If you’re only checking in to keep tabs on Alabama, you’re in for some fun! Western Michigan and North Carolina have both made waves this season thanks to their respective jumps in the national rankings and stellar freshman classes. While it’s unlikely that either team will best Alabama, this could be a very tight meet.
Notice I said unlikely, not impossible: The Crimson Tide only scored a 195.850 in their first meet of the season, a number both the Tar Heels and the Broncos have beaten multiple times this season.
Western Michigan is significantly ahead of its MAC counterparts so far this season: Not only is it the only team in the conference to break 196 this season, its lowest score is a 196.000 in week one.
Similarly, North Carolina is leading the EAGL, though the margins are a bit tighter thanks to a (seemingly) fluky 194.225 in week two. However, it’s the only EAGL team to boast two scores over 196.
Alabama certainly has an edge difficulty-wise—particularly on vault—and the obvious home arena advantage, but it’ll need to hit; the low 49s it’s posted in every meet this season might not be enough to secure the win. Obviously, the Crimson Tide have shown extremely high scoring potential this season, but have yet to prove that they can hit those highs consistently.
Rotation One: Alabama vault, WMU bars, UNC beam
Olsen (Alabama): Hands down the cleanest and best double Yurchenko she’s done. Stuck cold. 9.900.
Paradise (Alabama): Good height on her Y 1.5, a little overrotated and has to take a hop forward.
Adams (Alabama): Really solid Y 1.5, not a ton of distance but another stick.
Waligora (Alabama): Another excellent Y 1.5, small hop forward.
Doggette (Alabama): Powerful Y 1.5 with a large bound forward. 9.775
Blanco (Alabama): Pretty Y 1.5 in the air with a little too much juice. Takes a step forward.
Summey (UNC): bhs loso, well done. Very solid side somi. Lovely back 1.5, stuck. Great start. 9.800
Freeman (WMU): Pretty piked Jaeger, but lost momentum heading into the bail and hand to take several empty swings heading into the bail. 8.850
Shearer. (UNC): Cat leap to front toss, a little deep with a small check. Switch leap to straddle half. Front walkover to gainer full with chest forward, up on her toes. 9.700
Petrousek (WMU): We didn’t get to see the routine on the broadcast, but it got a 9.650.
Nam (UNC): Fantastic bhs bhs loso. Switch side, great. Back 1.5 with a hop. 9.775.
Roy (WMU): Big leg sep on the Maloney. Lost a little tension in the bail. Lovely, intentional final handstand. Nearly stuck FTDT. 9.675
Faulkner (WMU): KCH, beautiful. Maloney with large leg sep to overshoot. A bit shy on her final handstand. Blind change just past handstand to front double tuck cowboyed with a small step. 9.725
Dekanoidze (UNC): Switch split to side aerial, wonderfully done. Bhs loso. I’m personally offended that the PxP doesn’t know the difference between Dekanoidze and Culton. Switch leap and her foot comes off, too bad. Back double twist, nails it. 9.275.
Murphy (WMU): ALways nice Deltchev. Love the deliberate handstand on her bail. A little late on the blind full. Toe on half off dismount, small hop. Great. 9.750.
Culton (UNC): Bhs loso, impeccable as always. Cat leap to switch side, fantastic. Front aerial to beat, smart adjustment in the air. Side aerial to a stuck full, gorgeous. 9.875
Moravansky (WMU): Pretty straddled Jaeger. A little iffy on the bail. Huge distance on the DLO with a small hop back. 9.725.
Knower (UNC): Bhs loso, rock solid. Gorgeous front toss, big air. Full turn kicked out. Beat to switch half, nice amplitude on the latter. Back 1.5, stuck and she is pumped. Excellent finish for the freshman.
AFTER ONE ROTATION: Alabama 49.500, North Carolina 49.050, Western Michigan 48.525
Strongest vault rotation of the season by far for Bama. Olsen and Adams were the standouts for me, excellent execution from both.
Not a disastrous bars rotation from Western Michigan, but obviously not their best. On the plus side, they’ve got their toughest event out of the way with a respectable score. Expect them to pick up the pace moving forward.
Dekanoidze’s fall is a tough break for UNC, but the rest of the lineup rallied to break 49.
Rotation Two: Alabama bars, WMU beam, UNC floor
Faulkner (WMU): Bhs loso with a small hip bobble, just kept moving through it. Side aerial, some foot form but very solid. 9.675
Gaskins (Alabama): Loses her form on her Pak and scrapes her feet on the mat, but stays on. 9.525.
Nam (UNC): Fhs to Rudi, well-controlled. Switch half to wolf full, lovely position. Back `1.5 to front full, great job. Another strong start for the Tar Heels. 9.750.
Waligora (Alabama): Blind change to a big straddled Jaeger, a little close. Good bail. FTDL with some extra juice, large bound back.
