The Mount: Week 2

Recap

The Big Storyline: West Virginia struggled a bit through the meet, counting three falls on bars, but the William & Mary freshmen led the team, with Caroline Blatchford coming in fourth all-around, as Towson continues to dominate and defeated West Virginia for the first time since 2017.  West Chester led the meet at the midpoint but couldn’t quite keep pace toward the end.

Implications: Despite coming in fourth, the Tribe freshmen have proven that they’re up for the challenge. Despite coming in third, West Chester posted the highest bars score the evening, a 48.125, and was the only team to break 48.000. Going forward, West Virginia can quickly get back on track by settling the nerves on bars, particularly when they host Big 12 champ Denver this coming weekend. 

Records: Kiana Lewis tied her career best score on floor, where she also took first, McKenna Kissinger scored a career high with a 9.675 on vault, and Agatha Handono scored a career high on beam with a 9.675, as well.

Results

Recap

The Big Storyline: After starting the season with a 190.800, Yale posted a close follow up just over a tenth less, while Penn State swept all four events, except all around where Chia continued to defend.

Implications: Yale continued to post high a team score on bars, notching a 47.975 and their best event score of the meet, while Toy matched her 9.800 from the previous week on beam. Penn State showed up with the bigger scores, beating Yale by a point on vault and bars while nearly outpacing the Bulldogs by two points on floor. Claire Qu was absent from the line up this weekend after getting injured on beam last weekend. 

Records: Amy Bladon scored a career high of 9.825 on beam, also marking her first career event win.

Note: Georgie withdrew from this meet due to COVID protocols on Jan. 13. The Gymdogs were replaced by Ball State, which will now compete twice in week two with its second meet coming at Western Michigan on Sunday.

Results

Note: This meet was canceled on Jan. 11 due to COVID protocols. According to its schedule, Oshkosh will now compete at the Hamline tri while Stout and Whitewater will be on a bye.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Iowa’s bar woes continue while TWU feels the effects of only bringing 11 athletes to Iowa City. 

Implications: Hopefully the absences from TWU’s lineups, including Isabel Goyco, Daisy Woodring, Domi Bonzagni and Kenzie Kunzman, are only temporary. It was clear that the less-experienced group this weekend could not quite hang with the scores from last weekend. On the bright side, this is a competitive experience the team can learn from in coming weeks. Iowa’s performance was slightly improved this week, but bars still needs improvement for the Hawkeyes to hang with Minnesota and Michigan. Iowa will look to not count a mistake on bars when it travels to Minnesota for a tri meet with UCLA on Monday. Note that JerQuavia Henderson has put together strong exhibition bar routines two straight meets. 

Records: Carver-Hawkeye Arena was full of floor career highs this week. Sierra Muns earned a career high 9.775 on floor en route to her first all around performance of her career. Lexi Leake put up a 9.750 while Linda Zivat posted a 9.875 with the addition of a new first pass. Adeline Kenlin tied her career high 9.850 on vault with a stuck Yurchenko full.

Note: This meet was canceled on Jan. 11. SEMO will now compete at Kent State instead.

Update 1/11 Due to its meet with Stout and Whitewater being canceled on Jan. 11, UW-Oshkosh will now compete at this meet instead.

Update 1/14: Gustavus withdrew from the meet due to winter weather.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Fans were on the edge of their seats waiting to see who was going to actually compete at Hamline this weekend. UW-Oshkosh was added to the slate of teams to compete after its home opener was canceled. Gustavus Adolphus had already released its tentative lineups when it decided it was unable to make the trip due to a snow storm. 

Implications: With its 185.650, Oshkosh posted its highest season-opening score in program history. Emily Buffington also posted the highest bars score in the conference with a 9.700. UW-Oshkosh is out to prove it means business. It has the difficulty and the fire to come home with a WIAC title. 

Records: Emily Buffington matched or bettered career highs on vault, bars and the all around. Olivia Keller took the floor crown with a career high 9.750. 

Controversies: Winona’s sole Yurchenko half from Camdyn McSweeney did not make the lineup cut today. That vault upgrade is a must for start value potential alone.

Note: The meet will also be available to watch on Utah State gymnastics’ Facebook page.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Freshman Brie Clark was the star of the show Friday night bringing in a huge 9.950 on floor to finish out the meet strong for the Aggies. Air Force had a solid competition on vault, beam and floor, but had multiple mishaps on bars bringing its total score below a 192.000. Air Force’s Genevieve Sabado was the lone all-around competitor. 

