The oh-help-they’re-both-called-Tigers-how-do-I-distinguish-clearly-between-them-in-text dual is an annual, annoying institution in the SEC. This year, it’s made more exciting by the fact that this meet was delayed a week due to COVID contact-tracing protocols. It’s unclear whether LSU has been able to train as usual through the break (one rather hopes not), but there’s a chance we’ll see some stamina or general preparedness issues as a result of the break.
Auburn has been shorthanded for a couple of weeks and will be pleased this week to welcome back Aria Brusch on bars and Cassie Stevens on the other three events. The Tigers have sufficient depth but have substantial cleaning work to do to improve this season.
LSU has changed its lineups like three times tonight, but what’s clear is that Kiya Johnson
Rotation 1: Auburn vault, LSU bars
Pa. Smith (Auburn): Okay FTY, piked down but stuck. Good start. 9.775
Johnson (LSU): Maloney to bail, okay, minor leg separations. Toe on, double back with a hop back. 9.9
Pi. Smith (Auburn): FTY, pretty flat with a big hop back. Soft knees visible in the replay. 9.725
Brock (LSU): Muscley first handstand, super late half turn to Tkachev with feet flexed, FTDB stuck. Not a natural bars gymnast but minimizes deductions for what it is. 9.875
Sabados (Auburn): FTY, much more dynamic than the other two and just a tiny scoot back. One leg bent on the table. 9.8
Dunne (LSU): Tkachev to Pak, missed a handstand on the high bar, double lay with flexed feet and bent knees stuck. 9.925…
Stevens (Auburn): Glad she’s back. Just a full today, medium hop back. 9.8
Bryant (LSU): Jaeger, awkward position in the air, arch on a handstand on the high bar, double lay with a bigger step back. 9.825
Watson (Auburn): Had a rough ride on her 1.5 so far in 2021 but this is a good one. High and dynamic with a medium hop. 9.875
Shchennikova (LSU): Ray with super bent arms to an archy and low Pak, my boyfriend just screamed, the usual shapey nightmare double lay with a fake stick and then a big step forward to salute. 9.825 is still kind of a joke but it’s a relief it’s not a 9.9.
Gobourne (Auburn): Step forward on her 1.5, she landed looking down which kind of forced her to step but it’s such a good vault. 9.9
Durante (LSU): Jaeger high and kind of awkwardly caught, Pak on the low bar to half turn, FTDB pretty with pointed toes and stuck. Based on how Shchennikova was scored this is an 11. 9.950
After 1: LSU 49.475 – Auburn 49.150
I’m really not sure how what I just watched was nearly 49.500. Just can’t process it. There are only three truly good routines there. That was, somehow, the second best bars lineup all year ?
Fine for Auburn. Technically nothing special but lots of little things cleaner than we’ve seen before.
Rotation 2: LSU vault. Auburn bars
Brock (LSU): Nice open hips on her FTY, medium hop back.
Sumner (AU): Toe on to Tkachev, okay, missed a handstand, clean Pak. Iffy on her half turn on the low bar, double layout with a bit of leg sep, double layout with an arm swing. 9.775
Shchennikova (LSU): One and a half, not the highest but good leg form, hop to the front and side.
Pi. Smith (AU): Maloney to Pak, good, double lay stuck. That was good! 9.925
Arenas (LSU): Tangible pop off the table in her FTY, leg separation in the air, stuck. 9.9
Sabados (AU): Archy catch on the Ray, much cleaner bail than I’ve seen from her in past weeks, one really muscley high bar handstands and DLO with every different kind of form you care to mention. 9.85
Ryan (LSU): Underrotated on her 1.5 and bounces back and to one side onto her butt. Didn’t look pleasant on the joints. 9.325
Stevens (AU): Toe on to Ray, flexed feet but clean otherwise, okay bail. Double layout with a bit of knees but stuck. 9.875
Johnson (LSU): Badly short on her DTY with a big step forward, avoided putting the back knee down, just kidding in replay she did touch the knee. Counting a fall. 9.7 THAT WAS A FALL THAT WAS A FALL THAT WAS A FALL
Asked and answered I guess https://t.co/6e3GM5ofpq pic.twitter.com/uuHcW0AV43
— Tracy (@TracyBsays) February 6, 2021
Brusch (AU): Tkachev good, missed her bar change but seemed normal, double lay good. Wow! Not shabby a couple weeks out from a shoulder injury. 9.9
Bryant (LSU): Pike 1/2 her usual pretty with a hop back. Sorry, I’m stuck on Kiya Johnson. 9.9
Gobourne (AU): Tkachev to Pak, clean, FTDB messy legs but stuck-ish. May have shuffled one foot but that’s panache. 9.9
After 2: LSU 98.675, Auburn 98.600
Auburn has cleaned up SO much in the last few weeks. This is still very much a team in transition, but last time I saw the Tigers they looked very scrappy. This is a MUCH, much cleaner team, and it’s not just because Stevens and Brusch are back.
Um, I don’t need to talk any more about LSU vault. You all saw that.
Rotation 3: Auburn beam, LSU floor
Watson (AU): Soft knees on BHS LOSO, check, cat leap side aerial good. Switch to straddle 1/4, missed the split badly on the switch, one and a half twist stuck. 9.85
Dean (LSU): Double pike, overrotated with a big step back but avoids going out, one and a half front lay with soft knees. Tour jete half split full, missed the splits, deep on her double back and pops onto her toes. 9.8
Oldham (AU): BHS LOSO, full turn, cat leap side aerial and misses the back foot, medium check. Cat leap switch side. One and a half twist with leg separation. 9.75
Campbell (LSU): Two and a half twist marginally controlled, okay landing on the double pike. Switch half Popa is GREAT, good positions and stuck. One and a half front lay with a cross step, somehow. 9.85
Pi. Smith (AU): BHS LOSO, good form, tentative and bounces off. Full turn, switch switch 1/2 split really pretty, love the needle scale. I forgot to write about the dismount but it was fine. 9.375
We got a long and scientifically tenuous discussion of LSU’s location trackers.
