This one is quietly a banger. It’s our first look at Missouri’s return to the floor after a stunning fifth-place finish at the national championships. 2022 was a breakout season for the Tigers, and to cement themselves in the upper echelon of teams in the country, 2023 will need to be another rousing success.
The road back to Fort Worth starts in Champaign, where this Illini squad returns nearly all of its routines and gains sophomore Makayla Green—who missed 2022 with injury—and standout freshman Arielle Ward. Despite so many returning routines, the Illini will have a completely new look for 2023. Missouri has a star freshman of its own in Addison Lawrence, plus returning stars Jocelyn Moore and Amari Celestine.
Looks like Missouri will be in this beaut: http://https://twitter.com/MizzouGym/status/1612162347354804227?s=20
We’re at the top of the hour and in classic BTN+ fashion, there’s a kids handstand contest going on. Mhm.
Commentator saying Abby Mueller and Mia Takekawa will both be all-arounders today for Illinois.
Rotation 1: Illinois vault, Missouri bars
Takekawa (UIUC): Yfull, leg sep on the table, small hop back.
Schreiber (Miz): Oh okay we’re just not seeing this routine, but we’re hearing she had a fall.
Mueller (UIUC): Yfull, little low, leg sep and a hop.
Live scores are still just test numbers, and we’ve got nothing on the broadcast. Your guess is as good as mine.
Patrick (Miz): Hect mount. Blind to Jaeger, just didn’t get her grips right, extra swing. Bail hand. DLO. Just soft feet and knees throughout. 9.225 per broadcast.
Green (UIUC): Yfull, big! Step back. What a treat to see her Illini debut!
Lawrence (Miz): Long wait while the judges sort out what to do with that extra swing from Patrick. We missed this, but her team seems very happy. That’s her collegiate debut!
Townes (UIUC): Y1.5, near stick, a tiny hop. Soft knees throughout. The vault nationals qualifier is BACK. 9.90
Sheremeta (Miz): Hect mount. Archy handstand. Blind to Jaeger, lovely, immediate bail. Clean throughout. Good last handstand. Blind to rudi, small step. 9.775 per broadcast.
Ward (UIUC): Another freshman debut! HIGH Yfull, medium step back.
Moore (Miz): She had a long, long wait. Toe hand, nice to high Tkatchev, didn’t take it out enough and caught bent-armed. Bail, little loose. Full-in, fought for stick.
Simons (UIUC): Yfull, some knees during the block, little stutter step back.
Hu (Miz): Church was tidy. Blind full to double tuck, true stick. Her toes really do stand out among the rest of the lineup. 9.925, deserved.
Byrne (UIUC, ex.): Swapped out of the lineup at the last minute, for Takekawa. Another freshman! Yfull, hips throughout, small step and offline.
Kratzer (Miz., ex): Maloney to Pak, messy feet and soft knees. Short handstand, blind full double tuck, hop. Foot form throughout.
AFTER 1: I have no idea
The scores are not updating from the test scores entered before the meet. All the scores above were mentioned on the broadcast. The camera work is…chaotic. BTN+ is BACK baby.
That was a really clean vault rotation for Illinois. Amplitude is much improved over previous seasons. Missouri had some missteps but there’s so much to love in that rotation. My guess is Missouri is about a half point behind Illinois due to counting that mistake, and we’re hovering right around the 49.0 mark. Can’t wait to see the scores!
Missouri: 48.550 per Twitter.
Rotation 2: Illinois bars, Missouri vault
Lawrence (Miz): Oh cool we missed her vault too. Kidding! the lineup got all shuffled around. She hasn’t gone yet.
Ward (UIUC): Blind to Jaeger, foot form, bail. Double Arabian, hop. Soft feet again. Leading off as a freshman week one wow! 9.825
Schaffer (Miz.): Yfull, soft knees and a hop.
Borden (UIUC): Bit of a wait. For a meet that is unconcerned with alternating routines, the UB judges are moving like molasses. Hop change. Jaeger, nice! Bail, leg sep. Good last handstand. Blind to rudi, stuck, but her feet were a bit staggered.
Patricelli (Miz.): We saw her land her Yfull, low chest and a hop.
McCrary (Miz.): Yfull, big hop back, little low.
Mizuki (UIUC): Blind to pike Jaeger, caught close with bent arms. Short on the bail hand. Good handstands. Blind full double tuck, stuck. She was just a touch rushed after the close catch. 9.85, feels a bit high.
Schreiber (Miz.): Yfull, twisted on the table, hop back.
Green (UIUC): Toe hand, lovely. Maloney with leg sep on the backswing. Pak was nice. Struggled up to handstand on the low bar for the half pirouette. Blind full double tuck, small step back.
