagna suffered a foot injury in preseason, and Elswick has a sprained ankle.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Boise State had a beam meltdown, which led the team to only having two scores above a 9.700 on the apparatus. While it struggled, Southern Utah excelled, coming just shy of scoring a 49-plus on all four events to hand Boise State its first loss of the season. Shylen Murakami and Karley McClain were solid for the Thunderbirds on their respective events. Blackson did not upgrade her vault, but she did make her floor debut for the Broncos.  Nevertheless, she’s a gymnast to watch for years to come. 

Implications: Southern Utah is having one of its best seasons in program history. The Thunderbirds put together a great competition score that should help propel them in the rankings. Even better for the Thunderbirds, Hannah Nipp returned to the lineups after being scratched from her remainder events last week, which will only add to the team’s total. 

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 20 Boise State at No. 17 Southern Utah

Why You Should Make Time to Tune in: Southern Utah is at its highest national ranking since 2017. The team scored its highest road score in program history last week at Utah State. Boise State also had a record breaking week when it pulled off an upset win against conference rival BYU. With both teams coming off of season best performances, it should be a competitive battle for the win. Boise State is looking to continue to return athletes from unknown absences, which will help improve its chance here. Hannah Nipp’s status for Southern Utah is unknown after she fell on bars last week and was pulled from the remainder of the competition. 

Need More Proof? Karley McClain is having a superstar year for the Thunderbirds. The junior has been named MRCG Gymnast of the Week, two weeks in a row. She is the only Southern Utah gymnast to receive that honor two weeks in a row. Boise State has a huge bar rotation led by Emily Muhlenhaupt, who is ranked No. 1 in the country on the event. Courtney Blackson saw her first career action last week, but we will be looking for an upgraded vault from her at some point this season.

Note: Ohio State joined this meet after Michigan athletics paused all activity for two weeks.

Recap

The Big Storyline: It was a close meet that came down to the last rotation, but New Hampshire came out on top thanks to a clutch routine from Robyn Kelley to put the Wildcats on top by the slimmest of margins.

Implications: It was a season high for Temple, but both teams will slip in both the conference and national rankings a bit. Most importantly, this was one of the designated EAGL meets that counts toward the regular season championship. New Hampshire is now 1-1 in the conference while Temple is 0-1.

Records: Kelley’s 9.900 on floor was a career high. Temple’s 49.250 team score on floor was just 0.050 off the program record. 

Controversies: Kelley’s 9.900 on floor was the exact score the Wildcats needed to clinch the victory over Temple. There was some question over whether or not the routine deserved a 9.900, especially compared to other floor routines in the meet.

Recap

The Big Storyline: California debuted with a solid performance, hitting 24-for-24 routines. The Golden Bears, however, lacked some training, as they struggled with polish and endurance here and there. Air Force had a bad meet, putting up only five scores on floor despite a fall and continuing to struggle on bars. Tyler Davis’ absence was very much felt.

Implications: California starts its 2021 campaign ranked No. 19 while Air Force sits at No. 49, only ahead of Bowling Green, which did not compete full lineups this week.

Controversies: The judges seemed to struggle with California’s start values on floor. A few routines had only two tumbling passes, making leap and jump rotation key for earning a 10.0 start value.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 47 Air Force at California

Why You Should Clear Space on Your DVR: This may not be the most competitive meet, but all eyes will be on California in its season opener as expectations are high for the Golden Bears this year. A highly anticipated freshman class joins a large and experienced roster of returnees that will look to start the 2021 campaign off strong at home. Air Force will be hoping to put up a competitive score after stumbling in its first two meets of the season.

You Can Fast Forward, but not Through This: Make sure you don’t miss the debuts of California freshmen Andrea Li and Gabby Perea. Both have the potential to contend for best freshman in the country, and the Golden Bears have the benefit of having them both on their team in addition to senior all arounder Kyana George. Falcons sophomore Briona Carswell has been a bright spot on beam, having scored in the 9.8s twice, the only Air Force gymnast to score that high this season.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Utah’s beam was nearly at its best and highlighted a season high performance from Utah, who easily defeated visiting Washington. Sophomore Maile O’Keefe earned a perfect 10 on beam to help the Utes post the second best team total on the event in the NCAA this season, and Sydney Soloski notched a near-perfect 9.975 on floor to finish the sweep of the Huskies. Amara Cunningham led the way for Washington by placing second on vault and third on floor.

