This meet is usually exciting, but its importance this year has been eclipsed by outside circumstances. First, Iowa State withdrew from the meet due to COVID-19 contact tracing. (No athletes have tested positive, according to a source inside the program.) Then bizarrely cold weather struck Texas, resulting in dangerously icy conditions and meaning that this meet is in danger of not occurring at all.
If it does go forward, most fans will be watching Oklahoma. The defending champions have struggled a little so far in 2021, counting falls several weeks in a row on beam and struggling to string together a convincing floor lineup, but they broke through last week at Denver and produced the second-highest team score of the 2021 season. The big question now is whether that result is replicable for Oklahoma.
Texas Woman’s also had a breakthrough last week, scoring its first 195-plus mark of the 2021 season. All arounder Isabel Goyco and defending MIC Newcomer of the Week Maddie Gose are the names to know. Centenary is still finding its feet, having had its first meet only last weekend, but it has lots of potential this year. The core of this team is three gymnasts hilariously all named Kendall (Huff, Knaps and Sanders). If someone named Kendall is doing gymnastics, you’ll want to watch.
Looks like no Ragan Smith tonight in Oklahoma’s lineups, I’ve heard she’s in a boot but the disco ball lighting is so confusing I can’t personally confirm. There is also ZERO social distancing in the lower bowl of the arena, which is worrying.
Rotation 1: OU VT, TWU BB, CC FX
LaPinta (OU): FTY, on the lower side and pikey with low chest and a hop. 9.8
Stern (OU): One and a half, her usual leg separation and a hop. 9.925
LeVasseur (OU): High one and a half with a medium hop forward. 9.925
Webb (OU): Tiny hop in place on her 1.5. Well, that got a 10, whatever. You can get away with murder in the name of pulling your heels together these days.
Schoepfer (OU): Tuck one and a half with some form in the air and a hop. 9.975 WHAT
Davis (OU): Finally getting to debut the 1.5 and stucks it cold, super impressive! Some leg separation on the table. 9.925
Woodring (TWU): BHS LOSO, leg up but settles quickly. Switch switch split with split issues and a bend check. Full turn, kickover front, one and a half with a scoot forward to salute. 9.475
Stuyniski (TWU): BHS back pike, L turn full turn super steady. Cat leap switch side, gainer full. Really good routine. 9.75
Goyco (TWU): Beat straddle 3/4, steps it around as though it were a full, BHS LOSO with a check. Switch switch half a touch short, punch front full stuck. 9.775
Bonzagni (TWU): Cat leap switch side, BHS LOSO with bent knees and a little check. Switch back tuck great, full turn, side aerial, tuck 1.5 with a hop. 9.725
Gose (TWU): Full turn, BHS LOSO, switch switch half good. Hitch kick side aerial, check, one and a half twist stuck. This is GOOD for the Pioneers. 9.75
Pierce (TWU): Switch split, soft back knee, cat leap kickover front with a lean. Full turn, punch front tuck full that she holds for a second before stepping to salute. 9.3 I must have missed something on her series which I didn’t see because I was too busy failing to ID Centenary gymnasts.
I have no idea who any Centenary gymnasts are, we have no IDs on the stream and no stated lineups and I tried to use last meet’s lineups but this is very different, so I’m not getting a ton 🙁
Jackson (CC): Double pike, rebound forward and may have put her hands down. Front full a bit deep, okay leaps, good combo pass to finish. 8.95
Harris (CC): Double back, single back tuck in choreography I guess, one and a half front lay, switch ring 1/2 split full. 9.55
Sanders (CC): Double pike with a step forward, Rudi to tuck jump with a bit of form. Switch side Popa, front lay front full whippy. 9.7!
After 1: OU 49.750, TWU 48.475, CC 47.700
Scores are fake and numbers don’t matter. Great beam rotation for the Pioneers!
Rotation 2: CC VT, OU UB, TWU FX
I’m not likely to get a ton of Centenary vault here since vault is running so fast and I won’t have time to compare faces with the roster. I’ll do my best.
Stiff (CC): Yurchenko lay okay with two steps back.
Johnson (CC): Yurchenko lay pikey with a big hop back.
Thomas (OU): Missed the high bar bit, okay bail with slightly closed hips, double lay stuck-ish. 9.875
LeVasseur (OU): Maloney with leg sep to super clean bailWay short on her double lay with a big hop forward. 9.775
Draper (OU): Okay pike Jaeger, imprecise handstands, leg separation on her pak. Late blind to stuck double back with leg separation. 9.9
Webb (OU): Short on first handstand, usual kinda club-footed and slow Pak, okay van Leeuwen, blind to double front half out with her weight WAY back and two steps. 9.8
Deniz (OU): Okay Ray, short on handstand, solid bail. Toe blind full awkward to double back stuck and she SCREAMS. 9.9
Davis (OU): Late blind as usual to Jaeger, handstands borderline, legs apart on her low bar half turn, blind to front giant to double front super cowboyed and a big step forward.
