If you’re excited for this meet, you’re probably a need. It’s OK, you’re safe here.
Let’s start with the obvious: Brown and Cornell are the last two teams to get a NQS this year. After a Monday meet, Brown slotted into the live rankings at No. 59, bumping Yale down to No. 60. Cornell will genuinely not get a NQS until today, but is likely to debut in the mid-sixties next week.
Realistically, Penn is the favorite at this meet. While we have few details, odd utilization patterns and unexplained absences hint at a fairly hefty injury load behind the scenes for the Quakers. If so, they’re not just battling but developing new stars in its vacated lineup spots. The latest phenom is sophomore Campbell Marr, who could contend for two individual Ivy titles.
Expect a close battle between Brown and Yale for second place, or to step up if Penn stumbles. Yale is potentially the more consistent of the two, with an unflappable senior class led by Raegan Walker and a fair amount of depth. The Bulldogs have been able to adjust and replace routines that aren’t working this year, which is a privilege teams at this level often don’t have. Brown, on the other hand, is arguably the flashier of the two and has the higher ceiling. We know that star sophomore Julia Bedell will put on a show, but it’s good days from multi-eventers like Angela Xing and Maya Davis slightly earlier in the lineups that make the difference for this team.
For Cornell, a leg event team as ever, its greatest rival today isn’t actually at this meet. The Big Red will likely slot into No. 8 in USAG, which is the last qualifying position, and surging SCSU will be breathing down Cornell’s neck. A good road score today would give this team some much-needed buffer in the qualification standings. Bars is both Cornell’s most troublesome event and its biggest difference-maker: As goes bars, so goes the meet, so keep an eye on that rotation.
Rotation 1: Penn VT, Brown UB, Yale BB, Cornell FX
Okay, we’ve got a quad box and the scores don’t work, so bear with me for a second while I get lineups.
Michelini (CU): We’ve seen several separate chunks of this one, but I saw a one and a half front lay and a Rudi double stag that both looked good.
Werlen (Penn): FTY, piked down with a hop back.
S. Kenefick (Penn): FTY, not the most height, piked down and a hop forward.
DeBarberie (Penn): Nice FTY, medium step back.
Lazaro (UB): Just saw a blind full double back dismount, deep and a step back. 9.675
Sabatini (Yale): BHS LOSO, tiny check. Switch to straddle 3/4 landed with low chest and a check. One and a half dismount, hop forward.
Whitaker (CU): Slightly chaotic rotation on her leaps. Nice Rudi double stag. I guess we missed that first pass too.
Davis (Brown): Maloney to Pak, such pretty form. Not sure about that last handstand, blind full double back stuck but a little squatty. 9.75
Qu (Yale): BHS LOSO, check and falls. Well, we cut away from that.
C. Marr (Penn): Yurchenko full on tuck off, a little short with a tuck forward. 9.8
Poley (Brown): Blind full to Gienger, some leg sep on the catch, nice bail. FTDB stuck. Brown is looking HOTTT on bars.
Belkoff (Penn): Yurchenko half, high and clean, hop forward. 9.8
Quiana (CU): Nice double tuck, nearly stuck and then lunges out cleanly, tidy rotation on her leaps. The boxes keep moving around and then I miss stuff. Sorry Cornell 🙁 9.8.
Contello (Brown): Nice Tkachev, blind full to bail clean, double lay with a pace back. Nice. 9.825
Mangiacapre (Yale): Full turn, nice, BHS LOSO clean, switch to split to something 3/4 is tidy. Good splits. Front aerial to beat. Gainer pike nailed. Good one!
Beers (CU): Cornell’s all around star. Front through double pike, nailed. Switch half Popa Popa, iffy splits and a bounce back out of the combo. Double back short with a step forward. Nice finish. 9.75
Sounds like Meeks just fell on beam for Yale. Cutting in to a nice side aerial, full turn, pretty pretty turning leap combo. Perfect gainer pike.
Walker (Yale): We’re joining partway. Switch split, perfect obviously, BHS gainer full stuck. That’ll help a lot.
Walsh (Cornell): Double back, a lil short with a step forward. Tour jete half wolf full is a touch underrotated. Double pike, also short with another step forward.
After 1: Penn 48.900, Brown 48.700, Cornell 48.675, Yale 47.600
Close after one. Several teams, most notably Cornell, got to start on strengths. For Yale, it’s disappointing to count a fall off the top, but you can’t win ’em all.