Implications: In recent seasons Utah State has remained at the bottom of the MRGC conference, but this 2022 squad brings in the largest amount of talent in years for the program. The return of Sofi Sullivan and addition of freshman Brie Clark is key, as the team will be putting up a fight to improve upon its fourth place 2021 conference finish. 

Note: This meet was postponed on Jan. 12 due to COVID protocols.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Arkansas was the favorite heading into the competition, but underrotation on vaults and floor tumbling passes ultimately cost it the meet. Auburn had a huge beam rotation and Sophia Groth, Sunisa Lee and Gabby McLaughlin were able to come up big when the team needed strong clean beam sets to end the meet. Arkansas freshman Cami Weaver suffered an injury on her vault landing, and her status is currently unknown.

Implications: All eyes were on the freshmen heading into this performance and neither team disappointed. Sophia Groth earned a huge 9.900 in her beam debut and Sunisa Lee debuted her collegiate floor routine. Arkansas’ Leah Smith showcased huge tumbling and the talent to become a top NCAA all-arounder. These two teams are just getting started and have unlimited potential to improve over the next four years. 

Records: Auburn’s 197.250 is the second-highest road score in program history.  Arkansas had a program record crowd with 10,375 fans present at Bud Walton Arena. Additionally, Arkansas has never scored 197.000 in its first two weeks of the season before. Arkansas senior Savannah Pennese had a career high 9.875 on floor.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 8 Auburn at No. 15 Arkansas 

Why You Should Cancel Plans for It: Both Auburn and Arkansas have long since established themselves as top 20 teams, but they’re looking to crack the top 10 in 2022. With strong returners and exceptional freshman classes, either team could realistically have a breakout year. 

What We’re Watching: The bulk of Arkansas’ freshmen—including Leah Smith—missed the team’s opening meet due to COVID-19 protocols but could add a significant boost to the Razorbacks’ week one scores if they return here. Auburn looked sharp in Chapel Hill (especially on vault) but will likely need to break 49 on all four events to keep pace with a full Arkansas roster. 

What Else You Should Know Before Tuning In: This is shaping up to be a battle of the leg events: Auburn is currently ranked third nationally on vault while Arkansas is ninth on floor. Also worth noting, this will be the first-ever gymnastics meet inside Bud Walton Arena, aka “the Palace,” typically reserved for men’s basketball. 

Results

Recap

The Big Storyline: Utah’s home opener went ideally for the Utes as they easily defeated visiting Big 12 favorite Oklahoma and briefly held the nation’s top overall score. Freshman Grace McCallum bounced back from a bars fall in her debut to win the all-around behind a near-perfect floor score, with fellow freshman Sage Thompson adding a win on bars to the Red Rocks’ title haul on the night. Despite Ragan Smith’s 9.975 in the anchor spot on beam, the Sooners counted a fall in defeat in what was a close matchup until the final rotation.

Implications: Oklahoma’s four-year streak of regular-season wins was snapped with Utah’s victory, with the 1.125 margin of victory the largest against the Sooners since Florida in 2009.

Records: Thompson grabbed the first event title of her college career while Smith tied her career-high on beam.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 3 Oklahoma at No. 4 Utah

Why You Should Cancel Plans for It: Two legitimate NCAA title contenders face off in the regular season for the second year in a row in a matchup that will be a great early season test for both teams. Oklahoma passed its first test against Alabama last weekend, but traveling to face the Utes at home will prove to be a much bigger challenge. Both teams opened their seasons with strong first meets, but both also showed plenty of areas for improvement.

What We’re Watching: Superstar freshmen Jordan Bowers and Grace McCallum had mixed bags of meets when it came to their collegiate debuts, shining on three events while counting a fall on the fourth. Will they be able to bounce back in an even higher-pressure situation? Oklahoma’s season opened on vault with every gymnast notching a perfect 10 or sub-9.8 score, so watch for the Sooners to try and elevate their lineup to match the level of Katherine LeVasseur and Allie Stern. Utah was sturdy across the board in its opener, counting no less than a 9.8 but also no scores above 9.9. Look for the Utes to home in on the crowd’s energy in their home opener to help propel them to bigger totals.

What Else You Should Know Before Tuning In: Highly touted freshman Kara Eaker started off her Utah career strong last week but unfortunately suffered an ankle injury during vault warmups and will likely be sidelined for this matchup. This meet is set to be broadcast on ESPN2!

Recap

The Big Storyline: All three teams returned after quite some time away, and while you would think beam would be the downfall, bars proved to be the event that was the great equalizer.

