Hello from Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama!
Call me biased, but this is has the potential to be the most competitive meet of the year save Four on the Floor. These are four of the top six-ranked teams in the country, and any one of them could walk away with this title. Regular season SEC champion Florida has the edge on paper, having defeated both Alabama and LSU earlier in the season (it tied with Auburn in week 9). However, those wins were both home victories and by no means decisive. If the Gators have any missteps, one of its competitors will almost certainly capitalize.
Beyond SEC glory, there are postseason implications tied to tonight’s results: All four teams are locked into being a two seed or better for regionals, but either Auburn or LSU could earn a top seeding (though they’ll need some help from Utah). Florida can also overtake Oklahoma for the the No. 1 ranking with a 198.525 or better, a tough but not impossible task. The other scenario for the Gators to secure the top spot is to score at least a 197.950 and outscore the Sooners by half a tenth. If both teams increase their NQS and end up tied, it’s likely the Sooners will win the tiebreaker.
The meet is being broadcast on SECN and live scores will be available here.
Here’s a quick recap of Session One:
Missouri leads with a 196.875, followed by Arkansas (196.450), Kentucky (196.350), and Georgia (195.800). I don’t expect any of the team scores to challenge for the title, but some of the individual scores could assuming the scoring remains reasonable through Session Two.
VT: Jocelyn Moore, 9.950
UB: Raena Worley and Victoria Nguyen, 9.900
BB: Sienna Schreiber, 9.950
FX: Raena Worley, 9.950
AA: Raena Worley and Sienna Schreiber, 39.450
For the record, I am still mad about Leah Smith’s vault score and Ruby Harrold agrees:
I would like to speak to the judges who had their eyes closed…. https://t.co/0U2loFHuup
— Ruby Harrold (@RubyHarrold) March 19, 2022
Rotation One: Florida vault, LSU bars, Auburn beam, Alabama floor
Looks like Alabama’s Gaskins is in for Mitchell on floor, who had a lower leg injury during warm-ups.
Skaggs (UF): Big Y full with a small hop back. 9.850
Schoenherr (UF): Y 1.5, fairly clean in the air with a medium hop forward. 9.850
Wong (UF): Good block on her Y half on pike half. Good chest position on the landing, small hop back. 9.850
Reed (UF): MASSIVE Y 1.5, clean in the air, good height, and a definitive stick. Best she’s done this season. 9.950
Thomas (UF): Another drilled Y 1.5. Gorgeous. 9.975
Blakely (UF): Didn’t get the height or distance of Reed and Thomas’s Y 1.5s, very crunched landing. 9.725
Johnson (LSU): Immediately goes over on her kch and comes off. Bail looks good. Almost goes over on the final handstand, too. 9.200
Arenas (LSU): Aggressive first handstand and toe-on. Flexed feet on the Tkatchev, but good height. Big leg sep on the Pak. DLO with large leg sep and a leg up bound forward. 9.625
Dunne (LSU): Missed the bulk from the Florida crowd on its feet. DLO very wonky in the air, but completely stuck. 9.875
Bryant (LSU): Lovely blind change to straddled Jaeger. Blind change to double front half out, stuck. 9.925
Shchennikova (LSU): Short first handstand, but HUGE Ray to a clean Pak. Final handstand also looked shy, but much closer to the mark. Whippy DLO with leg sep, but another stick. 9.900
Durante (LSU): Super high straddled Jaeger, but really close on the regrasp. Goes quickly into the Pak and scoots right off. Ugh, too bad. Crisp half pirouette to a high, stuck FTDT. Strong finish.
Hollingsworth (Aub): Bhs loso, a little soft and a small hip check. Switch split to switch half, didn’t quite hit horizontal. Back full dismount, slightly tucked and a hop. 9.775
Brusch (Aub): Bhs loso and hops off. Jitters all around. Nice position on her switch side. Stuck side gainer full. 9.175
Stevens (Aub): Bhs loso with leg form, but completely solid. Switch split to beat, a bit shiy on the former. Excellent stuck RO back 1.5 dismount. 9.825
Groth (Aub): Bhs loso bhs, impeccable. Her extension and calm is just lovely. Switch split to switch half, didn’t quite hit 180 on the latter. Front aerial, great. Side aerial to a stuck full. 9.950
McLaughlin (Aub): Switch leap series to bhs loso, excellent. Side aerial, jnees a bit soft. Gainer pike, stuck. 9.900
Lee (Aub): Solid wolf turns to open. Fhs to bhs loso and comes off. Auburn also counting a fall. Bhs to gainer full. 9.450
Olsen (UA): Switch leap to switch full series, very shy on the last one. Strong double pike to finish, stuck. 9.900
Gaskins (UA): Floaty opening double lay. Double tuck with just down a touch, but well-controlled landing. 9.875
Machado (UA): Double pike with a bit of bounce back. Switch split to switch half, good amplitude and position. Underrotated her double tuck but managed to keep her hands up. 9.050
Hudson (UA): Front lay to Rudi, very nice. Switch leap to wolf full, good height on both. Gorgeous back 2.5. Her twisting form is textbook. High double tuck, not the most controlled landing but overall, a strong performance. 9.850
Blanco (UA): Big double pike, beautiful. Switch ring to switch half, well done. Double tuck a hair underrotated but covers well with a forward lunge. Fhs full to stuck front lay. 9.875
Graber (UA): FTDT, no problems. Good height and position on her Popa. Switch side to wolf 1.5; not sure if those are supposed to be connected or not. Front through to double pike with a front foot slide back.
