The Dismount: Week 6

Recap

The Big Storyline: Minnesota came ready to play and actually lead after the first two rotations, but Michigan ultimately came out on top after a program record beam rotation. The Gophers opened the door for Michigan during their shaky floor rotation, but they still managed to score a 197.075. Michigan scored a 197.975, which included a 10 on beam from Natalie Wojcik. 

Implications: Minnesota’s 197.075 on the road will really help its NQS. Michigan falling just short of a 198 likely won’t have much effect on its NQS, but the Wolverines will likely be hoping to get back into the 198 range next week.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 19 Minnesota at No. 2 Michigan

Why You Should Cancel Plans for It: While these teams may not be as evenly matched as they have been in recent years, this meet is still one to watch. Both the Gophers and the Wolverines are coming off a great meet. Michigan just scored its season high with a 198.300, and Minnesota scored its second-highest score of the year with a 196.675. 

What We’re Watching: We’ll be on 10 watch during this meet! Michigan’s Sierra Brooks and Abby Heiskell got 10s last week on vault at Rutgers, and Minnesota’s Mya Hooten got a 10 on floor. Keep an eye out for more potentially perfect routines.

What Else to Know Before Tuning in: We may also be looking at an all-around battle in Ann Arbor. Abby Heiskell is coming off a 39.800 all-around score and Mya Hooten is coming off a 39.675. If each all-arounder hits to their full potential, it may be a tight competition.

Recap

The Big Storyline: It was a tale of two different storylines this meet. Both Towson and Temple scored season highs while Pittsburgh and N.C State struggled, with N.C. State recording a season low.

Implications: Temple recorded its first 195 of the season, which will be a big boost after starting off the season slow. Towson will be happy to get a big home score when it comes to qualifying to regionals for the third consecutive season. N.C. State will likely be able to easily drop this meet with three more away opportunities, but Pittsburgh will need to step it up on the road if it wants to qualify to its home regionals.

Records: Towson scored a program record 49.400 on bars.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 23 N.C. State, No. 36 Pittsburgh, No. 51 Temple at No. 30 Towson

Why You Should Make Time to Tune in: In a Big Five meet-esque type fashion, half of the EAGL conference is meeting up in this quad. While Temple has yet to hit its stride this season, the other three teams have all posted a season high within half a point of each other. This meet could go any way.

Need More Proof? Temple has been off to a rocky start, but the Owls posted a season high on the road last week and will look to bring that momentum to Towson. Pittsburgh will look to do the same, as the Panthers recorded their second highest team score in program history at home last Friday. Watch out for Hallie Copperwheat on beam, as she has been throwing her double turn more frequently in competition this season. Towson has been on a hot streak the past two weeks, especially on bars where the Tigers currently rank 14th in the country. Watch out for Clara Hong who posted her career high on the event last week. N.C. State has not scored below 196 since the season opener and will be looking to continue that streak on the road with the key trio of Chloe Negrete, Emily Shepard, and Lauren Rutherford.

Recap

Recap

Recap

The Big Storyline: Florida finally smashed through the 198 barrier at its annual Pink Meet, though judging inconsistencies and inaccuracies ultimately overshadowed the strength of the Gators’ performance. That aside, Florida’s stars continued to shine as Trinity Thomas, Leanne Wong, Sloane Blakely and Kayla DiCello all exceeded 39.500 in the all-around. 

Implications: Missouri continues to struggle on its signature event, beam, and drops to 16th nationally and seventh in the SEC. Florida regains its place as the penultimate team in the country, two tenths behind top-ranked Oklahoma. 

Records: Thomas earned her 28th all-around title, moving past alumna Bridget Sloan as the winningest Gator of all time. Freshman DiCello had the best meet of her young career, snagging her first perfect 10 and setting career highs on all four events and the all-around. 

Controversies: The scoring was so frequently and so brazenly wrong, it might be quicker to list which scores weren’t controversial. Florida gymnasts Trinity Thomas and Chloi Clark took to social media to address the judges’ errors. 

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 15 Missouri at No. 3 Florida

Why You Should Clear Space on Your DVR: Love them or hate them, the Gators are indisputably one of the best teams in the country, but they’re not untouchable. The Tigers have yet to hit all four events in a single meet this year, but their season high event scores are more than enough to challenge the Gators for the win. Given Missouri’s capacity to upset higher-ranked opponents, Florida can’t afford to get complacent against this squad.

You Can Fast Forward, but not Through This: Leanne Wong scored bookend 10s last week at Arkansas; can she do it two weeks in a row? With the exception of Helen Hu (who’s been reliably sublime), Missouri has struggled in recent weeks on its signature event, beam. It’ll need to fire on all cylinders if it wants to have any hope of taking down third-ranked Florida. 

