Georgia senior night has arrived! We’re saying farewell to the Gymdogs’ seven seniors/fifth years in a fairly unconventional way, at Gas South Arena in Duluth, Ga. due to a crumbling ceiling in Stegeman. If that’s not some weird team/building similitude I don’t know what is. In all seriousness, Georgia has had a resoundingly better 2023 than it did the previous few years, and it gets this extra shot at upping its away NQS numbers in a very friendly environment. A 197 would be excellent.
Michigan is strolling in on the heels of a Monday night banger of a senior night in Crisler, in which the Wolverines handed the Sooners their first regular season loss in years. Years. It was a rematch of 2021 nationals and, maybe, a preview of 2023 nationals. Fun was had by all, judges included but what else is new, and Michigan should have a new bounce in its step knowing it can take down the best.
Michigan can’t catch Oklahoma in the rankings, but it can improve its NQS with anything over a paltry 197.400, since it has some low away numbers kicking around from early in the season. Florida, Utah and—in a long shot—Cal are all lurking right there so the Wolverines should be aiming for a good number to secure their No. 2 spot going into conference championships.
Rotation 1: Georgia vault, Michigan bars
de Jong (UGA): Long wait after her name was announced as the judges settle in to give us all migraines. Yfull, twisted on the table some small hop back. 9.825
Oh boy we get weird camera work and no commentary. This is going to be weird. My UGA ID’s are pretty good but not amazing, apologies in advance. This is some real BTN+ quality.
Heiskell (UM): GREAT handstand. Blind to Jaeger, big, caught in a good position. Took her Pak so high she lost core form for a moment. Blind full double tuck her usual stellar work there. 9.85
Finnegan (UGA): Another long wait. Not the snappy SEC experience we’re used to. Yfull, scooted one foot backward on the landing. 9.85
Wilson (UM): Blind to pike Jaeger, some soft knees. Clean bail hand. HELD the last handstand. DLO hopped her heels together. 9.85
Angeny (UGA): Yfull, good body position in the air, hop back. 9.85
Bauman (UM): Blind to high Jaeger immediate bail, nice throughout. Toe blind double front true stick, leg sep in the salto and a bit late on the blind. 9.85, is this the only number the judges know?!
Cashman (UGA): Yfull, piked it down but got the stick. 9.9, oh, not the best of the bunch to me but a stick’ll get a score I guess
Brooks (UM): Blind to pike Jaeger, good leg form. Toe hand to bail hand, clean. Touch short on the last handstand, her vintage FTDL, stuck. 9.875
Howard (UGA): Yfull, huge distance, big hop back. 9.85 oh my God here we go again
Wojcik (UM): Toe hand to the usual Deltchev immediate bail, her usual love it or hate it. DLO, bit low coming in and had to hop forward. 9.8, nailed her on the dismount.
Hawthorne (UGA): Nice, big Yfull, good open body position, small hop back. best one yet.
Morgan ! (UM): Shaposh to Pak, nice. Blind late to double front, cowboyed and a step forward. Her bars debut! 9.825
Elsadek (UGA, ex.): Yfull, some hip angle and a hop back.
Morrison (UM, ex.): Gienger, nice shape. Toe hand bail hand, good. Maybe arched last handstand the camera is at a hard angle. DLO small hop in place.
After 1: Georgia 49.300, Michigan 49.250
Oh boy oh boy! Not what we expected on rotation in, eh? These scores are interesting. Georgia was pretty clean on vault. Landings are almost there, just a few small errors, and body positions are pretty good. Was it a 49.300 rotation? …no. Michigan was hammered on, I’m guessing, dismounts. The angle is also tough for handstands. But we seem to be on two pretty different judging planets so far. The Michigan scores were fair in a vacuum but off kilter comparative to the judging landscape we’ve come to know and love-hate in 2023.
We’ll see how the swap goes here. Michigan should come away with a big edge after all of those 10.0 starts if the landings are locked in today.
Rotation 2: Georgia bars, Michigan vault
Wojcik (UM): Y1.5, high, tried for the stick and opened too early, hop back. 9.85 kill me
Cashman (UGA): Tkatchev, low and soft knees. Toe hand, labored, to nice bail hand. Short handstand. DLO, leg sep throughout, held the stick. 9.75
Wilson (UM): Y1.5, pretty similar to Wojcik, went hard for the stick, step back. 9.85 la la la
Angeny (UGA): Blind to Jaeger with foot form, immediate bail. DLO whipped it in and had to hop back. 9.8
Morrison (UM): Y1.5, good distance, small hop in place. 9.925, thank goodness a new score, true best yet
Howard (UGA): Pike Jaeger some foot form. Bail was clean. Blind full, late and foot form, double tuck stuck. 9.85, you don’t say.