AFTER ONE ROTATION: Florida 49.475, Alabama 49.425, Auburn 48.900, LSU 48.575
The Gators were the only team seemingly immune from opening rotation jitters, though the Crimson Tide rallied to keep from counting a fall and Auburn managed to minimize the damage. I’ve seen too many SEC championships to count LSU completely out, but it’s certainly got a difficult path ahead and will need some help from its competitors.
Scoring seems… Not ridiculous so far? As always, I wish we’d see a bit more differentiation between the scores but I haven’t see anything completely ludicrous and mathematically impossible (Lee’s 9.450 with a fall comes the closest).
Shoutout to my husband for bringing me Benedryl and ibuprofen mid-rotation 😘
Rotation Two: Alabama vault, Florida bars, LSU beam, Auburn floor
Olsen (UA): Y double full with a little s coot back. 9.850
Quinn (UA): Good distance on her Y 1.5, big bound forward. 9.800
Paradise (UA): Y 1.5, very clean in the air with a bounce forward. 9.850
Graber (UA): BIG Y 1.5 with a negligible readjustment in place. 9.900
Hudson (UA): Another clean Y 1.5 with a hop forward. 9.900
Blanco (UA): Great height and distance on her Y 1.5, big bounce forward. 9.850
Blakely (UF): Big leg sep on her Maloney and Pak. The usual cowboyed dourble front, but a great landing. 9.825
McCusker (UF): Great first handstand. Leg sep on her Maloney, but a lovely Pak. A bit late on her VL and gets hung up on her handstands. Stalder to a stuckish double tuck. 9.775
Schoenherr (UF): Giant straddled Jaeger. Textbook bail to handstand, great control. Milked her final handstand. Blind half much less rushed than we’ve seen her do, staggered but stuck tucked double front half out. 9.850
Skaggs (UF): Huge Tkatchev to a clean Pak. Basically straddled DLO, but a stick. 9.950
Thomas (UF): Maloney with slight leg sep, gorgeous Pak. Floats the VL. Nails the DLO. Great routine. 9.950
Wong (UF): Maloney with the slightest leg sep. Great Pak. Fabulous DLO with a small hop back. 9.900
Desiderio (LSU): Cat leap to side gainer full, stuck. 9.900
Rivers (LSU): Bhs loso with a small hip check. Front leg low on her switch half. Much better on the switch side. RO back double full with some leg form. 9.775
Dean (LSU): Side aerial to loso, very soft legs and a small front foot readjustment but solid. Short on the leaps. Front aerial with a hip wave, covered well. Stuck full dismount. 9.875 is high for me
Bryant (LSU): Front aerial to bhs, excellent. Love her tempo, she’s completely unbothered by the chaos. Punch Rudi dismount, some leg-crossing, but stuck. 9.950
Finnegan (LSU): Bhs loso loso, fantastic extension, just the hint of a hip check. Switch leap to split jump, lovely. Front aerial, very nice. Side aerial to tucked full, stuck. 9.925
Johnson (LSU): Bhs loso with a well-covered hip check. Switch leap series, again a slight correction on the landing. Front toss to beat, good. Bhs 1.5 with a hop. 9.900
Brusch (Aub): Siwitch half to Popa, very nicely done. Good height on her double pike, opened a touch early and had to step forward. 9.850
Watson (Aub): Strong tucked double Arabian with a bounce forward. Fhs full to front lay, very floaty. Double tuck a little off center. 9.800
Stevens (Aub): Front lay to Rudi, had to pike it down but a strong landing. Good double tuck, chest a tad low on the landing but again, she always seems to find those landings. 9.875
Groth (Aub): Fhs double twist, well done. Switch half to wolf half, nice position. Back 1.5, didn’t get a good punch and hand to bend her knees on the layout. 9.775
Lee (Aub): Good DLO to open, a little leg form but may not be visible to the judges. Switch ring, very nice. Back 1.5 to full, well done. Strong rebound after that beam fall. 9.950
Gobourne (Aub): Excellent open double tuck, total control. Popa series, huge amplitude. Fhs front full to front lay, a little flat. Gorgeous double pike, kicked out. Excellent performance. 9.950
AFTER TWO ROTATIONS: Florida 98.950, Alabama 98.775, Auburn 98.325, LSU 98.125
LSU did what it needed to do to keep its hopes alive while Auburn left a few tenths on the floor (no pun intended). Florida and Alabama continue to look strong and completely unfazed.
