Georgia, back off a COVID break after a nightmarish week one, is hoping for a fresh start tonight in Stegeman. While it’s hard to imagine this team suddenly emerging as a power, simply staying on the bars and beam could mean major improvements to the team total. We’re expecting freshman Sarah Cohen to make her debut today, and we’ll be on Victoria Nguyen watch once again.
Meanwhile, Florida is ranked respectably at this point in the season and won a moral victory last week versus Alabama, but we’re still waiting to see if the Gators can put a complete meet together. Their talent is undeniable, but their level of preparation for the season seems lower than some other teams. There’s just an element of chaos in all four Gator lineups that it would be nice to eliminate.
Finally, this meet is the last dual meet matchup between the Baumann sisters. While Rachel is still restricted to beam, it’s a lot of fun to see them meet up each year.
Rotation 1: Georgia VT, Florida UB
Cashman (UGA): FTY, slightly pikey but not the worst. She crashed in week 1 so that’s great. 9.8
Blakely (UF): Maloney to Pak with ever, ever so slight leg separations. Slightly imprecise half turn on the low bar, good handstands, toe blind to front giant to double front with the normal amount of cowboying. Pulls heels together in a slightly hoppy way but that’s a great start. 9.825
Magee (UGA): One and a half, great! We were told there would be no 10.0 SV vaults today (which doesn’t make a ton of sense, maybe misspoke) but sometimes it’s a late call whether she does the difficulty. Just a side step. 9.9
Skaggs (UF): Tkachev to Pak, leg separation. Double layout fairly starfishy but stuck emphatically. 9.9
R. Baumann (UGA): FTY, leg split on the table, piked down and a big rebound back. Looked like the way that 1.5 girls do fulls in warm ups sometimes. 9.725
McCusker (UF): Maloney shapey with leg split in the backswing, good Pak. Toe to van Leeuwen with a toe flicker. Misses a handstand, double front half comes in very low with low step and a big step.
Ward (UGA): Very solid Tsuk full, baby hop forward. 9.825
Schoenherr (UF): Toe blind to Jaeger, her usual great counterrotation, toe on to bail. Making the handstands, blind late to double front half with a hop.
Lukacs (UGA): One and a half, soft knees and some form on the table but made it! Wow. Little hop forward. 9.775
Thomas (UF): Maloney slightly weird to Pak, little leg separation on the van Leeuwen, double layout beautiful and stuck. 9.975
Roberts (UGA): One and a half, bent knees throughout getting worse in the last half turn, more or less manages to keep her feet down and salutes very fast to try to sell it as a stick. 9.925
Wong (UF): Maloney to Pak, van Leeuwen, great, double layout stuck. Wow. After Thomas that could go high. 9.975
After 1: Florida 49.475, Georgia 49.225
This is a BIG improvement for both teams, but Georgia in particular should feel fantastic to have made four 10.0 starts and put up a grown up rotation score. Florida seemed very composed apart from the McCusker dismount splat
Rotation 2: Florida VT, Georgia UB
Clark (UF): Average FTY, big hop back. The broadcast is SURE she’s Bri Edwards which is a bit of a miss because they… don’t look very similar. 9.725
Cashman (UGA): Tkachev with some flexed feet, decent bail, double layout with a baby step. Unglamorous but solid. 9.825
Skaggs (UF): Pretty FTY, super stretched approaching the landing and a hop. 9.875
Ward (UGA): True shap to bail, little leg separation and a slightly awkward catch but made the handstand, double lay with great form and a hop in place. 9.825
Schoenherr (UF): One and a half, soft knees throughout but landed well, just a little hop forward. 9.875
Finnegan (UGA): Ray, high and pretty, toe on to Pak with leg separation. Good half pirouette, FTDB with chest a little low and a hop forward. 9.875
Reed (UF): One and a half, great, moved forward but it’s close enough that ASac is willing to entertain the idea that it’s a stick. 9.95
De Jong (UGA): Arch on the first handstand, catches her Ray WAY too close and fights to be able to cast out, good bail, weird squat on drama. Double layout good with a hop. 9.625
Wong (UF): Podkopayeva STUCK. Wow. I love this vault so much and I know some people don’t but I’m just obsessed. Chest maybe a touch low. 9.825… the commentators were arguing over whether it should be a 10 or not. Hmm.
Schild (UGA): Ray, great extension, bail a touch short of handstand. Double layout piked throughout with a step forward. 9.775
Thomas (UF): Weird one and a half, soft form throughout, comes in with a DEEP squat and narrowly avoids sitting. On replay it looks like she had a hand slip on the table.
Roberts (UGA): Maloney to bail clean, maybe shy on a high bar handstand, double layout with just a foot scoot in place. 9.85
After 2: Florida 98.725 Georgia 98.325
Some slight weirdness on vault for the Gators, but definitely getting closer to something we can recognize as a top team vault lineup. Georgia will never have six super natural, tidy bars routines with this roster but the lineup they do have toughed out a very solid rotation.
