Fantasy gym—like everything since the COVID pandemic began—is a little different this season. The official game isn’t running because Kristen and the College Fantasy Gymnastics crew welcomed a little one to their family (congrats!). However, we know many of you are playing in private leagues, or are using the brand new site Gymlytics from Twitter user GymChem, so Fantasy Central lives on!
We’re switching up the weekly cadence to match Gymlytics’: The fantasy “week” begins with Friday meets, ends with any Thursday ones and trading happens every Monday via waiver wire. However, you’ll still find us here every Tuesday talking about “next week.”
This is your one-stop-shop for all things fantasy each week. We’ll be tracking injuries, byes and double headers, and giving you tips and tricks to put forward your best possible team.
Week nine?! Phew. The Big Ten is through with its conference meets, so it’s time for some fun out-of-conference play. In some cases that means walking into more generous scorescapes (see: Michigan at Oklahoma and Minnesota at Utah, although both Big Ten squads have had comfortable scoring at home this year). But in some cases it means matchups with MAC or MIC teams where we can expect reigned in numbers. The SEC and Pac-12 are still finishing up conference play so expect those scoring environments to be what you’re used to.
Reminder that Thursday’s meet counts toward week eight. There are two Thursday meets on 3/10 that will count toward week nine (Bowling Green at Illinois and Sacramento State at Arizona).
Injury Updates
- Elena Bailey – Southern Connecticut – torn ACL (2/19/22)
- Janelle Lopez – SEMO – removed from injury list (competition routines) – unknown (2/19/22)
- Mia Sundstrom – Denver – torn Achilles (2/19/22)
- Lexi Powe – Illinois – removed from injury list (competition routines) – elbow surgery (10/13/21)
- Removed (Unknown): Olivia Trautman – Oklahoma – removed from injury list (competition routines) – knee tendinitis (1/9/22)
- Removed (Unknown): Natalie Yang – Penn – removed from injury list (competition routines) – in a boot (1/30/22)
- Frida Esparza – UCLA – removed from injury list (warmup routines) – in a boot (1/30/22)
- Abbie Pierson – West Virginia – removed from injury list (competition routines) – concussion (2/13/22)
- Chloe Beatty – UW-Stout – broken femur (2/22/22)
- Maddie Quarles – Minnesota – overuse injury (2/25/22)
- Emma Wissman – SUU – torn ACL (2/25/22)
- Alyssa Ojeda – Missouri – in a boot (2/25/22)
- Jordan Jones – SEMO – torn ACL (2/25/22)
- Athlyn Drage – Maryland – broken foot (2/25/22)
- Makarri Doggette – Alabama – removed from injury list (competition routines) – (2/25/22)
- Alyona Shchennikova – LSU – removed from injury list (competition routines) – unknown (2/25/22)
- Mickayla Stuckey – Eastern Michigan – lower body injury during floor routine (2/27/22)
- Lali Dekanoidze – North Carolina – dislocated patella (2/27/22)
Week 9 Byes and Doubles
Byes: Alaska, Bridgeport
Doubles: Air Force, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Auburn, Bowling Green, Georgia, Illinois, Kent State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, SEMO, Sacramento State, Stanford
Deep Cuts for Deep Leagues in Week 9
Tips for players in leagues with 10-plus players, where you need to be a little more creative to fill out lineups; especially during big bye weeks.
Vault: Deja Chambliss has quietly snuck up to No. 17 on vault nationally. She has a 9.950 high and has only gone under 9.800 once.
Bars: Yale had a nice little day to win the Ivy Classic last week, led in part by Reagan Walker‘s excellent bars and beam scores. The Bulldogs are at Maryland in a quad this week where scores could be a little looser than the Ivies are accustomed to. North Carolina is coming off a bye and facing its first meet without Lali Dekanoidze after her patellar injury. Sophie Silverstein competed bars a handful of times earlier in the year and might step in there; Julianna Weil took Dekanoidze’s floor spot the week of the injury and could take that spot again this week.
Beam: Penn heads to Nebraska this week for a quad with George Washington and Lindenwood. Sometimes those mixed-tier quads end up scored very tightly, but there’s also a chance we start to see some bigger numbers fly for the smaller programs, which could be good news for the Quaker beam duo of McCaleigh Marr and Natalie Yang. Yang was a little off-kilter the past two weeks, but her potential is high. Marr has also excelled on bars recently.
