The Mount: Week 9

Results

The Big Storyline: This was a big meet for both teams, with Minnesota’s 197.400 moving it up into fourth place in the overall standings. This was also a season high for Nebraska and its first time breaking 196 all season. Gopher freshman Mya Hooten stole the show with her floor routine, scoring not only her first perfect 10 but the first perfect 10 on floor in program history. 

Implications: Minnesota being able to score a mid-197 during a meet where it had relatively underwhelming performances on vault and bars goes a long way to show how solid the team is this year. Nebraska will also be thrilled with that performance, finally beginning to crack into score territory that is competitive with its conference counterparts. 

Records: Mya Hooten’s perfect 10 on floor is the first perfect 10 in program history. 

Recap

Records: Ariana Castrence’s 39.350 in the all around breaks her own Temple program record.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Anastasia Webb reached perfection on beam for the second time in her career. Webb achieved a perfect 10 during her freshman year on the apparatus as well, making it a full circle moment to capitalize her successful college career. Oklahoma was able to return athletes from injury just in-time for the postseason. Olivia Trautman added vault to her event repertoire and Carly Woodard returned to the beam lineup. Senior Karrie Thomas made her first appearance on floor since her freshman year at Maryland. The Sooners competed six 10.000 start values on vault. BYU had a solid showing on the road and had a season-best beam rotation. 

Implications: BYU is the favorite for the MRGC championship. This away score should help boost up its NQS and set them apart from the rest. The Cougars have the opportunity to continue breaking school records during the postseason. Adding Woodard and Trautman into lineups was important for Oklahoma as the team is looking to be among the final four competing for a national title. 

Records: BYU earned a season-best beam score with a 49.300. Elease Rollins scored a career high of a 9.925 on beam. Bell Johnson had a career best floor routine and earned her first share of an event title with a 9.925. Evy Schoepfer recorded career highs on beam and floor, scoring 9.950 and 9.925, respectively. Anastasia Webb achieved the second 10 on beam in her career.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 11 BYU at No. 2 Oklahoma 

Why You Should Make Time to Tune in: Oklahoma seems to have found its stride after some struggles with consistency early-on in the season. The Sooners moved up in the rankings with the NQS switch and mishaps by LSU within the past few weeks. However, the Sooners may not have this competition in the bag, as BYU is coming off a season-high score on floor with a 49.600. The Cougars have reached that 197.000 mark multiple times and could make this competition closer than expected should the Sooners have mistakes. Oklahoma saw the return of Ragan Smith and Olivia Trautman on bars, but have not seen them expand their repertoire to the leg events yet. Their returns could make a significant difference. 

Need More Proof? Carly Woodard is expected to make her return to the beam lineup for Oklahoma. Her presence and clean execution will play a large role in improving the Sooners total on beam. Abbey Miner-Alder had a 9.975 on floor last week and can help lead BYU to a higher scoring total than Oklahoma on the apparatus.

Recap

The Big Storyline: In its second home meet of the season, Air Force tied the season high it set in its first. Its bars and beam rotations were both season highs, while vault continued to drop a little over the past few meets.

Implications: A win over San Jose State might help to hold the Spartans off when they enter the NQS rankings next weekend, but Air Force will likely have to finally concede its long-held first place ranking in the MPSF.

Records: Briona Carswell’s 9.900 on beam tied her career high and was Air Force’s first 9.9-plus of the season.

Recap

The Big Storyline: It was the Maile O’Keefe show on Friday night, as she won three event titles and the all around while helping Utah finish off an undefeated Pac-12 season. O’Keefe barely missed a perfect score on beam for the second week in a row and third time in her career, but was able to notch a new career high in the all around. Oregon State did get a pair of event winners, with Kaitlyn Yanish taking the floor title and Sydney Gonzales tying for the title on vault.

Implications: Utah clinched the Pac-12 regular season title with the win while Oregon State is currently 2-4 in conference action with a tentative meet against Stanford remaining next week. The Beavers will likely finish fifth in the conference regular season standings.

Records: In addition to her new all around career high, O’Keefe set a new best on bars and tied her career high on vault.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Arkansas set another program record score and topped its performance from last week. The Razorbacks were led by all arounder Kennedy Hambrick’s impressive performance—the junior went 9.900 or better on every event. Auburn didn’t, but it earned a season-best score nevertheless. Meredith Sylvia had a gorgeous routine on beam, and Derrian Gobourne was just shy of perfection yet again on floor. 

