Last season’s finishes for Bowling Green and Northern Illinois left them both with a clear outlook for the 2023 schedule. For the Falcons, increase bars and beam depth. For the Huskies, replace substantial contributions from graduating seniors.
Northern Illinois will enter as the favorite coming off its runner-up finish at last season’s MAC championship, but the story of today’s meet will come down to a difference in strategy more than prior rankings. The Huskies have traditionally had their strong scoring come from event specialists (look no further this year than Natalie Hamp and Alyssa Al-Ashari), while the Falcons have shown potential for five all-arounders during preseason intrasquad footage.
Both the Falcons and Huskies will be eager to debut their freshman classes, with seven and five apiece, respectively. Keep an eye out for Bowling Green’s Charniya Brown and Madison Coburn, seen leading freshmen all-around efforts before the new year. Also of note, the Falcons have slated an exhibition for each event.
Today’s in-conference MAC season opener will stream on ESPN+, with live scoring available here.
Rotation One: Northern Illinois VT, Bowling Green UB
O’Shea (NIU): low landing on her Y full, hands down. Not the way NIU wants to start, but positive they’ll build momentum from there. 8.825.
Solorzano-Caruso (BGSU): Starts with her signature Ray, then bail to handstand. Back up to the high bar and sticks her blind full to double tuck! 9.625.
Brkljacic (NIU): A few steps out of her Y full, but to her feet. One of her steps went out of the new directional lines. 9.575.
Jensen (BGSU): muscles her free hip handstand, but pulls it into her reverse Hecht and bail. Back up the high bar, and pikes the end of her double layout a tad but puts it to her feet. 9.600.
West (NIU): Steps back on her Y full after plenty of height in her block. 9.650.
Mendez-Abolnik (BGSU): short first handstand, but connects her blind full to Geinger. Amazing extension on her double layout but comes with a leg separation. 9.575.
Ryan (NIU): rocks her 10.0 start value Y full on pike! No ambiguity on the pre-repulsion, twists fully before contacting the table. 9.675.
Bingham (BGSU): Unfortunately off on her Tkatchev. Some form on her bail, but composed again for her double layout. 8.750.
Sissi (NIU): Super controlled Y full, and so far the most centred vault today (thank you directional lines!). Small step out of it, and some ankle form throughout. 9.825.
Weilbacher (BGSU): Plenty of height on both her Jaeger and Pak. Toe handstand to full in dismount are both textbook, finishes with a stick. 9.775.
Nock (NIU): First stick of the rotation? Small pike down, but absorbs the landing seemingly easily. The stick crown is out! 9.775.
Rivelli (BGSU): Tons of height on her Jaeger, finishes with hips above the bar. Carries the height through her routine into her double layout. 9.775.
Blair (NIU): Exhibitions a Y full. Loads of height, and should see lineup time soon.
Coburn (BGSU): Exhibitions today. Sky high Tkatchev and bail to handstand, but takes a few steps backwards to save her blind full to double tuck.
AFTER ONE: NIU: 48.500, BGSU 48.300
A quick note about NIU’s vaults today – the team doesn’t train to hard landing, so today’s focus was on landing rather than the landings. Shoutout to Nock for sticking her vault so early!
Bowling Green will likely be happy with their bars rotation, given their troubles last post-season putting up five hits in the same meet.
Rotation Two: Bowling Green VT, Northern Illinois UB
Solorzano-Caruso (BGSU): Y full, welcome back to leg events! She landed directly behind a teammate in the ESPN feed, but it appeared stuck. 9.700.
Sissi (NIU): Height in her release, amazing leg form in her bail keeping her legs together during the twist. Back up to high bar, and into a controlled double layout. 9.725.
Coburn (BGSU): Pikes her Y full a bit, and a tiny hop. Not terrible by any means but the hop went over the line, and we’ve yet to see how that plays into scoring today. 9.675.
Ryan (NIU): Opens with a Ray, then a toe handstand to bail. Small hesitation on her hop to the high bar, but no nonsense on her double layout. Looked a little suprised on the landing, but overall a great bars debut. 9.600.
Brown (BGSU): A bit deep landing her Y full and has to hop out of it, but textbook in the air until then. 9.700.
Nickle (NIU): Fluid Jaeger, and loads of height on her Pak. Her handstands look easy, she’s not afraid to work the bars. Small leg separation in the double layout but puts it easily to her feet. 9.750.
Weilbacher (BGSU): Didn’t get quite the block she was looking for, and lands short but avoids touching the mat. 9.550.
Sears (NIU): Textbook form on her piked Jaeger and transition! No time to rest, right back up and sticks her tucked full in. 9.850.