Implications: Utah will remain on top of the Pac-12 while Washington sits at the bottom. The Huskies did improve upon their season-opening total but have not put up a score that will be competitive with the top half of the conference.

Records: O’Keefe’s 10 on beam is a career high after notching two 9.975s in her freshman season.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Both MIC rivals made massive improvements to their team totals from the last few weeks, but Lindenwood came out on top with a program-best home opening score. Texas Woman’s senior Paige Stuyniski competed on floor for the first time since her freshman year ACL tear.

Implications: Despite graduating half their routines in 2020, the Lions reasserted themselves as the best team in the MIC and in USAG.

Records: Lindenwood posted its best home opening score in program history. Texas Woman’s gymnasts set nine event career highs.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Two big things happened in this one: Mia Townes competed the Illini’s first 10.0 vault since the rule change—and it was clean enough for a share of the event title—and JerQuavia Henderson added beam and made her all around debut for a cool 39.325. Both teams had a solid night that they’ll be pleased with yet still walk away with some things to fix. Illinois counted a fall on bars, and both exhibition routines included falls. The Illini need to lock down that situation; if they can do that and keep putting up vault totals like this, they’ll be in a good position. For Iowa, floor of all events got weird (see the controversies section below). 

Implications: Michigan State had a great debut this weekend, pushing Illinois back a spot in the conference, which will put pressure on the Illini next week. They don’t have a meet as of now due to the Michigan athletics pause; they’ll want to join a dual to try to step back over the Spartans. Iowa stays at No. 2 in the Big Ten with this number, staying just ahead of Minnesota. The Hawkeyes hosts the Gophers next weekend, and it’s going to be an all-out battle in a rematch of the first Big Ten dual of the season. It looks like we’ll see these two teams fighting to stay just behind Michigan all year, hoping to jump on any missteps from the Wolverines.

Controversies: Lauren Guerin competed her usual full-in, switch side to Popa, front through to double tuck floor routine. it was likely to be in the 9.925 territory, but when her score came in at a 9.625, everyone was confused. After the meet, head coach Larissa Libby posted an explanation to her Twitter, stating there was an element missing that wasn’t taken last week and apologizing to her gymnast for the mistake. Guerin won’t have enough numbers for an NQS until after next week when Iowa is away again, but rest assured her floor supremacy will be alright once she can drop this clunker of a number.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Iowa State upset Denver in the Pioneers’ home arena. Cyclone Addy De Jesus earned her first career 10 on vault and Ariana Orrego competed for the first time since 2019. Meanwhile, the Pioneers faltered and had to count at least one score in the 9.6 range on every event except bars. Lynnzee Brown didn’t compete floor, presumably to rest her body, and classmate Mia Sundstrom was notably missing as well. Andrea Maldonado was notably missing for the Cyclones—and they were still able to hit 196 and beat Denver. 

Implications: While it was an impressive upset, Big 12 conference rankings will remain unchanged. Denver’s lackluster performance means it will fall to No. 8 nationally while Iowa State will move up a spot to No. 17. The biggest takeaway for the Cyclones will be that they were able to keep pace with Denver, even if it was an off day. We’ve seen these two teams match up twice now, and both times were extremely close. The times of Denver and Oklahoma being leaps and bounds above the rest of the conference may be over. 

Records: Addy De Jesus scored her first 10 on vault and set an all around career high of 39.525. 

Recap

The Big Storyline: UCLA solved some of its landing problems on floor this week, though it still struggled on bars and competed only five gymnasts on vault. This was a much better overall performance for the Bruins compared to last week, but lineups are still provisional on all apparatuses. Arizona did not manage to match last week’s debut score after having to count a fall of bars. Freshmen Jessica Castles and Elena Deets, however, looked truly impressive, which is very good news for the future.

Implications: Both teams are dropping in the standings, UCLA from No. 11 to No. 12 and Arizona from No. 15 to No. 20.

