Unlike most conferences championships—which will have multiple sessions or byes—the Big 12 will name its winner after a standard four-event competition. Don’t assume the outcome is a foregone conclusion: Iowa State and West Virginia have given Oklahoma and Denver a run for their money at several points this season, and they’re looking stronger than ever. Even if there are no surprises in the final team rankings, all of the individual event titles are up for grabs. All around and vault are arguably the tightest races in the competition, with Oklahoma’s Anastasia Webb, Denver’s Lynnzee Brown and Iowa State’s Addy De Jesus all in contention for those titles.
The Sooners and Pioneers are locks for regionals and the Cyclones should advance barring disaster. The Mountaineers are firmly on the bubble but earned a season-high 196.100 last weekend. They will likely need a repeat performance (at least) to secure their postseason spot.
Also, ICYMI, Oklahoma senior Carly Woodard–who’s recently returned to action after an early-season ankle injury–has confirmed that she will return for fifth year.
https://twitter.com/OU_WGymnastics/status/1373046629700370434?s=20
It’s almost game time, friends!
https://twitter.com/BrooksAD/status/1373319042946187268?s=20
#LeoWatch
https://twitter.com/OU_WGymnastics/status/1373329202833977344?s=20
https://twitter.com/CycloneGYM/status/1373288486984425477?s=20
OK, wrestling is running late… And, despite what it says on the screen, it is *not* showing on either the app or ESPN News. Will start actually blogging as soon as the broadcast begins.
Rotation 1: Iowa State vault, Oklahoma bars, Denver beam, West Virginia floor
Turner (ISU): 9.800
Boychuk (ISU): 9.850
Hong (ISU): 9.875
Maxwell (ISU): Fantastic Y 1.5 with a small hop forward. 9.850
Steinmeyer (ISU): 9.900
De Jesus (ISU):Y 1.5 with a big hop forward. 9.850
Trautman (OU): 9.850
LeVasseur (OU): 9.900
Webb (OU): 9.900
Smith (OU): 9.900
Thomas (OU): Nice kch. Blind change to straddled Jaeger, slightly close, but nice. Good bail. DLO with chest down and has to step forward. 9.850
Davis (OU): Her usual giant piked Jaeger, a bit close on the catch. Gorgeous Pak. Huge double front stuck cold. Gorgeous routine. 9.950
Brown (DU): 9.875
Thompson (DU): 9.100
Schlottman (DU): Pretty full turn. Bhs loso; very slow and deliberate. Switch split to a very shy split half. Side aerial with a check. Bhs gainer full; staggered, but stuck. 9.800
Ruiz (DU): 9.875
Hutchinson (DU): Front toss to bhs with a slow connection. Switch leap to split jump, looked slightly under 180 from this angle. Front aerial to wolf, good. Cartwheel gainer full with a big hop forward. 9.750
Mabanta (DU): Straddle mount, pretty. Full wolf turn, well done. Bhs loso with a slight arm wave. Front aerial. Switch half to straddle jump to beat, beautiful. Side aerial to full. Landed out of screen, but let’s say she stuck.
Linnen (WVU): 9.850
Ki. Yancey (WVU): 9.850
Holmes-Hackerd (WVU): 9.800
Lewis (WVU): Strong double tuck to finish. Celebratory dance from the freshman. She’s definitely one to watch! 9.875
Combs (WVU): Overrotates her double pike, but stays in. Switch side to Popa, gorgeous as always. Front tuck through to double tuck with a slide back. 9.800
Pierson (WVU): Fhs front lay front full, excellent. She sells this disco choreo so well. Just a lot of fun to watch. Switch half wolf full to Shushunova, good amplitude. Double tuck with chest a little low, but no movement on the landing. Great job. Alicia says this routine speaks to her, lol. 9.900
AFTER ONE ROTATION: Oklahoma 49.500, Iowa State 49.325, West Virginia 49.175, Denver 49.175
So, we missed a good chunk of the first rotation, but WOW. Iowa State and West Virginia are NOT going to make this easy on Oklahoma or Denver. While not a disaster by any means, that was not the beam score the Pioneers wanted or needed. They were banking on having a buffer from beam to compensate for their lower scoring ceiling on vault in order to keep pace with the Sooners.
Rotation 2: West Virginia vault, Iowa State bars, Oklahoma beam, Denver floor
Trautman (OU): 9.300
Dunn (OU): 9.75
Woodard (OU): Full turn. Side aerial to bhs, fabulous. Front toss to beat, solid. Switch split to split leap looked nice. Beautiful scale. Side aerial to full with a scoot. Getting the Sooners back on track. 9.850
Smith (OU): Bhs loso, good. Front aerial with a slight hip check. Straddle half to Korbut with a little lean. Full turn kicked out. Bhs gainer full stuck. 9.950 is way too high
Thomas (OU): Side somi, good. Very nice bhs loso. Switch split to switch leap to split jump, lovely. Crooked side aerial to full, stuck. 9.900
Webb (OU): Bhs loso, beautiful. Switch leap series, gorgeous. Nails the side aerial to full. Lovely routine. 9.950
Ruiz (DU): Switch side to Popas, cheated the former and overdid the latter. Font tuck through to double tuck, very nice. 9.875
Casali (DU): Piked full-in, good. Switch half to wolf full, good amplitude. Front 2.5 to punch front, good control. 9.875
Thompson (DU): Double pike to open. This is my second favorite Prince routine. Popa series looked a bit off-kilter in the air, but good landings. Front lay to Rudi, nice. Underrotated triple full. 9.875 is high for me, but apparently the judges are just giving everyone a 9.875
Glynn (DU): 9.875
Hutchinson (DU): Fhs double full, covers a stumble. Switch half switch full, very low back leg on the latter. FHS Rudi to straddle, nice. I’m guessing it’ll be a 9.875. Yep.
