Another Sunday, another underrated quad meet! This one has a lot of interesting components to it with four teams who are already familiar with one another. Towson saw West Virginia at its quad just over a week ago, as well as Eastern Michigan and Iowa State at the Cyclones tri meet last Friday. It will be interesting to see what has changed in just over a week.
The highest ranked team in this quad is No. 31 Towson. Last time out, the Tigers took second at their home quad meet with the bars team putting up their only score over 49. Iowa State is a big wild card coming into this meet. We’ve seen flashes of greatness from the Cyclones during their first two meets. Vault and floor have been their strongest events, but bars and beam have been a struggle, tallying scores in the 47s. Eastern Michigan is on its third meet in 10 days after competing in the Iowa State tri-meet and a dual with Ball State on Sunday. Despite the grueling start to season, the Eagles have steadily increased their team scores and will look to do the same thing again today. Finally, West Virginia has had a quiet start to its season. Its best event continues to be floor, where assistant head coach Zaakira Muhammad once again has her floor team scoring in the 49s consistently three weeks in. However, the Mountaineers’ weakness lately has been bars.
Got a stream finally, but it’s super glitchy audio wise. So, this will be fun. It also appears we will be getting somewhat of a quad box, so I’ll hit what I can!
ROTATION 1: WVU vault, Iowa State bars, Towson beam, EMU floor
K. Lewis (WVU) – Yurchenko full, stuck! Nice form in the air! 9.825
Langkamp (ISU) – beautiful double layout dismount! 9.775.
Yancey (WVU) – Yurchenko full with a hop back. 9.750.
Loyim (ISU) – blind change to piked Jaeger, beautiful release. Bent arms on transition to high bar, double layout with a leg separation. 9.425.
Irwin (WVU) – Yurchenko half with a tiny hop at the end. 9.850, career high!
Nelson (WVU) – Yurchenko full with a hop back, clean in the air! 9.675
Thomas (ISU) – leg separation on the Pak salto, good toe point at the end, double layout. 9.650.
Someone on Towson just had a beautiful series on beam, but they’re not giving names right away, so that’s fun.
Wehry (WVU) – FHS pike half, a 10.0 start value (finally!!) little off center, but the landing was super clean! 9.825.
Horowitz just had a fall on bars for the Cyclones, meaning Loyim’s score of 9.425 will count.
Stuckey (EMU) – would’ve liked more toe point on the leaps, but the split position was there. Back 1.5 to front layout pass had some leg separation. Double pike final pass is clean with a controlled step back. 9.700.
Bausel (ISU) – straddled Jaeger, clean toe point. Straight arms on the transition, double layout with a step back. 9.725.
Keener (Towson) – finally a beam routine with a gymnast’s name! The Tigers have been super clean on beam so far. BHS LOSO, clean, almost looked like her foot tried to slip. Switch leap to tuck jump, a little wobble on the second jump. Cat leap to front toss. Gainer full dismount stuck. 9.825.
Crossen (EMU) – only caught the tail end of her routine, but the leaps were clean and her final pass was controlled landing wise! 9.800.
Boris (EMU) – double pike first pass, underrotated so she took a step forward. Back 1.5 to front layout, much better on the landing of that pass. Switch half to split jump leap series, but wasn’t quite 180. Double tuck final pass, looked close to OOB, but no flag went up. Good anchor routine for the Eagles! 9.800.
AFTER ONE: WVU 49.025, Towson 48.925, EMU 48.550, Iowa State 48.275
Overall, not a bad first rotation. The Mountaineers easily had their best vault rotation of the season so far and capped it off with Wehry hitting her 10.0 start, something the Mountaineers will want to keep in that lineup. Iowa State again showing some troubles on bars, while Towson and EMU were ultimately clean on their events, no falls to report between those two teams.
ROTATION 2: EMU vault, WVU bars, Iowa State beam, Towson floor
Yancey (WVU) – beautiful Pak salto, those legs have not separated, double layout stuck! 9.875.
Minervini (Towson) – Double pike pass is clean! Good choreography at the end. 9.875.
Combs (WVU) – leg separation on the Maloney and the Pak salto, good toe point on the handstands, double tuck dismount STUCK! 9.825
Vailancourt (Towson) – double tuck, landing was uncontrolled with a step forward. Back 1.5 to front layout, more controlled. Rudi to split jump is clean. 9.625.
Leigh (WVU) – straddled Jaeger is clean, Pak salto has some leg separation from the side view. Double layout with a hop back. 9.700.
