It’s fun to watch rankings change every week, but they only tell us so much about the status of a team. Which teams are on the rise and which are barely hanging on? Which ones have a competitive ranking by the grace of their RQS drop scores and which will pose a real threat in postseason? I’ll dig into the real dynamics of NCAA gymnastics in this biweekly column that’s part power ranking, part high school yearbook awards—all serious analysis.
Just kidding, almost zero serious analysis.
We’re getting to the point in the season where we’re just having the same arguments over and over, so I’ve tried to introduce some new teams to the biweekly nonsense. I’m not clear if that actually improves anything.
I’m starting to think that the problem with the gymternet is that we like to assume that we’ll all be friends just because we watch the same sport. Crash course in watching sports: that’s not how things work. Let’s just keep in mind that it’s okay to be sick of each other, OK?
Flames Emoji
We were worried what two weeks off with no training might do to Michigan. Turns out, a season high and a 10! I’m not sure if that’s a reflection of the fact that Michigan was physically well-prepared for the season or if Michigan is just too good.
On the Struggle Bus
I thought things couldn’t get any worse for Washington and then Skylar Killough-Wilhelm got hurt and lost her leg events. I don’t know if this is rock bottom for the Huskies, but I know it’s close e-freaking-nough that the whole coaching staff needs to go.
You’re Beautiful but Please Hit
To be clear, I’m not even clear if she was beautiful (though I strongly suspect so) but I THINK Southern Utah senior Molly Jozwiakowski finally threw her 10.0 SV tucked Tsuk one and a half vault this weekend after teasing me with it for several full years. I haven’t been able to track down footage (I’m mad about it), but she was put in the anchor position and registered a fall score, which sounds like the debut of a difficult vault with a front landing to me. If so, I’m very excited to see her hit the thing.
Why Is This Happening
How can an international athlete enter the country in the fall and chill for an entire semester and not be cleared by the NCAA? How??? I understand that the timeline was tight for Talia Folino (though Australians join in January ALL THE TIME for many different sports, so that’s barely an excuse), but I just can’t understand what happened to poor Mara Titarsolej.
Quietly Cruising
Towson broke 196 this week! And it totally looked like a 196 team, too! At a quick, sloppy tally I’d prefer you didn’t fact check, 13 Power 5 teams have a 2021 peak score lower than Towson’s, and that’s not even counting Stanford.
Next Week, I Swear
…..Stanford might not cancel a meet for the bajillionth week in a row?
Fam, if you’re going to cancel the season, just do it. We’re tired of the farce.
Was That Just A Fluke
Evy Schoepfer getting flashed 10s on vault isn’t a thing that’s going to keep happening, right?
Right?
Glad You’re Having Fun
Isabel Goyco’s floor music this year is immense, especially the piece she cuts to at around the one-minute mark. You’ll know it when you hear it.
I Don’t Know Who Needs to Hear This, But…
I got in trouble with Twitter for being too specific in this segment last time I wrote it, so let me go back to my usual vagueposting model:
It’s possible to have such a victim complex about your favorite team that you actually annoy people into hating your favorite team! 🙂
Fall of the Week
We’ve shouted this one out before, but Nebraska’s Kathryn Thaler really produced an all time great and picking something else would be a disservice to her excellence.
Article by Rebecca Scally
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