Results

Recap

The Big Storyline: Auburn bounced back from a subpar beam rotation with a 49.675 on floor to secure the win over visiting LSU. The dueling Tigers stayed within a couple of tenths of one another right through the final rotation, with the Auburn floor party snagging three 9.975s in a row to put the meet away in front of a packed Neville Arena. 

Implications: Auburn hangs onto its spot in the national rankings for now, though with NQS looming, will need to maintain this 197.5-plus pace if it hopes to stay in the top five. LSU moves into eighth nationally thanks to its season high total, all the more valuable for being an away score. 

Records: Despite scoring her second consecutive bars 10 and a 39.775 in the all-around, Lee was overshadowed by her former US national teammate Finnegan. It was a career performance for the sophomore, who earned her first perfect 10 on vault and a personal best 39.800 in the all-around. 

Controversies: LSU’s pre-meet introductions garnered an unexpected response from the sold-out Auburn crowd. Gym fans remained divided over whether this was an example of good-natured heckling or inappropriate behavior.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 9 LSU at No. 5 Auburn

Why You Should Cancel Plans for It: Last year’s Battle of the Tigers saw home team LSU notch its 300th win in front of a sold-out PMAC. Auburn will have a chance to return the favor this Friday. Both teams set a season-high 197.700 last weekend, though the Auburn contingent lost to in-state rival Alabama while LSU defeated Jay Clark’s alma mater Georgia. 

What We’re Watching: Last week, sophomores Sunisa Lee and Aleah Finnegan each snagged 10s—Lee on bars and beam, Finnegan on floor—and junior Haleigh Bryant wasn’t too far behind with a 9.975 on vault. Lee, Bryant and Kiya Johnson all scored a 10 at last year’s match-up, so there’s a very good chance of at least one perfect mark being thrown this time around. 

What Else to Know Before Tuning in: Reigning SEC Gymnast of the Week Lee is the favorite for the all-around title, but don’t sleep on Bryant: She’s gone 39.7-plus in two of her last three competitions.

Recap

Recap

Recap

The Big Storyline: Finished off by a 9.975 from Jade Carey, a battle between two of the Pac-12s unbeaten teams in conference action ended with both teams remaining unbeaten. California led for the first three rotations before the Beavers stormed back on floor after setting themselves up nicely on beam. Carey was her usual, sweeping the events, while the Golden Bears’ Li stood out amongst their five all-arounders as their only event winner and second place all-around finisher at 39.625.

Implications: A second tie in Pac-12 duals, both involving Oregon State, will continue to convolute the conference regular season standings as we hit, roughly, the halfway point. The Beavers still have Utah, the only other unbeaten team, left on their schedule while the Golden Bears host UCLA and travel to Salt Lake City the next two weekends.

Records: Oregon State set a new season high team total and a season best on bars.

Controversies: Originally, Carey’s near-perfect floor score won the meet in walk-off fashion as Oregon State led by a quarter-tenth. After the meet had ended, Mya Lauzon’s floor score from the third rotation was raised to a 9.900 to bump California’s team total and change the result of the dual to a tie.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 7 California at No. 13 Oregon State

Why You Should Clear Space on Your DVR: At least one of the Pac-12’s three unbeaten teams will (likely) fall as two of last season’s co-champions face off in a conference-defining dual. Both team’s are on the rise and are capable of living up to their nationals aspirations, with this battle giving the winning team huge momentum in the conference and NCAA races.

You Can Fast Forward, but not Through This: Jade Carey is always the favorite in the all-around, but keep an eye on Mya Lauzon, whose 39.700 last weekend tied California’s program record and could easily challenge Oregon State’s leader should she falter. Bars will be the make-or-break event, as it’s where the Golden Bears excel and the Beavers struggle; Oregon State needs to surpass 49 to keep it close with California.

Results

Recap

Recap

The Big Storyline: Despite losing Grace McCallum to an injury on vault in the opening rotation, Utah was able to rally for a respectable road total and easy victory in the afternoon session of Metroplex. The Utes went sub-49 to open the meet, but Makenna Smith stepped up into the all-around, and Maile O’Keefe notched a perfect 10 to right the ship. A new Yurchenko one and a half was able to vault Illinois to second, outpacing a late run from Georgia propelled by a strong floor rotation. Illinois State nearly knocked off a few of these teams, posting a new season-high by over half a point.

Implications: With her injury status unknown at this time, McCallum’s potential loss significantly lowers the Utes’ scoring potential moving forward. They also pick up a conference win over Stanford, who competed in the evening session of this meet, because they don’t have a dual scheduled in 2023.

