LIVE BLOG: GEC Championship Afternoon Session

In the first year of the GEC Championships, the scores were flying and Penn came out on top. While Penn is still the favorite going into year two, the battle at the bottom is sure to be a fun one. All four of these teams are capable of being the top team in this session on a good day. Cornell is in the last spot to qualify to USAGs, but is being very closely chased by Southern Connecticut who could overtake that spot, so that will be a battle to watch. Bridgeport comes in as the lowest seed, but has been strong as of late and can use that momentum to take a jump here. 

In this first session, look out for Cornell’s beam rotation, and especially Nicole Javinett’s set. The variety of acrobatic skills makes that rotation fun to watch. Southern Connecticut’s Libby Allen and William & Mary’s Keaghan Schafer are one’s to watch on floor.

Rotation 1: Cornell vault, William & Mary bars, Southern Connecticut beam, Bridgeport floor

Allen (SCSU): Small check on the full turn. Hesitation after the loso series into a beat jump. Small hop on the back 1.5 dismount.

Brady (COR): Very clean Yurchenko half. Small hop diagonally. Went over the line with one foot.

Kahl (SCSU): Large bend at the hips on the front aerial. Had to repeat the front aerial to go into the bhs with a hesitation in between. Small waivers on both the side aerial and turn. Clean on the switch to split quarter. Small hop forward on the back 1.5.

Kuper (W&M): Hit the handstand in the bail. Small hop on the double layout dismount.

Whitaker (COR): Tucked Yurchenko full. A lot of power there and took a large step back. Some flexed feet in the tuck.

Damiano (SCSU): Fall on the front aerial to bhs series. Check on the side aerial. Hesitation after the switch leap but keeps it moving to the switch half which had a small check. Almost got a stick on the gainer pike, but shuffled the feet.

Wozniak (W&M): Late on the first full turn into the high geinger. Took a small step on the dismount.

Beers (COR): Great height on her Yurchenko full with a small hop back.

Melanson (SCSU): Very smooth on the connection from the front aerial to the bhs. Small waiver at the end. Solid on the leap series. Small dip of the shoulder on the side aerial. Almost holds the stick of the cartwheel to back 1.5 dismount.

Lee (SCSU): Great mixed connection series to start. The switch half at the end of it was great. Clean through the front aerial to bhs. Stuck the back 1.5 dismount. Great routine.

Sepulveda (UB): Rudi to back tuck to end which was landed well.

Stahlbrodt (SCSU): Strong on the loso series. Short of split on the switch to split quarter. Sticks the double full dismount.

Kenney (UB): Short on rotation on the leaps. Solid Rudi. Front full to front pike to end. A little lack of control, but keeps it to one step.

After 1: Bridgeport 48.775, William & Mary 48.675, Southern Connecticut 48.350, Cornell 47.950

The first rotation starting off with the standings in the opposite order of the rankings coming in is the chaos that I am looking for. There was a lot of really strong gymnastics in the first rotation and I am impressed with the pace of this meet so far.

Rotation 2: Bridgeport vault, Cornell bars, William & Mary beam, Southern Connecticut floor

Michelini (COR): Leg separations on the geinger and overshoot. Shy of handstand on the giant full and just a step on the double tuck.

Kuper (W&M): Shy of split on the switch. Check on the series. Clean full turn. Low on the landing of the back 1.5 dismount and takes a step back.

Singletary (UB): Low on the landing on tucked full. Low chest. Had to take multiple steps back.

Wiley (W&M): Lots of small checks on the leaps as well as on the series. Great cat leap to front toss to beat jump though. Held on to the dismount.

Ross (UB): Full on tuck off done pretty well. Low chest with a step back.

Beers (COR): Hug tkatchev. Toe on front pike half dismount with a small step on the landing.

Zebdi (SCSU): Hug double tuck. Large step out of the combo pass. Rudi to split jump to end. I couldn’t tell how controlled that was from this camera angle.

Chambers (UB): Stuck the front tuck half vault. Great chest position.

Huang (W&M): Slow connection between the split jump and split full. Check on the sheep jump. Stuck the gainer pike.

MacKenzie (COR): Leg separation on the regrasp on the jaeger. Step on the dismount.

Rios (SCSU): Opened up too early on the double pike last pass and had a low chest and took multiple steps forward.

Carpenter (W&M): Great amplitude on the loso series and helf the landing. Step back after the switch to switch half. Check after the split 3/4s. Small check on the cartwheel. Hop forward on the gainer full dismount.

Allen (SCSU): Almost made it around on the front double full. Big bounce out of the front layout to front full. Kept it in bounds. The switch side to Popa was mostly around. Big lunge out of the double pike at the end.

Costello (W&M): Two falls in this routine. After both the acrobatic and dance series. Stuck the back 1.5 dismount.