Implications: Within the NCGA-East, Lexi Castellaneta proved she’s a force to be reckoned with this year, as does Brockport after it swept all four event titles. When we last saw a full season from Brockport, it opened the season with 186.575 before going on to win the national title.

Recap

The Big Storyline: N.C. State finally made its 2022 debut and showed that it will once again be the team to catch in the EAGL with its quad meet victory featuring two other EAGL teams.

Implications: N.C. State got off to a solid start to the 2022 season, breaking 195 and finishing ahead of the other three teams. While the scores did seem to get stuck in the 9.7s, this meet will be one that the Wolfpack can build on. Rutgers put up a solid performance on three of the four events, including 49-plus scores on vault and floor, but bars was a struggle for the Scarlet Knights.  North Carolina did not see a repeat performance from its season debut a week ago, having to count a couple of falls but still keeping a solid ranking position both nationally and in the EAGL. New Hampshire showed improvement from its debut last week but still had to count two falls on beam. The Wildcats will need to work out its issues that event if they want to keep pace with the other teams in the conference.

Records: N.C. State’s score was the second-highest opening score in program history. Alyssa Worthington’s 9.925 on beam was a career high. Several Rutgers gymnasts notched new career highs in this meet with Belle Huang recording a 9.950 on floor, Mia Betancourt with a 9.850 on vault, Emily Leese with a 9.850 on floor and Calah Newman with a 9.875 on beam. 

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 14 North Carolina, No. 34 New Hampshire and N.C. State at No. 35 Rutgers

Why You Should Make Time to Tune in: This meet is loaded with underrated gymnasts. North Carolina’s Lali Dekanoidze made her college debut last week and showed everyone that she’s going to do great things during her time in Chapel Hill. Both New Hampshire and Rutgers are coming off a rough start to the season but have the potential to record much higher scores. N.C. State’s season debut was canceled last week, but it’s always an exciting team to watch. Last time we saw the Wolfpack compete was during its historic regionals run.

Need More Proof? Keep an eye out for three freshmen from North Carolina: Isabelle Schaefer, Julia Knower and Dekanoidze. All three won event titles in their first collegiate meets. Hailey Lui and Alyssa Worthington from New Hampshire are gorgeous on beam, and teammate Kylie Gorgenyi is a rock in the all-around. Emily Shepard is a treat to watch on all four events for N.C. State while Hannah Joyner from Rutgers is also great on all four events, especially beam.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Denver had a rock-solid 49.375 on beam to close out its first road win of the season in what was otherwise a step back from last week’s school record opening meet. The Pioneers struggled to find stuck landings, especially on vault, but still put together strong performances across the board. Ohio State rebounded from last week’s bars struggles to post a high 195 score and was led at key moments by its freshman class. Jenna Hlavach and Stephanie Berger appear poised for great careers with the Buckeyes.

Implications: Denver will likely dip in the rankings after missing the 197 mark. Ohio State should rise a few spots but will still be looking for its first win of the season next weekend.

Records: Mabanta posted a career-high 9.950 to win the beam title, and Lynnzee Brown nearly matched her career high with a 9.925 in the lead off position. Edwards set a new career high with a 9.875 on floor while Berger made her Buckeye debut with a 9.850 on bars and a 9.800 on beam.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 5 Denver at No. 17 Ohio State

Why You Should Make Time to Tune in: The Pioneers had an exceptional start to the year, led by huge performances from Lynnzee Brown and Rylie Mundell. The Buckeyes had a quieter start with some notable absences, but there were bright spots and some exciting routines from freshmen. 

Need More Proof? Don’t miss Brown on floor; she stuck her double layout last week and nabbed a 9.975 for the effort. Elexis Edwards is a name to watch on vault; she has one of the biggest Yurchenko fulls in the NCAA. Ohio State could also debut routines from Tory Vetter and Stephanie Berger, who were missing last week. Denver has a chance to break into the top four with another strong performance.

Recap

The Big Storyline: After an impressive week one showing, Michigan outdid itself in defeating Arizona State, once again notching the nation’s top score to date. Natalie Wojcik led the way for the Wolverines with a pair of near-perfect 9.975s and a quartet of individual titles on the night. The Sun Devils also impressed in their delayed season opener, with freshman Alex Theodorou earning a 9.900 on her first college vault.

Implications: Michigan put up another stellar total that will continue to keep them at the forefront of national title conversation, while Arizona State’s score should see the Sun Devils back in the top 15 in next week’s rankings.

Records: The Sun Devils’ team score is their top season-opening total in program history. The Wolverines closed the meet with a school record total of 49.700. Naomi Morrison’s vault and floor tiles were new career highs for her, as was her 39.575 in the all-around.

