It’s fun to watch rankings change every week, but they only tell us so much about the status of a team. Which teams are on the rise and which are barely hanging on? Which ones have a competitive ranking by the grace of their RQS drop scores and which will pose a real threat in postseason? I’ll dig into the real dynamics of NCAA gymnastics in this biweekly column that’s part power ranking, part high school yearbook awards—all serious analysis.
Just kidding, almost zero serious analysis.
It’s actually been a fairly low-drama couple of weeks in college gymnastics! There was definitely the normal scoring stuff, but overall we’ve actually had some peace and quiet. Personally, I blame the Olympics. Figure skating can absorb all the toxic while I mind my own business.
Flames Emoji
San. Jose. State. Program. Record. By. Six. Tenths. I can’t remember a program record being blown that drastically, anywhere, ever. It might not be completely unprecedented, but it’s pretty dang close to it.
On the Struggle Bus
New Hampshire… We thought you were good… Are you good? Because lately it’s not looking necessarily quite so good.
Glad You’re Having Fun
You’re Beautiful but Please Hit
Ohio State. You’re obviously a 197.000 team at this point. Just stop blowing it on one random beam fall per week, OK?
Why Is This Happening
Florida, we thought you had your lineups figured out! Why did you have to have one good week and then immediately ruin everything? Your aggressive pacing strategy is getting difficult to defend.
Won Twitter for The Week
Instant meme status.
Quietly Cruising
Alabama made a huge ranking jump this weekend thanks to a season-high score of 197.875, and then other teams competed and ruined its fun. Still, the Crimson Tide made huge progress toward proving itself as a top team this week, with very little attention earned for its trouble.
In Memoriam
It pains me to say that it’s officially time to give up on Illinois’ beam lineup. Illinois has a lot of potential this year, but the suddenly great floor team can only carry the Illini so high if the beam people don’t stay on the beam.
Next Week, I Swear
The Towson program record is SO CLOSE. The Tigers have been blowing past important milestones left and right, but the big one is still just around the corner and eminently attainable.
I Don’t Know Who Needs to Hear This, but…
Sometimes people just make a joke, and you don’t need to try to launder their obvious joke into discourse!
Fall of the Week
*commentator voice* You might think that a full turn is one of the easiest skills, but ACTUALLY
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Article by Rebecca Scally
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