Someone on EMU just had a deep knee bend on her vault, but kept it on her feet.
Bergstrom (ISU) – cat leap to front toss to BHS is clean! Split leap is at 180, dismount is clean! Good comeback rotation so far! 9.825.
M. Smith (WVU) – career debut alert! beautiful first cast handstand, Tkatchev is clean, bail to handstand, double layout with a step and her feet was flexed, but it’s a hit! 9.650.
Belanovski (Towson) – front tuck through to FHS front full is clean! 9.775
Casper (Towson) – double pike is clean as is the front layout to front full. Double tuck is also very clean. 9.825.
Irwin (WVU) – straddled jaeger is clean and her toe point is IMMACULATE. Beautiful final handstand. Giant full to double tuck with a step back. This is the bars rotation WVU wanted. 9.725.
Horowitz just had a stuck dismount on beam, so whatever caused her issues on bars didn’t carry over to beam. She scores a 9.850.
Tisler (Towson) – Double pike and she just went down. 🙁 was clutching an ankle or knee. 8.800.
Bausel (ISU) – stream switched back after Tisler’s injury. BHS LOSO is spot on. Aerial cartwheel to Gainer full dismount, stick! 9.900!
Loyim (ISU) – Switch leap to switch side, not quite 180. BHS LOSO is clean. Front aerial to beat jump, gainer full with a hop back! Great beam rotation for the Cyclones! 9.850.
Calafati (Towson) – front double full to punch front is powerfully done! If you want anyone coming in after an injury, it’s this gymnast right here. Rudi LOSO to two feet to split jump. And she’s a freshman?? Beautiful floor routine! 9.875.
AFTER TWO: Towson 97.900, WVU 97.800, Iowa State 97.550, EMU 96.725
Tough ending for the Tigers after watching Tisler go down in the fifth spot, but a great routine from Carmella Calafati will give Towson the 0.100 lead going into rotation 3. Iowa State came back strong on the beam and Bausel capping it off with a 9.900 will keep them within arms reach of Towson and WVU. EMU had a clean rotation on vault, but directional issues with the landings kept them from breaking 9.800 on their scores.
ROTATION 3: Towson vault, EMU bars, WVU beam, Iowa State floor
Hoffman (Towson) – Yurchenko full, hop back on the landing. 9.700
Holmes-Hackerd (WVU) – front aerial to back tuck series is clean, would’ve liked more split position. Gainer full dismount with a hop back. 9.800.
Boychuk (ISU) – double pike is nice. Leg separation on the front layout on the second pass. Double tuck final pass is nicely done! Great opening routine for the Cyclones. 9.800.
Bolen (Towson) – Yurchenko full, hop back. 9.725.
Pierson (WVU) – BHS LO to two feet, small balance check afterwards but she kept it on the beam. Standing back pike to straddle jump to straddle quarter, less arm swing would be nice. BHS 1.5 tucked with a scoot of the feet. 9.800.
Belanovski (Towson) – Yurchenko full with a hop back, beautiful height in the air! 9.775.
Yancey (WVU) – triple series is spot on the beam. Split jump to straddle quarter, beautiful 180. RO 1.5 twist with a hop forward. 9.850.
Combs (WVU) – switch side had low chest landing, but that pike jump was beautiful! She’s ready to get off this beam lol. Punch front tucked full is STUCK! 9.825.
Boris (EMU) – half in, half out dismount stuck! Low chest but still clean. 9.825.
Palacios (ISU) – front tuck through to double tuck is clean with a small step back. Her choreography is probably my favorite. Double pike is clean, barely stayed in bounds, but a hit is a hit! 9.875.
Crossen (EMU) – her legs have not come undone once. Tkatchev is nice, double layout with leg separation, but a good ending routine for the Eagles. 9.675.
Nelson (WVU) – BHS LOSO, nailed it. Cat leap to switch side is clean. Another cat leap to side aerial to split jump. BHS gainer full off the side is stuck. 9.875.
Loyim (ISU) – floor debut for her this season! Double layout first pass is nicely done. Back 1.5 to front layout has a clean landing. Glad she’s finally back in this lineup. Double tuck is landed cleanly. Welcome back to floor Hannah Loyim! 9.850.
Asper (WVU) – BHS LOSO LOSO, little form issues in the legs. Beat jump to straddle half, could’ve used a little more split. RO 1.5 twist, slightly uncontrolled on the landing, it looked, but we’ll see what the judges do. 9.850.
