Welcome to the third and final round of competition of the 2023 Los Angeles regional!
Host/top-seeded UCLA and Pac-12 champion Utah are the heavy favorites to advance, but conference-mate Washington and last season’s Cinderella story Mizzou will be waiting to pounce if either West Coast team flinches.
The Huskies were ranked 27th coming into regionals, but capitalized on mistakes from Auburn to get through to the final. Tonight they’ll have star all-arounder Skylar Killough-Wilhelm—who flew in after missing Round Two due to a health issue—back in the mix.
If you need a refresher on which individuals can qualify to nationals and under what circumstances, we’ve done the math and broken down each scenario:
You can find links to the broadcast and scores here.
Again, keep in mind that my view of bars is fabulous but my view of everything else is wholly dependent on who’s standing in my way!
Rotation One: Utah vault, UCLA bars, Missouri beam, Washington floor
I missed the fact that this is a touch warm-up and thought Chae Campbell just inexplicably crumpled on a handstand.
Pleasantly surprised by the number of fans here for each team! Obviously, UCLA has the bulk of the fans, but there are big cheering sections for all four.
O’Keefe (Utah): Nice flared out Y full, stuck. Slight leg sep. 9.925
Brenner (Utah): Big leg sep in preflight and form on her Y 1.5, but less twist onto the table than yesterday. Stuck, I think? 9.900 is high for me even with a stick.
Hoffman (Utah): Y 1.5 with some form but another clean landing. 9.900, again high.
Smith (Utah): Omelianchik with a large hop forward. 9.850
Rucker (Utah): Another fabulous Y 1.5, and it’s another 10! She knows how to bring it for the postseason.
Gilstrap (Utah): Really lovely Y full, stuck but with chest forward and a swim. 9.825
Campbell (UCLA): Excellent Maloney to bail to handstand. Slightly shy final handstand. Good double front with a step back. 9.800
Steele (UCLA): Good Maloney to Pak. Rushed the half pirouette . Good final handstand and a clean DLO with small hop forward. 9.775
Padurariu (UCLA): Toe on to Maloney, great. Almost overarched the bail to handstand but saved it. Drilled her FTDT. 9.875
Harris (UCLA): Pristine first handstand to Tkatchev. So diliberate on all of her positions. Small hop on her DLO. 9.900
Frazier (UCLA): Maloney with some bent arms, but flawless Pak. Good final handstand and a DLO with teensy scoot back. 9.850
Chiles (UCLA): WP deleted everything I typed, but it was pretty darn near perfect. 9.975
Lawrence (Mizzou): Very steady full turn. Sock solid series. Gorgeous flexibility on her scale. Stuck RO back 1.5. 9.875
Schaffer (Mizzou): Front aerial with a hint of a correction. Bhs loso bhs, great. 9.800
Davis (Mizzou): Little wave on her front toss. Beat to sheep, great. Switch leap to bhs side gainer full, so high and stuck. 9.825
Sheremeta (Mizzou): Spin on top of the beam. Beat jump, good. Bhs loso, perfection. Full turn with free leg extended. Gorgeous series with the tiniest correction. Shushunova, great. Stuck tucked gainer full. 9.850
Hu (Mizzou): Exquisite Korbut mount to handstand. Y full turn, perfect. Slight correction in the front aerial series? No problem on her split 3/4. Bhs stuck gainer full. That was phenomenal! 9.925
Schreiber (Mizzou): Bhs loso loso, absolutely gorgeous. Switch half with a hip lean to split jump. Beat jump to stuck side gainer full. 9.925
Innes (UW): Strong leap series. Fhs Rudi with plenty of pop, slight knee softness, but a strong finish. 9.825
Roberts (UW): Powerful opening double tuck, good control on the landing. Nice position on her leap series. Double pike with a front foot adjustment. 9.800
Nguyen (UW): No problems on the front full to front pike today. Switch leap to switch ring, good. 9.700
Navarro (UW): Floaty back 1.5 to front lay. Double pike clean in the air, but chest down. 9.850
Cunningham (UW): Front tuck through to double tuck, plenty of air. Switch half to wolf full series, great amplitude. Makes it look so easy. Big double pike with a front foot slide. 9.850
Davis (UW): Front double full, finessed the landing. Really nice position on her Popa series. Back 1.5 to front lay with plenty of rise. Nice one! 9.825
AFTER ONE ROTATION: Utah 49.575, UCLA 49.400, Missouri 49.400, Washington 49.150
Fantastic rotation for all four teams! Don’t think any of them could have done much better than that. Vault scoring seemed significantly looser than the other events, so we’ll see how that carries through the competition. That said, Rucker’s vault from my (admittedly bad) angle was a legit 10. She’s the reigning national champ for a reason!