Brown (DU): DLO perfect as usual. Dyamic leaps as always. Fhs full front lay to Sissone, great. Double pike to finish. I swear to god if she gets a 9.875… 9.950
Langkamp (ISU): 9.800
Maxwell (ISU): Straddled Jaeger caught a hair close. Nice bail to handstand. DLO with a tiny hop. 9.800
Basuel (ISU): 9.800… Glad we didn’t get to see this.
Horowitz (ISU): 9.775
Vella-Wright (ISU): 9.850
De Jesus (ISU): Just in time to see her flooooatiest DLO ever, stuck. 9.900
Ki. Yancey (WVU): Very nice Y full to open. Small hop. 9.800
Hornung (WVU): Y full with good height and a large step back. 9.750
Ka. Yancey (WVU): Y full with a slight pikedown and step back. 9.725
No, no, it’s fine. I’m enjoying seeing Casali high five people instead of any of the THREE ROUTINES happening.
Waldron (WVU): 9.800
Lewis (WVU): Massive Y full with a hop to the side. 9.750 is low even with the hop
Pierson (WVU): Excellent Y full with a small hop. 9.875
AFTER TWO ROTATIONS: Oklahoma 98.900, Denver 98.625, Iowa State 98.475, West Virginia 98.250
Nice recovery by Oklahoma after a shaky start. Denver had a solid rotation on floor, but come on judges… You can’t just give everyone a 9.875 except the anchor! The first five routines were NOT equal, we all know it, and the scores need to reflect that. I’m glad John and Alicia find the scores as ludicrous as I do.
Glad to see Iowa State and West Virginia turn in strong performances as well. Hope they continue to make things interesting!
Rotation 3: Denver vault, West Virginia bars, Iowa State beam, Oklahoma floor
Draper (OU): Very short open double pike to open, large step forward. I bet she still gets a 9.875. Fhs front full front full, very nice. I’m always amazed by how high-energy this routine is; she literally never stops moving. Switch half to Popa, nice. Whip half to front lay, again short. Bet it’s a 9.875… 9.800 is high, but at least it’s not a 9.875
Schoepfer (OU): Floaty double tuck. RO 1.5 to front lay, good. Switch ring to wolf full, doesn’t quite hit the position. Strong double pike to close. I’m fine with a 9.850, but not enough separation between her and Draper.
Deniz (OU): 9.625
Looks like a judging conference over Deniz’s score. Poor LaPinta has been waiting literally five minutes. She’s laughing, at least…
LaPinta (OU): Very short open triple to open, but I’m giving her a pass given she’s been waiting about an hour. Sorry, I missed her leaps because I was so distracted by the scoreboard saying Ruiz got a 9.975 for a YURCHENKO FULL. Front full to front lay, nice. Strong double tuck to close. 9.825
Thomas (OU): And the judges are icing Thomas now, too. I’m glad that they aren’t just handing out all 9.875s again, but still! Flawless double tuck to open: pointed toes, kicked out, and nailed the landing. Very nice double pike. Very shy on her Gogean (both position and rotation). Ugh, falls on her final pass. 9.100… The Sooners will have to count Deniz’s 9.625
Webb (OU): Fhs to massive double full. RO 1.5 to front full, a little off center but stays in bounds. Swtich half to split full, good. Fhs Rudi rebound right to the edge, and sticks her foot OOB. 9.800
Casali (DU): Piked down Y full with a large hop back. 9.800
Ruiz (DU): Y full with a hop. 9.750
Glynn (DU): Nearly stuck Tsuk full. 9.900
Hutchinson (DU): Y full. Large leg sep in preflight, but a stick. 9.850
Brown (DU): Y 1.5 with a big hop forward. 9.900
Thompson (DU): Really short Y full and falls forward.
Apologies, we haven’t gotten any of Denver’s vault scores even though the rotation’s been done for, oh, 10ish minutes?
Steinmeyer (ISU): Nice front toss to wolf. Bhs loso with soft legs, but not a waver. Switch split to straddle quarter. 9.825
Turner (ISU): 9.850
Boychuk (ISU): Bhs bhs loso, a little form but solid. Floaty side somi, nice. Beat to switch half, a hair shy of horizontal. Slightly overrotates her full turn, but covers well. Stuck gainer full. Great routine. 9.800
Semple (ISU): Bhs to a floaty loso. Pretty full turn. Cat leap to switch half to beat, a little shy on the switch half. Beautiful switch leap to split jump. Side aerial to full with a small hop back. 9.825 is high after the first pass.