Brooks (UM): Y1.5, excellent distance, small hop forward. 9.95, they only took the hop
Music is a total 2010 throwback, we’ve got Tik Tok now.
Scott (UGA): Maloney, good leg form, to clean Pak. Late pirouette on the low bar. DLO, hop back. 9.85 I’m running out of jokes to make about these
Bad Romance, suddenly I’m back in college I guess.
Heiskell (UM): Y1.5, excellent body shape in the air, just textbook, small hop forward. 9.925
Finnegan (UGA): Ray, soft knees. Toe hand to straddled Pak with crunchy toes. FTDB, was a little forward and covered a hop by saluting. 9.8
Morgan (UM): Yfull, again, the distance is exemplary, good body position, small hop. 9.9
de Jong (UGA): Toe hand to Maloney, soft knees on the back swing, to short bail hand. DLO stuck. 9.85, I wish I were kidding!
Dynamite! This is seriously one of my old college playlists? I throw my hands up in the aiiiir sometimes!
Mulligan (UM, ex.): Yfull, came in short and hopped.
Hattaway (UGA, ex.): Blind to Gienger, leg sep on the catch. Bail hand, couldn’t keep her legs together on that catch either. DLO, hop forward. Leg separation throughout the giants and DLO.
After 2: Michigan 98.800, Georgia 98.450
OK, things evened out there. The 9.850 party is a bit goofy. Judges are meant to be differentiating routines, and not doing so is just as unhelpful in the 9.8s as it is in the 9.950s and 10s. Sure, 9.850 is probably the right number for a good handful of those, but not everyone.
We’ll see if the judges switching up their partners for the second half helps.
SHOT SHOT SHOTSHOSTHOSTS ERRRYBODYYYY. I’m sorry this music is sending me off a cliff. I’m not going to encourage you to do shots for every 9.850 but I’m not going to stop you.
Rotation 3: Georgia beam, Michigan floor
Howard (UGA): BHs loso, steady, some soft knees in the bhs. Beat to switch half, tough angle but maybe a bit shy of 180. Side aerial, bent at the hips. Bhs gainer full off the side true stick. 9.725, ooh beam judges are going to be real about bobbles
Guggino (UM): Bounced backward out of her double pike, some soft knees in the air. Front lay front full was excellent. Cheated the rotation a bit on her leaps. Front lay rudi, lost some leg form at the end of the rudi. 9.825
Hawthorne (UGA): Bhs loso, small check and foot form. Switch jump switch jump, hard to see angels, no wobbles. Front toss to wolf was clean. The moonwalk to cheers. Check on her full turn. RO 3/2, weight back on her heels and she had to shuffle backward a little. 9.775
Heiskell (UM): True stick on her double Arabian, that’s so satisfying when she nails it. Just some cowboying. Clean switch half wolf full. RO 3/2 front full, good form, could’ve had more amplitude on her full. 9.925
Fitzgerald (UGA): Straddle to straddle 3/4, bent forward at the hips but stayed on. Check on her bhs loso, it was a good save she was off the whole series. Steady front toss. RO 3/2, hop forward. 9.7
Wojcik (UM): Tour jete full, bit short but better than last week. Little stumble backward on her opening pass, otherwise clena. Tour jete half split full, traveled sideways a bit but good 180s. Double pike, good landing into the lunge. 9.875
Angeny (UGA): Bhs loso loso, small adjustment in her shoulders. Excellent front aerial. Switch to beat, low front leg and a check on both landings. Bhs 3/2 hop forward. 9.825
Morrison (UM): Half in half out, good landing. FHS front lay front full, clean but a lot of forward momentum into the lunge. Good switch half wolf full. Strong double tuck landing. One of her best, she usually slides those lunges a bit, but they were clean today. 9.925
Deniz (UGA): Pretty handstand work to mount. Side aerial bhs, soft knees and a small check. Front aerial to beat, just a little adjustment in her shoulders. Switch to split, low back leg in both (I think, this angle is brutal). Tuck gainer full off the end stuck. 9.925, those splits must’ve been clean, with how these judges have been
Brooks (UM): Full-in, little deep in her knees on the landing but she sold the lunge. Tour jete half split full, excellent, nailed the rotation. Front through to a double tuck, slid back in the lunge a bit. 9.925
de Jong (UGA): Swtich to straddle 1/4, great there, her overspilts are so good. Front aerial to beat, really emphasized that landing, no errors. Bhs loso, very strong. She is ON. Bhs 3/2 small hop. 9.85, interesting
Wilson (UM): Half in half out was her usual, clean in the air. FHS front lay front full, good, could use more height on the full. Switch side Popa, loss of toe point there. Good landing on her double tuck. A great one! 9.925, it’s the new 9.85
Elsadek (UGA, ex.): Switch, big bobble. Resets for split to straddle 1/4. Bhs bhs loso, knee form throughout, fall. Cat to switch side, good there. Front gainer full off the end.