Melanson (SCSU): Back 2.5 to punch front was a little wonky, but she held on with a step back. Was off on the back 1.5 to front layout and wasn’t able to get the front layout around and had an awkward fall. Front foot slides back on the Rudi to end.

After 2: Southern Connecticut 97.025, Bridgeport 96.775, William & Mary 96.275, Cornell 95.525

Cornell was just shy of its season high there, so while Cornell is still in last, it was a good rotation. William & Mary had to count a low score which hurt its rankings halfway through. After a strong floor rotation from Southern Connecticut it was able to take the lead over Bridgeport which bodes well going into the last two rotations.

Rotation 3: Southern Connecticut vault, Bridgeport bars, Cornell beam, William & Mary floor

Walton (COR): Clean loso series. Split half from the side was strong. Hits the side aerial. Very solid so far. Just a small step back on the cartwheel to back 1.5 dismount.

Allen (SCSU): Tsuk layout. Not the best dynamics. Hop back on the landing.

Kelly (SCSU): Tsuk full with a hop back.

Ross (UB): Bautiful Khorkina. Has to take an extra swing after coming back to the high bar and takes a large step on the dismount.

Michelini (COR): Clean full turn to start. Big leg up balance check on the loso series. Short of split and a check on the switch half after the switch leap. Step back on the front full dismount.

Burke (W&M): Big double tuck to start with what looked to be a controlled lunge. A little off on rotation on the leaps. Big step out of the front layout to front full.

Bracher (SCSU): Low chest on her layout full and takes a hop forward.

Bailey (SCSU): Falls on the Yurchenko half. Great position in the air, but sits it down.

Quiana (COR): Clean switch to switch half. Lifts the front leg on the loso series. Smooth on the front aerial to beat jump. Clean full turn. Small step on the gainer pike dismount.

Chandler (W&M): Great control on the front double full. Good rotation on the three leap combo. The front full to front layout/pike was solid. Small bounce out of the Rudi to end.

Aucoin (UB): Tow shoot to start. Short on the handstand on high bar. Leg separation on the geinger. Rushed on the low bar. Great double layout with a hop.

Schafer (W&M): Ends the routine with a controlled back 1.5 to front layout.

After 3: William & Mary 144.925, Southern Connecticut 144.575, Bridgeport 144.375, Cornell 144.025

The gap has gotten closer with less than a point separating all four teams. Cornell capitalized on a strong beam rotation to close the gap. William & Mary will have to end on vault which has not been the highest scoring event, so there is a lot of potential for the rankings to shift with one rotation to go.

Rotation 4: William & Mary vault, Southern Connecticut bars, Bridgeport beam, Cornell floor

Whitaker (COR): A little lack of control on the leaps. Front layout to Rudi to stag is low in amplitude, but she controls the landing.

Workman (SCSU): Nice clean hip and short on the bail. A couple of hops forward on the double layout dismount.

Costello (W&M): Comes in short on the tucked full Yurchenko. Low chest and takes a step forward.

Sepulveda (UB): Holds the Liukin. Clean leaps. Not the best connection between the front toss and bhs, but will likely get credit. Hop on the dismount.

Moussa (SCSU): Giant half to high tkatchev. Hit the bail. Short last handstand. Hop on the dismount.

Ross (UB): HAs a fun side aerial to aerial to two feet acro combination with a check. Sticks the back 1.5 dismount.

Arnold (SCSU): Very high straddled jaeger. Hit the bail position. Over on the giant full, but sticks the double tuck dismount.

Barry (UB): Front aerial was clean and goes right into a bhs loso with a small check. Hesitation on the leaps. Gainer front full dismount with a hop forward.

Jordan (SCSU): Fall for her on a release. Restarts the routine. Clear hip to deltchev to overshoot was great. Nice double layout and held on to the stick with a low chest.

Beers (COR): Front tuck to double pike was well landing. Great amplitude on the leaps. Bounce back on the landing of the double tuck.

Javinett (UB): Small waiver on the loso series. Switch to standing loso was great. Just a slight shoulder dip at the end. Clean leaps. Hop on the back 1.5 dismount.

Stahlbrodt (SCSU): Short first hs. Great jaeger to overshoot combination. Loose form there. Hop back on the double layout dismount.

A quad meet done in an hour and 36 minutes. Very impressed.

FINAL: William & Mary 193.050, Cornell 193.000, Bridgeport 192.800, Southern Connecticut 192.525

The standings shifted in the last rotation with the home team coming out on top by a small margin of just 0.05 over Cornell who came back strong on the last two events.

VT: Chambers, Wiley 9.7
UB: Rios 9.825
BB: Lee 9.875
FX: Beers 9.85
AA: Stahlbrodt 38.825

READ THIS NEXT: Coaches Find a Way for Their Gymnasts to Compete in Style Despite Budget Differences and Rising Prices


Live blog by Alyssa Van Auker

Like what you see? Consider donating to support our efforts throughout the year!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.