We’re just past the midpoint in the season, so it’s time to take a look back at how we’re doing on some of our predictions we set before things got underway in January. From top freshman to breakout athlete, we’re diving into where we were spot on and where we were…not so spot on.
How has the 2022 season been different than what you predicted? Let us know in the comments or on social media!
Who Will Be the Top Freshman?
Elizabeth: I predicted Sloane Blakely would be the top freshman, and while she hasn’t been as standout as I imagined before the season started, I also said her one roadblock would be making lineups. So while she has been great when she does compete, she hasn’t been a consistent lineup contributor either.
Allison: I had said Leanne Wong, and she’s been doing pretty well so far. She’s not consistently doing the all around, but she’s already pocketed a ten on bars and has really found her rhythm. Her form and presentation really shines in college.
Emily M: I had also voted Leanne Wong! She has been great, but I think it’s clear that the answer is turning out to be Jade Carey.
Tara: I had Jade Carey, and I’m feeling pretty good about that prediction. To quote myself, “she’s going to be a valuable all arounder for the Beavers. Bars and beam are her “weak” events, but they won’t be weak in college.” I’d say that’s turning out to be pretty true, considering she’s already broken the program all around record and her first 10 came on bars.
Who Will Win the USAG and NCGA Titles?
Elizabeth: I went with Texas Woman’s for the USAG title and UW-La Crosse for NCGA. The Pioneers have had their highlights, but also some rough spots—par for the course in USAG competition. However, some other teams, like Lindenwood, Air Force and West Chester, have looked better. This national title is still very much up in the air. As for the NCGA, La Crosse is looking solid, but Whitewater and Brockport are also putting on strong performances. I think that title is anyone’s game still as well.
Allison: I was eyeing Penn and Whitewater but I’m completely changing things. As far as USAG, Lindenwood, Air Force, and West Chester are all within a point of one another, but Air Force and West Chester don’t quite have the same consistency and improvement of Lindenwood, so I’m going Lindenwood. With NCGA, I’m going Brockport. I had waffled between Brockport and Whitewater before but so long as Brockport stays on track and doesn’t let itself get rattled, I really think they could soar to the top.
Emily M: I gave the USAG title to Penn, which just smashed its program record, so things are looking up, but the Quakers don’t attend USAGs any more, so that’s moot. UW-Whitewater, my pick for NCGAs, is currently No. 3 in the DIII rankings and has the second-best total on the year behind only Brockport. The battle between those two could be very fun come NCGAs.
Tara: I went with Texas Woman’s, in part because I didn’t trust Penn to actually compete at USAGs. Looks like I was right on that front, as Penn no longer competes in USAG. At this point I’d probably go Lindenwood over Texas Woman’s. For NCGA, I went with UW-La Crosse. It’s looking solid enough, but so are fellow UW schools Oshkosh and Whitewater, and Brockport is doing well too. It’s definitely going to be a close one.
Which Gymnast Will Have a Breakout Year?
Elizabeth: Kyla Bryant, my choice for this prediction, is having her best year in college. She’s hitting career highs and contributing to a strong Stanford team that just upset UCLA and is well on its way to comfortably making regionals.
Emily M: My pick was Skylar Killough-Wilhelm at Washington. The sophomore has notched a 39.400 all around and has 9.925 highs on bars and beam. Pretty great! It seems fairly clear that the old coaching staff had mismanaged her, and she’s settling in and hitting her potential now.
Tara: I’m feeling pretty good about my Linda Zivat prediction here. She’s finally competing, which is a win in and of itself, but she’s also excelling on vault and floor.
Which Senior Will Win the AAI Award?
Elizabeth: This one is hard to check in on because the AAI Award takes into account more than gymnastics ability. However, if we’re looking just at that so far, I think Natalie Wojcik is having a pretty stellar year so far.
Allison: I had cast my vote for Trinity Thomas but now I’m not totally sure anymore. I could see Natalie Wojcik, especially since Michigan is really cruising through the season so far.
Emily M: I assumed the award would go to a true senior and said Trinity Thomas. I still think that’s true, though Natalie Wojcik will give her fierce competition. Of course, of the fifth years, the Gopher duo of Lexy Ramler and Ona Loper can’t be counted out.
Tara: This is a hard one, but I originally picked Natalie Wojick. I think she’s still a top contender, as is Trinity Thomas who I also mentioned originally.
Which Non-Regionals Standby Will Make the Top 36?
Elizabeth: My sentimental fave North Carolina is doing well under the new leadership of Danna Durante. And while the results haven’t been revolutionary, the Tar Heels are currently in regionals qualifying position. However, this has been the case in the past before the team ultimately squanders the opportunity away. Here’s hoping it can maintain the success through March.
Allison: I boldly went for New Hampshire, and they’re not lookin too shabby so far. It’s definitely a bit of a reach since the Wild Cats are sitting in 46th, but with a few more 196s, they could make push it.
Emily M: I said Michigan State and I stand by it! The Spartans are No. 14.
Tara: I was between Michigan State and North Carolina but ultimately went with North Carolina since I think Michigan State would have made it last year without its COVID issues. The Tar Heels are looking good this season and appear to be on their way to regional qualification. As for Michigan State, it’s also looking quite good this season!
Which Team Will Outperform Its Traditional Standing?
Elizabeth: I chose Missouri for this one. I think I’m both right and wrong in the sense that Missouri is reaching new heights in terms of highest program ranking, but other teams are perhaps outperforming their traditional standings a little more—like conference-mate Auburn, to name one.
Allison: I also went Missouri on this, and I’ll stand by this. Helen Hu may not be at full strength but that team is fairly well-balanced.
