Both Arizona and UCLA debuted last week; they did quite well but still have something to prove. The Bruins will want to clean their landings on floor and have a more polished bar lineup. The Wildcats will aim to score over 49 points on vault, bars and floor, which they failed to do last week. Both teams also impressed with their floor choreography. Nia Dennis was all over the news, as she went viral for the second year in a row and received praise even from Michelle Obama. Arizona freshman Jessica Castles, though, also charmed the audience last week with a very elegant routine to Carmen’s “L’amour est un oiseau rebelle.”
Keep an eye once again on the freshmen. For Arizona, Castles tied for the beam title with a 9.900 last week with a fantastic routine that had a triple wolf turn as her final skill while Elena Deets impressed on bars, anchoring with a clutch routine after a teammate’s fall. For UCLA, Frida Esparza was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week after scoring a 9.900 on bars, and Chae Campbell proved to be a reliable all arounder from day one despite a fluke bars fall.
Welcome, everyone, it’s meet time!
Here are UCLA’s lineups:
Rotation 1: Arizona vault, UCLA bars
Horton (Arizona): tucked Yurchenko full, hop back. 9.650
Campbell (UCLA): Maloney, slight leg separation, good bail to handstand, blind half to double front dismount, tiny step back. Great routine, last week’s fall was definitely a fluke! 9.750
Nosek (Arizona): Yurchenko, full hop back. 9.775
Taubman (UCLA): Jaeger, catches really close, bail to handstand, good final handstand, double layout, stuck. 9.725
Herry (Arizona): Yurchenko full, step back, a bit out of control. 9.700
Kooyman (UCLA): Short first handstand, Maloney to Pak, usual form issues, final handstand a touch short, double layout, hop back. 9.825
Bellows (Arizona): Yurchenko full, big hop back. 9.800
Esparza (UCLA): Maloney to Pak, Van Leuween, short on final handstand, double layout, unfortunately she lands on her knees. 9.375
Hargrove (Arizona): big Yurchenko full, hop on landing, but great amplitude. The best vault so far. 9.875
Frazier (UCLA): Maloney to Pak, Van Leuween, beautiful lines, double layout, stuck. 9.900
Castles (Arizona): She’s going to vault this week. Yurchenko full, hop in place, nice vault! 9.825
Tratz (UCLA): She needs to save UCLA’s bar rotation once again, not an easy position to be in. Maloney, big leg separation, to bail to handstand, a bit short, blind full with a small leg separation to double tuck dismount, stuck.
Ulias (UCLA, exh.): toe-on half to Jaeger, beautiful form, bail to handstand, double tuck dismount. Not a 10.0 SV yet, but her lines on bars are exceptional.
AFTER 1: Arizona 48.975; UCLA 48.975
The two teams are tied after one rotation! UCLA struggled a bit again on bars, with Pauline Tratz saving the day for the Bruins for the second consecutive week. Scores seemed slightly generous for Arizona on vault, but the Wildcats impressed with six solid vaults. Jessica Castles debuted on this apparatus, after scratching it last week.
Rotation 2: UCLA vault, Arizona bars
Tratz (UCLA): Yurchenko full, flared, hop back, chest a tad down. 9.800
Linton (Arizona): Tkatchev, bail to handstand, a touch piked, decent handstands, double layout, a bit arched and with a step back. 9.725
Poston (UCLA): front handspring front pike half, big hop back, a bit out of control. Not one of her best. 9.825
Hargrove (Arizona): blind full to Tkatchev, arched handstand, bail to handstand, loses control on her transition back up but she fights on, full-in dismount, step back. 9.600
Frazier (UCLA): Yurchenko full, hop back, still a bit piked, but it looks better than last week. 9.825
Raskin (Arizona): This is her debut, piked Jaeger, bail to handstand, good handstands, front 1.5 twist dismount, unfortunately she underrotates it and falls to her knees. 9.050
Dennis (UCLA): Yurchenko full, little hop, flared, pretty as ever! 9.875
McCabe (Arizona): blind half to piked Jaeger, arched handstand but she fights on, bail to handstand, she misses her foot on the low bar on the transition back up and she falls off, double layout, stuck. Unfortunate fall. Arizona will have to count a fall now. 9.250
Campbell (UCLA): huge Yurchenko full, so high that most of it is off camera, small hop back. 9.900
Kane (Arizona): blind half to Jaeger to bail, double front dismount, small step forward. Great comeback after last week’s disaster! 9.700
Esparza (UCLA): She gets scratched this week too. A testament to her teammates great vaulting!
Deets (Arizona): blind full to Tkatchev, short handstand, bail to handstand, good form, double layout, college stick. 9.800
AFTER 2: UCLA 98.200; Arizona 97.050
UCLA had an almost identical rotation to last week’s – very good vaulting but only one 10.0 start-value vault. Arizona struggled on bars, suffering two falls and having to count one. Freshman Elena Deets had to anchor bars under pressure for the second consecutive week and showed to have ice on her veins. Impressive work for her!
Someone needs to tell the commentator that Frida’s surname is Esparza and not Esperanza.
