Welcome to the final week of regular season Pac-12 play! We’re starting to see it come down to the wire across the country for many teams looking to qualify to regionals in their desired position, and these two teams are no different.
Oregon State has exceeded expectations this season under the leadership of Jade Carey, taking up permanent residence at the top half of the conference and hitting the 198 mark for the first time in program history. This senior night matchup won’t be about Carey, however, but the Beavers’ senior class of Kayla Bird, Jenna Domingo, Kristina Peterson, and Madi Dagen. All four have proven to be vital contributors throughout the season, with Dagen, in particular, being a top scorer alongside Carey in her super senior season. With a spot in the night session of Pac-12s all but secured, the goal now will be to move ahead of California into the third spot in conference rankings.
Speaking of conference rankings, Utah has solidified itself as the top team in the conference by the smallest of margins over UCLA and will be coming to Corvallis with one goal– keep UCLA from overtaking it after its own senior night. In light of the knee injury to key contributor (and Olympic teammate of Jade Carey) Grace McCallum, Maile O’Keefe has reemerged as a top all-around star, scoring an impressive 39.75 in her all-around debut against California. With O’Keefe back in the all-around, we could be seeing a preview of what’s to come in the all-around at Pac-12s– a showdown between her and Carey.
Let’s get started before we get Carey’d away!
Utah would need a 198.2 to move ahead of UCLA, back to first in the conference rankings.
Rotation 1: Oregon State Vault, Utah Bars
Garcia (OSU) VT: Starting off for the Beavers with a Yurchenko full, nice form in the air, very dynamic. Keeps the leg form very clean in the air, hop back. 9.775
Morgan (Utah) UB: Maloney with large leg separation to Bhardwaj, a little crooked but catched nicely. Blind full to double tuck, stuck with a small bit of a squat. 9.875
Letszch (OSU) VT: Following with another y-full, once again pretty good form on the flight phase of the vault, pikes down in the second half. Bit of a larger hop back. 9.8
Smith (Utah) UB: Maloney to Pak, keeps her legs together nicely. A tiny bit shy of handstand on her cast half. Toe on to double arabian, very crooked in the air but gets the landing, small hop forward. 9.85
Briones (OSU) VT: Yurchenko full, more height than the prior two but less distance. Not quite a stick but a great landing, tiny hop in place. 9.8
Brenner (Utah) UB: Blnd to Jeager to overshoot, no issues there, good positions in the air. Double layout to close, a bit of leg separation in the air, not visable from the side looking at the replay, gets the stick. 9.9
Gonzales (OSU) VT: Full on, pike off, very nice piked shape in the air. The same issues that any full on vault has amplitude wise, a but of chest down on landing. Medium hop back. 9.9
Thompson (Utah) UB: Maloney to Pak, keeps her ankles squeezed. No issues on her cast half after a fall there last week. Beautiful layout position in the double layout, flings it out a tiny bit but gets the stuck landing. 9.95
Dagen (OSU) VT: Yurchenko 1.5, messy leg form in the air, especially in the knees. A ton of power throughout that vault that isn’t quite harnessed, bound forward. 9.875
O’Keefe (Utah) UB: Starting on the low bar, Maloney to Pak, a bit of leg separation. Very nice on the cast half. Double arabian, deep on the landing, college stick there, bit of a large step/salute out of it. 9.875
Carey (OSU) VT: Double twisting Yurchenko, legs far apart on her block. Gets the stick but never brings her heels together before stepping backwards into her salute. Boos from the crowd because it wasn’t a 10. 9.925
Isa (Utah) UB: Ray, very well done. Bail to handstand is good, a tiny bit crooked. Giant full to double layout, not the most height but gets the stick. 9.95
AFTER ONE: Utah 49.550, Oregon State 49.3
Scoring here is already a bit loose, but both teams put up good routines throughout the first rotation. Carey’s score will likely be a controversial one amongst Oregon State fans and likely would have gone 10 if she had brought her heels together before stepping back. Utah did a pretty good job over on bars, though O’Keefe’s score was a bit of a blessing with the large step-salute on the dismount. Who knows, maybe the judges bought it?