Mendez-Abolnik (BGSU): Small hop back on her Y full. It piked down a tad early, forcing that hop – but otherwise a vault the Falcons will be happy with at the back end of the lineup. 9.700.
Al-Ashari (NIU): Makes the crowd wait after her blind half before the Jaeger, then rocks it. sticks her double layout cold. 9.775.
Jensen (BGSU): Sky high, but even more impressively her legs are glued throughout. Small hop out. 9.800.
Hamp (NIU): Floaty Tkatchev, then puts her bail right to handstand. She’s coming out strong for this season, and is met with the stick crown almost right after her blind full to double layout. 9.900.
Bannister (BGSU): Pikes down and still lunges back, so plenty of power there on her exhibition vault.
Blair (NIU): Exhibitioning today. Looks calm on her Jaeger, but had leg separation on her bail. Solid double layout, but has a small hop out.
Nock (NIU): High on both her release and transitions, but from the angle we’re given her double layout looks piked.
AFTER TWO: NIU: 97.575, BGSU: 96.925
No shortage of exhibitions today from either team! Northern Illinois will be happy with the bars depth they’re showing today (whether scored or not), and Bowling Green didn’t look freshman shy on vault at all. So far we only have team totals — scoring will be added in as soon as it’s published.
Rotation Three: Northern Illinois BB, Bowling Green FX
George (NIU): No nonsense on her opening bhs loso, but bobbles a tad out of her full turn. Fights to stay on her piked front toss. Misses a connection out of her switch leap, then does two jumps instead to gain it back. Small hop forward out of her roundoff 1.5 dismount. 9.575.
Coburn (BGSU): Opens with a double pike, and then gets plenty of height on her switch side to Popa. Fights to stay up after her front handspring full punch layout, and has a quick turnaround before her third pass. Double tuck looked more controlled, but it won’t erase the second pass. 9.375.
Lynd (NIU): ROCK SOLID triple series to open her set. Switch to split half, short on the split. Small hop on her roundoff 1.5, which the angle shows as travelling sideways. 9.750.
Lawrence (BGSU): Low landing on her opening layout punch rudi. Switch side to Popa. Under rotates her double tuck and has to put her hands and chest down. 8.800.
Sissi (NIU): Fluid bhs loso, and consistent tempo in her moements. Switch leap to straddle half looks calm as well. Small pause before her roundoff double twist. 9.775.
Mendez-Abolnik (BGSU): Textbook double pike to start! Into the trendy switch side to Popa, which we’ve seen from her two prior teammates. Floaty on her punch layout punch front full and lunges forward out. Her teammates are engaged with the music before her third pass — another clean landing on her dobule tuck. Bowling Green is back in business. 9.800.
Nickle (NIU): Off on her bhs loso, and then fights to stay on her switch to switch half. Resets the mood with a solid front aerial, and then a clean-until-the-step roundoff 1.5 dismount. 8.975.
Jensen (BGSU): Walks onto the floor after a lineup change. Opens with a front handspring rudi, then hits her switch side to two Popas. Takes her time before pass two of two, and it’s a roundoff 1.5 punch layout. This routine should score well throughout the Falcons’ season. 9.700.
Sears (NIU): Bhs loso like it’s on the floor. Likewise with her side aerial. Great hip extension on her jump series, but bobbles out of it. Sticks her roundoff 1.5 cold, and it garners the third time we’re seeing the NIU stick crown today. 9.800.
Weilbacher (BGSU): Wasting no time, right into the punch front through to double tuck. Her switch side to two Popas get higher with each jump. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is another two pass routine after the jump combo. Easy double pike for her to finish, and still has energy to dance out. 9.800.
Al-Ashari (NIU): Bringing back the loso mount for this season, takes a second to breath and then bhs loso. Taking her time with the choreo, and then nails her split to double stag jumps. College stick on her roundoff 1.5, we’ll see if the judges count it as one. 9.775.
Solorzano-Caruso (BGSU): Massive double pike, then back to the corner for a front full to front tuck and takes a deep squat. Triple jump series is well above hip height. Unfortunately touches down on her fhs rudi to close. 8.875.
DiFabrizio (NIU): Exhibitioning today for the Huskies. Bhs loso has a balance check. Tons of height on her jumps but could go either way on getting connection credit. Another roundoff 1.5 to finish. Not a bad start at all for the former JOGA recruit.
Brzoska (BGSU): Exhibitioning but could easily see lineup time. Double pike looks like it’s done on a rod floor, and then her forward combo pass is just as floaty. Chest a tad down on her double tuck, but overall an exhibition that should factor in the weeks to come.