Rotation 2: Cornell VT, Penn UB, Brown BB, Yale FX
Kreuger (Cornell): Tucked FTY, long skip-step back. 9.65
Brady (Cornell): Nice FTY, pace back. 9.7
Michelini (Cornell): We got this one on replay. Super super nice FTY, medium hop back. 9.825
S. Kenefick (Penn): Good Tkachev. Maybe short on that handstand, Pak with leg sep to switch kip. Double full dismount stuck! 9.7
Davies (Penn): Off on her Jaeger. Sounds like she got the rest of her routine. 8.625
Kuhn (Penn): She’s a good pick to follow a fall. Tkachev to Pak, leg sep and low but solid, drills her FTDB like she does literally every time. She’s really uncanny about it. 9.8
Oniki (Penn): Just got her double lay with a hop back.
Kerico (Penn): She’s baaaaaaaaack! Ray, great, badly missed a handstand, toe on to bail. Looks like her fitness isn’t 100% but that’ll come back. Buncha giants at the end, like six of them, FTDB low chest and a step back.
M. Marr (Penn): Joined for the bail, DLO very good and looked nearly stuck? It was a tiny box so kind of unclear.
Kramer (Brown): Side aerial BHS, tentative but good. Split straddle quarter. Switch… pause. Split to straddle 3/4. I think this is enough bonus so no worries. Punch front full dismount with a small hop forward. 9.725
McKeown (Brown): BHS LOSO, very solid. Steady full turn. Beat to straddle 3/4, tiny foot adjustment that probably isn’t a real NCAA deduction. Hitch kick switch side. Gainer full stuck.
Davis (Brown): Oh the toe point. Full turn. BHS LOSO, check. She has very serious ballet background and you see it so much. Leaps just immaculate, even the beat jump is so airy, side aerial with a big leg-up check. Gainer pike stuck. 9.775- You know what? New rule. If you can do a beat jump that’s actually memorable you get one check for free.
Marcus (Brown): BHS LOSO good. Punch front, a little deep but good. Little wobble on her dance, always so funny, beat to split 3/4 so pretty! One and a half twist stuck. 9.825
Contello (Brown): BHS LOSO, soooo pretty. Split 3/4 and falls. Got the leaps this time, full turn with a check, gainer pike full.
Xing (Brown): BHS back pike-lay, that kind that NCAA gymnasts love and elite judges would eat alive. Beat jump to LOSO. Split to straddle quarter, check, full turn. Back double full with a little hop back. 9.7
Holt (Yale): Apparently an OOB on the first pass that we didn’t see. One and a half front lay, good, switch side Popa very clean. Nice Rudi to finish. 9.7
Wilson (Yale): Joining this routine midway. Switch to switch ring half, double pike with chest a little low but almost stuck. 9.725
Strause (Yale): Joining partway again. Double pike, low chest but lunges out. 9.725
Brueck (Yale): Double pike, overrotated with a hop-scoot back. Front lay front full is overrotated with a crazy stagger back, manages to avoid sitting it though. Nice Rudi. 9.525
Meeks (Yale): Front full front lay, really nice. Switch to tour jete half. Double pike, kind of deep, lunged onto the line but I THINK not over it.
Sabatini (Yale): Double pike, overrotated with a hop back. Nice tour jete Popa. One and a half front… tuck, think that was meant to be a layout, deep with a big step back. Nice Rudi to split, hop.
After 2: Penn 97.475, Brown 97.450, Cornell 97.400, Yale 96.000
Rotation 3: Yale VT, Cornell UB, Penn BB, Brown FX
Aviad (Yale): Yurchenko tuck half or… something with a pace back. 9.7
Wilson (Yale): Yurchenko tuck full, hop in place. Good one. 9.65
Walker (Yale): Yurchenko half, not the highest, deep and a big step forward. 9.725
Wang (Yale): FTY, twisting on and piked down, skip-hop back. 9.775
Michelini (Cornell): Stalder to double back, big step back and to one side.
Stone (Cornell): Half turn to Gienger to overshoot, loose-legged and very soft elbows on the low bar. Blind full, leg sep, double tuck stuck dead. 9.65
Beers (Cornell): Just saw toe on front pike half, a little short with a step forward. 9.7, oh that’s an upgrade!
MacKenzie (Cornell): Two falls behind her, though we haven’t seen either of them. We didn’t see her either, cool!