Diab (ISU) – FHS front double full to front layout is clean. Her second pass is controlled as usual. Rudi to LOSO is clean. Ended the floor rotation on a good note. 9.925.
Judges conference on Asper’s routine. She appeared to have all her requirements, so I’m not entirely sure what they’re questioning. Guess we’ll see.
AFTER THREE : WVU 146.950, Iowa State 146.900, Towson 146.675, EMU 145.050
Well, that was fun. WVU and Iowa State both had phenomenal rotations with no scores below a 9.800. The Tigers came back strong after Tisler’s injury, with Mia Davis coming in to replace Tisler on vault. Eastern Michigan was clean, but will want to end this meet on a high note. Important to note that WVU and Iowa State are both heading to its best events, so with them being so close, landings are going to be super important. Towson is also heading to a relatively strong event for it as well, so this meet is far from over.
ROTATION 4: Iowa State vault, Towson bars, EMU beam, WVU floor
Palacios (ISU) – Yurchenko full, hops a tiny bit with some form issues in the hips. 9.775.
Keener (Towson) – blind change to straddled Jaeger to immediate overshoot, double tuck with a hop forward.
Leigh (WVU) – Front full to front layout with a controlled step into the dance. Leap series is oversplit. FHS front double full is just as controlled. Always a solid opening routine for WVU. 9.825.
Loyim (ISU) – Yurchenko full with a hop back. 9.725.
Bergstrom (ISU) – Yurchenko full with a big hop back. 9.775.
Boychuk (ISU) – Yurchenko full, leg separation but was off to the side and over the lines. 9.625.
Hong (Towson) – BEAUTIFUL piked Jaeger! Blind change to front double full dismount. I love that routine holy cow. 9.875
EMU just had a fall on beam from Bergin. 🙁 8.200.
Parker (ISU) – STUCK Yurchenko full! 9.850.
Hong (ISU) – Yurchenko 1.5, hop forward. Good height off the table. 9.800.
Lewis (WVU) – Rudi to LOSO is nicely done. Double tuck is slightly underrotated. 9.900.
Vailancourt (Towson) – Clean overshoot, double layout with a hop back, some leg separation, depends on what the judges saw. 9.875.
Boris (EMU) – Switch leap to switch side, could’ve used more split. Side aerial with a bend at the waist. RO 1.5 twist with a stick! 9.900.
Macasu (Towson) – Pak salto with some leg separation, blind change to double tuck is landed. 9.850.
Parris (EMU) – BHS LOSO LOSO is very nicely done. Not enough split in the leap series, RO 1.5 twist is landed with a step forward. 9.500.
Minervini (Towson) – Pak salto is clean, no leg separation. Double layout is stuck! Great ending to Towson’s day! 9.900.
Towson will pass Iowa State!
Yancey (WVU) – First pass, back 1.5 to front full to stag jump, was clean, double tuck last pass with a step forward. 9.900.
Pierson (WVU) – double layout nicely done, most height I’ve seen this season! Oversplit on the leap series. FHS to front layout to front full was underrotated with a step back. Still a good routine! 9.825.
Chemotti (EMU) – Front aerial to BHS LOSO was beautifully done. Switch jump to split jump was right at 180. BHS to 1.5 twist is stuck. WOW what a routine! 9.900.
Combs (WVU) – Front tuck through to double pike, could’ve used a little more control on the landing. Leaps looked right at 180. Double tuck with a slight scoot of the feet afterwards. Beautiful routine for the fifth year senior! 9.825.
WVU will win this meet before Holmes-Hackerd’s routine!
Holmes-Hackerd (WVU) – Rudi to layout two feet to straddle jump, WOW. Leap series was controlled, maybe a touch below 180? Double pike with a beautiful ending. Great way to end the day for the Mountaineers. 9.925.
FINAL: WVU 196.375, Towson 196.025, Iowa State 195.825, EMU 194.050
All four teams record a season high! A great Women’s Empowerment meet at the Coliseum today!
EVENT WINNERS
VT: Kaia Parker (ISU) & Brooke Irwin (WVU) – 9.850
UB: Isabella Minervini (Towson) – 9.900
BB: Ella Chemotti (EMU) & Loganne Basuel (ISU) – 9.900
FX: Emily Holmes-Hackerd (WVU) & Maddie Diab (ISU) – 9.925
AA: Kianna Yancey (WVU) – 39.375
READ THIS NEXT: Judge’s Inquiry: Breaking Down a Week 3 Routine on Each Event
Live blog by Savanna Whitten
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