Implications: Arkansas will make it to the night session of the SEC championship. This is a huge accomplishment in a competitive conference and is a stepping stone to reaching nationals for the first time since 2012. Auburn might be one of the most improved teams from the start of the season. The Tigers dealt with some injuries and inexperience early-on but have excelled over the past few weeks. Expect a stronger campaign from the program next season with more experienced routines, a COVID sixth-year for Drew Watson and the expected addition of U.S. National Team member Sunisa Lee. 

Records: Arkansas set a new program record with a 197.425. Its bar rotation went 49.425, which is the sixth-best in program history and the highest mark achieved on the road. Jensen Scalzo recorded a career high 9.925 on bars. Bailey Lovett had a career high 9.950 on beam.

Recap

The Big Storyline: LSU grabbed the win on senior night with two perfect 10s. Kiya Johnson competed on floor for the first time since week three and earned her second 10 of the year on the apparatus. Haleigh Bryant scored her first perfect score with her front handspring pike half vault. LSU had its second highest score of the year, which will factor in nicely into its NQS. Missouri went above 196 for the fourth consecutive week and had an excellent 49.425 on beam. Schreiber, Schaffer and Marshall all scored 9.900-plus. 

Implications:  LSU’s vault and floor rotations are some of the best in the country. However, bars and beam have been question marks throughout the season. LSU’s postseason result will depend on how the team performs on its weaker two apparatuses. Kamryn Ryan stuck a Yurchenko 1.5 in exhibition, so keep an eye out for her potentially making the competition lineup for SECs. Missouri has displayed improvements over the course of the season. Expect it to come out stronger next year with an experienced Amaya Marshall and Jena Swanson alongside a healthy Helen Hu. 

Records: Haleigh Bryant scored a career best 10.0 on vault. Sienna Schreiber scored a career high 9.975 on beam.

Recap

The Big Storyline: A rocky start on bars and a warm-up injury to the top all-arounder in the country, Trinity Thomas, wasn’t enough to rattle the No.1 team from finishing the regular season undefeated. Alabama had a distinguished lead, but bars, beam and floor errors gave valuable tenths away. The Gators made a strong comeback after it tied its lowest event total score on bars by focusing on clean execution for the remainder of the competition. Florida was able to clinch the meet in the last rotation making them the lone SEC regular season champions. This is the Gators second consecutive undefeated regular-season.

Implications: Florida displayed grit and fight all the way through the competition. The Gators were tested early when Trinity Thomas injured both ankles in warmups and was pulled from the lineups as a precaution. But the team is one of the most prepared in the country and was able to sub athletes into each lineups. A healthy Thomas will be an important factor for postseason. Alabama has struggled with controlling landings on floor in 2021. If it wants to keep up with the Gators at SECs or even nationals, these landings will need to be fixed for the postseason. The all around title at nationals will be up for grabs, and Luisa Blanco shouldn’t be counted out. Blanco has had four stellar performances in a row and is a real contender for individual titles. 

Records: Shania Adams had a career high 9.925 on bars.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 1 Florida at No. 6 Alabama

Why You Should Cancel Plans for It: This SEC dual is the most anticipated competition of the weekend. Florida is coming off an NCAA-best score against Auburn. At its best the Gators might be unbeatable, but anything can happen on any given day. The Crimson Tide is on a hot streak in the SEC and could threaten Florida’s undefeated regular season. Trinity Thomas has hit perfection for the Gators multiple times this season and is a favorite for the all around title, but Alabama sophomore Luisa Blanco has produced career best scores in her all around campaign over the past two weeks. 

What We’re Watching: Florida clinched a share of the SEC regular season title last weekend, but Alabama could claim the other half of that title with a win this weekend. 

What Else You Should Know Before Tuning In: Florida is ranked No. 1 on every event with the switch to NQS rankings. This is the first time a team has topped every event in a single week since 2017. Sydney Johnson-Scharpf returned to training for Florida this week after a two week absence due to COVID-19 protocols. It is unknown if she’ll see action this weekend. Alabama will be celebrating senior night and honoring one of the program’s best in Lexi Graber. Graber has a stellar vault and floor routine that could be highlights of the meet. Alonza Klopfer is the other senior on the 2021 team and has one of the best lead-off routines in the country. 

