See the rankings? This one is close!
There are a lot of parallels between these two teams. Both are recovering from a difficult stretch during the COVID years and seem to be carrying new energy into the 2023 season. The biggest difference? Stanford’s signature recruiting class is currently its freshman class, while Washington’s gamechanging group are still high school seniors. The Cardinal’s superior depth may carry this group to a victory. Washington has a higher ceiling, though, so Stanford shouldn’t get too comfortable. This one could be exciting.
Rotation 1: Stanford VT, Washington UB
Chrobok (Stanford): FTY, pikey throughout, baby hop back 9.725. Not a ton of amplitude.
Moody (UW): Toe to Maloney, little soft in the backswing, some leg sep on the Pak. Slightly imprecise half turn, FTDB with two quick steps back. 9.8
Neault (Stanford): Full on pike off, nice and clean, medium hop back. 9.775
Russon (UW): Uncertain whether she got that first handstand, blind to Jaeger to overshoot nice and clean. Honestly no clue on these handstands. Blind full, nice and quick, to double back stuck. 9.875
Widner (Stanford): Leg split on the table on her FTY, clean body position til the end and then piked down just a smidge, medium hop back. 9.725
Oppegard (UW): Blind to Jaeger, a little knee form, borderline handstand, nice bail. Missed a cast handstand pretty substantially, double lay with a pace forward. 9.7
Brunette (Stanford): FTY, nice and straight, nearly stuck but but chest stays forward, hop in place. 9.775
Brooks (UW): Arched the first handstand, true Shap a little shapey. Clear hip to bail. Full pirouette, soft back, and plants her double back. 9.825
Nguyen (Stanford): FTY, super high, bounced back up by the 8-incher and hops forward a little. 9.675 okay I get it but we could give her a LITTLE credit for the whole technical superiority thing.
Tubbs (UW): Toe on to Maloney, slightly soft knees in the backswing, to bail. Pretty double lay, baby hop back. 9.85
Roberts (Stanford): One and a half, pretty, lands on the line and medium hop forward. 9.8… I agreed with these judges at the beginning of the rotation but they didn’t scale up for
Killough-Wilhelm (UW): Hop change to pike Jaeger to overshoot, blind to half to double back slightly shuffly. 9.825
Nice hit from Bowles in the ex for Washington.
After 1: Washington 49.175, Stanford 48.800
Solid start from both teams. What is score ordering.
Rotation 2: Washington VT, Stanford UB
Innes (UW): Solid FTY, piked down a touch, scoot back. 9.775
Dean (Stanford): Cut off the beginning of the routine, blind full double back stuck-ish. On replay there’s a distinct right foot shift. 9.875
Brooks (UW): Yurchenko half, form on the table and a touch of knee bend late, stuck! 9.85
Brunette (Stanford): Half, almost goes over, to Deltchev with messy legs to overshoot. Double lay, step back. 9.7
Davis (UW): FTY, decent body line, landed on the line with a scoot-hop back.
Neault (Stanford): Maloney to Pak, pretty, clean leg form. Nailed the half pirouette, nailed the cast handstand on the high bar, blind full a touch late to double tuck, scoot back. 9.875
Navarro (UW): Awesome FTY, high and clean, small hop back. 9.8
Alexeeva (Stanford): Arches the first handstand, half turn to eagle to pike Jaeger, misses a handstand, Pak quite flat, switch kip. Blind full, late, to double back. Gorgeous technique but a lot of little stuff in that routine. 9.8
Killough-Wilhelm (UW): Maybe not quite the pop that Navarro had on her FTY but clean. Chest a touch low but stuck. 9.875
Roberts (Stanford): Iffy first handstand, nice Pak. Toe to van Leeuwen, leg sep. Blind full double back with a pace back. 9.875
Cunningham (UW): Awesome FTY, so dynamic, small hop back. 9.85
Widner (Stanford): Pretty Tkachev, full turn to bail, super open hips throughout. Double lay, baby hop back. 9.925
After 2: Washington 98.325, Stanford 98.125
Awesome bars rotation for Stanford and pretty much as solid as Washington vault’s gonna get! Succe
Rotation 3: Stanford BB, Washington FX
Stream went down and I feel like we may have missed a beam routine. Ah yeah it was Claire Dean. Sorry Claire Dean.
Innes (UW): Front double full, fully rotated! Switch to wolf full wolf full, rotation nice and clean. One and a half front lay well-controlled. She’s settled in a lot on this event.