Emily M: My answer during preseason was Missouri and so far so true! The Tigers haven’t finished better than No. 14 since 2010, and they currently sit at No. 11. They’re a nationals dark horse to be sure.
Tara: Like many of my fellow editors, I picked Missouri. So far, the Tigers are certainly performing better than they have in recent seasons!
Which Gymnast Will Have the Most Valuable Seventh Routine?
Elizabeth: Savannah Schoenherr has only competed vault and bars this season despite Florida dealing with injuries to beam and floor gymnasts. I’ll take the L on this one.
Emily M: Well, I kinda blew this one by answering Emily Gaskins. We’ve hardly seen her this year and when we did, she was not in top form.
Tara: Well, I went with Payton Richards, and we’ve hardly seen her. One of those was a solid beam routine, but the other appearance was a fall on floor. Considering we’ve seen Florida play around with its lineups, I’m somewhat shocked we haven’t seen more of her..
Who Will Make the Most of Their COVID Year?
Elizabeth: In perhaps my most painful wrong prediction, I chose Lynnzee Brown to have the best redemption year. Things were going great, too, up until she suffered an unfortunate Achilles tear. I’m still holding out hope for a sixth year.
Emily M: I answered Ona Loper and my it rings true! She’s having the best season of her career.
Tara: I chose Lynnzee Brown. RIP to her Achilles. I will say she was looking great until that point, so I’d like to say I was at least somewhat right. I’m also still holding out hope for a sixth year.
Who Is the Most Underrated Gymnast in the Country?
Elizabeth: Similar to the outperform their traditional standing question, I think I’m both right and wrong so far on this prediction. I chose Sierra Brooks, and while she is doing phenomenally this season, other gymnasts may be doing even better.
Allison: I went with Luisa Blanco. She had a slow and steady start to the season and is rolling into the all-around consistently now, but I still find that she flies under the radar more than other all-arounders.
Emily M: This one was tough for me! I answered Chae Campbell, because I tend to think she gets lost in some of our conversations about top all arounders. I still think that’s true, although she’s been off to a slower start in 2022.
Tara: I went with Abby Heiskell on this one, and I don’t think I’m wrong. I predicted she would break into the all around after being a mainstay on three events, which she has. Apart from a couple miscues, she’s looking really good so far this season.
Which Team Will Win the NCAA Title?
Elizabeth: This one is pretty funny because while I chose Florida in my preseason poll—something I’m still predicting—I changed my answer to Utah for this specific prediction article during the preseason. Utah knows how to peak, we know this from 2021, but as of now, the Utes look to be a step behind the other three top teams in the country so far. Time will tell!
Allison: In my previous life, I chose Arkansas because of my chaos loving heart. My heart didn’t know how to hope for Michigan to have another great season, but right now I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Minnesota or Utah.
Emily M: Good grief this was so hard, I said Florida in our prediction but gave it to Utah in our poll. Michigan is well and away ahead, but I do think we’re seeing the Wolverines at peak form and haven’t seen the Utes or Gators in top shape yet, so the back half of the season should get spicy.
Tara: Like Elizabeth, I deviated from my preseason poll and picked Utah. I’d say my original hunch of Michigan is looking better than the Utes at this point, but I’m still not counting Utah out. Like Emily M said, I think Michigan is already in top form, while other top teams haven’t peaked quite yet.
And finally, Take a Look Back at Your Preseason Poll. How Are Things Looking so Far on That Front?
Elizabeth:I’m prepared to eat my words about Michigan. However, I don’t want to get ahead of things either. There’s still a lot of season left, and we’ve seen many times before that the top team during the regular season doesn’t necessarily always win a national championship. I was also off on Towson. The Tigers are having a standout year and are poised to not only make regionals but do it comfortably.
Allison: I went hard on the math, so I wound up with Florida in first, and its currently sitting in second. UCLA, well, no need to go into that. But otherwise, things aren’t too far off except for Minnesota and Michigan, and honestly, I’m delighted. I love to see names at the top that don’t typically get that type of recognition or have that dynasty hold on things.
Emily M: If you think we don’t see all of the snarking at us on Twitter about Michigan, you’re wrong. 🙂 I said what I said because so much as a badly timed sprained ankle to one of the core gymnasts could drastically dampen team scores, especially after the Bauman and Koulos injuries, and that’s dangerous in the postseason. So I stand by it! I mean I’m the Big Ten editor, you can guess what I’d like to see happen; I’m trying to keep my realistic hat on here. I do think it’s also challenging to sustain such a high level of gymnastics for so long; so far so good! But Utah is prolific at peaking, and Florida is definitely using a new strategy this year, and with Oklahoma’s old floor woes more or less ironed out, the competition is not sitting on its heels. It’s going to be interesting, that’s all. I also had Rutgers sneaking into regionals, and that’s looking more and more likely. The Scarlet Knights are sneaky good this year.
Tara: My top four are still looking good, though the order of two through four is different. I was one of the ones who had Michigan at No. 1, and the Wolverines are leaning into that expectation so far. I agree with Emily M, though—one injury to a key gymnast could do the Wolverines in. I touched on Missouri before, but I put it at No. 12—it’s currently at No. 11. I’m LOLing at putting UCLA at No. 5; I also had Arkansas making nationals which does not seem likely at this point. With a few exceptions, the middle of my top 36 is looking good overall. I’m willing to take the L on Kent State and San Jose State currently being in the top 36, and I will be interested to see if both teams can maintain that position closer to regionals. I also whiffed on Stanford, but regretted it shortly after. I must say the Cardinal may just be living up to expectations for once.
READ THIS NEXT: 2022 Predictions
Article by the editors of College Gym News
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