Shchennikova (LSU): Front double full, slightly awkward landing. Back 1.5 front full, switch ring switch half with front foot issues, Rudi to split. 9.925
Sylvia (AU): Full turn, front aerial BHS BHS. Switch to sheep, iffy but arrests with her arms, Korbut good, gainer full with crossed legs. 9.9
Ballard (LSU): Double layout, two-step lunge, one and a half front lay to stag really secure. Switch ring switch half, iffy splits, low on the double pike with chest down and a step forward. 9.825
McLaughlin (AU): BHS LOSO solid, switch straddle quarter, pretty positions. Side aerial to split, gainer pike stuck. SHARP. 9.925
Arenas (LSU): Front double full, slightly soft knees, front lay front full with leg sep. Switch half wolf full, had to yank her double pike around but made it. 9.875
Stevens (AU): BHS LOSO, pulls the front foot a bit but it’s good, cat leap switch ring with a lean, nails the Stevens, wolf turn and fumbles for the beam a bit with her foot but makes it. One and a half with a hop back. 9.85
Bryant (LSU): Double front, slightly awkward landing, but of a lean, FHS layout Rudi, had to add the FHS to be up to level which was a whole thing. Scooted the leap series around. Bad leg separation on her front double full. 9.925
After 3: LSU 148.075, Auburn 147.875
This is so close! Auburn’s mysterious sharpness carried over onto beam, where McLaughlin and Sylvia brought home a major total. Notably, no Derrian Gobourne on beam, though it’s not a massive surprise since she comes in and out of that event.
Glad to see Bryant’s SV issue resolved.
Rotation 4: LSU beam, Auburn floor.
Desiderio (LSU): Good leaps, BHS LOSO a bit low but super secure. Cat leap gainer full stuck. Really solid start. 9.9
Pi. Smith (AU): Floor debut in college! Front lay front full, switch half wolf full pretty good. Working the back flexibility into her low choreography, as she should. Tour jete full, tenuous rotation, double back with a step out of bounds. 9.675
Durante (LSU): Full turn, BHS LOSO very airy. Front aerial to split, off line and fights both in the middle and after the series. Switch straddle 1/4, side aerial back full stuck. 9.85
Oldham (AU): Wolf 3/2 okay, double pike with a bunch of steps out of bounds. Front one and a half front lay with leg separation, double back with chest down. 9.525
Bryant (LSU): Front aerial BHS, absorbs a minor off-line situation, switch straddle quarter, front tuck. Good leaps, full turn, slightly off, Rudi stuck. 9.9
Hollingsworth (AU): FULL OUT landed well. She’s had some landing struggles on that but today it was gorg. Switch half Popa, front thru double back with her heel on the line, don’t think there was a flag. Head judge raised her hand. 9.75
Dean (LSU): Side aerial BHS with a check, switch split with iffy splits. Solid rest of the routine that I totally forgot to write down. 9.875
Stevens (AU): Front lay Rudi, sort of piked down, Switch ring switch half, bit of feet, double back and just about keeps the front foot down. 9.9 at least the judges are feeling this way about both teams now…
Shchennikova (LSU): BHS LOSO, bit of a lean, adjustment on the Onodi. Switch to split iffy, lean on the front aerial, gainer full slightly on her toes. Three barely-checks gives judges a lot of wiggle room. 9.875
Watson (AU): Double pike, bit of a scoot back, pretty leaps. One and a half front lay super high and open, Double back, long lunge but keeps the front foot planted. 9.9
Campbell (LSU): Shaky on her acro series, front aerial sissone okay. Switch switch half with a lot of air, double full with a skip-hop situation backwards. 9.875
Gobourne (AU): Open double back, nailed the leaps, gorgeous combo pass, her hips are so open. Planted the double back. They just, just might go 10 for that and I would not be mad. 9.975
FINAL: LSU 197.550, Auburn 197.075
That was… not the score I would have given LSU, but fundamentally it was a fine meet. There’s reason to be concerned about Kiya Johnson’s already-tenuous Achilles, but the Tigers should also be very pleased by the development of athletes like Shchennikova and Brock to fill lineup spots in an unscary way.
I already tweeted my Auburn thoughts, so here they are.
I don't know if I remember a team making such a profound lineup-wide technical improvement in the space of a couple weeks as Auburn just did. That's the real takeaway for me.
— ❄️☃️Rebecca Scally☃️❄️ (@rebeccakscally) February 6, 2021
VT: Derrian Gobourne (AU), Alyona Shchennikova, Elena Arenas, Haleigh Bryant (LSU): 9.900
UB: Sami Durante (LSU) 9.950
BB: Gabby McLaughlin (AU) 9.925
FX: Derrian Gobourne (AU) 9.975
AA: Haleigh Bryant (LSU) 39.575
Live blog by Rebecca Scally
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crazy to me to see how different the commentary on Dunne’s bars score was compared to Spencer’s commentary on the balancebeamsituation. He said Dunne’s routine was the highlight and said she hit her dismount. Yes the score was maybe a tenth high, but the critique seemed very nit-picky here…
You know that it only counts as a fall if the gymnast shows *support* on the knees or hands, right? Brushing the mat with a knee or hand is not a fall.