Recap

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 19 Illinois at No. 17 Iowa 

Why You Should Clear Space on Your DVR: Verrrry verrrrry interesting. Here we have the two teams most readily positioned to sneak up and surprise Minnesota or Michigan if they make any major mistakes at the conference championship. Both Illinois and Iowa have been steady this year: Illinois has improved on its previous outing in all but one meet, and Iowa has had only one miss all year. Both teams nabbed spots in the conference championship headline session at Big Fives and are capable of a mid-196. Illinois would love to drop a 196.075 from its NQS, and Iowa will want to at least top its second-best home score, a 196.775. That said, the Hawkeyes almost certainly have a 197 in the back of their minds on senior night. Speaking of, will we see a Clair Kaji 10.0?

You Can Fast Forward, but not Through This: Iowa is the No. 2 floor team in the country going into this one. We talk about its choreography a lot, but it has top-notch tumbling, too. Bridget Killian does an outstanding triple full and JerQuavia Henderson has a massive full-in. Illinois will be at its peak in the fourth rotation, too. The Illini are No. 15 on beam, headlined by Shaylah Scott and Mia Takekawa.

Results

Recap

The Big Storyline: After trailing through one rotation, California posted school records on back-to-back events to surge to a historic win over visiting UCLA. Emi Watterson notched her first career perfect 10 on bars in only her second bar routine of the season to lead the Golden Bears to a massive 49.825 on the event that ties the NCAA record on bars (with UCLA from 2004). Watterson also won the beam title en route to California posting a school record 49.500 before matching that number on floor to close the meet. Moments before Watterson’s perfect routine, Chae Campbell stuck her Yurchenko full on vault to notch a perfect score of her own and lead the Bruins while taking the all around title by a narrow 0.025 margin over California’s Nevaeh DeSouza.

Implications: California now sits alone in second in the Pac-12 regular season standings with one loss and only Washington remaining on the schedule before the conference championship meet. The Golden Bears will also likely continue to surge in the rankings. UCLA will finish third in the regular season Pac-12 standings.

Records: In addition to the various records mentioned above, Campbell set a new career high with her all around total while California becomes the 14th school in NCAA history to hit 198.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 10 UCLA at No. 9 California

Why You Should Clear Space on Your DVR: California and UCLA both enter this weekend with one loss in Pac-12 conference competition, meaning only the winner stays in the hunt for the regular season championship should Utah stumble in its final conference matchup. The Golden Bears and Bruins are both in unfamiliar territory, however, with Arizona State ranking second in the conference ahead of both teams, so watch both California and UCLA to be hunting down some big scores and look to jump the Sun Devils in the rankings.

You Can Fast Forward, but not Through This: Make sure not to miss UCLA’s floor rotation, headlined by viral routines from Nia Dennis and Margzetta Frazier, as well as an equally impressive set from freshman Chae Campbell. Bars is the highlight event for California, where five lineup regulars have been over 9.900 this season, including freshman Andi Li’s set that is tied for the team’s highest bars score.

Recap

The Big Storyline: In a much closer meet than anticipated, Arizona State was able to edge rival Arizona by the slimmest of margins. The Sun Devils trailed headed into the final rotation after counting a fall on beam, but tied their season high on floor to defeat the Wildcats by 0.025. However, Arizona’s ability to put up a good fight was rewarded with a new season high, led by Jessica Castles’ winning beam routine in the final rotation.

Implications: The Wildcats finish winless in the Pac-12 conference this season while the Sun Devils end conference action with a 4-3 record, likely good for fourth.

Records: This is Arizona State’s sixth-straight win against in-state rival Arizona.

Results

The Big Storyline: For Air Force, a bars collapse led to disappointment on the road in Michigan, but there was one major highlight: Senior Tyler Davis returned to lineups, competing bars after a seven-meet absence. Great vault and floor rotations highlighted this meet, with floor in particular coming in at a season high of 48.950.

Implications: Air Force remains a comfortable fourth place in USAG rankings, well clear of Centenary but with no particular hope of catching Texas Woman’s in third place.

Recap

The Big Storyline: George Washington came just shy of its season high score from last week, but it was still enough to finish ahead of Towson for the second time this weekend.

Implications: George Washington finally has enough scores for an NQS and sits at No. 46 in the country and No. 7 in the EAGL. The Colonials still have two low scores to drop and three more chances to do it. Towson’s score here was not high enough to count toward its NQS, but the Tigers still sit in a good regionals position with three meets left to go.

