The Mount: Week 1

Note: This meet was officially canceled on Thursday, Jan. 5 due to COVID protocols in the Arizona State program.

Recap

The Big Storyline: In a symbolic passing of the torch, reigning national champion Michigan proved it’s still the team to beat in 2022 while Georgia struggled throughout the meet.   

Implications: The Wolverines put the competition on notice: They have no intention of relinquishing the top spot without a fight. It is worth noting, however, that only seven gymnasts competed; presumably, head coach Bev Plocki will opt to test her depth as the season progresses. 

A pre-meet elbow injury to star senior Rachel Baumann was the beginning of several issues for Georgia. The Gymdogs posted a respectable 49.100 on vault but were unable to top 48.600 on the remaining three events. Their 194.500 drops them from No. 16 to No. 21 nationally.

Records: Michigan smashed its previous season opening record by over five tenths and bested the Big Ten record (previously held by Nebraska) by nearly four tenths. It also ties Oklahoma for the third highest opening score in NCAA history. Senior Abby Heiskell tied her career-best 9.925 on beam.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 15 Georgia at No. 1 Michigan

Why You Should Cancel Plans for It: If you need an excuse to cancel plans to watch the defending champs…we’re not sure what to tell you. The Wolverines are set to pick up right where they left off, six 10.0 vaults and all. It’s also our first look at a Georgia team that is starting to get desperate for a fully put-together season.

What We’re Watching: Michigan’s lineups are one to watch: Abby Brenner is back from injury, but will she earn her old lineup spots back? And who will step in for the injured Carly Bauman? It’s also our first look at Georgia freshmen Riley Milbrandt and Maeve Hahn. 

What Else You Should Know Before Tuning In: Georgia is 42-11 all time versus Michigan, but the Wolverines enter this contest the heavy favorites.

Note: Pittsburgh withdrew from the meet on Monday, Jan. 3 due to COVID protocols.

The Big Storyline: Despite some troubles on beam, Penn State came away with the victory in its first meet of the 2022 season. Temple got off to a solid start to its 2022, posting a score that was 1.050 higher than its opening score a year ago. Much anticipated freshman Hannah Stalling started off her college career with a beam and all-around victory. Penn competed for the first time in nearly two years, putting up a respectable total with much room for improvement.

Implications: Like in 2021, beam again looks to be the trouble event for Penn State, so it will need to work on its consistency issues in order to stay competitive this season. Temple got off to a much better start than it did in 2021, but like in 2021, bars consistency still seems to be an issue. If they can get that event figured out like they did by the end of 2021, the Owls should be in a good position to have a great 2022 season. Penn will probably need some time to get back into the groove of things after so much time away from competition, but the potential is definitely there.

Note: N.C. State was originally supposed to compete at this meet but withdrew on Jan. 3 due to COVID protocols.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Olympic all-around champion Sunisa Lee made her anticipated collegiate debut, posting a 9.775 on bars and a 9.875 on beam. In addition, two freshmen from North Carolina—Julia Knower and Lali Dekanoidze—were also impressive in their debuts, with Knower winning beam with an impressive 9.925 and Dekanoidze taking the bars and all-around titles.

Implications: North Carolina’s score here is higher than all but one of its scores from 2021. With still much room to improve, the Tar Heels are showing that they shouldn’t be counted out of the conference or regional conversation this year. 

Records: North Carolina’s 195.700 is its highest season opening score in program history.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 14 Auburn and Bowling Green at No. 35 North Carolina

Why You Should Make Time to Tune in: Danna Durante’s long-awaited return to college coaching is reason enough to watch this meet, but it also marks the collegiate debut of Olympic all-around champion Sunisa Lee. 

Need More Proof? Auburn missed out on the 2021 postseason due to COVID protocols, and if its preseason training footage is any indication, it’s aiming to rebound in a big way this year. All eyes will understandably be on Lee, but her classmate Sara Hubbard has a powerful Yurchenko one and a half that earned multiple perfect 10s during her level 10 career and made our list of Most Anticipated Level 10 Freshmen on Vault. North Carolina freshman Lali Dekanoidze also made that list; the former five-star recruit is poised to be an all-around sensation for the Tar Heels. Also keep an eye out for Bowling Green’s Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso. The junior transfer earned multiple conference and USAG All-America honors and won the 2021 USAG national all-around title during her time at SEMO, and could help change the Falcons’ fortunes in 2022.

