The USAG Dismount: Week 4

Recap 

The Big Storyline: Kent State put together a 49.475 floor rotation complete with a near-perfect 9.975 from freshman Alyssa Guns. Taking down a Big Ten opponent in Rutgers was just the icing on the cake. 

Implications: Cornell is actively trying to get back into the swing of things after a long hiatus from competition. However, consistency on bars and beam is proving to be the weak point at the moment. Floor and vault are starting to come along nicely though. This relatively inexperienced team will need some more time to find a lineup that will work from week to week. They’ll continue to sit at the middle of the pack in the USAG going into week five. Kent State was lights out on floor en route to defeating Rutgers and a new season high team score. The Flashes will stay in the second spot in the MAC. Kent State will need to surpass the 196 mark to begin to put the pressure on Western Michigan. Rutgers is still looking a little shaky in 2022. Counting scores in the 9.500 range is not what we’ve become accustomed to when watching the Scarlet Knights. Belle Huang is taking care of business, but Hannah Joyner has been showing flashes of inconsistency on various events. Hopefully the 2021 national qualifier can return to her consistent, high scoring all-around performances as the season continues. 

Records: Alyssa Guns tumbled her way to a near-perfect 9.975 in her collegiate debut on floor. 

Controversies: After Emily Leese’s vault made some noise on Twitter last weekend, her Yurchenko one and a half was appropriately awarded a 9.875 this week.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Air Force claimed its home opener in dominating fashion while Alaska made its first competitive appearance since March 2020. 

Implications: Air Force finally showed the gymnastics world the potential it has to offer. This team is composed of large freshman and senior classes, both of which have proven to make big contributions to the team’s scoring ability. A couple major lineup returns helped the Falcons to eclipse 193.000. Daija Stevenson’s full made its way back into the vault lineup. Adding another twisting vault will help to increase the Falcon’s vault SV. Briona Carswell also was back in the beam lineup this week for a strong 9.800. Air Force has moved into the second spot in the in-progress USAG rankings. Let’s see if it can hold onto that spot through the end of the weekend. The future’s looking bright for Air Force. Alaska made its 2022 debut after missing all of last season. Struggles on floor prevented the Seawolves from posting a big team score. The team will have a chance to redeem itself on Sunday in a tri meet at Air Force. 

Records: Cameo Stapleton posted a career high 9.875 on floor en route to the event title on the event. The freshman duo of Ayla McKean and Genevieve Sabado each upped their all-around career highs with a 39.100 and 38.900, respectively.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Lindenwood went near-49 on bars and floor while SEMO struggled to hit its stride. 

Implications: Lindenwood will continue to sit atop the MIC and USAG rankings, distancing itself from the rest of the competition. Vault is still an area that could be suspect at times, but bars is much improved. Gayla Griswold figured out the Yurchenko one and a half again this week, so hopefully nailing the landing will come in the near future. SEMO’s floor performance was lights out, but that could not undo the mistakes counted on the other events. In general, the Redhawks seemed to be lacking confidence throughout the meet. Injuries and lack of depth are interfering with SEMO’s success thus far this season. The situation might be rectifiable if the Redhawks can find a consistent vault lineup. Bright spots right now are the consistency of freshman Lindsay Ockler and Kaziska’s floor work. 

Records: Hannah Appleget’s 9.850 was a new career high. 

Controversies: Some scoring at this meet was loose, but at least it was consistent?

Recap

The Big Storyline: West Chester swept past Ursinus with a nearly 13-point margin after the Bears struggled to fill their lineups due to protocols and injuries. 

Implications: A meeting of two teams across conferences, Ursinus will be most hurt in its respective standings in the NCGA after dropping five points this week following its opening score last weekend of 185.825. The Owls found beam to be the biggest challenge, scoring a 44.050, counting just a single score over a 9.000. Floor proved to pose another challenge, as they scored just over 1.500 over the previous week, missing Lindsay Thornton and Taylor Cusick’s strong floor routines this matchup. West Chester continued to improve its season, most likely continuing to secure its second place in the GEC, scoring a season-high, improving on most events, allowing just a tenth difference on beam, but losing five tenths on floor, but still its second-best showing on the event so far this season and counting not a single score under 9.625.

Records: West Chester scored a season-high of 193.125, as Golden Rams Jessica Meakim tied her career high on vault with a 9.800, and Lily McFarland set several career highs with a 9.725 on vault, 9.800 on beam and 9.750 on floor. Hyla Betts swung her way to a personal best of 9.700.

Recap 

The Big Storyline: Air Force’s huge 49.125 on floor left the host team just shy of UC Davis in a season high team performance. 