St. Brice (UNC): Back 1.5 to front lay, a little flat. Wolf full, doesn’t get a ton of amplitude, but gets it arouhd. Double pike with chest a bit low and takes a hop back. 9.625.
Thomas (WMU): Fantastic bhs loso. Front aerial with the slightest waver, well-finessed. Side aerial to front full, has to pike and step forward. 9.550.
Machado (Alabama): Maloney to Pak, well done. VL, no problems. Blind full to a high double tuck, stuck. 9.900
Patrousek (WMU): Wolf turn, good. Bhs loso with a slight hip check. Side aerial with a small check to beat jump; unfortunately, don’t think she’ll get the connection. Switch split to tuck 3/4, another small bend at the waist. Side aerial to full, stuck. 9.400.
Adams (Alabama): Perfect form on her Maloney to Pak. Gorgeous handstand. VL with legs glued together. A little off center on her blind change, super high double tuck with a small step. 9.875.
Moravansky (WMU): Bhs bhs loso, well done. Pretty full turn. RO back 1.5, good rise but has to hop forward. 9.650
Greenlow (UNC): BIG double pike, good landing. Switch half to wolf full, didn’t quite hit 180 on the latter. Back 1.5 through to 2.5, really nicely done. RO 1.5 to front lay, very nice. 9.850.
Blanco (Alabama): Maloney with slight leg sep, gorgeous Pak. Maybe a hair shy on her final handstand? HIGH FTDT stuck but comes up on her toes. 9.950
Gruber (WMU): Full turn with a deep lunge. Bhs loso with some feet. Back 1.5, stuckish but a bit off center. 9.775
Dogette (Alabama): Lovely Pak. Fabulous DLO, stuck cold. 9.950.
Dekanoidze (UNC): Excellent opening double tuck, stuck. Switch ring to switch half, well done. Beautiful back 2.5, completely rotated. Back 1.5 to front lay, no problems. Great comeback after that fall on beam. 9.825
Murphy (WMU): Front toss with a slight waver to a split jump, back leg a little low but very solid. Bhs loso, great. I love her rhythm, she’s always so calm. Beat to ring jump is good. Side aerial to back full, stuck. 9.875.
Culton (UNC): Tidy double tuck, takes it riiiight to the edge but stays in bounds. High front lay to front full, very clean. Switch ring to switch side, nice amplitude on both. Front lay to Rudi, chest down and steps forward. 9.775.
Knower (UNC): Slightly underroated double pike, has to step forward. Fhs full to front lay, a little flat and has to take stutter step on the landing. Switch full to switch half, good position. Beautiful double tuck with a deliberate, controlled landing. Not her best, but a solid routine for the Tar Heels. 9.850
AFTER TWO ROTATIONS: Alabama 98.975, North Carolina 98.100, Western Michigan 97.050
Lead-off hiccup aside, a pretty bars routine for the Tide. They’ve done a great job of cleaning up
Western Michigan just looks nervy (which is completely understandable given the venue). There weren’t any major mistakes (i.e., falls), just a number of tenths that chipped away from the event total. Murphy continues to prove that she can hang with the best in the country.
North Carolina hasn’t been its absolute best but it’s also holding its own, posting back-to-back 49.050s. Hats off to Julia Knower for reining in what could have been a deduction-heavy routine; she’s anchoring the rotation as a freshman for a reason!
Rotation Three: Alabama beam, WMU floor, UNC vault
Burgess (Alabama): One armed bhs loso with some feet and a slight hip check. Cat leap switch side, good. Switch leap series, good. Side aerial to full, well done. 9.875
Adams (Alabama): Front aerial with a small check. Bhs loso, flawless. Double wolf turn, really pretty (seriously). Back 1.5 with a medium hop. 9.850.
Graber (Alabama): Same round-off mount as Knower, but she’s 7 inches shorter so she uses the springboard, lol. Bhs layout with a well-finessed adjustment. Cat leap to front toss, skips the Liukin again. Side gainer full, great. 9.850.
Waligora (Alabama): Bhs loso, hips were off and she comes off. Split jump to tuck full, good position (and a smile, which is apparently a relaxation technique they’re using). Back 1.5 with a hop. 9.250.
Hudson (Alabama): Flawless front aerial to bhs loso. Side aerial, some soft knees and feet, but solid. Back 1.5 a little flat, but doesn’t move. 9.900
Blanco (Alabama): Pretty full turn. Bhs loso loso, fantastic. Front aerial, great. Switch half to beat, lovely. Back double full with a hop back. 9.900.
Moravansky (WMU): Slightly underrotated double pike with a step forward. Good position on her leap series. Front lay to front full, gorgeous! 9.750.