Note: This meet previously featured West Virginia at LSU. However, due to COVID protocols within the WVU program, Centenary will now face LSU in Baton Rouge.

Recap

The Big Storyline: LSU was originally slated to host West Virginia in its season home opener, but the Mountaineers pulled out due to COVID protocols. The Centenary Ladies came to the rescue, starting their season a week early by traveling to Baton Rouge to help the Tigers avoid an unexpected bye week.

Implications: LSU started strong, posting a 49.400 and 49.500 on vault and bars, respectively, but couldn’t maintain that pace on beam and floor (a thumb injury to bars anchor Sami Durante and minor injury to Haleigh Bryant during floor warm-ups certainly didn’t help). While the back half of the meet didn’t go their way, the Tigers showed that they’re coming out swinging in 2022. 

Records: Bryant earned a career high 9.925 on bars while Alyona Shchennikova and Olivia Dunne both tied their career highs on the event. Freshman KJ Johnson scored 9.900 on both vault and floor in her collegiate debut, securing the title on floor. Centenary senior Kendall Sanders notched a career high tying 9.800 on vault with a stuck Yurchenko half.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Former five-star recruit Sloane Blakely took the all-around crown in her collegiate debut as Florida hosted Northern Illinois, Rutgers and Texas Woman’s in its season opener.

Implications: The Gators looked strong in preseason and certainly came out swinging, posting their highest season opening score in program history. As of Saturday night, they’re leading the SEC standings (with only Alabama left to compete) and are ranked second nationally.    

Northern Illinois just missed out on a regionals berth last year and seem to be on pace to build on last season’s success. The Huskies were especially impressive on floor where they scored a 49.250, a full two tenths higher than their 2021 season high. Texas Woman’s made the most of its time in Gainesville, securing a pair of 48.900s on vault and floor to begin its quest to win the USAG national title in April. Despite an overall rocky performance, Rutgers gave a strong showing on vault, led by a 9.825 from sophomore Emily Leese.

Records: Blakely became the first Florida newcomer to earn the all-around title in her debut performance since Kytra Hunter in 2012. She and fellow freshmen Riley McCusker, Leanne Wong and Bri Edwards competed an impressive nine routines while sophomore Chloi Clark also made her collegiate debut, notching a 9.825 on vault. Fifth year Megan Skaggs also earned a 9.950 in the lead-off position on floor. 

Northern Illinois senior Kelsey Martz scored a career high 9.825 on floor while Alyssa Al-Ashari earned a career high on beam (also a 9.825). 2021 regionals qualifier Tara Kofmehl tied her career best (9.925) on floor. Texas Woman’s also earned its highest season-opening score en route to its third place finish while junior Mara Johnson notched a career high 9.850 on floor.

Preview

Current Rankings: Northern Illinois vs. Rutgers vs. Texas Woman’s at No. 2 Florida

Why You Should Clear Space on Your DVR: This quad meet will surely test the teams’ abilities to remain cool under pressure as a quad meet season opener is never easy. Constant action going on all around you in your first collegiate routine? No thanks. Freshmen classes from all teams will have to power through the sensory overload that this meet will provide, but when it comes down to it, the elite level experience of Florida’s freshmen will be enough for the Gators to come out on top. However, this will be a great opportunity for NIU, Rutgers and TWU to get some experience competing against a top-rated team in a noisy arena.

You Can Fast Forward, but not Through This: Of course, the highly anticipated potential collegiate debuts of Florida freshmen Riley McCusker, Morgan Hurd and Leanne Wong are must-see TV, so you definitely don’t want to miss those. Northern Illinois’ Tara Kofmehl is back for her senior season and is a steady all-arounder, so watch for her as well. Both TWU and Rutgers will be looking to showcase their depth here, with TWU more than likely putting up portions of their lineups from their Holiday Spectacular back in December. Rutgers will perform with something to prove and a chance this season to crack into the regionals top 36 for the first time in years.

Recap

The Big Storyline: It was a close meet throughout, but the Huskers pulled out the victory despite a shaky beam rotation. Both teams were about a point off their opening meet scores from last year, with Nebraska a point higher and Iowa State a point lower.

Implications: This meet showed Iowa State might not be set up for the type of season its roster is capable of. Addy De Jesus only competed one event and appears to have a heavily wrapped knee. It will be a huge loss for the team if she’s not able to do the all around for much of the season. The Cyclones also announced several season-ending injuries that will affect depth on some events. The Huskers look stronger than last season, and freshman Emma Spence will be a great addition. Still, they lack the polish of previous squads and could have trouble in the Big Ten this season.