Rotation 3: Georgia BB, Florida FX
Magee (UGA): Beat jump to straddle half. BHS BHS LOSO, slightly off line with an arm adjustment, good full turn. One and a half twist with a big step forward. 9.825
Clapper (UF): Rudi to double stag, moves back like two feet in the air on that jump but controls the landing. One and a half front lay, layout is a little low and whippy, to stag jump. 9.8
Cohen (UGA): BHS LOSO, bent back knee and falls. Side aerial to split, very slow connection. Double full stuck. 9.15
Skaggs (UF): Rudi double stag good. One and a half front lay great. This routine is odd, her dance is very pretty but completely incongruous with the music. 9.875
Schild (UGA): Front aerial, sloooooow connection to BHS BHS. Grabs the beam and hangs on for several long seconds before falling. Full turn, switch split. Cat leap side aerial back full with a hop. 9.125
Blakely (UF): Double Arabian, overrotated with a big step forward, borderline OOB. ASac says no flag, we couldn’t see it clearly. Switch ring switch half, double tuck looks overrotated but she plants her feet and hangs onto it. One and a half front lay well controlled. 9.725
Hawthorne (UGA): BHS LOSO, fall. Standing switch to split jump. Kickover front to beat. One and a half stuck.
Baumann (UF): One and a half to front full, overrotated but dances straight out, switch full to sissone really pretty. Double pike good. 9.875
De Jong (UGA): Full turn, switch to split. front aerial to straddle jump. BHS LOSO, falls. Fourth in a row.
Reed (UF): Double lay, hop to lunge. Front lay to Rudi overrotated and pulls her front foot back. Switch half wolf full with a hop. Double pike a touch underrotated with a weird little rebound, gets it to lunge. 9.95 is still too much but I’m glad it’s not a ten.
Baumann (UGA): Side aerial to Korbut. It wasn’t a Korbut, it was a LOSO where she split and fell onto the beam, but shh. Functionally a five fall rotation now unless the judges choose to also see a Korbut. Good leaps, one and a half twist dismount with a baby hop. 9.175
Taylor (UF): Double tuck, immediately no. That’s an Achilles tear almost guaranteed. Bummer.
After 3: Florida 147.950 – Georgia 144.950
Florida isn’t getting a lot of joy out of these judges, but that was also a pretty lukewarm floor rotation. That’s a big oof from Georgia.
Rotation 4: Florida BB, Georgia FX
Skaggs (UF): Switch to split pretty, BHS LOSO. Front aerial, leg-up check. Cat leap switch side. Side aerial back full with a hop. 9.875
Perez-Lugones (UGA): Double pike, high and well controlled. Whip half front full with a slightly uncertain landing, one foot slid. Double back great, held the stick for a second before stepping to lunge. 9.85
Blakely (UF): Front aerial BHS really secure. Switch to switch half, broke the connection, flexed front foot visible. Full turn. Side somi. Waiting to see if she has a backup dance series… Side aerial back full, nope. 9.675
Magee (UGA): Pike full in with normal amount of leg separation, great landing. Switch half Popa beautiful. One and a half front lay, not much amplitude on the layout. Double pike a little low, squats but gets it to lunge. 9.775
Baumann (UF): BHS LOSO, switch leap to split jump, side aerial. Switch half, struggles for foot placements and falls. Side aerial back full good. Beam 2 – Baumanns 0. 9.075
Roberts (UGA): Front through double back overrotated with a scoot back. Switch side Popa wolf full a little bouncy. Double pike great. 9.85
Wong (UF): Switch to split. BHS LOSO beautiful, full turn, front aerial with a check. Side aerial. Why are there so many skills, stop. Side somi for what. Double full, tried to hang onto the stick and bent over so far that her forehead almost hit the ground. It wasn’t actually that underrotated, the chest drop was just for flair.
Lukacs (UGA): Double pike, well landed. One and a half front lay. Switch side wolf full. Double tuck. Actually really solid.
Thomas (UF): One-arm BHS LOSO very clean, front aerial to beat to Korbut. Side aerial back full with I think a little hop. 9.95
Baumann (UGA): One and a half front full great, lots of air. Switch side to straddle with PRETTY straddle positions. Double pike great. Georgia landings are sharp today. 10! I mean… I guess?
Clapper (UF): BHS LOSO, weird pause, another LOSO, check. Survives a major bend check while the crowd absolutely melts down in the background, side aerial back full.
Hawthorne (UGA): Sorry I zoned out for a second thinking about the Baumann 10 but there was a double pike and some leaps that were fine with iffy splits and flexed front feet. Front lay to Rudi to split, kind of bouncy. 9.975 okay no.
FINAL: Florida 196.975, Georgia 194.475
I thought both teams made progress today, though today wasn’t the ultimate dream for either. Georgia’s three non-beam lineups were very good within the limits of this roster and Florida had a great first half before a lukewarm floor and some beam jitters held their final score back.
AA Champ: No idea, the live scores are broken still
VT Champ: Nya Reed (UF) 9.950
UB Champ: Trinity Thomas, Leanne Wong (UF) 9.975
BB Champ: ?
FX Champ: Rachel Baumann (UGA) 10.000
Live Blog by Rebecca Scally
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Is there any updates on Halley Taylor?
We heard likely Achilles for her and Lazzari unfortunately. We will confirm when we know for sure, though.