Don’t let the rankings fool you on this dual meet, there’s still some fun things to look out for.
Oklahoma has taken the NCAA by storm this season, maintaining the No. 1 ranking since the start of the season. Last time out, the Sooners had a dominant performance over conference rival Denver, capped off with a perfect 10.0 on beam from senior Ragan Smith. Olivia Trautman also made her season debut on the beam in a last minute lineup switch and casually scored a 9.950. The Sooners have a ton of depth on all events, so this could be the meet where KJ Kindler chooses to showcase some of that depth and rest some of her usual competitors.
For Iowa State, the season has started off slow, but Jay Ronanye’s Cyclones seem to be slowly finding a rhythm. They tallied a season-high at the West Virginia quad, with only one counting score below a 9.600. Loganne Basuel and Maddie Diab were standouts by tallying 9.900 plus scores on beam and floor, respectively. Bars is still a weak spot for this team though, and that is where it will start tonight. The Cyclones will want to have a hit first rotation and build up a good road score to start off NQS rankings (can you believe we’re there already?!) on a good note.
Well, the meet was apparently supposed to start at 6:45, but I’ve been getting the ESPN Plus commercial for nine minutes now, so I have a feeling we aren’t starting on time.
Ah, here we go now!
Rotation 1: OU vault, Iowa State Bars
Sievers: Yurchenko 1.5, good height off the table, looked just as good as her vault against Utah. Maybe a slight scoot of the feet on the landing? 9.925.
Langkamp: mount on high bar, piked Jaeger, overcooks the first handstand and is short on the bail to handstand. Double layout with a low landing and a hop. 9.775.
Torrez: Yurchenko 1.5, good block with a small hop forward on the landing! Slight leg separation right before the landing. 9.900.
Loyim: Blind change to piked Jaeger, very whippy Pak salto, beautiful final handstand, double layout with an arm swing and a hop. 9.800.
Stern: Yurchenko 1.5, best distance of the three so far. Also looked like a teeny tiny scoot on the landing, but in real time, the judges likely won’t mark it as such. 9.950.
Thomas: mount on the high bar, Blind change to straddled Jaeger, bent arms on the transition to low bar, her feet aren’t entirely pointed throughout. Double layout with slight leg separation, but a stuck landing! 9.850.
Bowers: Yurchenko 1.5, stuck! Looked a little close to the white boundary lines, so we’ll see if judges take that deduction. 9.950.
Horowitz: Blind change to straddled Jaeger, lost her toe point. Bail to handstand, almost on top of the bar. Double layout stuck, but a little whippy right at the end. 9.825.
Levasseur: Yurchenko 1.5, great distance and height, off to the side with a cross-step forward. 9.850.
Cooke: mount on low bar, Maloney is clean, as is the Pak salto. Short on the final handstand, but another stuck landing on the double layout! Three sticks for the Cyclones on their weakest event! 9.875.
Davis: Yurchenko 1.5, step backwards on the landing, leg separation right off the table. 9.725
Basuel: Blind change to straddled Jaeger, beautiful toe point. Bail to handstand, right on top of the bar. Dismount was supposed to be a double layout, but she tried to tuck it, but still landed it cleanly. Hopefully, she didn’t injure herself. but this will likely be the drop score. 9.525.
Ramsey (exhibition): Yurchenko full, off to the side, but a clean landing that she made sure to hold onto. Piked hips at the end. 9.825
Ricks (exhibition): mount on high bar, Tkatchev but lost the toe point. Extra swing after a mistake on the transition, but double layout with a step back is nicely done! This is her debut following an Achilles injury last season, so great to see her there! 9.375.
After 1: Oklahoma 49.575, Iowa State 49.125
Iowa State had a clean rotation on bars and hits a season high! Those sticks need to translate into other events to help the Cyclones with their team total. Oklahoma had a good vault rotation, basically their normal, so as they transition to bars, it will want to continue having clean routines throughout.
Rotation 2: Iowa State vault, OU bars
Palacios: Yurchenko full, piked down at the landing, small hop on the landing. 9.800.
Sievers: mount on low bar, Maloney to Pak salto, handstands are right on top of the bar. Half-in, half-out dismount stuck. So yeah, this is going well. 9.925.
Horowitz: Yurchenko full, good height and distance, biiiiiiig hop back. 9.675.
Torrez: mount on low bar, Maloney and falls. Grips slid off and her legs were separated. Goes in to repeat the skill, gets it the second time. Double layout with leg separation and a stick. 9.000.