Rotation Two: Washington vault, Utah bars, UCLA beam, Missouri floor
Innes (Washington): Y full a little off center. 9.825
Brooks (Washington): Big bounce back on her Y half, but clean in the air. 9.775
Davis (Washington): Y full with a touch of form and a bounce back. 9.850
Navarro (Washington): Y full with a small hop I think? 9800
Killough-Wilhelm (Washington): Couldn’t see, but I think she sat it. 9.350
Cunningham (Washington): Fabulous Y full, stuck. 9.900
Morgan (utah): Great Bhardwaj. Clean final full pirouette to double tuck with a minor hop. 9.850
Smith (Utah): Maloney to Pak a hair close. Excellent final handstand to front double full, staggered but stuck! 9.875
Brenner (Utah): Strong blind change to straddled Jaeger to bail to handstand. Tight DLO with a tiny adjustment. 9.850
Thompson (Utah): Lovely Maloney to Pak. Gets hung up on her half pirouette but saves it. Stuck(ish) DLO. 9.875
O’Keefe (Utah): Maloney to Pak, lovely. Falls out of her half pirouette. Slightly shy final handstand. Excellent front double tuck, stuck. 9.825
Isa (Utah): Bail to handstand, great. Slightly shy on her final handstand and stlightly late on her full pirouette, but the DLO was stuck and a beauty. 9.900
Lee (UCLA): Front aerial to split jump, no hesitation. Bhs loso with a hip wave, but reigns it in. Stuck side gainer full. 9.850
Alipio (UCLA): Side aerial with a tiny adjustment. Tucked gainer full with a little hop. 9.800
Padurariu (UCLA): Pretty candle mount. Front aerial to bhs with a little wave. Switch leap with another teensy wave. Beat jump to sheep with a minor foot up check. Works right throughou it. RO back 1.5 that was maybe stuck? Pretty straddle positions. HUGE double pike, perfectly controlled lunge. 9.850
Chiles (UCLA): Front aerial bhs loso with a touch of form and miniscule check. Switch split to wolf with another slight waver. Shows off the position on her full turn. Side aerial with a little foot form. Couldn’t see the double pike, but it got a big cheer. 9.850
Harris (UCLA): Bhs loso bhs with a little form. Floaty RO back 1.5, stuck. 9.950
Malabuyo (UCLA): Bhs loso with a big hip check. Front aerial to beat, great. Bhs stuck side gainer full!
Schreiber (Mizzou): Punch Rudi to layout to split jump, fantastic. Lovely front full to front lay to stag. Switch full with back leg a touch low. 9.875
Kratzer (Mizzou): Nice double tuck. Switch half to Popa, great straddle positions and hang time. Love when the beat drops. Fhs front full to front lay, very nicely done. She’s really come into her own as the season has progressed. Double piked with a bounce back. 9.825
McCrary (Mizzou): Front lay to a big Rudi, good control. Huge kicked out double pike. 9.900
Sheremeta (Mizzou): Tidy front double full. Switch side to Popa (?), fantastic oversplit. Floooaty Rudi to loso. Sheep jump to Shushunova to back spin. 9.900
Moore (Mizzou): WOW! Gorgeous DLO, awesome landing. Switch leap to Popa, maybe a hair shy? Front tuck through to double tuck, no problems. One of her best routines of the season. 9.950
Celestine (Mizzou): Really nice FTDT, nowhere near the line this year. Switch full to switch half, great positions. Floaty front full to front lay. Dive forward roll, and she’s just playing now. Slightly overdone double tuck with a front foot slide, but sells it. Great job. 9.900
AFTER TWO ROTATIONS: Missouri 98.925, Utah 98.925, UCLA 98.725, Washington 98.300
Again, really solid rotation for all four teams, as scoring remains tight on 3/4 events.