Implications: Air Force is steadily getting better every meet. For reference, its team score increased by one and a half points from its competition on Friday. That’s with leaving some tenths up for grabs on beam. The Falcons tend to fly under the radar when it comes to the USAG competition, but this year they are coming in hot. Air Force should be sitting comfortably in the second spot entering week five. Alaska bested its team score from Friday by quite a bit as well. Some tenths on beam were left on the table, so the Seawolves will look to improve on that event to continue to improve in the coming weeks. UC Davis put together a season high of its own, but Air Force definitely put some pressure on the current top ranked team in the MPSF. 

Records: Briona Carswell entered the floor lineup this week with a huge 9.900. Carswell is mostly known for her beam work, but this performance let everyone know that she is a more versatile athlete than she’s been given credit for.

Recap 

The Big Storyline: Neither team will be happy with the end result as bars, once again proved to be their nemeses. 

Implications: Vault and floor once again saved the day for the Pioneers, but counting two mistakes on bars and beam was less than ideal. Goyco and Johnson’s bars were unwavering despite the trouble that preceded them. Adding Podges and Makenzie Kunzman back on beam will be helpful in the long run. This week’s team score will not help TWU move up in the MIC or USAG rankings. For a team that is known to be very successful in home competitions, this meet was a bit out of character. Centenary started the meet struggling on bars and never fully recovered. The hit bar routines this week were lower scoring than the team expected, which set the tone for the rest of the competition. Highlights included Emma Lavelle’s 9.700 on floor and 9.775 on beam. She’s turning out to be a real asset to the team this year. Watch out for her come postseason. The Ladies will continue to work toward five-for-six made routines on all the events. 

Records: Junior Kyla Podges put together a 9.825 beam routine, which was good enough for a new career high and the event win. 

Controversies: The judges seemed to be having a hard time, with five-tenth splits between scores being a regular occurrence during this meet. Judging conferences may or may not have occurred when there was a discrepancy.

Recap 

The Big Storyline: Penn posted its highest home score in history while Yale made a push for the team victory with a 49.000 on floor. Coming up just short still left the Bulldogs with a season high. 

Implications: Yale is finally coming into its own this season. The rust of two years without competing is finally gone. The Bulldogs have a plethora of gymnasts who can go 9.8-plus on several events. Therefore, Yale does not have to rely on a few gymnasts for the bulk of its score. Raegan Walker is proving to be a consistent beam and bar worker for the team. Yale should push past Texas Woman’s and SEMO in the USAG rankings this week with its strong performance. This might shake out to be a close race at the top of the GEC this year as well. 

Records: Penn posted its highest home score in program history.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 58 Yale at No. 48 Pennsylvania

Why You Should Make Time to Tune in: It’s Penn’s home opener, and after two top-five all-time scores in the last two meets, the Quakers have every shot to finally bring home the program record. Meanwhile, Yale caught fire last week and beat its season high by over three points to give a real challenge to LIU. 

Need More Proof? Kiersten Belkoff (yes, the younger sister of NCAA gymnastics alums Corinne and Alexis) is the leader of the Penn vault team that set an event program record last weekend. Penn’s endlessly stylish beam star Natalie Yang is a can’t-miss as well. Keep an eye on GEC Performance of the Week honoree Raegan Walker from Yale, particularly on vault and beam.

Recap 

The Big Storyline: Southern Connecticut proved its depth in a tight battle with Brown and Bridgeport.

Implications: The Bears faced tough situations due to weather and protocols but saw themselves hold steady in eighth in the USAG, improving a point on vault and beam since the start of the season. However, they posted several personal season highs including Mei Li Costa and Julia Bedell nothing highs on vault, a 9.800 and 9.750. Freshman Taylor Schulze anchored Brown on beam, performing like a seasoned veteran and pocketing a 9.875 and leading the Bears to a 48.125, their best event of the night. The Purple Knights found themselves swapping places with the Owls, going from ninth to 10th as the Owls shifted into ninth. Kat Doran continues to lead Bridgeport on bars, posting a 9.875 to win. Freshman Alyssa Wiggins proves she’s worth watching as she took third place with a 37.200, behind teammate Kiana Session who took second with a 37.200. Bridgeport improved on virtually all events from its opening meet of the year, the small team proving its weight and skill. Southern Connecticut’s Hannah Stahlbrodt claimed the all around title, with a fall on beam, and her best score of the season so far. Chelsea Baker made her bars debut, coming in fourth with a 9.650. 

Records: The Brown’s Taylor Schulze scored a career high 9.875 on beam, as well as Julia Bedell and Lauren McKeown with a 9.725. On floor, McKenna Weiner posted a career high 9.575. Southern Connecticut’s Hannah Zebdi scored a personal best of 9.700 on vault, improving on her previous 9.600, as did Sydney Wilson with a 9.525. Noely Macias and Emelia Diaz both posted personal highs on beam with a 9.800 each, Angel Lee followed with a 9.725. Stahlbrodt also scored a personal best of 9.775 on floor.