Boychuk: Yurchenko full, clean landing, great height and form! Maybe sliiiightly piked at the end? 9.800.
Levasseur: Need a good routine to reset. Mount on high bar, Toe-on handstand to Tkatchev is beautiful. Bail to handstand is on top of the bar. Double layout is stuck. Great routine after a fall! 9.950.
Bergstrom: Yurchenko full, knees were bent off the table, arm swing on the landing and took a step back. 9.600.
R. Smith: mount on high bar, Ray is caught beautifully, Pak salto had the tiniest amount of leg separation. Double layout with a hop back. 9.900.
Parker: Yurchenko full, knees bent in the air, flaired that out! Got the landing, but the chest was low so that’ll be a deduction. 9.800.
Bowers: Blind change to straddled Jaeger, caught with bent arms. Pak salto is cleaner, handstands are clean. Half-in half-out with a low chest and a lean forward, but stuck! 9.925.
Hong: Yurchenko 1.5, hop forward, bent knees right before the landing. 9.850.
Davis: Higgins roll to piked Jaeger caught beautifully. Pak salto is just as clean, and she nailed the final handstand! Double front half is stuck, BUT she was leaning so it won’t be a 10.0 (AGH!) 9.975.
Fletcher (exhibition): mount on high bar, piked Jaeger to Pak salto is a little whippy, short on the final handstand. Half in half out dismount, stuck! 9.875.
After 2: Oklahoma 99.250, Iowa State 98.050
About what I expected from the Sooners on bars! It’s the lean heard round the gymternet because everyone wants Audrey Davis to get her 10.0 so bad. The Cyclones match their vault score from last week, but they haven’t had to count a major break yet, a good sign moving into the second half.
Rotation 3: OU beam, Iowa State floor
Trautman: Leading off instead of Jenna Dunn tonight. BHS LOSO series is clean. Cat leap to switch side, bobbled just a little but covered it well. Front toss, lean to the side. RO 1.5 dismount, lean back on the landing. 9.900. Mmmm, the leans would’ve made me go a little lower.
Boychuk: Ahh, the tornado sirens. Didn’t miss those. Double pike first pass, RO 1.5 to front layout, a slight leg separation at the end of the pass. Leaps were good on height. Double tuck, clean landing with chest up! Good leadoff routine for the fifth-year! 9.825.
Levasseur: Beautiful mount! BHS LOSO, small lean to the side but covered it well with the dance. Switch leap to straddle quarter, front aerial to beat jump is clean. That flexibility though. If only they could spell her name right. BHS to gainer full is stuck. 9.900.
Cooke: FHS front double full to stag jump, might have gone out of bounds, but we will have to wait and see. Her toe was close. Love that full turn! Back 1.5 to front full was excellent as was the leap series! 9.725, looks like they might’ve taken the out of bounds deduction.
Bowers: Let’s see if her consistency streak continues. BHS LOSO is spot on. Might have lost a little toe point, but not important. Sissone to switch half, the switch was right at 180. RO double full is cleanly landed! 9.950.
Bergstrom: Double tuck first pass might’ve been clean, but Ronanye was in the way. Low chest on the landing of the second pass, but the leaps were pretty clean. 9.800.
Davis: beautiful full turn. BHS LOSO is clean. Front aerial, foot stayed down on the landing. Cat leap to split ring, head release is best that it has been all season. RO double full, small step on the landing. You almost wonder if she’ll get a 10 on beam before she gets a 10 on bars? 9.875.
Palacios: Front tuck through to double tuck is out of bounds. Shame because it was so beautiful in the air. Beautiful height on the leaps! I love the artistry and performance quality of this routine. Final pass is double pike with a controlled landing. Other than the OOB, a great routine for the Guatemalan elite! 9.650.
Torrez: Wolf jump is clean. Side aerial to LOSO is clean, she definitely wants to redeem herself after bars. Full turn is on releve. Leaps were at 180. RO double tuck with a small step back. 9.875.
Judges’ conference and Kaia Parker looks unamused. I love it.
Parker: aww, Myia Hambrick floor music. Front tuck through to double tuck is clean with the chest up. Clean dance so far! Final pass is a double pike, stuck landing, but the chest might’ve been a little low. 9.775.
R. Smith: Can she repeat perfection? BHS LOSO with a slight lean to the side, so it should not get a 10. Emphasis on should. Front aerial is clean. Straddle to BHS swingdown was beautiful, BHS gainer full with a hop back. Won’t be a 10, but still beautiful! 9.925……….okay.