Records: The Redbirds’ team total ranks fourth all time in program history.

Controversies: The meet did not have streaming or live scoring for fans not in attendance to be able to follow along.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 4 Utah, No. 18 Georgia, No. 22 Illinois and No. 49 Illinois State

Why You Should Clear Space on Your DVR: Metroplex always provides exciting gymnastics, and this year should be no different as a trio of top 25 teams kicks off the first session. While Utah will be hunting for another total to challenge the national lead, it should be an exciting battle between Georgia and Illinois for runner-up and event title races. All while Illinois State has some individual NCAA qualifiers who can make some noise.

You Can Fast Forward, but not Through This: The Utes’ NCAA-leading beam rotation is always a must-watch event, but keep an eye on vault where they’ve recently come on strong and have the potential for six 10.0 start values. The Redbirds are capable of standing out on vault as well, with Angelica Labat and Jaye Mack both capable of big scores if they can hit. Georgia’s bar work—led by Haley De Jong—has helped the Bulldogs climb up the rankings recently while Mia Takekawa is the star for the Illini on beam where the team ranks 11th.

Recap

The Big Storyline: After a season low start on vault, the Bruins exploded for season highs on bars and floor to easily outpace the visiting Sun Devils and come within a tenth of their season best team total. Jordan Chiles was the star of the meet, using a 10 on floor and near sweep of the event titles to earn a new career best all-around mark. Despite the loss, Arizona State had a good meet, with a huge new season best bars total of 49.425, pushing it to a new season high team total.

Implications: UCLA picks up a much-needed second conference win to slide into the top half of the Pac-12 regular season standings, while Arizona State’s third loss makes repeating its title an incredibly tough task.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 20 Arizona State at No. 6 UCLA

Why You Should Clear Space on Your DVR: Both currently sitting in the bottom half of the Pac-12 standings in terms of win-loss rankings, UCLA and Arizona State will be motivated to pick up a win in a dual critical for title hopes. The Sun Devils notched a big upset over the Bruins in 2022—by over two points—that helped them claim a share of the regular season title, and the Bruins would love to get some payback inspired by a home crowd.

You Can Fast Forward, but not Through This: The must-hit event for UCLA is beam, where the lineup has either gone 49.500 or better or 49.000 or worse in all five meets. A second hit lineup in a row would go a long way for the Bruins, who’re also hoping to have Chae Campbell back after an absence last weekend due to a family emergency. The Sun Devils have been building slowly this season, and back-to-back season highs gives them good momentum entering this matchup. Hannah Scharf and Emily White are a formidable all-around duo as they lead Arizona State while they battle internally every weekend.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Iowa pulled the upset and beat Michigan State with a 196.150. Beam gave both teams some trouble, each team had to count a fall and Michigan State didn’t put up an event score higher than a 49.250. Iowa finished strong on floor with a 49.425. 

Implications: Michigan State’s low score drops it to third place in the Big Ten, with Ohio State taking the second place spot. Iowa also drops down from fourth to fifth place. The Spartans will definitely not want to count this score towards their NQS, but it’s their lowest score so far, so they should be able to drop it. 

Controversies: Floor scores seemed pretty low across the board compared to how the event has been judged this season, but Iowa still scored a stellar 49.425.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 12 Michigan State at No. 17 Iowa

Why You Should Make Time to Tune in: If you like a tight competition, this meet could be one to watch. Michigan State’s and Iowa’s season averages are only separated by three tenths, which theoretically means that either team could come out on top. But Michigan State’s high of 197.450 is a lot higher than Iowa’s high of 196.900, so the Hawkeyes will need to hit to their full potential and maybe even rely on some home mat advantage. 

Need More Proof? Gabi Stephen’s Yurchenko full has been near-perfect all year. She scored a 9.925 last week, so keep an eye out for a perfect 9.950 if she nails it. Iowa’s Karina Muñoz made her all-around debut on Monday and scored a 39.350. If she can improve her 9.700 bars score, expect that score to shoot up even higher.

Recap

The Big Storyline: The Crimson Tide had a standout performance and showed off the full capabilities of its roster, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Sooners who have been stellar all season long. The meet came down to the final routines, as Alabama had a trio of vault event winners to close its night, but Jordan Bowers finished things off for Oklahoma to seal the win. Both Arkansas and Stanford posted new top away totals in 2023, while the Cardinal’s was also good enough for a season high.

Implications: With impressive performances from each team, all scores will be helpful for their NQS that will debut after next weekend. Alabama should see some improvement in its national ranking as well. This also counts as a Pac-12 loss for Stanford against Utah, who competed in the afternoon session of this meet, as the two schools don’t have a dual scheduled against one another this year.