Mizzou is NOT going to make this easy for Utah and UCLA! Shannon Welker said Thursday that they *have* to get 49.4-plus on vault if they want a chance to advance, so this is going to be make or break for the Tigers.
Washington is also holding its own. If anyone does have an issue, they’re well positioned to make a move.
Rotation Three: Missouri vault, Washington bars, Utah beam, UCLA floor
McCrary (Mizzou): Big Y full with a bounce back. 9.825
Schreiber (Mizzou): Beautifully flared out Y full, stuck cold. 9.900
Davis (Mizzou): Another big Y full, full stretched with just a small hop back. 9.850
Celestine (Mizzou): Very big Y 1.5 with a crossover step. 9.900
Moore (Mizzou): HUUUUGE Y 1.5, flared out and stuck. 9.975
Burns (Mizzou): Flared out Y full with a bounce back. 9.825
Moody (UW): Toe on, gorgeous. Maloney to Pak with a touch of form. Good control on her half pirouette. FTDT with a hop back. Llewellyn is PLEASED! 9.675 seems really low.
Brooks (UW): Beatuiful first handstand. Maloney to clear hip handstand, excellent. Beautiful final handstand and full pirouette to double tuck, definitively stuck. Fantastic! 9.800
Oppegard (UW): Lovely straddled Jaeger. DLO with a little hop back. 9.725
Russon (UW): Blind change to straddled Jaeger to bail, great. Comes off on her full pirouette. 9.200
Tubbs (UW): Bowles (UW): Gorgeous Maloney. DLO, stuck. Clutch! 9.850
Bowles (UW): A hair close on both her straddled Jaeger or Deltchev (?) and shootover. Flawless DLO, stuck. 9.850
Morgan (Utah): Hip check on her leaps. Side front gainer full, stuck. 9.800
Paulson (Utah): Side aerial to loso with a little foot form and minor check. Switch leap combo, gorgeous. Pretty full turn. Beat to side aerial 1.5 with some form, but a stick! 9.900
Eaker (Utah): Full turn with a tiny check. Lovely side aerial to loso. Cartwheel side gainer full, chest down a touch but a stick. 9.950
Isa (Utah): Bhs loso loso with a touch of form, but super steady. Overrotates her full turn. Bhs to a high side gainer full, stuck. 9.875
O’Keefe (Utah): Sie aerial to loso, stellar. Little check after her switch leaps. Full turn, very nice. Twos up <3 Bhs side gainer full, stuck. 9.950
Gilstrap (Utah): Wolf full, good. Cat leap to front aerial, very steady. Bhs to two-footed loso. Switch leap to split jump to beat. Doesn’t seem bothered by the crowd noise for Chiles. Bhs 1.5, stuck but with a big lean.
Lee (UCLA): Here goes the floor party! Double tuck with a little front foot slide. Deep landing on her front full to front lay. Stuck double pike to close. 9.800
Malabuyo (UCLA): Double tuck with a little foot slide back. Back 1.5 to front lay, dances out a bit (but I think that’s intentional). Strong double pike to close. 9.900
Harris (UCLA): FTDT with a hop back. Gorgeous double tuck. Really sharp positions on her leap series to Shushunova. Back 1.5 to whip half to double stag looked low in the air, but she landing upright. 9.900
Frazier (UCLA): Gorgeous double tuck, great control on the lunge. Switch full to Popa series, good height throughout. Side somi. She’s looking really sharp in her dance and acro today. Beautiful double pike to finish. 9.950
Campbell (UCLA): Big FTDT, little staggered. UW’s Jeffrety Langenstein is dancing along with Chae’s choreo, lol. Floated through her leaps. Fhs front lay to front full, excellent. Fantastic double tuck. 9.950
Chiles (UCLA): Very good DLO, maybe a front foot slide? Front tuck through to a big double tuck. SHOOP! Switch full to wolf full, couldn’t see her feet, but looked good in the air. And a clean double pike to finish. 10.000
AFTER THREE ROTATIONS: Utah 148.450, UCLA 148.425, Missouri 148.375, Washington 147.200
OK, we’ve got a three-way race to the top here! UCLA, Utah, and Missouri are all heading to relatively weak events, so it’s going to come down to who hits to best and gives away the least. This is so chaotic, and I love it!