Stuyniski (TWU): Double pike short with a rebound forward. 9.7
Woodring (TWU): Double pike, super high with a big bounce back. Tour jete half Popa, front full front lay great. Double back to her knees. Not clear if they actually touched but it looked painful either way. 9.625 I guess they’re fine with it
Gose (TWU): Double pike with a big hop back, narrowly avoided going out of bounds, rotation issue on her leaps, one and a half front lay really good. Rudi awkward, bit of a scoot back. 9.625
Goyco (TWU): Double pike, great control, solid leaps, front lay front full. SHE HAS NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP IN HER MUSIC. Solid double back. Really good one. 9.85
After 2: OU 99.100, TWU 97.100, CC 95.975
Rotation 3: TWU VT, CC UB, OU BB
Johnson (TWU): FTY piked down with a bit of leg separation and a hop. 9.75
Griffith (TWU): Bailed on her vault, ran off the runway before she touched the table so she gets a redo. FTY, comes in high on the table, stuck with chest down. 9.625
King (TWU): Nice FTY, piked down a touch but very comparable to some you’d see at good DI teams and stuck! 9.825
Woodring (TWU): Bit of leg form coming down on her FTY but near stick, almost instantaneous step to salute. 9.9!!
Knaps (CC): Blind to Gienger, high and pretty clean! Some back arch on handstands, bail, missed a handstand, blind full double back and I couldn’t see her feet. 9.675
Stiff (CC): Blind to Tkachev, falls to her knees. Overshoot OK, blind full double back underrotated with a big step forward. 8.7
Sanders (CC): Shy on first handstand, messy Gienger to solid overshoot. Blind full double back with a step back. Pretty robust. 9.575
Baumgartner (CC): Missed first handstand, clear hip to Gienger okay. Blind full double back good. 9.4
Ponder (CC): Full turn to Tkachev with flexed feet, straddle back misses handstand, pikey double layout with a hop back. 9.7
Dunn (OU): Super solid triple series, full turn, gainer full stuck. 9.875
Schoepfer (OU): BHS LOSO, some knee form but solid. Cat leap front aerial, one and a half stuck. Great! 9.9
Deniz (OU): Side aerial BHS clean, switch split short of positions. Cat leap side aerial back full. 9.875
Davis (OU): Two different people are doing beam in two different streams I’m so confused. Side aerial, double full dismount with a step back. 9.85
Thomas (OU): BHS LOSO good. Switch switch split, iffy splits. Side aerial back full great. 9.95
Webb (OU): Full turn, BHS LOSO steady. Cat leap front aerial with bent knees, side aerial back full stuck. 9.975
After 3: OU 148.675, TWU 146.050, CC 143.600
Oklahoma clean through the fear event and now a 198 is within reach.
Rotation 4: TWU UB, CC BB, OU FX
Stuyniski (TWU): Just saw a solid blind full double back with a hop. 9.8!
King (TWU): Feet slightly flexed on her Jaeger, good bail, missed a handstand on the high bar, blind full double back with a tiny scoot back. 9.725
Bonzagni (TWU): Blind pretty to Jaeger, slightly overrotated and falls. Blind full double back with a hop. She’s so gorgeous when she’s on and consistency is coming with time. 8.95
Johnson (TWU): Clear hip to Tkachev, messy feet, bit of leg sep into the bail. Big hop back on dismount. 9.65
Griffith (TWU): Blind to Jaeger, messy feet and caught SUPER close, needed an extra swing. Okay bail, blind full double back little step. 9.1
Baumgartner (CC): Tuned in halfway for a switch with major split issues to tuck 3/4, I think that was a front full dismount nearly stuck. 8.6
Tripp (CC): Straddle 3/4, bend check, barely hangs on. Gainer pike with a step. 8.6
Stephens (CC): Front aerial to beat, pretty handstand choreography. BHS LOSO solid! I think that was a front tuck full, good. 9.65
Sanders (CC): Full turn, BHS LOSO with leg form and a smaller leg-up check. Split LOSO, bent knees, punch front full with a step forward.
Draper (OU): Double pike overpowered with a big step back. Bouncy again on her combo pass, switch half Popa with a little hop, whip half Rudi with soft knees. 9.9 I refuse
Schoepfer (OU): Okay double back, one and a half front lay with leg form. Switch ring wolf full awkward, double pike good. 9.875
LaPinta (OU): This one has caused some drama this year. Triple twist with leg form but landed okay. Tour jete half split full underrotated and hopped around, double back cowboyed and with a big step back. 9.875
Johnson (OU): Front lay to Rudi, slightly overpowered. Scoot back on her double back. Switch half wolf full okay, apparently that’s the whole routine? 9.675
Deniz (OU): Two and a half, awkward, switch ring tour jete half underrotated with a knee swivel around. Rudi to split, major travel forward on that jump. 9.9 ok
Webb (OU): Front double full, bounce forward. One and a half front full pretty with another bounce into lunge. Creepy lady voice in her music. Tour jete half with flexed front foot and a hop 1/2 out, maybe she meant it to be a full but it was not. Rudi to arch jump okay. 9.95 nope. She should have lost a tenth off of her SV for the leap issue.
FINAL: Oklahoma 198.175, Texas Woman’s 194.050, Centenary 189.875
That was possibly the most boring meet I’ve ever live blogged. IOWA STATE I MISS YOU.
Highest score in the country from Oklahoma, I guess… It was a fine meet, but nothing special. There are still no actual good floor routines at Oklahoma and someday that’s going to become an actual problem. TWU lost a bit of ground from last week but showed some depth and some great technique, especially on beam which was excellent. Centenary added more than a point to last week’s total!
VT: Anastasia Webb (OU) 10.000
UB: Vanessa Denis, Jordan Draper (OU) 9.900
BB: Anastasia Webb (OU) 9.975
FX: Anastasia Webb (OU) 9.950
AA: Anastasia Webb (OU) 39.725
Live blog by Rebecca Scally
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