There’s a lot that happens on the gymternet each week. So much so that it can be hard to keep track of it all. From training updates and COVID year announcements to recruiting rumors and coaching news, we don’t blame you for missing some important points here and there.
That’s where we come in. Last Week in College Gym is your one-stop shop for all the important headlines from the previous week in college gymnastics. No matter if you’re taking a social media break, went on vacation or just don’t have the capacity to follow every single gymnast, team and fan, we have you covered.
Training Updates
- LIU showed clips from its most recent intrasquad on Instagram. Notably, it showed eight vaults with start values of 9.9 or higher, much improved from the 2021 season where it usually had to vault several Yurchenko layouts.
- We live blogged both the Utah and UCLA intrasquads. Check them out to hear how they went and our thoughts on how the teams are looking with less than a month to go until the 2022 season.
- North Carolina hosted its Blue and White intrasquad on Friday. The Tar Heels showed at least six competitive routines, as well as alternates, on every event. The Tar Heels showed dynamic vaults, an improvement from last season. Every lineup vault was at least a Yurchenko full. Freshman Lali Dekanoidze performed her Yurchenko one and a half while Hallie Thompson performed a full with the caveat that she will be adding her one and a half back later in the season. The Tar Heels hit eight of nine, with just the ninth routine having a mistake. Elizabeth Culton impressively saved her front aerial on beam after completely missing one foot. Floor wasn’t perfect, but it looked good for this point in preseason. There were some mistakes, but those should be able to be fixed with a little more time and preparation. Freshman Julia Knower also notably competed in the all around and looked good.
- Denver hosted its annual Crimson and Gold intrasquad on Sunday. For the first time ever, it was hosted in Magness Arena, the university’s larger athletics’ space. Note that Denver did not show its full team at the intrasquad, but still showed at least six routines on every event. The Pioneers anticipate having the full team ready by their first meet on Jan. 9. Among those that did not compete were Mia Sundstrom, Isabel Mabanta and Victoria Fitts. Some gymnasts showed limited events—for example Alexandria Ruiz and Rosie Casali were limited to bars—and some took it easy on floor by replacing passes with timers. The beam judges were in disagreement with practically every routine, and it appeared that one judge may have been stricter on giving connections. The beam routines looked good otherwise, so any issues there should be resolved by season. This is where transfer Emma Brown returned to compete, performing a hit routine with a check on her sheep jump. Freshman Momoko Iwai competed on vault, beam and floor and showed impressive work on each. Her classmate Mia Hebinck performed in the lineup on vault and bars and also showed a beam routine (with a fall) as an alternate. She also showed a watered down floor routine with timers. Lynnzee Brown is back and ready to take on her fifth year; she performed all around, though she stuck with timers on floor. Sophomore Jessica Hutchinson was another highlight; she looked great on every event, and her floor routine is already picking up traction on Twitter.
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Article by the editors of College Gym News
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