Belkoff (Penn): Triple series, nice. We’re leaving now. 9.7
Rosen (Penn): BHS LOSO, punch front a little deep but stood up well. Switch to split 1/4. Straddle half, check. Punch front full tucked, hangs onto it for a second and then takes a big step to salute. I’m not sold, judges might be. 9.75
Kuhn (Penn): Side aerial nice. BHS gainer full, deep but stuck. 9.725
Werlen (Penn): We got to see her one and a half dismount, which was stuck-ish.
C. Marr (Penn): Off on her acro series.
M. Marr (Penn): BHS LOSO, nice and clean. Hitch kick side aerial. Switch straddle quarter, great. BHS gainer full. Not a ton to take there. 9.85
Poley (Brown): Front lay front full, nice, lunge maybe a smidge short. Tour jete half, steps it around, may have been planned as a full. Double back, lunge a little off-balance but worked fine. 9.6
Kramer (Brown): OOB on the first pass. Double back, stagger back. 9.65
DeWar (Brown): One and a half front full, lunge goes backward. Tour jete half Popa actually a little overrotated. Double back, low chest and steps forward.
Davis (Brown): Lovely double pike. Beautiful leaps, beautiful presentation. I’m a huge sucker for everything she does. Whip half tuck half, that was not the planned pass, attitude turn so I forgive her. Switch half split full. 9.75, curious about that SV.
Bedell (Brown): Nailed the full in. Tour jete half split full. She’s killing it and she knows it. Front through double back, nailed. Stone. Cold. 9.925! It was better than her last one tbh.
After 3: Brown 146.300, Penn 146.225, Cornell 145.025, Yale 144.775
Rotation 4: Brown VT, Yale UB, Cornell BB, Penn FX
Poley (Brown): Solid FTY, piked down, pace back. 9.725
Kramer (Brown): Honestly pretty similar vault to Poley. Maybe a bit more height, a bit more pike. 9.775
El Mammann (Brown): High and clean FTY, hop forward. 9.7
DeWar (Brown): FTY, stuck-ish, has to hop forward to salute but it was small. 9.75
Contello (Brown): Nice high FTY! Small pike down and a tiny foot shuffle. 9.8
Bedell (Brown): Super clean dynamic FTY, smallish hop back. 9.85
Michelini (Cornell): Side aerial. Probably missed some skills, we cut away. Split to beat. Punch front full, deep with a big step across and forward. 8.975, guess we missed a fall!
Aviad (Yale): Missed the first handstand, half turn to Tkachev. Bail, not sure about that handstand. Arched and off. 9.125
Wang (Yale): Blind to Jaeger, overshoot, FTDB with a pace forward. 9.775
Walker (Yale): Blind to Jaeger, cast leans atouch sideways but it doesn’t matter, bail, DLO drilled. Wow! 9.95 AHHHH
Burton (Cornell): Front aerial side aerial, nice! Kickover front to beat. Nailed what I think was a one and a half dismount.
DeMeo (Cornell): Cat leap kickover front, major bent check. Switch split. Cut away.
Walton (Cornell): BHS LOSO, check and an extra step. Split 3/4. Split to side aerial, check. Both leaps pretty short of split. Beat to straddle 3/4. One and a half stuck. 9.75
Beers (Cornell): Cat leap kickover front to beat. BHS LOSO, touch of knees but steady. Switch to split half, a touch short of split, full turn, round off one and a half with a big step forward.
Belkoff (Penn): Rudi to double stag. Again, we’re getting a lot of routine fragments. Switch full double stag. One and a half front lay. 9.675
Rosen (Penn): One and a half front lay, a little overrotated with a big shuffly step. Tour jete half to straddle. Double back, stuck with chest a little low. 9.7
Kenefick (Penn): Two and a half punch front, lunge forward OOB. I think she knows… it’s probably over for Penn now. Front double full, cross step. 9.7
Lassiter (Penn): Nice front combo, hop forward in the same corner where Kenefick went out of bounds and she went NOT TODAY. Double pike, overrotated, big step back. Nice straddle leaps.
FINAL: Brown 195.200, Penn 194.875, Yale 193.675, Cornell 193.400
So, so many tears in the Brown huddle. Second-best score in program history for the Bears and a title that just means so much.
This meet was just a delight, as it always is. One of my favorite days of the season.
VT: Julia Bedell 9.850
UB: Raegan Walker 9.950
BB: McCaleigh Marr 9.850
FX: Julia Bedell 9.925
AA: Sydney Beers 38.950
READ THIS NEXT: Judge’s Inquiry: Breaking Down One Near-Perfect Routine on Each Event From Week 7
Live blog by Rebecca Scally
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