Scores are starting to get a little generous, but still within the realm of plausibility.
ICYMI…
With OU's 198.2, UF needs a 198.25 to take over the #1 ranking.
— Jenna (@jennakgym) March 20, 2022
Rotation Three: Auburn vault, Alabama bars, Florida beam, LSU floor
Groth (Aub): Y full with good height. 9.750
Hubbard (Aub): Anyway, Y 1.5 with a small bounce forward. 9.825
Stevens (Aub): Y 1.5, nearly stuck. Tight form in the air. 9.875
Gobourne (Aub): Big Y 1.5 with a big forward bound on the landing. 9.750
Watson (Aub): Excellent Y 1.5, basically stuck. 9.900
Lee (Aub): Y half on pike half, with a hop. 9.875
Gaskins (UA): Aggressive first handstand. Lost her form on the Pak and had to take an extra kch. 9.425
Hudson (UA): Maloney to bail, lost some body tension in the handstand. Gorgeous full pirouette to double tuck, stuck. 9.900
Adams (UA): Maloney to Pak, perfect. Fantastic VL. Crisp full pirouette to double tuck, negligible readjustment on the landing. Glad to see her hit. 9.950
Machado (UA): A bit crooked on the VL and full pirouette, but stuck double tuck. 9.925
Doggette (UA): Nice high Tkatchev to a clean Pak. DLO, stuck. 9.950
Blanco (UA): Maloney to Pak, flawless. FTDT nearly stuck, finessed the landing. 9.950
Skaggs (UF): Bhs loso, great. Cat leap to switch side. Somewhere, KJC is crying. Side aerial to stuck full. 9.950
Blakely (UF): Slow, deliberate connection between her front aerial to bhs. Switch split to switch half, lovely. Side aerial to stuck full. 9.900
Baumann (UF): Strong bhs loso. Switch split to split jump, nice position. Front aerial to beat. Definitively stuck back 1.5. Great routine. 9.950
Wong (UF): Switch split to split leap, perfect. Bhs loso, no problem. Didn’t quite get the position on her switch ring. RO back double full, stuck straight up like a dart. 9.975
Thomas (UF): Switch leap to split jump, excellent. Minor hip check on her full turn. One-armed bhs to loso, perfect. Front aerial to beat to Korbut. Side aerial to stuck full. 9.925
Clapper (UF): Bhs loso loso, small hip correction. Full turn, good. Switch leap to split jump, back leg a touch low on the jump. Side aerial to stuck full. 9.900
Desiderio (LSU): Her usual high DLO. Back 1.5 to front lay, well done. Switch full series, love her position. 9.900
Shchennikova (LSU): Fhs to double twist, juuust underrotated. Back 1.5 5o full, a bit crooked but she sells it. Switch ring was low. Messy Rudi. 9.850 is high
Edwards (LSU): Nice height on her Popa series, a little out of control on her straight jump full. 9.800
Finnegan (LSU): Super tidy tucked double Arabian to stag, good control. Back 2.5 to front lay, pretty underrotated but sells it well. 9.825
Bryant (LSU): Fhs double front tuck, lands a little deep. Switch ring to switch half, looked good to me! Standing loso to fulfill her back tumbling requirement, lol. Fhs lay to Rudi, a little messy but a well-controlled landing. 9.850
Johnson (LSU): Big FTDT with a front foot slide back. Back 1.5 to front lay, again a little flat on the front lay. Nice position on her Popa series. Fantastic double pike to finish. 9.900
AFTER THREE ROTATIONS: Florida 148.650, Alabama 148.450, Auburn 147.550, LSU 147.450
Florida is on fire, but Alabama is not handing this title over without a fight! The Gators have yet to show any major breaks, while the Tide are just powering through. Both teams have posted 49.6 plus this season on their respective final events so it really could go either way.