Preview

Current Rankings: Arizona State at No. 1 Michigan

Why You Should Clear Space on Your DVR: We get two exciting storylines in this meet: Arizona State’s season debut after missing week one due to COVID protocols and the Collegiate Challenge cancelation, and Michigan continuing its campaign to stay atop the rankings. 

You Can Fast Forward, but not Through This: Arizona State leads the all-time series versus the Wolverines 7-6; this is Michigan’s chance to even the score. Don’t miss the first rotation. Michigan is No. 1 on vault and has a litany of stellar Yurchenko 1.5s. For the Sun Devils, this is our first look at highly regarded freshman Alex Theodorou.

Results

Recap

The Big Storyline: UW-La Crosse bested Lindenwood on both vault and floor en route to the highest team score in Division III this season. Lindenwood struggled with consistency across the four events due to its young lineups. 

Implications: UW-La Crosse has asserted itself as the team to beat in the WIAC and NCGA at the moment. The return of Emma Grant on beam was definitely a spark the Eagles needed. La Crosse will look to improve upon its bar performance in the coming weeks to surpass the 190 threshold. Lindenwood started a little shaky, but that was expected considering the teams’ lack of competitive experience. Many athletes were adding events or making collegiate debuts, so don’t judge too harshly. Now, if this pattern of behavior persists, expect Lindenwood to come in around the middle of the pack in the USAG rankings this year. 

Records: A list of new career highs were as follows: Sara Beck’s 9.575 on vault and 9.400 on floor, Rachel Chesley’s 9.625 on floor, Emma Grant’s 9.800 on beam, Cate Sandvik’s 9.65 on beam and 9.725 on floor and Jessica Taylor’s 9.625 on floor.

Results

With Iowa State and Temple

Recap

Note: Boise State withdrew from the meet on Jan. 11 due to COVID protocols.

Results

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 9 San Jose State and Washington at Oregon State

Why You Should Make Time to Tune in: After a record-setting opening meet, ninth-ranked San Jose State will look to continue its strong start to the season when it takes on a pair of Pac-12 foes making their season debuts. Oregon State is looking to return to the top 20 this year with the addition of Olympic champion Jade Carey while Washington’s new coaching staff is set to turn around the Huskies after a rocky season.

Need More Proof? The biggest storyline to follow will be the NCAA debut of Carey, who is expected to compete a Yurchenko double on vault along with a double-twisting double back on floor. If Carey competes all four events, she will likely go up against San Jose State’s Jada Mazury, who is currently ranked ninth individually in the all-around. Also keep an eye on Washington’s Geneva Thompson, a vault and floor stalwart who returned to the Huskies for a fifth season due to the coaching staff turnaround.

Recap

Recap

The Big Storyline: After years of top-tier recruiting and fantastic training footage, we’ve been waiting impatiently for Penn to break through. Today might have been the day: The Quakers dominated in D.C., coming in just 0.150 short of their program record. 

Implications: Penn soared to the top of the GEC, with a margin of around 0.700 over No. 2 in the conference. (Keep in mind that Bridgeport and SCSU haven’t competed yet.) Cornell slotted in just above Brown at No. 5 and William & Mary is No. 4, but only a few tenths away from Yale.

Records: Penn tied its program record of 48.775 on vault, and Kiersten Belkoff’s 9.850 is second-best in program history.

Update 1/14: Meet canceled; Springfield added to 1/22 meet at Ursinus to make it up.

Update 1/13: SEMO joined the meet after both its meet versus Centenary and its makeup meet at Missouri were canceled due to COVID protocols.

Update 1/14: Illinois pulled out of the meet due to COVID protocols.

Recap

Recap

The Big Storyline: LIU continues to show improvement in its second season, breaking the program record on beam and recording the third-highest score in its short program history.

Implications: Pitt made its long awaited debut, showing much more depth compared to the 2021 season. Nerves showed, as the Panthers counted a fall on bars and two on beam, but the potential is there. Don’t sleep on Pitt this year! LIU is finally beginning to show its potential, especially on beam, so expect many more program records to be broken this season. Maryland did not get off to the best start, having to count two falls on beam in the first rotation, but the Terrapins put up good totals in the last three rotations to take the win. Notably, anticipated freshman Lindsay Bacheler was absent from the meet, so that will be something to watch in the upcoming weeks. 

Records: LIU’s 48.800 on beam sets a new program record. 