Rotation Four: UCLA vault, Missouri bars, Washington beam, Utah floor
Frazier (UCLA): Floaty Y full with a bounce back. 9.850
Lee (UCLA): Y full with a touch of pike and maybe a hop back? 9.850
Moors (UCLA): Fh pike half with just a small hop back. 9.900
Campbell (UCLA): Her usual gorgeous flared out Y full with a bounce. 9.825
Harris (UCLA): NAILED her Y 1.5. 10.00
Chiles (UCLA): Couldn’t see her Y double full, but I’m assuming it was good by the cheer. 9.900
Celestine (Mizzou): Great first handstand and toe on. Maloney to Pak with a touch of form. Good VL and final handstand. Perfect Celestine as always. 9.750
Schreiber (Mizzou): Maloney to tight bail to handstand. Beautful final handstand. STUCK DLO! 9.875
Sheremeta (Mizzou): Super clean first handstand. Blind change to straddled Jaeger, excellent, full extended. Flyaway Rudi with a small hop back. 9.850
Moore (Mizzou): BIG Tkatchev to overshoot. Good handstands throughout. Sky high FTDT, stuck.
Hu (Mizzou): Beautiful Church to Pak. Excellent VL. Final handstand held forever. Crisp full pirouette to double tuck, small hop back. 9.850
Burns (Mizzou): Strong blind change to straddled Jaeger to overshoot. Great final handstand. DLO with a small hop back. 9.800
Brooks (UW): I couldn’t see a thing until the switch leap to split jump, minor check. front aerial with a lean. 9.575
Bowles (UW): Side aerial to bhs with a big lean. Pretty side aerial. 9.650
Navarro (UW): Couldn’t see anything, unfortunately. 9.850
Moody (UW): Bhs loso loso and she comes off.
Davis (UW): Bhs bhs loso with some arm form and small lean.
Roberts (UW): Steady bhs loso loso, touch of form. Full turn with a little check. Switch leap to double stag with a hip check. Cat leap to side gainer full with a step. Big hugs from the team.
Brenner (Utah): Back 1.5 to front lay with a little form. Switch side to Popa, nicely done. Double tuck a little low and a foot slide back. 9.875
Gilstrap (Utah): She’s such a beautiful dancer. Front lay to a floaty Rudi, small trunk adjustment. Lovely switch leap. Back walkover on her elbows is so cool. 9.900
Paulson (Utah): Front double full looked a touch under and a little form. Front lay to front full, well done. Back 1.5 to front lay, nicely done. 9.900
Smith (Utah): Very nice fhs front double full, right up to the edge. Leap series looked a touch under to me. Fhs Rudi to loso, well done. Back
Rucker (Utah): Big FTDT. Switch leap to switch full to stag, great job. Front lay to front full. That is probably going to do it for Utah! 9.925
O’Keefe (Utah): Big double pike, no problem. Front lay to front full, beautiful. Nice height on her Gogean. Back tuck to support. Back 1.5 to front tuck (looked a tad flat, so maybe supposed to be a front lay?).
FINAL: Utah 198.050, UCLA 197.925, Missouri 197.600, Washington 195.6500
Projected Individual Qualifiers to Nationals:
AA: Chloe Widner (Stanford)
Vault: Courtney Blackson (Boise State)
Bars: Emily Lopez (Boise State)
Beam: Alisa Sheremeta (Mizzou)
Floor: Derrian Gobourne (Auburn)
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Live blog by Claire Billman
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