Davis (Miz.): Y1.5, biggish step back.
Takekawa (UIUC): Blind to pike Jaeger, clean. Bail hand, nice catching position. Clean handstands. DLO stuck cold. I mean!
Moore (Miz.): We didn’t get to see this because we were watching Takekawa and Walsh hug. Sigh.
O’Donnell (UIUC): Great lines. Blind to Jaeger immediate bail, just lovely toes throughout. Blind full touch late to double tuck, small step.
Lawrence (Miz. ex): Yfull, soft knees and bike pike down.
Simons (UIUC, ex): Short handstand. Toe hand to pike Jaeger, caught close, to bail. Blind full late to double tuck, drops her chest and steps forward. 9.575
Mueller (UIUC, ex): Well I guess she’s NOT doing a true AA but. Blind to Jaeger, good. Bail hand was nice, just a bit short on these handstands. DLO stuck. Nice overall!
AFTER 2: Still haven’t a clue! Isn’t this fun!
Look, no working scores in 2023 on either the score platform or the broadcast is a PROBLEM.
Illinois had some mistakes there, some close catches and missed handstands, but nothing catastrophic to fix. Bar coach Kaitlyn Betts will surely get back to some basics in the gym to tidy things up. Missouri is feeling the lack of Amari Celestine on vault, where some lack of amplitude led to low chests and hoppy landings which kept scores (I AM ASSUMING) down.
Missouri: 97.600 per Twitter
Rotation 3: Illinois beam, Missouri floor
98.325 for Illinois, 97.625 for Missouri according to the broadcast. Huzzah! Numbers!
Mueller (UIUC): Bhs loso, offline from the second she started, fall. Tough in the leadoff. Switch switch, clean. Beat to hesitation. Repeats the beat to front toss, good this time. RO 1.5 soft knees.
Schreiber (Miz.): Rudi to layout two feet(!) to split. Interesting! Front full front lay to split, little low amplitude-wise but clean. Tour jete half to split full, nice there. Were we missing some difficulty there for a two-pass? Not sure.
Mizuki (UIUC): Little check on her full turn. Bhs loso, clean. Switch, hesitation, to straddle quarter. Cat to side aerial, looked like she meant to add a jump and missed it. Split jump to straddle, ah, there’s the clean connection she needed. Pike gainer off the end, stuck.
Poddig (Miz.): Yet another collegiate debut! Rudi to loso, had to kind of sling the loso landing to the side a bit to stay in bounds. Double pike, stuck it! Switch half Popa to Shushunova was nice.
Borden (UIUC): Her signature mount, with a smile. Front aerial, broke at the hips good recovery. Repeats into front walkover but wobbled in the connection, not sure she’ll get that credit. Clean leaps. Beat to sheep, another check. She’s very nervy. Front full, hop forward.
Kratzer (Miz.): Double tuck, hops in place. Switch side Popa soft knees. RO 1.5 front lay, clean there. She really settles into her dance halfway through, this routine is fun! Low double pike, low chest on the landing.
Green (UIUC): Bhs loso, broke at the hips. Switch to straddle quarter, nice! Tomorrow is her 19th birthday, apparently. Beat to side aerial, little adjustment there. RO 1.5, hop forward. Just a little shaky.
Sheremeta (Miz.): FHS 2/1, little uncontrolled on the step, but just a touch. Clean through her leaps. FHS rudi loso, really lovely. Back spin! We love to see it. RO 1.5 front layout stepout, nice. The routine you expect from her.
Townes (UIUC): She really performs her choreo here. Switch low back leg to straddle quarter, good connection. Cat to front toss, leg up check. Bhs loso soft knees in the bhs but steady. RO tuck 1.5 stuck cold.
McCrary (Miz.): Front lay to rudi, clean. Switch side to Popa, really nice straddle positions. Double pike, tries to stick but hops forward a touch. Wolf full shushunova to close. Fun!
Takekawa (UIUC): Some pressure here after a nervy rotation with the leadoff fall. Side aerial bhs, the slightest check in her shoulders, good cover. She’s the person you want in this position for sure. Switch to straddle quarter, lovely. She is so exact in all of her movements. Nothing is extraneous, and that really sets her apart. Bhs gainer full off the side stuck. Just that mini check!
Moore (Miz.): Performing from the first beat of music. HUGE DLO, clean lunge. Switch side Popa Popa, just a touch shy on the final rotation, but great amplitude. This routine is a lot of fun. Front through to double pike, another clean lunge. What a blast!
Knight (UIUC, ex): Candle mount, not quite vertical. Switch to leap, soft knees. Side aerial bhs, breaks at the hips. Beat to hesitation. Repeats into side somi, arm swing. Gainer full off the side, deep knees but stuck. Little nervy.