Records: Emerson Hurst’s 9.975 on beam is a Towson program record.

Results

Records: This is a program record total for the Wolverines, who become the 15th team in NCAA history to notch a 198. The 49.600 on bars is fourth in program history and the 49.500 ties for third on beam. Hannah Joyner’s 9.950 on beam is a program record for Rutgers.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Most fans were watching Oklahoma at this Metroplex rematch, but two USAG teams at this meet were also under pressure as postseason looms. For Texas Woman’s, it was a disappointment on senior night: Four misses on bars added up to a score that the Pioneers can’t count toward their NQS. Centenary, on the other hand, revived happy memories of its last meeting against these two with a second 189-plus of the season.

Implications: Texas Woman’s dropped one spot in USAG standings as former No. 3 Lindenwood rocketed to the top, but even with a great meet, the Pioneers couldn’t have done a great deal about it—Lindenwood’s NQS drop score was just so low. Centenary remains the lowest-ranked team with a NQS, but eventually the rest of Division III will reach the rankings.

Controversies: Things stayed fairly calm on the USAG side, but questions were raised about the validity of Anastasia Webb’s vault 10.0.

Results

The Big Storyline: With a 193.000 to drop in NQS and a road meet coming up, we knew Lindenwood had substantial upside at this meet, and the Lions took advantage in a big way with a season high road score. Great bars were the key at this meet—a 49.100 led by Courtney Mitchell’s 9.900 was a team season high.

Implications: Lindenwood leapt to the front of the pack in USAG with a lead of about three tenths over SEMO, but it wasn’t able to reclaim the top ranking in the MIC as Illinois State registered a monster team score on senior night.

Records: Mitchell’s 9.900 on bars is a career high.

Recap

The Big Storyline: A season high score of 195.400 on senior day gave Temple its first win of the season over conference-mate LIU. The Owls were just 0.025 shy of tying the floor record, and Ariana Castrence was just 0.025 away from tying her own program all around record from Friday. LIU was missing several key gymnasts but still managed to set season high (and program record) scores on vault and floor.

Implications: Despite a season high, Temple will move down two spots to No. 41, due to being passed by a few teams with lower scores to drop. The Owls still have three meets left, so they have an outside shot at the top 36.

Recap

The Big Storyline: It was the Lynnzee Brown show in Devner’s home finale as the senior had several near-perfect routines to lead the Pioneers to an easy victory over visiting Southern Utah and Utah State. Freshman Rylie Mundell captured the beam title to pair with Brown in the Pioneers’ sweep of the meet and posting a new season high as a team. Utah State also performed well, taking second place with a season high, while Southern Utah stumbled and finished in last place, posting its second-worst score of the season.

Implications: Denver will move up two spots in the rankings to 11th and rank second among Big 12 teams. Utah State will maintain its national standing while Southern Utah will slide down a few places.

Records: Brown’s all around total is a career high and program record for Denver. The Pioneers also set a new program record on bars with a total of 49.625.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 15 Southern Utah vs. No. 20 Utah State at No. 13 Denver

Why You Should Make Time to Tune in: This could be one of the most exciting meets of the weekend. Southern Utah set a new record with a program high score two weeks ago against Utah State. The Thunderbirds struggled in their competition last week, but expect them to come out fired up in Denver as they search for a solid away score to boost their NQS. Hannah Nipp was absent in the last competition, but if she returns to lineups, her bars, beam and floor scores will help boost the Thunderbirds. Southern Utah’s highest score this season is just shy of three tenths higher than Denver’s, so the win is not at all out-of-reach. Denver has not hit its potential yet this season partly due to athlete contact tracing absences. However, if the Pioneers want to become a real threat to Oklahoma at the conference championship, they need to start pulling things together now. Utah State is coming off of two solid meets and should continue its campaign to break program records and qualify for regionals. 

Need More Proof? Denver’s Lynnzee Brown is having a stellar comeback season after tearing her Achilles in 2020. The senior has been just shy of perfection on vault and floor. Denver’s freshman class is one of the best in the country, and now that they have all returned from COVID-19 protocols, their routines will be key in leading the Pioneers to a win. Shylen Murakami had an uncharacteristic fall for Southern Utah last week on bars, but she has some of the best lines in the country on the apparatus. Karley McClain can put up solid-scores on all four and challenge for the all around title, and Rebecca Wells had a career best night for Utah State last week, scoring a 9.800 or better on all three of her events. 

Results