Rotation 3: Arizona beam, UCLA floor
Stauffacher (Arizona): BHS + LOSO, small check, beat jump to leap jump 3/4, front aerial, she tries to connect it but has a balance check, I wonder if it will affect her SV, full turn, cartwheel to gainer full off the side of the beam, stuck. 9.525
Wright (UCLA): Nice to see Wright back on floor! 2.5 twist, slightly overrotated but good landing, Rudi to double stag jump, tons of personality in this routine, nice to see, good splits, 1.5 twist to front layout, very low on the layout but she keeps it on her feet. Another great piece of choreography for BJ Das! 9.500
Herry (Arizona): full turn, BHS + LOSO, solid, side somi, strong landing again, straddle jump to leap jump half, BHS + 1.5 dismount, small hop forward. 9.800
Andres (UCLA): 2.5 twist to punch front, a bit out of control on landing, double tuck dismount, step forward, nice leaps. 9.675
Deets (Arizona): BHS + LOSO, wobble, full turn, straddle jump quarter, cat leap to front toss, split leap to gainer full off the side of the beam. Great routine after a fall last week! 9.800
Tratz (UCLA): full-in, great landing, good leaps, 1.5 twist to front layout, good landing again, double tuck, solid landing again. Her best routine in a very long time! 9.875
Barile (Arizona): front aerial to LOSO, 1.5 turn with the leg held at 180 degrees, unfortunately she falls, cat leap to switch leap half, beautiful, side aerial to full twist dismount, stuck. 9.375
Frazier (UCLA): whip to two back handsprings to double tuck, very clean, double pike, perhaps a tad out of control on landing, great leaps. What a performer she is! 9.900
Castles (Arizona): BHS + LOSO, solid landing, switch leap to switch leap, front aerial to scissone, a bit low, double wolf turn, smart not to go for the triple, she was slightly off, 1.5 twist dismount, the tiniest hop forward. 9.875
Campbell (UCLA): front double twist, hop forward before the lounge, double tuck, beautiful landing, front layout to front full twist, good landing. 9.850
Linton (Arizona): double wolf turn, BHS + LOSO + LOSO, wobble, switch leap to leap jump, a tad short, side aerial to full twist dismount, slightly piked in the air. 9.850
Dennis (UCLA): front layout to double tuck, a bit out of control, front full to front layout, great landing, great leaps, Rudi to split jump, a little out of control again, such stamina! 9.950
Arizona exh: cat leap to straddle jump quarter, BHS + BHS + … and she’s off, full turn, small check, side aerial to full twist dismount, stuck.
Ulias (UCLA, exh.): Rudi, good landing, slightly overrotated, 1.5 twist to punch front, a bit short.
AFTER 3: UCLA 147.450; Arizona 145.900
This was a much better floor rotation for UCLA on floor than last week – the Bruins more solid landings and seemed more comfortable overall. Arizona had another very good beam rotation.
Rotation 4: UCLA beam, Arizona floor
Frazier (UCLA): switch leap to straddle jump, front aerial, balance check, she repeats it, front aerial, small hesitation to back tuck, wobble; the judges may not give her the connection, full turn, side aerial to beat jump, front full twist dismount, step forward. Not as solid as last week. 9.600
Horton (Arizona): 1.5 twist to front full, good landing, front full twist to front pike, another solid landing, slightly short leaps, Rudi, low chest but good lounge. 9.775
Poston (UCLA): beat jump with straddle jump 3/4, balance check, BHS + BHS + LOSO, full turn, 1.5 twist dismount, she fights for the landing, hop back. 9.725
Nosek (Arizona): double pike, clean landing, front layout to front full twist, a bit overrotated, double tuck, good landing. Very good routine! 9.800
Esparza (UCLA): full turn, BHS + LOSO, switch leap to straddle quarter, front aerial to beat jump, everything is really solid, side aerial to full twist dismount, stuck. Wow! 9.900
Orman (Arizona): front layout to Rudi, nice leaps, double pike, slightly overrotated. 9.800
Dennis (UCLA): full turn, BHS + LOSO, solid, switch leap to switch leap half, big wobble, beat jump, 1.5 twist dismount, hop forward. Nice to see Dennis back on beam using her arms! 9.800
Deets (Arizona): double tuck, a bit cowboyed in the air but clean landing, double pike, hop back before the lounge, it was a bit underrotated, front layout to front full twist, good landing. 9.800
Campbell (UCLA): double wolf turn, BHS + LOSO, solid, switch leap half, switch leap to leap jump, cartwheel to gainer full off the side of the beam, stuck. Great routine! 9.925
Castles (Arizona): 2.5 twist to punch front, pretty good landing, 1.5 twist to double twist, much better landing than last week, beautiful leaps. My favorite floor routine of the year so far! 9.875
Sakti (UCLA): LOSO + LOSO, such amplitude, switch leap to leap jump, solid, full turn, side somi, side aerial to back full twist, stuck. Great routine! 9.950
Hargrove (Arizona): full-in, big and with a great landing, half twist to front full twist, another solid landing, good leaps, double tuck, a bit overrotated. 9.900
Shapiro (UCLA, exh.): BHS + BHS + … and she’s off. She goes again: BHS + BHS + LOSO, solid, switch leap to short leap jump to ever shorter leap jump to big wobble, full turn, balance check, cartwheel to tucked gainer.
Barile (Arizona, exh.): 2.5 twist, overrotated, full turn with the leg at 180 degrees to Memmel, switch ring a tad short to good switch leap half, front full twist, short and fall.
FINAL: UCLA 196.750; Arizona 195.050
This was a much improved performance for UCLA compared to last week, although the Bruins left a few tenths on the competition floor, on bars and vault in particular. Arizona will be a bit disappointed after a stronger performance last week, but the good news is that the freshmen are looking fantastic.
Live blog by Talitha Ilacqua
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