De Jesus (ISU): Pretty bhs loso with a small check. Straddle to sheep. Cat leap to side aerial, clean. Cartwheel double full with a big rise, stuck. 9.900
Horowitz (ISU): Kicked out full turn, nice. Excellent bhs loso. Switch half to split to beat, well done. Front toss landed a little deep, but no wobbles. Gainer full, stuck. Cyclones are ROLLING. 9.875
Abarca (WVU): 9.650
Combs (WVU): Maloney to Pak with the usual leg sep. Nice half pirouette, more controlled than usual. Good final handstand. Blind full to a stuck double tuck, well done. 9.825
Hornung (WVU): 9.800
Ka. Yancey (WVU): 9.750
Ki. Yancey (WVU): 9.800
Holmes-Hackerd (WVU): Blind change to piked Jaeger, lovely. Blind full right over the bar to stuck double tuck. 9.850
AFTER THREE ROTATIONS: Oklahoma 147.825, Denver 147.825, Iowa State 147.750, West Virginia 147.275
Wow, just WOW! HALF A POINT separating the four teams heading into the final rotation. Oklahoma and Denver have both opened the door, and Iowa State and West Virginia are capitalizing.
Rotation 4: Oklahoma vault, Denver bars, West Virginia beam, Iowa State floor
Stern (OU): Y 1.5 with a large step to kick off the rotation. 9.850
LeVasseur (OU): Nearly sticks her Y 1.5, but takes a small step back. 9.900
Trautman (OU): Y 1.5 with a small hop and finessed with a college salute out of it. 9.850
Webb (OU): Very well done Y 1.5 with a small hop. 9.925
Schoepfer (OU): Hits the vault way too high and sits her tucked Y 1.5.
LaPinta (OU): Y full with a large bounce back. 9.775
Ruiz (DU): 9.850
Casali (DU): Pretty Maloney to bail. Lovely final handstand position. DLO with chest a little low and hops forward. 9.900
Glynn (DU): 9.875
Hutchinson (DU): Nice Pak. Good handstand positions. Stuck DLO 9.900
Sundstrom (DU): Well hello, stranger! Clear hip to pretty Tkatchev. Pak with a little leg sep. Stuck(ish) DLO. She needs a 9.775+ to overtake OU. 9.875!
Brown (DU): Maloney to Pak, lovely. Van Leeuwen, excellent. STUCK DLO! AHHHHH! DENVER IS GOING TO WIN ITS FIRST BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIPS! 10.000 for Brown to add a big exclamation point.
Langkamp (ISU): Whip to huge double back, well done. Switch full to Popa, nice amplitude and position. Front lay to front half to split jump, very nice. Short double pike and has to step forward. Overall, a good start. 9.750 is fine in a bubble, but low compared to other routines we’ve seen
Boychuk (ISU): Big double pike with a step OOB. RO 1.5 to front lay, beautiful. Nice switch full series. Double tuck with a step forward. 9.650
Steinmeyer (ISU): Fabulous fhs double full. Switch half to Popa, great. RO 1.5 to front lay, maybe a little flat? Didn’t have a great angle. Double pike a little deep, but hung onto it. 9.825
Diab (ISU): 9.925
Maldonado (ISU): Fhs double twist to punch front, slightly underrotated and has to step back. Pretty Fhs Rudi. Switch full to Popa, so good. Double pike to finish, very nice. 9.850
De Jesus (ISU): If my math is correct, ADJ will need a 9.725 to tie Iowa State’s season high and a 9.900 for Iowa State to break 197 for the first time under Jay Roynane. Giant, kicked-out double tuck to open, sliiiight front foot slide. RO 1.5 to front loso, gorgeous. Switch side to Popa, great position. Giant, definitively stuck double pike to close. Man, what a finish! AND IT’S A 9.950!!!!!
Holmes-Hackerd (WVU): 9.200
Hornung (WVU): 9.850
Pierson (WVU): 9.675
Linnen (WVU):
Combs (WVU): Front aerial to back tuck, gorgeous. Full turn, good. Switch side with a small arm wave. Front toss, great. Stuck tucked punch full. Great routine. 9.875
Asper (WVU): 9.625
AFTER FOUR ROTATIONS: Denver 197.350, Oklahoma 197.125, Iowa State 197.050, West Virginia State 195.725
The Denver Pioneers are your 2021 Big 12 conference champions, the first team title in program history. Iowa State bests the season high it earned last week by two tenths to take third, just three tenths back from Denver. West Virginia turned in a great meet, and its postseason fate is now up to other teams competing today.
All Around: Lynzee Brown (DU), 39.725
Vault: Anastasia Webb (OU), 9.925
Bars: Lynnzee Brown (DU), 10.000
Beam: Anastasia Webb, Ragan Smith (OU), 9.950
Floor: Lynnzee Brown, Addy De Jesus (ISU), 9.950
Live blog by Claire Billman, statistics provided by Drew Porche
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