The USAG Dismount: Week 6

Recap 

The Big Storyline: West Virginia narrowly missed the 196 mark for the second week in a row after counting multiple mistakes on beam. The other three events surpassed 49, so the Mountaineers are moving in the right direction despite missing powerhouse Abbie Pierson due to injury. Pittsburgh couldn’t quite keep the momentum rolling from last weekend after counting mistakes on floor and beam. Jordyn Ewing made her season all around debut with a 39.000. Texas Woman’s posted its second 194-plus team score in the last two weeks. Led by Madeline Gose’s two event victories, the Pioneers nearly bested Division I Pittsburgh. In fact, the team was in the lead heading into the final rotation. Bars still gave the team some trouble, though.

Implications: West Virginia is currently No. 30 in the country, but its average is less than three tenths from being out of the regional qualifying spots. The Mountaineers need to figure out how to consistently put an entire meet together or risk missing the cut. Pittsburgh shouldn’t make any drastic moves up or down this week. Texas Woman’s will springboard over Yale and West Chester to land in fourth in the in-progress USAG rankings. The Pioneers are picking up speed with more room to grow as they continue through midseason. It’s looking like the team will peak just in time for postseason, but time will tell.

Recap 

The Big Storyline: Lindenwood defeated SEMO for the third time in a row this season off the back of matching 9.900s from Gayla Griswold on vault and floor. The Lions’ vault and floor teams were on fire with the vault team hitting the 49 mark for the first time in 2022. SEMO’s team total was limited by decreased vault scoring potential and counting a fall on beam. However, this meet was just a half tenth short of the season high total from last week. With room to grow, the Redhawks continued to move in the right direction. Anna Kaziska was back to doing what she does best, capturing both the beam and floor event titles. 

Implications: Lindenwood’s second 195 of the year will allow it to continue to comfortably sit atop the USAG and MIC rankings for another week. A second 195 means this one will still count when NQS goes into effect. SEMO will move past Yale for the time being. However, Jordan Jones’ 1.000 on floor could be the sign of an injury mid-routine. If that’s the case, that could spell a major loss for the Redhawks as she’s been consistently contributing on three events. Depth has already been an ongoing issue for this team, and that would just add insult to injury. SEMO and Lindenwood will meet the final time this regular season on Feb. 18. 

Records: Anna Kaziska tied her career high 9.925 on floor to take the event victory while teammate Madison Greene matched that total. Griswold’s 9.9s on vault and floor were also career highs. 

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 51 Lindenwood at No. 58 SEMO

Why You Should Cancel Plans for It: Lindenwood and SEMO have had a brewing rivalry over the last several seasons. These teams each own the last two USAG national titles. Lindenwood brought home the victory in 2019 while SEMO had a quick rise to the top to sit atop the program in 2021. Just because these teams are not in the top-10 does not mean there won’t be big gymnastics. Lindenwood’s Gayla Griswold has an upgraded Yurchenko one and a half while SEMO’s Jolie Miller has a unique piked Tkatchev to Ezhova bar combination.

What We’re Watching: This very well could be a preview of this year’s MIC and USAG championships. This weekend’s competition will be the third meeting of these two teams this season. They last met Jan. 29 where host Lindenwood took the victory after SEMO had an uncharacteristic performance on bars. Both Lindenwood and SEMO tend to peak at the end of the season, so now is about the time things start ramping up. With this being SEMO’s first home competition of the season, the Redhawks will look for redemption from two weeks ago. After posting a season high last weekend that would’ve bested Lindenwood’s week five score, SEMO will feel more ready than ever.

What Else You Should Know Before Tuning In: Pay attention to the first half of the meet. Whoever is up at halftime will likely have the upper hand. Last week, SEMO had to put up only five athletes on bars. Let’s see if this week brings a bit more depth on that event or if the Redhawks are willing to test the five-up-five-count approach yet again. Watch out for Lydia Webb as she posted matching 9.825s on all three of her events last weekend. If you’re looking for fun floor choreography, look no further than Jordan Jones. Lindenwood has a season high of 195.475 this year. Will it be able to hit that number while on the road this week? The team will live or die by strong scores from its freshman class. The potential for greatness is there, but will the Lions be able to hit when it counts?

Recap 

The Big Storyline: Air Force took a step backward this week, counting falls on bars and beam in its loss to conference foe San Jose State. There were some uncharacteristic mistakes from the Falcons’ freshman class. San Jose State posted its highest total of the season led by a huge all-around performance by Jada Mazury and a school record bar rotation. 