Auburn and LSU are locked in their own battle for second and third; the scores could potentially affect their NQS and regional seedings, so the stakes are still high.
Rotation Four: LSU vault, Auburn bars, Alabama beam, Florida floor
Arenas (LSU): Beautiful Y full, stuck but chest well forward. 9.800
Shchennikova (LSU): Y 1.5 with a big bound forward. Looked really nice in the air, though. 9.825
KJ Johnson (LSU): Fantastic Y full, stuck. That was as good as Smith’s. 9.900
Edwards (LSU): Y 1.5 with a big hop forward. 9.875 is high
Ki. Johnson (LSU): Very nice block on her Y double full, small hop back. 9.875
Bryant (LSU): Oh yikes… Completely missed her block and had to tuck, put it to her feet and immediately back. She got right back up, but tough end for the Tigers. 9.050
Sabados (Aub): Pretty Tkatchev. Not the most tension in her bail to handstand. Big leg sep on her DLO and a small hop. 9.800
Groth (Aub): Lovely first handstand to Ray, a touch close. Pretty Pak and deliberate half pirouette. Ful pirouette to a stuck double tuck. 9.875
Stevens (Aub): Couldn’t see much of her routines over the fans standing up but the DLO was absolutely stuck cold. 9.900
Brusch (Aub): Little leg sepon her Maloney. Fantastic DLO, stuck. 9.950
Gobourne (Aub): Big Tkatchev to clean Pak. Nice position on her final handstand. FTDT, totally stuck. 9.950
Lee (Aub): Deliberate lb handstand. Flawless Maloney-Pak-VL and a perfect stuck FTDT. It’s a 10, and even the Gator and Bama fans are on their feet, so you know it’s legit.
Burgess (UA): Bhs loso, well done. Switch leap to beat, good. 9.900
Olsen (UA): A hair shy on her switch half. Bhs loso, slightly flexed feet. Front walkover. Bhs hbs double pike with a small hop back, good chest position. 9.875
Graber (UA): Kicked out full turn. Bhs back pike, very nice control. Leap series looked great, and her front toss to scale was beautiful. Stuck side gainer full. 9.900
Waligora (UA): Bhs loso with some foot form, very steady though. Side aerial, good. Split jump to tuck jump full, well done. Double pike with a scoot back. 9.825
Hudson (UA): Front aerial with some hesitation before the bhs loso with soft legs. Beautiful switch leap combo. Side aerial, no problem. RO back 1.5, stuck but with a significant lean. 9.875
Blanco (UA): Lovely bhs loso loso. Pretty scale. Switch leap to beat, very nice. RO back double full, and she crumpled. Oh no, looks like an ankle injury… 9.350
Skaggs (UF): Switch full series, gorgeous position. Back 1.5 to front lay with a bit of a stutter step. 9.900
Baumann (UF): Back 1.5 to full, completed the rotation. Leap series was high and floaty. Great height on her double pike, little slide back. 9.850
Wong (UF): Triple full with some leg form, but perfect landing. Whip half to full, very nice. 9.925
Reed (UF): Her usual high-flying DLO. Well controlled front lay to Rudi. Switch half to wolf full, good position and complete rotation on both. Double pike with a slide back while the crowd started screaming for Suni. 9.900
Thomas (UF): Fabulous DLO to open. Switch full to Popa series, great. Fhs full to front lay, wonderful. No comments. 9.975
Blakely (UF): Tucked double Arabian, very low landing. Switch ring to switch half, good. Underrotated double tuck, small bounced forward. Back 1.5 to front lay, slightest knee bend on the front lay. That’ll lock it up for the Gators. 9.700
AFTER FOUR ROTATIONS: 198.200, Alabama 197.825, Auburn 197.225, Missouri 196.800, LSU 196.725, Arkansas 196.450, Kentucky 196.350, Georgia 195.800
Really tough ending for Bama (Blanco is still being attended to on the mat). That was a gutsy performance they should be proud of, but this was Florida’s night. This is the sharpest the Gators have looked all season and they deserved the win. They’ll finish just a half tenth behind No. 1 seed Oklahoma heading into regionals.
VT: Thomas, 9.975
UB: Lee, 10.000
BB: Wong, 9.975
FX: Thomas, 9.975
AA: Thomas, 39.825
Scholar Athlete of the Year: Bailey Lovett
All SEC Community Service Team: Griffin James, Amanda Elswick, Adaline Sabados, Nya Reed, Emily Schild, Anna Haigis, Sami Durante, Hannah McCrary
Love that there’s a SEVEN WAY TIE for second place on bars. That’s the note I want to end on.
Live Blog by Claire Billman
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