Controversies: The meet did not have streaming or live scoring for fans not in attendance to be able to follow along.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 11 Alabama, No. 16 Arkansas and No. 24 Stanford

Why You Should Cancel Plans for It: Podium meets always make for thrilling competition, and with a session loaded with top 25 teams, this should be no exception. The Sooners have been the best team in the country to this point but will be tested again by the Crimson Tide and Razorbacks, each of who have been trending up, distancing themselves from slow starts, and looking capable of challenging for nationals.

What We’re Watching: So many of the Sooners are on 10-watch, but it’s Audrey Davis and her stellar bars set that’s never reached perfection yet consistently hits 9.975 that you’ll want to keep an eye on. Alabama’s Luisa Blanco enters the weekend after a 10 on beam in her last meet as the senior is starting to get back to top form in the all-around. Norah Flatley is also an all-around threat, helping out the most on bars and helping get the Razorbacks on track to potentially make it back to nationals. Anna Roberts has been leading the Cardinal despite her rookie status.

Recap

Recap

Tonry Invitational

Records: Southern Connecticut’s team total was good for its second-best performance in program history.

Recap

Records: Julia Bedell’s 9.925 ties for Brown’s all time floor record.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Central Michigan didn’t let beam troubles get in its way of an upset, ultimately taking the meet by eight tenths after Iowa State was forced to count a near season low on bars. 

Implications: While Central Michigan will stay ranked fourth in the MAC, its average now pushes above 195. With all three home meets now finished, it’ll look to continue its momentum from this meet to gather dependable road scores through the back half of the season. Iowa State will continue on its quest to put together a second complete meet, having only once this year registered all four events over 48.500.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 44 Central Michigan at No.41 Iowa State

Why You Should Make Time to Tune in: Iowa State brings the Beauty and the Beast meet to Hilton Coliseum this weekend. This out-of-conference meet may be one of the closest of the weekend, with the teams only separated by three places in the national rankings. Where it gets interesting is the variety in strengths—Iowa State has trended stronger on vault and beam this season while Central Michigan comes in as the favorite on bars and floor.  

Need More Proof? Besides the possibility of watching gymnastics with a little wrestling sprinkled in, there are some individual athletes who will be looking for a big performance. Hannah Demers is coming off a near career high all-around score, with a 39.525 from last week’s Senior Night. Central Michigan also has a host of floor depth this season, with specialists Taylor Pitchell, Ashley Veglucci, and Elizabeth Buttle all eclipsing 9.900 in 2023. Iowa State also has specialists that will be looking to make a splash at home. Maddie Diab has been exceptional on floor this season, averaging 9.895, and bars/floor specialist Laura Cooke is averaging 9.800-plus on both of her events.

Recap

Recap

The Big Storyline: The second meet of the weekend for both teams saw a slight dip in scores but a solid performance overall from both teams. Stanford’s final two beam performers struggled, but the Cardinal still hit 49 on the event; Likewise, Washington wasn’t perfect on beam. Stanford closed the meet with an impressive floor performance to edge the Huskies by over three tenths. 

Implications: Washington and Stanford both move up in the in-progress rankings to Nos. 25 and 22, respectively. Both teams also have enough meets for an NQS: Washington at 196.115 and Stanford at 196.280. Stanford’s relative consistency on the team score front this season leaves it dropping a 196.075, but the Cardinal is still counting low-196s in its NQS. A road 196 is appreciated for Washington, as the Huskies can drop one of three 195 scores. Next stop for the Huskies is aiming to drop those other two from their NQS. 

Controversies: Washington submitted multiple inquiries on beam and ended up having its score raised slightly at the conclusion of the meet. 

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 26 Washington at No. 24 Stanford

Why You Should Make Time to Tune in: In one of the tightest-ranked matchups of the weekend, two Pac-12 foes will dual in a meet with big regular season standings implications. The Huskies enter 0-3 while the Cardinal 2-1 but only ranked two spots lower; it’s a huge opportunity for Washington to nab its first conference win of the year. It’s also the first of two straight duals between these two teams, as they’ll face off at Washington next Monday.

Need More Proof? After some bars misses, Stanford’s international upperclassmen stepped up on beam as Isabela Onyshko and Ira Alexeeva each hit 9.925 to help tally a giant 49.500. Their ability to keep that up will be crucial to fend off the Huskies in their quest for a repeat win over the Cardinal. Washington got a standout performance from a freshman during last week’s off outing, with Thu Nguyen hitting 9.900 on floor and showcasing the perfect compliment to Amara Cunningham to end that lineup. This will be the second meet of the weekend for both teams, as Washington duals Arizona on Friday and Stanford competes at Metroplex on Saturday.