LIVE BLOG: No. 27 Towson at No. 10 Denver

Happy meet day! Today is senior day in Denver, so I’m looking forward to seeing the team honor its amazing seniors! Today Towson continues a long string of road meets, and this weekend in particular is a double meet weekend. We’ll have to see if the Tigers can keep doing well with all of that travel. 

Towson has been having a pretty good year! The Tigers are sitting at 27th in the national rankings, and they might just be able to escape competing in the play-in round at regionals. A high score today would be very helpful for Towson’s NQS, so if the Tigers’ stars can hit like they did last weekend at home, the play-in round may not be a concern. 

Denver competed at Iowa State last weekend and put up its second-highest road score of the year (its highest being just down the road at Air Force). Lynnzee Brown is back in the all-around, and the Pioneers broke their program record on vault again. Denver will be looking to put up another high score in order to stay in the top ten nationally. 

Rotation 1: Denver VT, Towson UB

Brusch (DU): Nice Yurchenko full, great amplitude and she flairs it out for the stick! 9.85

Keener (TU): Starts with a blind to a Jaeger to shootover combination. Hits the last handstand, blind full to double tuck to a stick! 9.75

B. Mabanta (DU): Yurchenko full, maybe some slight pike throughout and a small hop in place on the landing. 9.85

Greene (TU): Blind into a front stalder to Jaeger to shootover connection. A little short on the last handstand. Stalder into a double tuck, she sticks it but her chest is down. 9.8

Hutchinson (DU): Yurchenko 1.5, very nice in the air but takes a big step forwards. 9.75

Hong (TU): Blind into a piked Jaeger to start out. Nice shootover, just some flexed feet. Finishes with a nice double front dismount, her knees were glued together but she hopped forward. 9.825

Mundell (DU): Yurchenko 1.5, looks like the landing surprised her and she stepped/hopped back. 9.725

Minervini (TU): Tkatchev to Pak combination to start, some foot separation and flexed feet. Hits that last handstand. Gorgeous double layout dismount with just a small hop back. 9.85

Brown (DU): Nice Yurchenko 1.5, just the tiniest hop forwards. 9.875

Macasu (TU): Nice high Ray to start the routine. Pak down to low, some foot separation. She’s nailing these handstands. Sticks the blind full to double tuck! 9.925

Casali (DU): Yurchenko 1.5, it looked like she took a small hop back but I couldn’t quite see. 9.75

Vaillancourt (TU): Blind to Jaeger to shootover combination. Beautiful double layout dismount and she sticks it! The team is excited about that one! 9.925

After 1: Towson 49.325, Denver 49.075

Okay Towson I see you! After a shaky vault rotation for Denver and a great bars rotation for Towson, the Tigers are in the lead! Denver didn’t have quite enough power on its Yurchenko 1.5s, so it’ll hope to improve on bars. Towson was nailing the landings and the handstands and it showed in its scores!

Rotation 2: Towson VT, Denver UB

Weitz (TU): Yurchenko full, nice form in the air and just a hop back. 9.75

Ruiz (DU): Nice blind full to Tkatchev. Good shootover down to low. Hits the last handstand and sticks the double layout! 9.95!

Hoffman (TU): Yurchenko full, some pike at the end and hops back. 9.75

Casali (DU): Beautiful Shaposh to a little bit of an archy shootover. Gorgeous stuck double layout to finish! 9.9

Davis (TU): Yurchenko full, nice distance from the table but pikes down and hops on the landing. 9.675

Rorich (DU): Blind to a Jaeger to start out. Nice shootover. Handstands are great. Takes a small step on her double layout. 9.825

Bolen (TU): Yurchenko full, straighter body position than the others and takes a small hop back. 9.8

Brown (DU): Nice Maloney to Pak combination, just some foot separation. Wow she’s holding these handstands. Double layout dismount and maybe does a bit of a college stick. 9.9

Vitoff (TU): Yurchenko full, nice form in the air but she was really close to the table. 9.7

Hutchinson (DU): Gorgeous Maloney to Pak combination. Nice last handstand. Sticks the double layout! 9.9

Belanovski (TU): Yurchenko full, good distance from the table and nice form in the air! Just takes a small hop. 9.85

Mundell (DU): Nice high Tkatchev to start out. Very pretty shootover. Hits the last handstand. Sticks her double layout, maybe just pikes it down a little bit. 9.95

After 2: Denver 98.675, Towson 98.175

It looks like the shaky vault rotation motivated the Pioneers, because they put up a huge 49.6 on bars, including 9.95s from Alexandria Ruiz and Rylie Mundell. Towson had some good vaults, the landings just weren’t quite there, but the Tigers still had a good vault rotation!

