This is Temple’s first year in the EAGL, and it’s super exciting to see the Owls navigate matchups with their new conferencemates. The Owls are technically capable of contending with the rest of the conference, but they’ll have to overcome inconsistency on bars and particularly beam. Look out for transfer Julianna Roland, who hasn’t missed a routine yet this season, as well as star junior Ariana Castrence, who is still working back to full strenghth after an interrupted preseason but remains one of the conference’s greatest weapons on the leg events.
New Hampshire dropped its home opener to a surprisingly strong North Carolina last weekend, but produced a robust team total anyway. The Wildcats’ lineups pivot around sophomore all arounders Robyn Kelley and Kylie Gorgenyi while senior star Lauren Diggan is easing back in after a 2020 Achilles tear.
Rotation 1: UNH vault, Temple bars
Graver (UNH): FTY aggressively piked down with leg separation. 9.6
Edwards (TU): We joined her routine halfway to see a double lay with a step back. 9.575
McDonald (UNH) Tucked Yurchenko arabian with two big steps forward. 9.5
Oster (TU): Blind, arches her back and falls over the other side of the bar but recasts without falling. Okay bail, shy on a cast handstand, blind full double back stuck and pretty. 9.225
DeVincenzo (UNH): Solid FTY, a bit pikey with a big step but a much more serious vault than the last two. 9.7
Smith (TU): Falls on a release, I think Tkachev. Oh, Ray in replay. Bail okay, pretty cast handstands, legs apart in a blind full to double back with chest way low and two steps forward. 8.375
Diggan (UNH): FTY with a medium hop. Great recovery from a horrible ankle-cruncher last week. 9.725
Gray (TU): Blind full to Gienger, pretty but too far from the bar and falls. Catches it on the second try with some leg form, short on the bail, blind full double back stuck. 9.175
Kelley (UNH): Pretty FTY, fairly open hips with a big step back. 9.825
Whalen (TU): Leg separation on her bail, gorgeous Tkachev, FTDB very low with two steps. 9.575
Gorgenyi (UNH): Very serious FTY with a medium step back. 9.85
Castrence (TU): Blind full to Tkachev, great, bail, double lay a bit whippy but good with a hop in place. 9.8
After 1: New Hampshire 48.700, Temple 47.350
So much for trying not to count falls. Oopsie.
48.700 is a marginal improvement over what New Hampshire produced last week on vault.
Rotation 2:
Schugman (TU): Yurchenko half, twisted really late which gave it a cool aesthetic. Tiny hop in place. Good start! 9.625
Kelley (UNH): Over on her first handstand, bunch of empty swings before she casts back up. Toe on to Gienger, drops off onto her back. Over on another handstand, this is going to be a rough score. Solid bail, blind full and bails out of her dismount, just a tuck flyaway. Just one fall in the end but those handstands really got her. 7.075
Gray (TU): Okay full, not a ton of amplitude and piked down aggressively but stuck. 9.6
DeVincenzo (UNH): Great first handstand, Maloney to Pak shapey with leg separation but lots of air, double layout with leg sep and stuck. 9.55
Edwards (TU): Another lowish vault with a strong landing. Piked in the air on her FTY but strong landing. 9.775
Lui (UNH): Maloney, toe on to bail with leg sep. Blind full with leg separation to back tuck. 9.75
Roland (TU): The best technical vaulter of this meet and it isn’t close. Just anatomically a much better FTY than we’ve gotten to see so far today, with a little hop in place. 9.775
Hampford (UNH): Missed the first handstand, blind to Jaeger too far and falls. Will be counted regardless after the Kelley fiasco. Repeats it and falls again. Maybe not, idk. Overshoot, blind full double back with a hop forward. 8.35
Castrence (TU): Big FTY with a big hop back. She just goes so FAST. 9.775
Diggan (UNH): The senior is who you want in this situation. Hop full with leg sep to Geinger, blind to straddle back, double layout piked but stuck-ish with an arm swing. 9.8
Brooks (TU): Fall to her knees on her FTY. 8.925
Gorgenyi (UNH): Good Jaeger, bail to toe shoot, FTDB with a medium hop. 9.825
After 2: New Hampshire 95.975, Temple 95.800
Actually pretty even now after both teams had an argument with the bars. Watching Alaska transfer Kenadi Brown do a pretty good bars set in exhibition for a 9.775. She’s coming off a wacky foot surgery – sounds like one of her metatarsal bones died – so good for her.
Rotation 3: UNH beam, Temple bars
Gorgenyi (UNH): Full turn, BHS LOSO with bent knees and falls. Side straddle 1/2, side aerial, straddle to straddle 3/4. Oh, I remember this routine, she’s collecting the full set. Gainer pike with a step back. 9.05
Edwards (TU): Front double full, rotating into the ground with a cross step. Switch side Popa wolf full, okay on the rotation, 1.5 front lay very close to the line but stays in. 9.825
Baddick (UNH): Full turn, punch front, BHS LOSO with some amount of arm swinging but hangs onto it. Punch front full with a medium hop. 9.6
Schugman (TU): One and a half front full, a bit bouncy. Switch side Popa, double pike and steps her foot in front.