Implications: The Falcon’s success this year mainly depends on the consistency of the bars and beam lineups. When those events are firing on all cylinders, Air Force is destined for a large team total. However, if the Falcons have to count a fall on either of those events, the vault and floor team totals are not quite enough to salvage the situation. The team will hold onto its second spot in the USAG rankings for the third straight week. The Falcons did lose some ground on No. 1 Lindenwood, though, after the Lions posted another 195-plus. Expect West Chester, Texas Woman’s and SEMO to continue to apply the pressure in the coming weeks. Now is not the time for the Falcons to take their foot off the gas. 

Records: Genevieve Sabado posted a 9.900 to better her beam career high and tie for the title. Jaden Mazury increased her career high on floor to 9.925 en route to a career high all-around total. San Jose State’s 49.350 on bars is a new program record. 

Recap 

The Big Storyline: Both teams had a difficult time staying on the equipment as Alaska just outpaced Centenary to take the win. Consistency was questionable across the board, but Rachel Decious and Kendall Sanders proved to be the rocks of their individual teams. Alyssa Manley’s bars impressed yet again this week. Considering she’s only a freshman, the sky is the limit for her success in college gymnastics. Leilani Johnson proved that sometimes clean form can beat high difficulty, taking a share of the vault win for her near-stuck Yurchenko layout. 

Implications: Neither team’s performance will help their causes in moving up the rankings. Alaska and Centenary will look to their second matchup of the weekend to seek some redemption from multiple uncharacteristic performances. Kendall Sanders posted a season high all-around total, jumping to the top of Division III. She will look to continue to put together consistent performances on all events to qualify for her fourth straight USAG national championships. Several individuals on the Ladies’ roster are not able to compete right now due to short term injuries, so the rest of the team will need to pick it up to fill in the gaps. Madison McCary made her collegiate debut on bars while Taylor Ann Wilson competed beam for the first time in her career. Both were among the top performers on the team. They should increase the amount of depth moving forward. 

Records: Kendall Sanders achieved a career high 9.775 on beam for her upgraded BHS layout two-feet series and stuck dismount.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Floor was the tricky event of this dual meet. Southern Connecticut dropped just over a full point from last week, but continued to chug through the season finding its groove on every event except for beam, which continues to plague it with inconsistency. Floor did prove to be a challenge for the Owls, a bit of a fluke for them. However, this left room for Rhode Island to claim the highest floor score of the meet, led by Olivia Keyes and Kelsey Gates. The Anchorwomen achieved or tied a season-high on every single event, except for floor. But based on how they’ve been looking, should be a score they’ll easily leave in the dust. 

Implications: The Owls will most likely continue to hold tight in seventh place in the GEC, edging closer to topping Cornell and Brown to move up through the rankings. Rhode Island will continue to defend its third-place ranking in the NCGA-East after scoring a new season-high of 184.650. If they continue on the current trajectory, Ithaca could find Rhode Island knocking on its door for second place. 

Records: Southern Connecticut set a new program record on vault with a 48.475 and Hannah Stahlbrodt and Hanna Zebdi both scored career highs of 9.775 as well. Rhode Island rewrote history again with a new team beam high of 47.350.

Recap

The Big Storyline: West Chester overcame beam demons to hit for the first time this season, and Jessica Meakim notched a 9.900 on floor for the second week in a row while Kiah Johnson made an appearance for the first time in three weeks and claimed first on vault. William & Mary found itself on track with a season-high on beam and several team members fell just shy of tying or setting new personal bests. Overall, both teams continue to look well-paced and prepared for the second half of the season.  

Implications: After notching 193.100 or higher over the past three meets, West Chester sits comfortably in the GEC and USAG standings. William & Mary doesn’t lack in consistency after scoring within a margin of nine tenths over the past four meets but would want to break back in the 190s for the remainders of the season to see it move up in the GEC. 

Records: Lily McFarland and Caroline Cascadden of West Chester both set career highs on beam, with a 9.850 and 9.800, respectively. Samantha Kelly scored a new personal best of 9.775 on bars. William & Mary’s Sarah Wozniak set a career-best of 9.775 on bars, and Sarah Kuper beat her own record in the all-around with a personal best of 38.375.

Recap

The Big Storyline: New Hampshire roared into the meet, and Alyssa Worthington finds herself leading the EAGL conference on beam heading into Sunday, with a 9.888 average. New Hampshire proved its previous week’s score was just a fluke as it knocked on the door of a 196.000. Brown dropped nearly a point and a half from last week, with bars and floor presenting a few challenges to the team as it was forced to count two scores under 9.500 on bars and a pair of low scores on floor.  