Recap

The Big Storyline: Neither Alabama or Florida competed to their capabilities with wobbles on beam, missed handstands on bars and challenging landings occurring on both vault and floor. The two programs had to fight back and recover from uncharacteristic errors throughout. Trinity Thomas scored two perfect 10s to give the Gators the edge in the meet. 

Implications: Arkansas and Auburn both had higher scores than Florida and Alabama in week two. While it’s still early in the season and neither team has its postseason lineups competing, it is worth noting that the SEC conference may just be tighter than ever this season. 

Records: Trinity Thomas became the third Florida gymnast and 12th gymnast overall to achieve the gym slam, a perfect 10 on every event during a collegiate career. Nya Reed scored her first ever perfect 10 on floor. 

Controversies: Meet scoring was all over the map in this competition, and many argue that Alabama was the better team.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 11 Alabama at No. 2 Florida

Why You Should Cancel Plans for It: Alabama upset Florida to win the SEC title last season but will be facing an uphill battle to unseat the No. 2 Gators at home after a tough loss against Oklahoma in week one. 

What We’re Watching: Sloane Blakely won the all-around in her debut and snagged SEC Gymnast of the Week as a result. She’s is the first freshman to earn the honor opening week since the award was started in 2000. Can she and her fellow Gator freshmen improve on last week’s impressive results? The Crimson Tide have their own crop of impressive freshmen, but they were largely absent during last week’s performance against the Sooners. We’ll be looking to see if they play more of a role in week two.

What Else You Should Know Before Tuning In: Neither Trinity Thomas nor Luisa Blanco competed in the all-around last week and will likely be limited to two or three events again on Sunday. World champion Morgan Hurd is officially out for the season after having ACL surgery earlier this week.

Recap

The Big Storyline: In each school’s first meet of the season, California barely edged out Stanford despite a career day from Kyla Bryant. Nevaeh DeSouza and Andi Li led the way for the Golden Bears with 39.475 and 39.425 in the all-around, respectively, with each of them taking home an event title as well. Bryant won four events for Stanford, who exceed the expectations of many in this performance.

Implications: After missing the postseason as a team in 2021, Stanford sits in 13th in the rankings to start the season while California comes in at 11th.

Records: Bryant now leads the nation in all-around average after notching new career highs in the all around and on bars. California’s team total is the best opening meet score in program history.

Controversies: After the meet initially finished tied, Maya Bordas’ floor score was raised by 0.050 to ultimately give California the victory.

Recap

Update 1/13: Iowa joined this dual after its Monday meet with Georgia was postponed due to COVID protocols within the Gymdogs’ program. The preview below was written before this development.

Recap

The Big Storyline: The Gophers started their season on the right foot with an impressive tri-meet victory over visiting Iowa and UCLA. Lexy Ramler expectedly stunned, notching a huge 39.700 in the all-around, complimented by Ona Lopers 39.525. That duo swept the event titles on the day. Iowa was yet again plagued by issues on bars, but Lauren Guerin notched a big score on floor to tie Ramler for the event title. UCLA’s day was highlighted by the debut of freshman Brooklyn Moors’ double front on floor, as the Bruins struggled throughout the day, ultimately finishing last.

Implications: Minnesota’s total would have ranked it sixth this week if Monday’s results were calculated into the standings, while UCLA’s score would’ve landed it 27th. Margzetta Frazier was also injured during her bars routine in the opening rotation of the meet, which could spell more trouble for the Bruins moving forward.

Records: This is Minnesota’s first-ever victory over UCLA.

Preview

Current Rankings: UCLA at Minnesota

Why You Should Cancel Plans for It: This is our first look at two teams poised to push for nationals berths and with final four dreams in 2022, and it is full of contenders for individual national titles as well. 

What We’re Watching: There are top tier freshmen making debuts on both sides: Haley Tyson and Lauren Pearl for Minnesota and Jordan Chiles, Brooklyn Moors and Ana Padurariu for UCLA. Mix in superstar returners for both squads in Chae Campbell, Lexy Ramler and Ona Loper, and this one is sure to have excellent gymnastics from top to bottom. Per Minnesota, Mya Hooten plans to debut a new floor routine at this meet. The sophomore had a perfect 10.0 on the event last year.

What Else You Should Know Before Tuning In: This is a social justice meet, and both teams are participating in spreading the message.

Jan. 12 update: This meet was created after both SEMO’s and Missouri’s original duals were canceled/postponed due to COVID protocols within their opponents’ programs.

Jan. 13 update: This meet was canceled due to COVID protocols within the Missouri program. SEMO will now compete at Kent State on Sunday.