Records: Laura Cooke won the floor title with a career high 9.900.

Controversies: Iowa State originally scored 194.450, enough to win the meet, but received a one-tenth deduction for competing out of order on floor, resulting in a second-place finish. A heartbreaking way to open the 2022 season.

Note: SEMO was originally slated to compete at Missouri as well but withdrew on Jan. 5, 2022 due to COVID protocols.

Watch the individual apparatus feed here.

Recap

The Big Storyline: This meet was a case of “we have the 10.0 vaults, but we’re not going to show you all of them at once.”

Implications: Missouri’s casual 196.600 without its full vault difficulty speaks volumes about the season it’s about to have. Amari Celestine and Jocelyn Moore lived up to the hype, and Helen Hu graced viewers with a beam return for the ages. Illinois State had a problematic bar rotation that will need to be rectified if it hopes to remain at the top of the MIC this season. Ball State earned one of its highest season-opening scores in program history led by Lauren Volpe’s 9.850 on beam and an ultra-consistent floor lineup.

Records: Celestine opened her career with matching scores of 9.875 on vault and floor to earn event victories on both events. Senior Alisa Sheremeta tied her career high on bars to take the win on that event as well. 

Controversies: Illinois State fifth-year Isabelle Fox got a 9.475 for a stuck Yurchenko half.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Consistency was the theme of the day for UW-La Crosse, with all event scores in the mid 46 range. Vault was its best event with freshman Rachel Chesley stepping into her first lineup with a win. 

Implications: Senior Emma Grant was missing from lineups for UW-L. For the Eagles to hang with the likes of Whitewater and Oshkosh later down the road, Grant will need to contribute. Her floor score was really missed this weekend. 

Records: Gustavus’ 181.975 was its second highest season-opening score in program history, creating a good launching point on which to build the rest of the season. 

Recap

The Big Storyline: The Razorbacks eked out a team win in their season home opener, but the Buckeyes swept the individual event titles.

Implications: While this was a lackluster performance by Arkansas’s standards, it’s important to note that it was missing key contributions from the bulk of its stellar freshman class (including former four-star recruit Leah Smith). Ohio State turned in a solid performance, proving that its 16th place finish in 2021 was no fluke.

Records: Elexis Edwards tied her career high 9.875 on vault. 

Controversies: Lovett received a 9.350 (raised from an initial 9.250) after a hip check during her front aerial to layout step-out series. The judges decided not to credit the connection and thus lowered her start value, much to the confusion and frustration of Arkansas fans. 

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 22 Ohio State at No. 11 Arkansas

Why You Should Make Time to Tune in: There are some headlining freshmen in this contest. The Buckeyes come in with Tory Vetter, and the Razorbacks will debut Leah Smith and Mackenzie Sedlacek. All three have the potential to be game changers for their team.

Need More Proof? Don’t miss Ohio State’s Jenna Hlavach on vault or fan-favorite Claire Gagliardi on floor. Arkansas’ Sdelacek recently stuck her Yurchenko 1.5 on the team’s social media. 2022 also marks the beginning of sixth-year Maggie O’Hara’s farewell tour, so look for her to push for an elusive perfect 10.0 on bars and/or beam.

Note: To watch the meet on BYUtv, you must first create a free account and sign in.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Utah eclipsed 197 in its season opener to take down a trio of in-state foes to start off its year strong. Senior Cristal Isa claimed two event titles to lead the Red Rocks, who unfortunately didn’t escape the night without worry as freshman Kara Eaker was injured in vault warmups after starting off her night with strong beam and floor sets. Utah State’s Brie Clark stole the show with her floor routine that pulled in the highest score of the evening as the Aggies finished second, ahead of BYU who was without nine gymnasts due to COVID.

Implications: The Utes looked much improved on vault in their debut, an event that held them back at times in 2021. The debut of Utah’s highly anticipated freshman class started off on the right foot with beam and floor hits, but with Eaker’s injury and a fall from Grace McCallum on bars, the debut was ultimately bittersweet.