Schaffer (Miz. ex): FHS rudi loso, little messy in the twist. Switch ring to tour jete half was clean. Double tuck, foot form and underrotated, fell forward a bit into a hop.
Nataraj (UIUC, ex.): Her first appearance today. Bhs loso, some soft knees. Switch to straddle quarter was clean. Beat to front aerial, soft knees again. Commentator speculating that a slight ankle injury is why we’re only seeing her here. Take that with a grain of salt, no confirmation. 1.5, little foot movement.
AFTER 3: UIUC 146.975, Mizzou 146.900 (per broadcast)
That rotation showed early-season nerves for both teams. Illinois was wobbly after the Mueller fall, and Missouri showed some endurance issues and landing errors on floor. Again, nothing for either team was catastrophic, but there’s definitely work to be done.
Rotation 4: Illinois floor, Missouri beam
McCrary (Miz.): Little check on her choreo. Front toss, check. Bhs loso, clean. Switch to double stag, not really precise in that position at all, beat jump. Gainer pike off the end, hops forward.
Knight (UIUC): FHS 2/1, clean step out. Back leg was a little low on her second leap in connection. Double tuck, clean lunge. RO 1.5 front lay to arabesque, clean there. too. Good start!
Lawrence (Miz.): Pretty shoulder stand work in her mount. Switch to split, check. Little check on her full turn, too. She seems just a bit nervous. Side aerial bhs, clean. Balance check on her front aerial. RO 1.5 true stick.
Waight (UIUC): Double pike, flexed feet but good lunge out. RO 1.5 front lay, kind of hopped forward out and tried to cover with choreo. Wolf to split full, little shy of 180. Double tuck, another clean landing. She hasn’t competed floor much in her career, great to see her step up today!
Davis (Miz.): Bhs loso, tiny check, great adjustment to avoid a bigger error. HIGH front toss, drops one arm. Beat to sheep, not a true head release. Switch to bhs gainer full, step forward.
Takekawa (UIUC): Closing out what has been a strong day here. Rudi to split, travels a bit in the split but sticks it with emphasis. Double pike, moves her front foot a bit. Switch side to split full was clean. RO 1.5 front lay, really arched the lay down but clean landing.
Sheremeta (Miz.): Beat jump. Bhs loso, rock solid, nice toes in the air. Front aerial to split to Shushunova quarter, that’s fun, clean. Tuck gainer full off the end, just a hop.
Joelson (UIUC): Another debut! Clean double pike, scoots her front foot a bit. Switch side Popa, really clean on the rotation. RO 1.5 front lay, clean there, good position in the lay. Double tuck, another good landing. Great start to her career!
Hu (Miz): Bhs swingdown mount to her signature press handstand work, lovely as ever. Y turn, good. Front aerial to Liukin, steady, right into her scale. Beat to split 3/4. Needle scale. When the code says virtuosity, this is what it means, folks. Bhs gainer full off the side, weight was back in her heels and she tried to cover with the salute, but she could loose .05 there or so.
Townes (UIUC): Huge grin as she works right into her choreo. FHS 2/1, really floats it, good landing. RO 1.5 front full, little off balance on her landing but she danced right into choreo to cover it. Wolf 1.5, little low on her front leg. Leaps were clean. That’s a great set.
Schreiber (Miz.): Little check on her full turn. Bhs loso loso, really lovely. She is so patient. Switch half to split to loso, small adjustment with her front foot. Beat to gainer full off the side, we couldn’t see her feet on the broadcast.
Mueller (UIUC): Anchor spot is new for her here. Double pike, stepped a little with her front foot but covered it by moving into choreo. Front lay to front full, clean. Switch half wolf full, really emphatic on the landing there. Double tuck to a clean lunge. That’s a solid way to end the rotation!
Poddig (Miz. ex): Bhs loso, check and soft knees throughout. Hitch kick to side aerial was steady. Beat to straddle half, good. Bhs gainer full off the side.
Nataraj (UIUC, ex.): Front lay to rudi, little messy in her knees. Switch ring to switch half was clean. Double tuck, short and she lunges forward.
FINAL: Missouri 196.425 Illinois 196.275 (per broadcast)
Missouri took to beam and ran with it. That’s a really solid lineup for the Tigers. Illinois was strong on floor but just lacked the oompf to keep up with the likes of Hu and Schreiber. That said, starting the year over 196 is a win for both groups. This is a solid foundation to build form.
READ THIS NEXT: Nadalie Walsh Wants to Elevate Illinois. Mia Takekawa’s Perfect 10 Is an Early Sign It’s Working.
Live blog by Emily Minehart
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