Floor: Illinois State is at BYU this week, a great opportunity to see some big numbers for the Redbirds. In addition to being part of the vault crew, Jaye Mack has an excellent floor routine with a high ceiling. We’ve seen Alondra Maldonado on floor three weeks straight for Iowa State now; she seems to have solidified herself in the top six.
Starts, Sits and Pickups for Week 9
Are you playing in a smaller league and still looking for advice about big names? Are you in a deep league but not sure what to do with that OU beam specialist? These tips are for you!
Vault: We can expect Michigan to finally put up full-strength lineups against Oklahoma; that would be a signature win and great dry run for the postseason, so chances are high that Bev Plocki treats it as such. Gabby Wilson was only rested last week, so don’t fret since you can expect her back. Kaylee Quinn can be a high risk/high reward vaulter, but she has six hits in a row now, topping out at a 9.900 last week. If you’ve been hedging, it might be time to keep her in this lineup full-time.
Bars: Washington’s Deiah Moody took a hard fall onto the equipment on Sunday and sat out the rest of the meet. Jen Llewellyn said in her TV interview that Moody was alright, so it seems reasonable to keep her in your lineups this week, though it won’t be shocking if she gets a rest week. Much like Michigan, Oklahoma can be expected to treat that dual as high stakes. Perhaps we’ll see Olivia Trautman add another event; nothing is certain, but we know K.J. Kindler is easing her back toward all four. If you want to gamble, you could add her to your bar lineup.
Beam: Minnesota heads to Salt Lake City this week in a mission-critical meet. The Gophers absolutely need a strong road score. Beam has been rocky on the road, and the top six don’t seem quite solidified on the event. It seems like Abbie Nylin may have edged out Haley Tyson for the last spot, but they traded off all of February. Be cautious with your Gopher beamers (unless their names are Loper or Ramler, of course). Ohio State is on a Friday/Sunday double this week. Beam is the lineup that Meredith Paulicivic has played with the most, so it’s possible we’ll see a variety of faces here across the two meets, though the top six has been the same the past two outings. Jojo Warga and Emma Pritchard seem to have secured regular spots. Warga has a 9.925 high.
Floor: If you didn’t think Chae Campbell would be back on floor quite yet and missed out on her perfect 10, take comfort in the fact that you were not alone! There’s no reason to think she won’t be on all four from here on out. Pauline Tratz also seems there to stay. Jaylene Gilstrap has appeared in the Ute’s floor lineup two weeks in a row now, but Adrienne Randall has a higher high and average after both have competed twice. They seem to be competing week to week to fill that spot. It’s anyone’s guess who will get the green light versus Minnesota. Sania Mitchell reappeared on floor for Alabama this week for a 9.875. She seems likely to hold that spot, at least until Makarri Doggette is healthy enough to do more than just bars. Florida at Auburn should be an absolute barn burner this week; expect full lineups from the Gators, including the core six on floor including Trinity Thomas, Nya Reed, Sloane Blakely and Leanne Wong without any resters.
Waiver Wire Wrap-up
Finally, we have a waiver wire in gymnastics! Who should you prioritize this week? Since Fantasy Central comes out on Tuesdays, keep in mind that these tips are catered toward next week.
Vault: Emilie Hong is one of the most consistent vaulters out there. She has oscillated between a 9.825 and 9.875 ever since week two. If you need a vault you know will hit, see if she’s available.
Bars: Yale’s Sherry Wang had some early misses but hasn’t been below a 9.850 in February. She’d be a great pickup.
Beam: Washington’s Kennedi Davis was back on beam this week. It wasn’t spectacular, but she previously had excellent numbers. If someone in your league dropped her in early February, now’s the time to pick her up. Lindenwood’s Hadley Roberts is the top Division II beamer. She has topped out at a 9.900.
Floor: If somehow no one in your conference has picked up Jenna Hlavach, now is the time! The Buckeye freshman notched a 9.950 on floor.
Notes From the Fantasy Roundtable
We don’t think Linda Zivat travelled with Iowa this week. Kalley Leer was in the Pav and didn’t spot her. She hasn’t competed in a few weeks; something to keep an eye on. We’d keep her out of lineups for now, if you have alternative options. If there’s something nagging her, it would make sense for Larissa Libby to rest her until we hit postseason.
READ THIS NEXT: Fantasy Central: Week 8
Article by Emily Minehart with additional reporting from Kalley Leer
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