Records: Utah State’s team total is the highest season opening score in program history.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 4 Utah, No. 19 BYU, No. 25 Southern Utah and No. 26 Utah State

Why You Should Clear Space on Your DVR: Utah’s in-state showdown will give us our first look at Pac-12 favorite Utah, MRGC favorite BYU, and two other MRGC contenders and closel ranked rivals in Southern Utah and Utah State. All eyes will be on the Red Rocks, as their trio of Olympic freshmen are expected to make their collegiate debuts in a season where Utah, once again, should challenge for the national title.

You Can Fast Forward, but not Through This: After competing in the all-around in its preview meet, Utah freshman Grace McCallum should make lineups on several events, but watch for her unique (and 10.0 start value) Yurchenko half-on tucked Barani vault. Fellow Olympians Kara Eaker and Amelie Morgan showed off lovely beam sets in the preview meet as well and should improve an already stellar lineup for the Utes on that event. Depth will be an asset for the Cougars, but pay attention to bars and floor where Anyssa Alvarado and Brittney Vitkauskas, respectively, will shine. Sofi Sullivan is set to return for Utah State after opting out last season, and Karley McClain is back as the top all-arounder for Southern Utah.

Note: Lindenwood was originally slated to compete as well but withdrew on Jan. 5, 2022.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Iowa still put up a near-196 without a strong showing on bars. 

Implications: Don’t count out the reigning Big Ten regular season champion. A 195.950 that counts several mistakes means there’s nowhere to go but up. Scores started to trend up in the second half of the meet for both teams, and Eastern Michigan showed particular polish on beam.

Records: Alex Greenwald was awarded a career high 9.900 and the event victory for her work on bars. 

Controversies: The commentary situation at Iowa reminded us all what a bizarre practice it is that gymnastics is often covered by individuals who are not familiar with the sport. The gymternet was filled with Tweets questioning commentators this weekend.

Note: The meet was officially canceled on Jan. 6, 2022 after five of the six teams withdrew due to COVID protocols.

To watch the meet internationally, click here.

Recap

The Big Storyline: It was a return to gymnastics at last for Brown, West Chester and Yale after a long, long hiatus due to the pandemic. For LIU, this marked the start of its second season.

Implications: LIU came to play with some powerhouses today, finishing in second after every single Shark freshman went routine for routine without a single fall. They also beat their opening score from last year. Yale, unfortunately, lost Claire Qu during the beam rotation, but Riley Meeks stepped into Qu’s spot on floor. However, Yale chose to only put up five routines in the final rotation. West Chester proved it didn’t lose its steam from its last season while Brown couldn’t quite find its footing.

Records: This is the fourth time in five seasons that West Chester has opened with a score higher than 190.000, and its second highest out of those four. 

Recap

The Big Storyline: Illinois fought through some unexpected absences in Arayah Simons, Kaitlyn Ewald and standout freshman Katharine Klugman to pull out an opening-meet win. Central Michigan had some gaps of its own, including veteran Morgan Tong, but saw great performances from newcomers like Canadian elite Quinn Skrupa and junior transfer Aleysia Kolyvanova.

Implications: We’ll be watching the injury/COVID landscape at Illinois closely over the coming weeks. Increased depth will be necessary if Illinois wants to challenge the top half of the Big Ten again this year.

Note: Southern Connecticut was originally part of this meet but withdrew on Jan. 5, 2022, according to Road to Nationals on Twitter.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Towson’s great recruiting is paying off: Freshmen Clara Hong and Steph Macasu looked sharp and prepared for their first NCAA meet. New Hampshire had some great individual results, but it was a tough day overall with Lauren Diggen and Hailey Lui restricted to one event, leaving the rest of the team struggling to catch up.

Implications: Both of these teams should contend for regionals this year, but even Towson, coming off a No. 29 finish, can’t rest easy. New Hampshire clearly has to find routines that can score 9.800-plus reliably. Towson started solid but has some room to grow to produce competitive NQS numbers while New Hampshire came in below its lowest tally from 2021.

Records: Towson started the season with its highest season-opening score in program history.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Alabama was surprisingly shaky against an unflappable Oklahoma in the first top 10 matchup of the 2022 season. 

Implications: Even with a few hiccups along the way, the Sooner came out hot and secured the third highest score of the week. While the Crimson Tide showed flashes of brilliance, it never quite hit its stride and had to settle for a sub-196.  

Records: Oklahoma sophomore Katherine LeVasseur and senior Allie Stern both snagged career high 10.0s on vault, the fourth time in program history the Sooners posted back-to-back perfect scores. Sophomore Audrey Davis tied her career-best 9.950 on bars while senior Carly Woodard’s 9.950 on beam was the top mark of her career.   