DeVincenzo (UNH): BHS LOSO, touch of knees but aggressive and solidly on the beam. Switch straddle 1/4, iffy splits, bend check on her kickover front but gets it back fast, one and a half twist with leg sep and a hop forward. 9.6
Donabedian (TU): Rudi LOSO pretty, very minor front foot pivot but lots of panache. Y turn, switch ring to Ferrari with slightly iffy front leg positions, front double full solid. 9.85
Worthington (UNH): I cursed her last week so this week I have NOTHING to say. Full turn, side aerial BHS gorgeous, cat leap switch side 1/4. Cat leap side aerial back full. GOOD. 9.85
Oster (TU): Wolf 3/2, slightly ambiguous rotation, front through double back with a hop-lunge situation. Switch ring switch half, not sure if her splits were quite there, double pike behind a bunch of people so I don’t really know how good it was. 9.825
Kelley (UNH): Switch straddle quarter, kickover front, BHS one and a half twist with a cross step behind. Must have missed the acro series there. 9.75
Roland (TU): Double pike, great control, front lay front full gorgeous. Double back cowboyed but good lunge. Temple is putting together a SERIOUS floor lineup here. 9.875
Lui (UNH): Front aerial, missed the connection, BHS LOSO good. No problem. Not even sure those were meant to be connected in hindsight, the way she froze after the aerial made it seem like she was thinking of doing more. Side aerial, side somi, switch split. It’s funny that someone with such gorgeous splits goes to such lengths to not do dance difficulty. One and a half twist with a hop. 9.775
Leary (TU): Front lay to Rudi, bit of a bounce, switch side Popa. Little bounce into lunge from her double back. This is a RIDICULOUS floor lineup for the Owls. 9.875
After 3: Temple 145.050, New Hampshire 144.650
That was a HECK of a floor rotation. 49.25! Only fifteen other teams in the country have gone so high this year. Shaky but resilient beam lineup for New Hampshire, which has some work to do on floor now but might get some help since beam isn’t a very consistent for the Owls. Wins and losses really matter, since the EAGL awards a regular season championship.
Rotation 4: Temple beam, New Hampshire floor
Oster (TU): BHS LOSO, soft knees, split to tuck jump 1/1. Cat leap kickover front, check, beat jump to gainer full stuck. Efficient. 9.675
McDonald (UNH): Double pike, underrotated with a big step forward. Almost steps OOB in her front combo pass, chaotic turning leaps, Rudi to split jump is pretty good. 9.675
Newland (TU): Punch front tuck mount! Wow. BHS LOSO, knees but solid. Cat leap switch side, cat leap side somi back full off the side stuck. Good one. 9.65
Cucich (UNH): Returning from an ACL tear last year. Lands 90 degrees short on her double full and scoots it around, not what you like to see on a weak knee. Whip 1.5 twist, tour jete half split full split full with major split issues. Punch Rudi pretty good. 9.7
Donabedian (TU): Gorgeous, gorgeous mount choreo, full turn, front aerial BHS good. Cat leap side somi, good leaps, one and a half twist with a hop. She’s lovely and seems to have sorted out her competitive mindset this week, no problems at all. 9.8
Gorgenyi (UNH): Double pike, really good, hopped out of her front combo pass. People keep standing in front of leap passes, I have no idea what she just did. Shuffly Rudi. 9.85
Schugman (TU): Front aerial front aerial, tentative but I’d call it connected. Full turn with a minor lean. Cat leap side somi, low chest, good one and a half twist. 9.7
Hampford (UNH): Chest a bit low on her Rudi, switch half wolf 3/2 is an interesting combo. Front full Barani stuck.
Roland (TU): BHS LOSO, emphatic. She likes to really flick her wrists in her salute, it’s great. Cat leap side somi, switch to split to LOSO with iffy splits, one and a half twist with a hop forward. 9.725
Lui (UNH): Front double full, switch tour jete half, LOSO choreography to get her back tumbling requirement. Front lay to Rudi with major leg form but a solid landing. 9.775
Castrence (TU): Pressure here, the meet is pretty close. Full turn, BHS with one arm to LOSO, hip break. Split split 1/2 beat, split straddle 1/4 with another break, gainer front full deep but stuck. 9.7
Kelley (UNH): Front thru double back, deep with a step forward, I think that was a split full Popa Popa?? Double pike, shuffle back. 9.9 WHAT?
Tense moment waiting for the last couple scores here.
FINAL: UNH 193.675, Temple 193.650
I…. did not think New Hampshire was gonna win that. Um. To each their own, but in my mind Temple won. That last Kelley score is just silly with deductions on three different landings, and it certainly wasn’t a better floor routine than Roland.
Pleased with Alyssa Worthington’s win on beam. That was the routine of the meet for me, absolutely stone cold.
VT: Kylie Gorgenyi (UNH) 9.850
UB: Kylie Gorgenyi (UNH) 9.825
BB: Alyssa Worthington (UNH) 9.850
FX: Robyn Kelley (UNH) 9.900
AA: Kylie Gorgenyi (UNH) 38.575
Live blog by Rebecca Scally
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