Records: UCLA freshman Frida Esparza posted a career high 9.900 on beam while teammate Chae Campbell posted career highs 9.900 on vault and 9.925 on beam.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 11 UCLA at No. 15 Arizona

Why You Should Clear Space on Your DVR: This matchup may end up closer than most would expect as last week UCLA struggled to distance itself until the final two rotations against Arizona State, who is tied with Arizona in this week’s rankings. If the Bruins start out slow again in their road opener, the Wildcats just might take advantage.

You Can Fast Forward, but not Through This: UCLA junior Margzetta Frazier returned to the all around last week and put up a strong program, while Bruin freshman Frida Esparza stole the show with her event title-winning bar routine in her NCAA debut. Arizona also has a stellar freshman in Jessica Castles, who won a beam title in her own debut.

Recap

The Big Storyline: It was a season high for all three teams, but ultimately Pitt came out on top. The Panthers’ score set a new season high by nearly three points and is the highest score from an EAGL team this year. N.C. State had to count a fall on beam in the first rotation but rallied in the last three rotations to break 195 for the first time. Towson finally put a complete meet together despite missing several key athletes at this meet.

Implications: Pitt moves up four spots in the national rankings to No. 42 and jumps ahead of Temple for No. 5 in the EAGL standings. Towson drops a few spots in the national rankings but moves ahead of New Hampshire to third in the EAGL. 

Records: Lauren Bolen’s and Emily Shepard’s matching 9.900s on vault were both career highs. 

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 28 N.C. State and No. 34 Towson at No. 46 Pittsburgh

Why You Should Make Time to Tune in:  N.C. State has looked strong on bars and floor this season, already breaking the 49 mark on both events. Towson’s first two meets have been record breaking for the program, even with counted mistakes. Look for the Tigers to continue to build on that success. Pitt has struggled so far and will be looking to put a full meet together to show what it is capable of.

Need More Proof? Keep an eye out for Towson’s Camille Vitoff, who debuted her Yurchenko one and a half on vault last week and scored a 9.850. Pitt’s Katie Chamberlain has been killing her comeback season with scores of 9.875 and 9.900 for her first two bar routines. She also made her debut on beam in week three. Teammate Katrina Coca is making a comeback of her own and is a gymnast to watch on both bars and beam. N.C. State sophomore Emily Shepard has been named the EAGL Gymnast of the Week for two weeks straight and will be someone to watch on all four events. 

Recap

The Big Storyline: Oklahoma continues to struggle on beam. The Sooners had to count two falls and a 9.650, resulting in its lowest event score ever under head coach KJ Kindler. A season best floor rotation allowed the Sooners to come out of the meet with a win, but it wasn’t enough to avoid the Sooners from hitting their lowest overall score since 2011. West Virginia had a solid floor rotation and presented unique difficulty on beam, but could not overcome counting a fall on the event to take the win.

Implications: Oklahoma is struggling big time. The last two competitions have resulted in its lowest overall team score since 2011 and 2012, respectively. The Sooners will need to get athletes Carly Woodard and Olivia Trautman healthy for a shot at the national title. But it could be a disappointing postseason if they aren’t able to come up with four hit rotations when it counts. 

Records: Audrey Davis had a career high 9.950 on bars. Oklahoma had its lowest team total since 2011 and its lowest single event score, 47.850, in 15 years. 

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 26 West Virginia at No. 3 Oklahoma

Why You Should Clear Space on Your DVR: Just three meets into the season and Oklahoma has already been through the ringer, having lost several key contributors to injury and posting its lowest team score since 2012. Last week’s match-up against West Virginia ended up being closer than anyone expected, with the Mountaineers outscoring the Sooners on beam and floor. Oklahoma will be looking for redemption at home this Sunday while West Virginia will try to build off of its solid debut performance.

You Can Fast Forward, but not Through This: Oklahoma freshman Audrey Davis has been nothing short of fantastic on bars, winning two event titles so far. Also keep an eye on West Virginia junior Kendra Combs and senior McKenna Linnen; their floor routines were some of the most dynamic (and highest scoring) of last week’s meet.