Rotation 2: Oregon State Uneven Bars, Utah Vault
O’Keefe (Utah) VT: Starts off for the Utes with a Yurchenko full, flairs it out nicely, great position in the air if not a tad bit of leg separation. Small step back with one foot but a good start. 9.775
Beeman (OSU) UB: Starting off on the high bar, blind to Jeager, not the most amplitude, catches with bent arms. Pak salto, a bit of flexed feet. Stalder to double tuck, stuck nicely, chest well up. 9.825
Brenner (Utah) VT: Yurchenko 1.5, great block, lots of amplitude. A small adjustment forward, but one of her better vaults this season for sure. 9.9
Miller (OSU) UB: Toe on to Maloney to Pak, huge amounts of leg separation on both, likely enough to be visible. Small bit short on her final handstand. Double layout with a large hop back. A lot to take there. 9.8
Gilstrap (Utah) VT: Yurchenko full, very clean in the air, a good layout shape. Doesn’t pike down much either. Medium hop back. 9.825
Weaver (OSU) UB: Blind full to Geinger, caught well, keeps her legs glued. Nice handstand on her bail. Giant full to double tuck, a bit awkward in the landing, small hop back. 9.925
Smith (Utah) VT: Omelianchik, very nice form in the air, a lot of power and distance. Opens up a bit at the wrong time, large hop forward. 9.825
Caso (OSU) UB: Maloney to Pak, a bit of a janky Pak. Van Leeuwen, fairly major leg separation. Stalder with bent arms to open double tuck, stuck. There isn’t much room to go in terms of scores but there were obvious deductions to take. 9.9
Rucker (Utah) VT: Yurchenko 1.5, beautiful form as always. Really fights for the stick there, a bit of a lean and arm wave to keep the landing under control. She’s really fighting for those big scores as of late. 9.9
McMillan (OSU) UB: Maloney to Bail, tiny bit of leg separation on the bail at the ankles. Straddles the second salto of her double layout, gets the stick with a lean forward. 9.95
Stanhope (Utah) VT: Going for the Yurchenko 1.5, sits it down. Hand slips on the table, there was really no saving that. 8.925
Carey (OSU) UB: She basically has to cough and they’ll give her a 10 right now. Maloney to Bhardwaj, leg separation on both. Mildly messy legs in the Van Leeuwen. Tiny hop back on the FTDT dismount, it’ll go near 10 at what cost. 9.95
AFTER TWO: Utah 98.775, Oregon State 98.850
Those Oregon State bars scores were fully from another planet, but at least everyone hit. There are still some built-in form things to take there but hey, if the judges don’t care I guess there’s no incentive to change anything. Utah had a bit of a lackluster performance on vault; this is the place where McCallum’s absence is being felt most. Having Stanhope back is nice, even if things didn’t exactly work out.
Rotation 3: Oregon State Balance Beam, Utah Floor
Peterson (OSU) BB: The final routine of her career. Showing great flexibility in her mount. Back handspring to bhs to loso, solidly landed, a bit of soft leg form in the air. Full turn. Switch half to split jump, solid but a bit slow in connection. Gainer pike with a small hop from the looks of it. 9.875
Brenner (Utah) FX: Very high energy right off the bat. Double pike first pass, keeps the front foot planted nicely. Follows that up with a back 3/2 to layout, once again exhibiting great control. Switch side to Popa, gets a little bit close to the line for my liking. Double tuck to close, once again keeps the front foot planted. Great start! 9.875
Domingo (OSU) BB: Front aerial, does not connect due to a small wobble. Repeats the front aerial, connected to the back pike this time, no wobbles. Full turn, tiny bit off balance. Switch leap with a leg up wobble to split to split 3/4. Gainer full off the side, small hop back. Some small wobbles to take in there. 9.825
Gilstrap (Utah) FX: I know a lot of people don’t like the Fur Elise floor music, I’m a fan! Front layout to Rudi, keeps the front foot planted, nice height on the salto. Switch to switch ring half, not at a great angle for me to judge positions but it was rotated nicely. Nice shot of the beam for a few seconds there. Cartwheel to loso to get the backwards salto requirement. Front layout to front full, very clean. 9.9
Letszch (OSU) BB: Front aerial, leans out of it, to back tuck, likely not going to be given the composition requirement. Split jump to split ring, solid. Full turn. Front gainer full off the end of the beam, small hop forward. It’ll be interesting to see what they do with the acro series there. 9.875 with no acro series.
Paulson (Utah) FX: Front tuck through to back 5/2, a bit of a large step out of it but keeps it in bounds. Front layout to front full, controlled well. Split full to sissone, mostly around rotation-wise. Closes with a back 3/2 to front layout, another great landing. 9.9
Gonzales (OSU) BB: Front aerial to back tuck, the only person to actually hit that so far. Full turn. Commentator is calling out the judges, rightfully so. Side aerial, a tiny bit underrotated. Cat leap to switch half, solid. Front gainer full, large step forward. 9.9
Smith (Utah) FX: Coming back into the lineup after being rested. Front 2/1, shows great control and great height on that. Switch ring to switch half, no questions about rotation there. Rudi to loso, once again showing pretty good control and good twisting form. Finishes up with a new pass- Rudi to stag jump, great landing. 9.875
Dagen (OSU) BB: Back handspring to loso, nicely done, no wobbles. Switch leap to switch half, short on both, to wolf jump, small arm wobble. Full turn. Roundoff to back 3/2, stuck nicely. Once again just not staying fully calm up there. 9.925
Rucker (Utah) FX: Starts off with a half in, half out, lands low with a large step forward. Switch to switch full to stag jump, a bit all over the place in terms of rotation. Front layout to front full, much better landing. Will probably be a lower score, but if we can almost go 9.9 for a routine without an acro series, we can do anything. 9.7
Carey (OSU) BB: Full turn. Looking a bit tentative on choreo. Front aerial with a small arm wave, no connection out of it. Back handspring to loso, nicely done. Switch to switch half, a tad bit on the shy side of positions but no wobbles. Gainer full off the side, all of these gainer full landings have been cut off but the commentator says it’s a stick. 9.975
O’Keefe (Utah) FX: Toeing the line on her opening choreo. Double pike, amazing control on that. Follows up with a front layout to front full, almost stuck. Switch to Gogean, more rotated than most people’s switch side to Popa so I have to give her credit. Back 3/2 to front full, this should wasily replace Rucker’s score. 9.925
AFTER THREE: Utah 148.25, Oregon State 148.4
Oregon State broke its streak of 49.6, which is impressive considering how much the judges were really trying to get the Beavers there. Between the 9.875 for an acro-series-less routine to the 9.975 for Carey with a wobble, I can only assume Utah is gonna score a 50. Speaking of, Utah did a pretty good job on floor, though the mistake from Rucker kept this from being a truly huge score. Can’t wait to see what shenanigans and tomfoolery occur in the final rotation.