Brkljacic (NIU): Fluid bhs loso to start her exhibition. Switch leap to one armed bhs! Off on her hitch kick to front toss. Small step on her bhs gainer full dismount.
AFTER THREE: NIU: 146.250, BGSU: 144.475
Each team has a strategy for the events they just finished: BGSU with their two pass, switch side to two Popas contruction, and NIU with roundoff 1.5 dismounts. Going into the fourth rotation this is NIU’s home meet to lose, which would be out of the blue considering their track record on floor.
Rotation Four: Bowling Green BB, Northern Illinois FX
Castiglia (BGSU): Small check on her full turn, and then loses the fight to stay on her piked front toss. Does a tucked front toss to bhs, but may not get connection value for it. Resets the tone with hit jumps. Attacks her front full dismount and hops forward out of it. 8.600.
Lynd (NIU): After a music hiccup she gets going, nails her front full front layout. Switch half to wolf 1.5 gets around with no problems. Chest down on her double pike but no issues in the air to start off the Huksies’ floor campaign. 9.700.
Mendez-Abolnik (BGSU): Waits through a judges conference for a few minutes before starting. Bhs loso almost connected to a jump full turn off. Switch side gets plenty of height. Small check on her tucked front toss, covers it with a beat jump. Sticks her roundoff 1.5 dismount. 9.300.
Anderson (NIU): Opens with a fhs double full and takes an almost choreographed step forward. Launches her leaps and looks calm between passes. Second pass has some twisting leg form finishing with a rudi in combination, but to her feet without any major problems. 9.850.
Bingham (BGSU): Arm circles to stay on her bhs loso. Cat leap to aerial with no issues. Back leg is low in her split 3/4. Small hop forward on her roundoff 1.5. 9.725.
Blair (NIU): 2.5 twist to get her routine going, controlled step forward. Switch half to two wolf fulls, lacks the amplitude that twisting straddle jumps had earlier in the rotation. Roundoff bhs 1.5 punch front pike, and takes her time before her third pass. Finishes with a double pike that over rotates, and has to put her hands down at the end of the routine. 9.000.
Jensen (BGSU): Fluid as ever on her bhs loso. Split to split 3/4 looks confident, as does her cat leap to aerial. College sticks her bhs 1.5. 9.800.
Ryan (NIU): Another front double full to start off! Roundoff tuck in the middle of the routine, indicating the rest of her tumbling is forward. Yep! Front layout punch rudi and lands with her chest up. 9.850.
Weilbacher (BGSU): Clean lines in her bhs loso and jumps, then wastes no time going in to her front toss. Dismounts with a double tuck and limits the landing steps to only one. 9.800.
Sissi (NIU): Launches her full in to open, and equally maxed out height in her switch half and Popa. Rebounds forward out of her forward combination pass, and stays in. Puts on a crown before pass three – roundoff directly into a double tuck. 9.850.
Solorzano-Caruso (BGSU): Solid bhs loso from the anchor. Switch half, then adds two jumps afterwards to make up the connection value. Gainer full off the side to finish, changing her dismount from her prior side somi to tuck full. 9.575.
Nock (NIU): Tuck full in, keeps the lunge in bounds. Low on her switch full and split full, but keeps moving. Low on her front layout punch rudi and touches down. Fun fact: her music was used as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme! 9.200.
Brzoska (BGSU): Great exhibition from the beamer in Bowling Green’s freshman class, no major errors between her flights or dance, save on a step forward out of her side aerial. Small hop forward on her roundoff 1.5.
J. Dolitsky (NIU): In the exhibition spot today. Looks like she found the sweet spot rebounding in her front combo pass. Crashes her double tuck, but to her credit keeps the energy high in the ending choreo.
Humphrys (NIU): Second exhibition on floor for NIU today. Hands down on the opening double tuck. Great extension on her switch side Popa, and recovers from pass one gracefully with her front layout front full. She’s giving away nothing on the dance, and floats her roundoff 1.5 punch layout to finish off.
FINAL: NIU: 194.750, BGSU: 192.675
One of the biggest implications from today’s meet is the catch 22 of floor composition: both teams showed two pass routines that had falls on the last pass, after upgrading either jumps or the passes themselves. Will we continue seeing harder but fewer skills, or cleaner but longer routines?
The Huskies will look to pack today’s momentum with them on the road next weekend at Chow’s Winter Classic on Jan. 14th. The Falcons will compete next at Arizona’s quad meet on Jan. 14th.
Event winners:
VT: Isabella Sissi (9.825)
UB: Natalie Hamp (9.900)
BB: Brookelyn Sears (9.850)
FX: Alana Anderson, Ciara Ryan, Brookelyn Sears (9.850)
AA: Isabella Sissi (39.175)
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