Controversies: No surprise, there were some questionable scores: Sharp-eyed fans also noticed a slight foot readjustment on Stern’s landing, causing many to question the second perfect 10. Since the vaults caught ESPN’s attention, though, we’re willing to let it slide. Later on, the floor judges missed freshman Bowers’ foot going out of bounds.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 6 Alabama at No. 3 Oklahoma

Why You Should Cancel Plans for It: Perennial championship contender Oklahoma is hosting future conference rival Alabama in what is arguably the most competitive matchup of week one. 

What We’re Watching: The Tide got off to a sluggish start in 2021 but closed out the season strong by winning a surprise SEC championship title and qualifying to nationals where it missed out on the team final by the narrowest of margins. Given that it’s only losing two routines from last season and have a trio of talented freshmen ready to contribute—not to mention the addition of Gina (Logan) Quinlan as assistant coach—there’s every reason to think that Alabama can improve on its results from 2021.

Oklahoma, meanwhile, has the unenviable task of replacing routines from Jordan Draper, Evy Schoepfer and reigning national all-around champion Anastasia Webb. On the plus side, the Sooners have an impressive freshman class of their own that includes level 10 standouts Moorea Linker and Danielle Sievers, as well as former elite Jordan Bowers. Bowers is poised to be an immediate star in college and even anchored the vault lineup at the team’s most recent intrasquad. However, this begs the question: Where is Olivia Trautman? The senior was conspicuously absent from not only that intrasquad but also preseason training footage, and it’s unclear if or when she’ll be competing this season. In any case, no one is better than K.J. Kindler at making diamonds under pressure, so expect this competition to be close even if Trautman isn’t in the mix.    

What Else You Should Know Before Tuning In: Understandably, elite fans are anxious for Bowers’s debut, but keep an eye out for the Alabama freshmen as well: Former elite Corinne Bunagen has a level 10 beam national title, as well as all around, bars, beam and floor titles from the the 2018 Filipino national championships; Lilly Hudson, also a former elite, earned a berth to the 2021 Nastia Liukin Cup while Jordyn Paradise won silver on vault and bars at this year’s level 10 nationals.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Tonight was an extremely strong opening meet for both teams. No team counted a fall, and there was only one event score below 49. San Jose State kept pace with a Denver team that produced strong routines despite slightly depleted lineups.

Implications: This meet shattered expectations for SJSU. It’ll vault up the rankings into a tie with Iowa for the No. 9 spot. Denver will sit just behind Utah at No. 5. With scores this high, both teams could be poised for record-breaking seasons and great results both in their conference and nationally.

Records: San Jose State and Denver both had their highest season opening score in their respective programs’ history. SJSU’s score was also its second-highest score of all time. 

Note: UW-Oshkosh was originally slated to attend this meet as well but withdrew on Jan. 4.

Recap

The Big Storyline: UC Davis hosted Michigan State and Sacramento State in its season opener. This was the first meet in two years for both the Aggies and the Hornets, and the Spartans’ first meet since February 2021. 

Implications: The Spartans didn’t show any signs of rust as they casually earned the third-highest Big Ten score of the week. Former five-star recruit Skyla Schulte impressed with a cool 39.125 in her collegiate debut. A tough bars rotation kept UC Davis from challenging the San Jose State Spartans for the top MPSF score, but its 49.250 on beam is the program’s best event total since 2018. Conference-mate Sacramento State also had a standout beam rotation, with 9.850-plus contributions from senior Amber Koeth and sophomore Simone Dumas-Guzman.

Records: Michigan State not only set a new season-opening record with its 195.875, but it tied Alabama and Utah State for the 11th best score of Week 1. 

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 36 Michigan State and Sacramento State at UC Davis

Why You Should Make Time to Tune in: This is our first look at Sacramento State and UC Davis since March 2020, meaning we get the debut of two full classes. Plus, we only saw the Spartans twice in 2021, and UW-Oshkosh only had four outings.

Need More Proof? Skyla Schulte, a former 5-star recruit, promises to bring big numbers to East Lansing. Don’t take your eyes off her debut. She joins sophomore Baleigh Garcia on the Spartans’ talented roster. Emma Otsu will finally take the floor for the Aggies; she’s a potential star for UC Davis.