Diab: FHS front double full normally to a layout, but it was tucked. Second pass was much cleaner. Rudi to back LOSO, is the cleanest pass. Not her best, but still a clean routine! 9.850. Little high in my opinion.
Hong (exhibition): front tuck through to double tuck is clean! Leaps could’ve used a touch more height. Double pike is controlled. I feel like that will have a scoring chance in the lineup soon because it was great!
After 3: Oklahoma 148.800, Iowa State 147.025
Iowa State on pace for a season high after a clean floor rotation. Some of those beam routines for Oklahoma, I would’ve gone slightly lower just for form deductions, but it was still a clean rotation for the Sooners as they are on pace for their second straight 198.
Rotation 4: Iowa State beam, OU floor
Thomas: Beat jump is clean. Front toss to BHS series is right on the beam. Full turn has a slight balance check. Switch leap to straddle quarter with maybe some sickled feet? RO 1.5, leg separation and underrotated with a step back. 9.700.
Johnson: The Harry Styles routine is here. Front layout to 1.5, step out of bounds. Not quite the way you want to start. Switch leap to wolf full is clean, double tuck is more controlled. This will likely be the drop score moving forward. 9.750.
Boychuk: Wolf turn to open, cat leap to switch half with a small wobble. BHS LOSO with some soft knees toward the end. Cat leap to side somi, super balanced throughout after that first wobble. Gainer full stuck! 9.800.
R. Smith: first pass is a double tuck, front foot moved back in the lunge. Back 1.5 to front layout is more controlled landing wise. Double pike, underrotated with a step forward. 9.825.
Bergstrom: Full turn is right on releve, cat leap to front toss to BHS is clean, i love love love that connection. Switch leap to switch leap series. Split leap is at 180. Front tucked full, knee bend on the landing with a hop.
Sievers: Tucked full-in first pass is nicely done. Front tuck through to double tuck with a controlled landing, slide of the front foot. Clean dance and clean leaps.
Horowitz: Front toss to BHS series, little uncertain after that first skill but went for it. Cat leap to switch half to beat jump, but I’m not sure if they’re going to give her credit because of how slow the connection between the cat leap and the switch half was. We’ll see. College stick on the dismount. 9.775.
Fletcher: First pass is a double tuck. Usually, it’s a triple twist, so that’s interesting. I do love this music arrangement though. Front layout to front full connection pass is clean. Final pass is her usual 2.5 twist. Don’t know why the triple twist was taken out, but still a good routine! 9.950.
Basuel: Switch leap to switch half to beat jump is right at 180 throughout. BHS LOSO and she comes off the beam. She was off on the first skill. BHS gainer full dismount is cleaned. 9.250.
Bowers: She’s set up for a pretty decent score here after the 9.950. Double pike and took a step out of bounds. I jinxed it, sorry guys. Second pass is front double full to front tuck, was very close to stepping out of bounds again. Not her greatest, but still a clean routine. 9.800 with a step out……..
Loyim: Switch leap to switch side combo immediately. BHS LOSO series is clean. Loyim needs a hit to drop Basuel’s fall. Front aerial to beat jump is nicely done. BHS gainer full with a hop back, but it will drop Basuel’s score and should get the Cyclones to a new season-high! 9.825.
Oklahoma will break 198 for the second week in a row.
Torrez: DLO first pass is clean and controlled. Beautiful extension on the leaps. Final pass is front tuck through to double tuck, spot on. Beautiful way to end the evening for the freshman! 9.925.
Parker (exhibition): Switch leap to switch half and comes off the beam. Her leaps weren’t at 180 and she couldn’t save it. BHS LOSO is on the beam to get her back on track. RO 1.5 with a big step back.
Davis (exhibition): FHS front double full is beautifully controlled. For some reason, I’m really into this floor music. Back 1.5 to front full final pass with a step forward. Lots of power in these OU floor routines, but still beautiful for Davis.
FINAL: Oklahoma 198.225, Iowa State 195.875
Overall, a good meet for both teams! KJ Kindler won’t be thrilled with the bounces on floor, but she will be thrilled with a 198 for the second week straight. The Cyclones did what they needed to to secure their new season-high and will want to build on this meet for Sunday when they go to Denton, Texas!
VT: Jordan Bowers and Allie Stern (OU) – 9.950
UB: Audrey Davis (OU) – 9.975
BB: Jordan Bowers (OU) – 9.950
FX: Danae Fletcher (OU) – 9.950
AA: Jordan Bowers (OU) – 39.625
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Live blog by Savanna Whitten
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