Rotation 4: Oregon State Floor, Utah Beam
The 198.2 Utah needed is looking out of reach as of right now, but who knows what these judges have in store.
Morgan (Utah) BB: Front walkover mount, well done. Back handspring to bhs to loso, holds on to it despite underrotation. Jump series is nicely done. Full turn. Gainer front full off the side is stuck. 9.825
Miller (OSU) FX: Starts off with a double pike, front foot slides back a tiny bit. Switch half to Popa, underrotated the Popa. Back 3/2 to front layout, a bit of leg form in the twisting skill but gets the landing nicely. Finishes with a double tuck, once again the foot slides back a little bit. This will be a litmus test for how floor judging is gonna go with those foot slides. 9.875
Smith (Utah) BB: Switch leap to split jump, small arm wave but keeps it moving between the two jumps. Cat leap to front aerial to split jump, once again a bit of an arm wave between the final two skills. Back handspring to loso, nicely done. Full turn. Cartwheel to gainer full, stuck. 9.875
Young (OSU) FX: Went 9.95 on her beam exhibition by the way. Double pike, keeps the front foot planted. Doble tuck to follow, nicely. Switch to switch ring half, no where close to a ring position and a jarring landing as well. Front layout to front full, bounds out of that. 9.85
Paulson (Utah) BB: Side aerial to loso, fantastic, no wobbles. Switch leap to split jump, right to the end of the beam, great positions in the air. Full turn is nicely done. Beat jump to side aerial to back 3/2, stuck but moves into the salute rather quickly. 9.925
Letszch (OSU) FX: Previously committed to Utah! Back 3/2 to front full, a bit low but landed nicely. The pressure is on to get some of that regular season title. Switch ring to sissone 1/4, not her intended leap series at all. Double tuck, landed nicely. The leap series should keep this from being a huge score. 9.875
Isa (Utah) BB: Back handspring to loso to loso, incredibly solid landing. Full turn, small balance check. The commentator says that means it won’t be a 10 but I wouldn’t be so sure. Beat jump to straddle 1/4, keeps the chest up. Cartwheel to gainer full, stuck. Not the perfect routine she delivered last week but good work. 9.925
Gonzales (OSU) FX: Front full to front layout, clean in the air, rather meh on the landing. Switch half to sissone, once again some weird rotation things going on with that . Double pike to close, underrotated with chest down and a step forward. Switch ring to switch half is nicely done. 9.875
O’Keefe (Utah) BB: Falls right off the bat on choreography, absolute disaster here. Side aerial to loso, is obviously perfect. Switch leap to split leap, once again amazing work. This is a disaster. Cartwheel to gainer full, stuck. Likely would have been a 10 had she not fallen on her mount. 9.425, one judge gave her the perfect 9.5.
Dagen (OSU) FX: Missed the first half of this routine. Resuming with a double pike, keeps the front foot planted. 9.95
Gilstrap (Utah) BB: Wolf turn full, she looks shaken on that. Cat leap to front aerial, great extension. Back handspring to back pike, very solid landing. Switch leap to split jump to beat jump, another very clean connection. Back handspring to back 3/2, stuck with a lean. A highlight of the rotation under pressure. 9.9
Carey (OSU) FX: Double double, great height but a small foot slide back. Switch half to Popa, small hop out of that. Front layout to double pike, landed very well. I’m guessing that will go 10 despite the foot slide on the first pass. That being said, it will not be enough to get OSU the 198 it so desired. 9.975, lol.
Final: Utah 197.700, Oregon State 197.950
Event Winners:
Vault: Carey (OSU) 9.925
Bars: Isa, Thompson (Utah), Carey, McMilan (OSU) 9.95
Beam: Carey (OSU) 9.975
Floor: Carey (OSU) 9.975
All-Around: Carey (OSU) 39.825
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Live blog by Ian LeWarn
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