Rotation 3: Denver BB, Towson FX

Brown (DU): Nice front toss to back handspring series. Wobbles a little bit on the full turn. Switch leap to split jump. Nice front aerial to wolf jump. Sticks the side gainer full dismount! 9.95

Belanovski (TU): Starts with a front double twist. Roundoff back layout step out as a side pass. Front tuck through to front handspring Rudi, nice control and height. Switch side Popa Popa, nice flexibility. Good leadoff routine! 9.775

B. Mabanta (DU): Starts with a wolf turn. Gorgeous flic lay, no wobble at all. Nice split leap to switch half. Switch leap split jump. Finishes with a gainer pike, I couldn’t see if she stuck it. 9.875

Weitz (TU): First pass is a front tuck through to double tuck, nice control on the landing but not too much height. Switch half to ring full. Next pass is a double pike, she underrotated and took a step forward. 9.65

Iwai (DU): Switch leap to straddle quarter, nice flexibility. Nice solid flic lay lay. Slight wobble on the full turn. Solid side aerial. Cartwheel to side gainer full dismount, again I couldn’t see the landing! 9.95

Calafati (TU): Starts with a front double twist to a front pike. Shoot I missed the leap pass. Rudi to nice high back tuck. 9.775

Thompson (DU): Side aerial to back handspring series, maybe a little crooked on the back handspring but she doesn’t wobble. Switch leap switch leap. Side aerial to 1.5 dismount, takes a small hop forward. 9.875

Casper (TU): Nice high double pike to start out. Switch side to Popa. Nice front layout front full, she gets a lot of height. Double tuck to finish, she kind of squats and stumbles back but she saves it. 9.675

Mundell (DU): Flic lay, she wobbles but saves it. Switch leap to switch half, another wobble. Roundoff 1.5 dismount, she does a little bit of a college stick. 9.75

Minervini (TU): Nice Rudi to start out, nice control. Tour jete half to wolf full, some flexed feet throughout. Double pike for her next pass, nice control again. 9.825

Hutchinson (DU): Gorgeous front toss to back handspring series. Switch leap to split jump. Super solid piked front toss. Beautiful full turn. Sticks the cartwheel gainer full dismount! The team is calling for a 10! And she gets it! So well deserved!

Stewart (TU): This is tough, the crowd is going insane for Hutchinson’s 10! Solid Rudi to start out. Tour jete half to split full, didn’t quite hit 180. Double tuck to finish off, takes a step forward.

After 3: Denver 148.325, Towson 147.075

What a great beam rotation for Denver! 9.95s from Lynnzee Brown and Momoki Iwai and a perfect 10 from Jessica Hutchinson! Towson had some missteps on landings on floor, but overall the Tigers showed off some good amplitude on their tumbling!

Rotation 4: Towson BB, Denver FX

Bolen (TU): Nice flic lay, takes a step back but saves it. Cat leap to front toss, another small wobble. Switch leap to straddle quarter, didn’t quite get to 180. Nice back handspring to side gainer full dismount, and she sticks it! 9.775

Ruiz (DU): Starts with a front tuck through to a double tuck, great control on that landing! Switch side Popa Popa. Solid double pike to finish! 9.9

Stuart (TU): Solid flic lay to start out. Front toss to beat jump was nice. Cat leap to switch side. Roundoff 1.5 dismount and takes a step back. 9.75

Thompson (DU): Looks like Mundell was taken out of the lineup. She looks okay, probably just didn’t warm up well. Nice triple full to start! Great control on the landing! Nice switch side to Popa. Finishes with a really nice Rudi! 9.925

Keener (TU): Super floaty flic lay series! Switch leap to tuck three quarter. Front toss to beat jump, the front toss was pretty low on the landing. Nice side gainer full dismount and she sticks it! 9.825

Casali (DU): Starts with a beautiful Rudi to back layout step out. Switch half wolf full wolf full. Gorgeous 2.5 to front tuck and she sticks the front tuck! That was a great routine! 9.975!

Vaillancourt (TU): Wow, a standing front tuck to beat jump! Solid flic lay. Switch leap switch leap, small wobble at the end. Cartwheel to a super high gainer full to a stick. 9.875

B. Mabanta (DU): Nice back 1.5 to front layout to start out. Switch ring half to split jump, very nice flexibility as usual. Nice Rudi to a super high split jump for her last pass. 9.95

Weitz (TU): Switch leap to back layout stepout to split jump. Front aerial, she wobbles but she saves it. Flic lay, some bent legs throughout. Cartwheel to side gainer full and takes a step back. 9.65

Hutchinson (DU): Nice front double twist for her first pass. Beautiful back 1.5 to front layout. Nice switch half to split full, great split positions. Finishes with a Rudi to a very controlled straddle jump. 9.975

Macasu (TU): Very pretty leg up turn. Nice front aerial to back handspring, maybe a slight wobble on the aerial. Switch half. Switch leap to split jump to sissone. Front aerial to split jump, takes a big wobble but saves it. Side gainer full to finish off, pikes it down but sticks it. 9.3

Brown (DU): The crowd is going crazy and she hasn’t even started! Double layout to start out, good control on the landing but I couldn’t see how high her chest was. Switch ring to switch half. She looks like she’s having so much fun. Back 1.5 stepout to another back 1.5 to front tuck, nice control and dances out of the landing. It is so loud in here everyone’s going crazy! It’s a 10!

Final: Denver 198.15, Towson 195.95

I am speechless. What an insane meet for Denver! 2 perfect 10s, a program record for overall score and on floor, and all after a not-so-great vault rotation to start out. If Denver can be a little more consistent on vault, the Pioneers have proven that they are a force to be reckoned with. The judges may have been a little bit happy today, but the Pioneers showed us that they are ready for the postseason! Today was’t Towson’s best meet, but the Tigers definitely had a solid showing!

Event Winners:

Vault: Brown, Denver, 9.875

Bars: Ruiz and Mundell, 9.95

Beam: Hutchinson, Denver, 10

Floor: Brown, Denver, 10

All Around:

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Live blog by Emily Lockard

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