Fantasy gym—like everything since March—is a little different this season. The official game isn’t running because of all of the uncertainty. We know a number of you are playing in private leagues, so Fantasy Central lives on!
We’re keeping the College Fantasy Gymnastics weekly cadence as our guide: As far as we’re concerned, the fantasy “week” begins with any Wednesday meets, and ends with Tuesday meets; that’s why you’ll find us here every Tuesday talking about “next week”.
Reminder: Alaska, Bridgeport, Brockport, Brown, Cornell, Cortland, Gustavus, Ithaca, Penn, Sac State, Southern Connecticut, UC Davis, Ursinus, West Chester and Yale are not competing this season.
Injury Updates
- Unknown: Mara Titarsolej – LIU – on crutches (3/9)
- Long Term: Aleka Tsiknias – Maryland – torn Achilles (3/13)
- Long Term: Jena Swanson – Missouri – torn ACL (3/13)
- Unknown: Gabrielle Diaz – N.C. State – on crutches (3/13)
COVID Schedule Changes
Remember that the MPSF has cancelled its official conference championship, but Air Force and San Jose State will still have a dual on Saturday, Mar. 20.
George Washington cancelled both of its meets last weekend due to a COVID case in the program but not among gymnasts. It hasn’t made a statement about the conference championship yet, but we can assume it will compete if at all possible.
Also, don’t forget William & Mary will not be competing this weekend and is ultimately finished with its season.
Deep Cuts for Deep Leagues in Week 11
Tips for those of you in leagues with 10-plus players, where you need to be a little more creative to fill out lineups; especially in SEC bye weeks.
Vault
Chloe Widner had a rough outing versus Oregon State but has two previous 9.875s here. With only three meets under her belt, we can assume she’s still settling into competition and will only improve in postseason play. Kiana Lewis has been steady in the second half of the season for West Virginia and just notched a 9.875. North Carolina’s Drew Aldridge has a few misses but has been on since mid-February.
Bars
Zaza Brovedani is missing again for Arizona; we’re not sure why at this point. Bowling Green’s Alexandra Folcher has two straight 9.900s on bars and only one real miss on the year. Rachel Decavitch posted a 9.900 last week and notched one last month as well.
Beam
Caroline Herry put up a 9.900 on beam; she started the year with four consecutive 9.800s and then had two rougher outings, but if you need a conference championships beamer, she might just be your ticket. Makayla Curtis had a career night last week with a 9.950 on beam. She has a lot of misses on the event, but two hits in a row. If you can afford a potential fall, she has a huge upside here.
Floor
Gayla Griswold scored a 9.900 for Lindenwood. She’s been steady all season but finally had a breakout moment. Ball State’s Claudia Goyco continues to be one of the best floor workers in the MAC. Conferencemate Jada Rondeau is anther strong floor option. Adeline Kenlin got her first floor competition routine under her belt for a 9.875; she was in Erin Castle‘s spot, and it seems fairly likely Kenlin will win the position again this week and compete in the all around at the conference meet.
Starts, Sits and Pickups for Week 11
Are you playing in a smaller league and still looking for advice about big names? Are you in a deep league but not sure what to do with that OU beam specialist? These tips are for you!
Vault
Trinity Thomas tweaked her ankle before Florida’s bye and missed its final regular season matchup; we’ve seen her training on Florida’s Instagram stories, and the SEC title will be hard fought, so there’s reason to believe she’ll be back in action this week. Reyna Guggino burst into Michigan’s lineup with a stuck Yurchenko 1.5; the six 10.0 start value lineup we saw last week (Heiskell, Wojcik, Wilson, Morrison, Brooks, Guggino) seems very likely to be the postseason six. Natalie Sadighi got a spot on vault over Maya Bordas last week. Bordas seemed a little off all day, with a 9.7 beam and fall on bars, so it’s possible she was just under the weather. Put Bordas in your Pac-12s lineup with caution; Sadighi scored well, and might win the spot again.
Bars
On the broadcast, we learned Audrey Davis had a mishap during warmups. It’s not clear how serious, but she did miss competition. Iowa State’s commentators said they hoped it wasn’t too serious. KJ Kindler may choose to sit her for conference championships as well, to give her ample time to heal before regionals. Consider her a full unknown at this point. Utah’s last bar spot is up for grabs: Alexia Burch has been pulled the past two weeks in favor of Lucy Stanhope and Jaedyn Rucker. So far none of the replacements have had a big hit. It’s possible we’ll see Burch back in action for the conference championship, but certainly no sure thing. Abby Beeston was mysteriously missing for BYU. We’re unclear on why.
Beam
We saw Gabby Perea exhibition beam for California last week. That lineup has been fairly solidified, though, so it’s unclear who she would replace if she broke into the top six. Perhaps Emi Watterson, who has been hit and miss? If you’re desperate for a new beamer, Perea is a fair pickup but not at all a sure thing. Minnesota is still figuring out its postseason six here. Lexi Montgomery and Emily Koch got spots over Ali Sonier and Abbie Nylin at Illinois last week. Jenny Hansen hasn’t quite figured out this puzzle yet, so who goes at the conference meet seems very up in the air. That said, Koch did nab a 9.925.
Floor
Utah continues to fiddle with its floor lineup; Jaylene Gilstrap is in and out, with Cristal Isa there in her stead the past two weeks. The spot seems very much like a game-time decision, so proceed with caution with either in this lineup. We can safely assume that Maile O’Keefe was being rested on floor last week and will be back. Oklahoma’s lineup has also been a touch chaotic. Vanessa Deniz was back in last week. We can assume that the plan is to have one or both of Olivia Trautman and Ragan Smith back in this lineup by nationals, but the timetable is unknown. Given that the Big 12 title should fairly easily be the Sooners’, it seems fair to guess that KJ Kindler won’t push either back quite yet, but she has been known to surprise us with lineups. Kiya Johnson was back in the all around two weeks ago for LSU; the Tigers want to do battle with Florida for the SEC crown, so expect her in the all around again this week.
Article by Emily Minehart with additional reporting from Elizabeth Grimsley
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