Implications: Brown will stay fairly locked within sixth place in the GEC and ninth in USAG, however it still lays claim to the second-highest vault score in the GEC as of now. New Hampshire should continue to cruise along in seventh place in a competitive EAGL conference, but don’t overlook its current standings with the highest beam score.    

Records: Brown’s Taylor Schulze set a new career-high of 9.675 on bars and Angela Xing scored a personal best of 9.650 on vault, as did Lauren Kramer with a 9.625. Gracy Mowers scored a new personal best on vault with a 9.900, as did Kylie Gorgenyi with a 9.875, who also bested her previous score on bars with a 9.900. Kenadi Brown pocketed a 9.800 for her own personal high on bars.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Brockport took Tompkins County by storm, toppling Division I Cornell by a margin of nearly a full point, while Ithaca was close on Cornell’s heels. The Golden Eagles notched a new season high, ecplising the previous score by just over a tenth, slowly inching closer to a 193. In addition, Brockport scored a new season high on beam with a team score of 48.600 as well as floor with a 48.525, boosted by Lexi Castellaneta’s 9.900. Fellow NCGA member Ithaca notched a sky high 48.025 on bars, its highest since 1998. 

Implications: Within the past four meets, the Big Red has scored between a 191.600 and 191.600, proving its strength is in its consistency. But it’ll still want to increase that score to up its place in the rankings, otherwise it’ll continue to sit tight where it is. Brockport’s upward trajectory means it continues to easily defend its first place rank in both the NCGA and NCGA-East, and Ithaca stays securely in second in the East and in the middle of the pack in the NCGA overall. Cortland’s consistency means its rank will remain unchanged, as well.
Records: Brockport set a new team beam record with a 48.600, and Lexi Castellaneta and Natalie Galioto tied the school beam record with 9.800s. Sydney Schumaker scored a new personal high of 9.800 on vault. Kirsten Paultre set a new career high on floor with a 9.775. Representing the Big Red, Calista Brady scored a career high on floor with a 9.900. As for Cortland, Samantha Nothnagel scored a personal best of 9.750 on beam. Ithaca College broke two program records, on bars with a 48.025 and beam with a 48.300. Skye Cohen set a personal-record in the all around with a 37.900.

For a small fee, international viewers can watch the meet here.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Perhaps not as a strong of a performance as last week, Yale still showed up strong with a season high on vault and bars including falling just shy of an all-time bar record, but a few hiccups on beam held the Bulldogs back from their full team score potential. The Owls had a few struggles on floor, plagued by some tumbling short passes, relying on strong scores from Noely Macias and Hanna Zebdi to get the job done. Bridgeport filled out its lineups, including a vault appearance from Kat Doran good enough for a 9.400. Springfield posted the second highest team total on floor today, also its season high, second only to Yale by a margin of just over half a point, with Bridgeport just a tenth behind.  

Implications: Springfield will stay in the middle of the NCGA-East pack and the division as a whole. Despite a solid showing, Yale will slid into second in the standings, as well as sliding into fourth in USAG after West Chester stormed its way through the weekend. Southern Connecticut and Bridgeport will see no changes, just yet, for any of their standings. Going forward, West Chester and Yale will be neck and neck for top places.

Records: Hanna Zebdi scored a career-best of 9.750 on floor, for the Owls. For Springfield, MacKenzie MacLeod scored a new career high of 9.775 on floor.

Recap 

The Big Storyline: Led by its best bar rotation of the season, Alaska bounced back from its disappointing home debut on Friday. Alyssa Manley’s perfect toe point wowed the judges while Rachel Decious captured her second beam title of the weekend. The young Seawolves team is still trying to find its way, which is to be expected of a roster with 11 freshman and three returners. However, there is some beautiful gymnastics in the bunch that will be exciting to watch develop. Centenary posted another 187 score after counting falls on all four events. Senior Kendall Sanders had herself a day, putting together the second best all around performance of her career. She was steady as they come, unwavering amidst adversity. 

Implications: With another sub-190 score in the books, it will be an uphill battle the rest of the season as the Ladies try to creep their way into an NQS that resembles its performances in recent seasons. The team will remain sixth among Division III teams this week. Senior Xian Baumgartner was out this weekend, but hopefully that will be a short term hiatus. Moreover, Centenary is in desperate need of the return of Chloe Armentor whose Jaeger stunned in the first meet of the season but hasn’t been seen since due to an ankle injury. In general, the Ladies seem to be lacking the confidence in their training to put together a complete meet. The Seawolves will look to take the lessons learned this weekend and continue to improve in the coming weeks. The 191.500 from Sunday’s meet should be an encouragement that this team is capable when it puts everything together on the same day.