Onyshko (Stanford): Front aerial BHS BHS nice and clean. Switch ring, position kinda sketch, to beat. Gainer pike stuck. 9.875
Roberts (UW): Double tuck, overrotated with a scoot back. One and a half front lay and dances out nicely, switch half wolf full. Double pike, on her heels, big step back and never looks stable but makes it work. 9.8 oh cute lmao
Alexeeva (Stanford): Nice clean wolf turn, BHS LOSO super steady. Switch half to beat, not sure about that split but this is a bad angle. Gainer front full, baby step forward. 9.9
Nguyen (UW): Double back, landed securely. Kyla Bryant says “This girl can dance.” Front full front lay, switch switch ring half. Scoot back on an overrotated double pike. 9.825
Neault (Stanford): BHS LOSO, steady. Full turn, front aerial, super clean so far. Split to ring jump, lean. Drilled her one and a half dismount. 9.9
Killough-Wilhelm (UW): Front double full, quick step forward like usual. Switch to switch ring half. One and a half front lay, well controlled like usual. 9.8 okay that one was markedly better than the others, score ordering idk her.
Roberts (Stanford): Wolf turn clean, beat to switch half with a check. BHS LOSO, leg-up check and falls. Side aerial, one and a half twist with a baby hop forward. 9.175
Navarro (UW): Double tuck, longer lunge but keeps the front foot down. Switch half Popa well-rotated. One and a half front lay, no drama. Double pike, small hop in place. Kyla says she completely stuck it, so take your pick. 9.85
Widner (Stanford): Switch split, BHS LOSO clean, front aerial, check, split. Front aerial to split, shakier but made that time. Full turn, BHS gainer full with a hop back. 9.575
Cunningham (UW) Front through double back, super stylish. Switch half wolf full wolf full, keeping the intensity up, Brenna Brooks is 110% committed mirroring her choreo in the corner. Double pike great. Good one. 9.9
We still don’t have a score for Widner. Okay, there it is.
Russon in UW ex.
After 3: Washington 147.525, Stanford 147.200.
Not as stone-cold as Stanford beam can be but Widner limited the damage there. Good floor rotation from Washington, most gymnasts overpowered one pass and it’s time to start getting those under control as we creep toward March but it’s certainly better than crunching the ankles.
Rotation 4: Washington BB, Stanford FX
Brooks (UW): Full turn. Kickover front BHS, a smidge slow but keeps it moving. Switch split. Front aerial to beat a little awkward, stag jump gainer full nailed. 9.85
Dean (Stanford): Double pike, odd foot position to land but jumps to lunge fine. Switch full. One and a half front full, looks super easy. Imprecise rotation on her leap series. Nice start. 9.9
Navarro (UW): BHS BHS LOSO… leg-up check, looks like she has no chance but just freezes and hangs on. Beat to switch side. One and a half twist, baby hop. 9.75, could have gone a lot worse.
Brunette (Stanford): Front lay to Rudi, some leg separation. Double tuck, right on her toes, pretty lunge. 9.9
Bowles (UW): Side aerial BHS, front foot shift. Full turn nice and controlled. Split to hop full, Casey loves the retro. Beat to side aerial with a little adjustment. Just a smidge shaky, even on the choreography, but no outright checks. Gainer full stuck. 9.75 judges pls
Neault (Stanford): Double pike, chest a little low. Nice Rudi. Switch to switch ring full, low front leg and a hop to the side. One and a half front lay with great control. 9.85
Davis (UW): BHS BHS LOSO, nailed. Beat to straddle 3/4, chest way forward and grabs the beam. Full turn. One and a half stuck-ish. 9.5
Nguyen (Stanford): Double layout, huge and well-controlled. Switch side Popa. Two and a half front pike, a little overrotated. 9.875
Killough-Wilhelm (UW): Got iced by the judges. Front aerial BHS, that’s a downgrade and a smart one. Should still have enough bonus. Pretty full turn. Kickover front to beat, switch… awkward, landed on the side of one foot… to beat to split, so she has a dance series even if they take the first. Side aerial one and a half drilled. 9.575 out of a 9.8 SV… hmm. Hmm.
Roberts (Stanford): Front lay to Rudi, long-ish lunge. Gorgeous control on her double back, she had a million years to spot that. Switch side Popa.
Moody (UW): BHS LOSO LOSO, leg-up check. Switch split, one and a half twist stuck. 9.85
Sander (Stanford): I was thinking about start values and forgot to write down the beginning tumbling SORRY KATYA. She’s super dramatic, Kyla says she’s like Risa Perez, the facial expressions are super intense. Switch side Popa, double back. 9.85
Late inquiry gives 0.15 back on Davis’ beam routine. Still none the wiser about SKW. What can you do.
FINAL: Stanford 196.625, Washington 196.375
Washington threw the meet away on beam there, while Stanford really didn’t leave any doubt on floor. Taking care of these beam jitters needs to be a priority for the Huskies: This event has historically been a strength for the team and also for Jen Llewellyn. Stanford had some beam jitters of its own and still produced a great score. Onward and upward for the Cardinal.
VT: Skylar Killough-Wilhelm 9.875
UB: Chloe Widner 9.925
BB: Ira Alexeeva 9.925
FX: Anna Roberts, Claire Dean, Madison Brunette, Amara Cunningham 9.900
AA: Brenna Neault 39.375
READ THIS NEXT: Stanford Flips the Script, Competes With Gratitude
Live blog by Rebecca Scally
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