Petrousak (WMU): Double tuck with a slide back. Fhs front full to front lay, well done. Good height on her double pike, lands a bit back on her heels and slides back. 9.775.
Faulkner (WMU): Big double pike to open. Punch full to front lay, nicely done! Fhs Rudi to a dynamic split jump. 9.825.
Roy (WMU): Switch side to Popa, very nice. Punch front through to double pike, chest a little low but a nice pass overall. 9.750.
Murphy (WMU): Front through to double tuck, feet but big air. Switch ring to switch full, love how solid she is with the landings. Punch Rudi to straddle, excellent. Strong RO double pike to close. 9.850.
Summey (UNC): Big Y full, slightly piked and just a small hop. 9.750
Greene (UNC): Y full a little bit off center with a hop to the side. 9.700.
Shinohara (UNC): Y full with a lot of amplitude and a large bound back. 9.725
Knower (UNC): Big Y full with a bi hop back. Durante said they’re not too worried about the landings at this point, which is fine. 9.675 seems low, even with the landing.
Dekanoidze (UNC): Wow, HUGE Y 1.5 with a large step forward. Even with the messy landing, that was great. 9.750
Weil (UNC): 9.775
AFTER THREE ROTATIONS: Alabama 149.450, North Carolina 146.800, Western Michigan 146.050
Alabama continues to handle adversity well, calmly doing what it needs to do even after the fall from Waligora.
Durante describes her Tar Heels team as “not intimidated,” and says, “They know they’ve earned the right to compete here.” Vault was mediocre, largely because the landings just weren’t there. That said, it was a very good rotation, and you can see that the technique and potential is there if they can just hone in the landings.
The Broncoes looked more like themselves on floor, turning in a very solid 49.000. As with beam, no major breaks, just a lot of tenths to take.
Rotation Four: Alabama floor, WUM vault, UNC bars
Machado (Alabama): Nice double pike to open. Front full to front pike, well done. Triple wolf turn, good lord… Switch leap to switch half, lovely oversplit. Tight double tuck to close. Fantastic lead-off. 9.850.
Olsen (Alabama): Piked full in, well done. Switch leap, switch full to switch half, good position in the air. RO to double stag, good. Front through to double pike, nice. 9.775.
Doggette (Alabama) : Slightly underrotated piked full in, lunges forward but covers well. Love the air guitar! Good position on her leap series. Front tuck through to double pike, chest down a hair but a really nice finishing pass. 9.900
Hudson (Alabama): Front lay to front double twist, beautiful. Switch half to wolf half, gorgeous position. Back 2.5, a little wonky on the landing. Double tuck was great in the air, bit of a slide back. 9.900.
Blanco (Alabama): Double pike with a significant slide back. Switch ring to switch half to Popa, dynamic as always. Double tuck, pretty in the air but again slides back on the landing. Front full front lay, a little wonky in the air and skids a bit on the landing. 9.875 is high for me with the landing issues on all three passes.
Graber (Alabama): A little short on her FTDT and steps forward. Dynamic Popa as usual. Switch side to wolf 1.5, well done. Front tuck through to double pike, very clean. 9.900.
Shearer (UNC): DLO with some leg sep and a hop.
Silvestein (UNC): Ooh, almost goes over on her first handstand, good save. Blind change to straddled Jaeger, great. Bail a little close. Flawless, controlled final handstand. DLO with a hop back.
Knower (UNC): Gienger with some leg sep. Bail to handstand looked a bit off kilter. HUGE FTDT with a step back. 9.600.
Dekanoidze (UNC): Slight leg sep on her Maloney. Lovely bail to handstand. DLO a little low and takes a small step. 9.850.
Schaefer (UNC): Blind change to a nice straddled Jaeger. Hand stand a little shy. Bail was off-center. Almost steps offon her sole circle. Again, handstand just a bit shy. FTDT with a tiny hop. 9.600.
Culton (UNC): Good form on her Tkatchev. Love her staldter work, double tuck with the smallest adjustment on the landing. 9.825.
Singh (WMU): Y half with a hop forward, nice lead-off. 9.700.
Roy (WMU): HUGE Y full, slight pike in the air but a really clean landing. 9.725.
Petrousek (WMU): Y full, chest down a bit on the landing and steps forward. 9.725
Faulkner (WMU): Lovely Y full in the air, comes up a bit short and has to hop forward. 9.750.
Murphy (WMU): Giant Y full, basically stuck. 9.875.
AFTER FOUR ROTATIONS: Alabama 197.875, North Carolina 195.325, Western Michigan 194.875
VT: Shania Adams 9.950
UB: Luisa Blanco, Makarri Doggette 9.950
BB: Luisa Blanco 9.950
FX: Makarri Doggette, Lilly Hudson, Lexi Graber 9.900
AA: Luisa Blanco 39.675
Live blog by Claire Billman
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