Morgan (UM, ex.): This routine is so fun. Tour jete half split full, cheated the rotation a little. Double Arabian, not enough juice and she sits it. Tour jete full, I think she got it around, little imprecise on the landing though, her feet kept sliding around. RO 3/2 front lay straight into choreo.
After 3: Michigan 148.375, Georgia 147.550
Oh the haters gonna hate hate hate hate hate, huh? (The music is back, you guessed it!)
Beam judges are being pretty tough but the deductions were there. Floor wasn’t overly generous either, it was a quite clean rotation. The only score that really made me huh? was de Jong, and I thought it was low, which is a feeling I have not had much this season!
We’re getting a Cane’s ad on the jumbotron and oh boy am I ready for dinner! The band is playing, which I cannot hate on. Clarinet baby. Marching band is a blast and yes I was a dork.
Rotation 4: Georgia floor, Michigan beam
Bauman (UM): Clean bhs loso. Cat to switch half beat, nice rhythm, still hard to see the 180s. Good side somi. Stuck gainer pike off the end. 9.85
Hahn (UGA): Great on her FHS front 2/1. RO 3/2 front lay, almost started to tuck the lay, ended up with just pretty soft knees. Nice leaps. FHS rudi, little low in the chest. 9.725, that lay/tuck shape.
Wilson (UM): Big bhs loso, small check and some foot form. Switch jump switch jump, her usual. RO double tuck, hop in place. 9.9
Williams (UGA): Double pike, slid back a bit. Switch half Popa, really imprecise in that rotation. Nice FHS front full front lay. Clean double tuck landing. 9.85
Koulos (UM): Bhs loso, maybe bent arms in the bhs. Full turn in attitude. Small checks on both of her jumps, I think they’ll give her the connection. Cat to front aerial, solid. RO 3/2, went too hard for the stick and had to step back. 9.825
Howard (UGA): Front through double tuck, slid back a bit. Switch half wolf full wolf full, nicer than a lot of wolf fulls. Double pike, came in low, hop forward. 9.8
Brooks (UM): Clean bhs loso. Lovely switch switch. Clean front toss. She’s a rock today. Bhs 2/1, crossed legs and a hop to the side. 9.925
Cashman (UGA): RO 3/2 front full, I always thing she’s underroatating that and then she stands it right up. Switch side half straddle, nice. Good double tuck. Really nice. 9.9
Heiskell (UM): Cat to side aerial, solid. No issues on her switch switch, Michigan has those DOWN. Bhs loso, check. RO 3/2 stuck. 9.875
de Jong (UGA): Punch rudi loso, foot form and some twisting crossed legs. Clean on her leaps. 3/1, came in a little short but got it around better than usual, had to kind of run-hop forward. 9.875, that one is a little goofy.
Wojcik (UM): Clean front aerial to beat. Her usual lovely switch to split. Small check in her hip on the triple series. RO 3/2, held the stick but was a little offline. 9.9
Howard (UGA): DLO, came in short, chest forward. Tour jete half split full was clean, great rotation. Front lay rudi to split, never really hit a precise shape in the split.
Vore (UM, ex.): Bhs loso, off from the start and a fall. Check in her choreo. Little wobble on the front toss, she’s just nervy. Straddle to split full beat, her splits are so good. RO 3/2
Elsadek (UGA, ex.): Low chest on her full-in but stuck it. Clean leaps, little weird out of her wolf full but that’s just how that is I think. Front through double tuck, bounce back.
FINAL: Michigan 197.825, Georgia 196.900
A fine meet and fine scores. Little mistakes here and there that both will want to adjust before conference champs. Judging was a little more snug than we’ve seen most of the year but it wasn’t unrealistic.
VT: Brooks 9.950
UB: Brooks 9.875
BB: Deniz, Brooks 9.925
FX: Hawthorne, Heiskell, Morrison, Brooks, Wilson 9.925
AA: Brooks 39.675
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Live blog by Emily Minehart
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