We may have barely scratched the surface during intrasquad season, but there are still a million directions to look as we approach the beginning of 2024. Here’s what I’m watching, anticipating, and worrying about in these last weeks before everything begins.
Question: How will the new Michigan routines stack up against last year’s standards?
Michigan graduated 11 routines—just short of half of its whole team—from its postseason lineups last year, and the freshman class brought in to replace those routines consists of one former three-star recruit and two unrated athletes. We know there are more routines among the returners: Farah Lipetz and Paige Thaxton not seeing lineup time last year was a big disappointment that I expect to see rectified, plus in what’s becoming one of the most reliable preseason tropes in college gymnastics, Bev Plocki bafflingly still seems to think that Jenna Mulligan is a future star. Still, replacing Natalie Wojcik, Abby Heiskell, and Nicoletta Koulos with routines that didn’t make lineups last year is a very big ask.
To complete the accounting in more detail, Kaylen Morgan is out with a preseason shoulder injury (and while we don’t have an estimated return date for her, I never hold my breath when it comes to shoulder injuries). Grad transfer McCaleigh Marr is theoretically a great prospect but was AWOL at the intrasquad while junior Jacey Vore seems poised to step into a bigger role. Freshmen Haylen Zabrowski and Ava Jordan have been spotted in workouts often enough to conclude that they’re fit, but their lineup prospects are still a mystery.
It’s ultimately OK if this is a rebuilding year for Michigan. After the title in 2021, attempts to repeat the same model have ended in disappointment. With two great recruiting classes lined up, it would be understandable to focus on developing underclassman routines this year in preparation for more serious runs in the future. It’s also OK, even perhaps preferable, if the new routines look a little bit rough right now: Pacing has been such an issue for the Wolverines the last two years that I’d almost prefer not to see stuck dismounts. Still, we have a lot yet to learn about which new routines will move into the first half of this year’s lineups and exactly what the gulf will be between their quality and that of what they’re being asked to replace.
Bonus Questions:
How much fun are we going to get to have with the Georgia freshman class?
Delightfully, they all seem to be healthy and looking good in training, and based on social media alone, I’d guess that UGA is pushing Lily Smith as its new star. As of right now, there’s reason to be optimistic about this No. 1-ranked recruiting class, despite the amount of reasonable skepticism about Georgia’s talent management abilities circulating. There’s still time for it to go wrong, though. Is Heather Parker popping up in a boot and crutches just the beginning? Couldn’t tell you.
How badly will losing Jordan Chiles and Ana Padurariu hurt UCLA?
It’s been hard to get a read on how short-handed this crew might be this year. There are huge positives: Katelyn Rosen looks like the kind of workhorse gymnast that a team in transition can lean on heavily, and injury returns from Frida Esparza and Sara Ulias, among others, will reduce the pressure. At Meet the Bruins, we saw a team that looked comfortably able to fill lineups, though bits of form were still prominent on some core routines. UCLA fans, being UCLA fans, have found a way to think that this group could improve on last year’s finish.
Still, I don’t think the Bruins are home free: Rotation looks like an issue on a number of the 10.0 SV vaults that we’ve seen through preseason, and we have to keep in mind just how often Jordan Chiles saved a rough rotation last year. I don’t expect bars or beam to be technically wonderful, much like last year, though there will be week-to-week variation on how much the judges care. The Bruins seem really healthy right now, which is wonderful, but I could see things getting tight fast if that changes.
Comment: The turnover at Florida is really fascinating
This might be as fun as a preseason gets in college gymnastics. Approximately one million lineup spots left open by graduates (and by DiCello stepping away for elite) but also approximately one million quality, exciting routines ready to step into them. Ellie Lazzari’s comeback is very needed, and she looks phenomenal on tape. The freshman class, led by Danie Ferris’ extremely 10.0-able Yurchenko one and a half (once she gets that hand cast off, which we’re assured will be soon…?), as well as Anya Pilgrim on basically everything, is a very big deal. Plus… Is this the year that Morgan Hurd happens? I think it might be.
Basically, what I expect from the Gators is a team that looks very different but is roughly equally good as 2023. There might be some early season growing pains, but the raw materials are there for the Gators to ultimately be excellent, and the process of watching new stars come into their own in Gainesville should be as exciting as it gets.
Bonus Comments:
Julianne Huff is real.
Auburn got a little lost in a weekend full of very high-tier intrasquads, so I just want to register for anyone who had their eyes on Utah at the time that Auburn looked like a good common-sense gymnastics team, and that Yurchenko one and a half from Huff is going places.
Those Meet the Bruins leotards…
I know being good isn’t the point of them and historically at least half of them have been absurd. I’m all for personal meaning and reflecting your personal background. But also just don’t put fringe on leotards. Please.
Likewise with Red Rocks Preview. I give the Utes a little grace on this because they wore short-sleeved leotards, which are inherently less serious, but phew.
Concern: How will Brisa Carraro do this year at LIU?
Most of you will understand perfectly why this is a concern, but if you don’t, here’s the short version: LIU Gymnastics has existed for only three seasons, and in that time, eight gymnasts have transferred away. Five of those were in the last year. Eleven more have left the team. The resulting picture isn’t pretty. If you choose to get into rumor territory on your own time, those are certainly out there, but the black-and-white roster data is sufficient to tell you that something isn’t right in Brookville.
As an international gymnast, especially from one outside widely recruited English-speaking countries like Great Britain and Canada, it’s hard to get the attention of college coaches. Despite Carraro’s impressive resume with Argentina and her obvious attractiveness on tape, it’s possible she didn’t have a lot of offers. LIU has recruited a lot of these international athletes in its short tenure in college gymnastics, but most of those recruits aren’t still with the team. Maybe the best-case scenario for Carraro is to make her name in Brookville and then transfer. Maybe what hasn’t worked for others will work for her. I mean, if Syd Morris hasn’t left, anything is possible?
Bonus Concerns:
It’s still spooky season, as far as freshmen are concerned. Why wasn’t Sydney Razeghi at the Stanford intrasquad? Lily Smith and Ady Wahl not doing beam dismounts was totally preventative… right? Did Jamison Sears really just do bars, or did Alabama just not post her other routines? Why were Oklahoma’s lineups ordered like that? All the little mysteries of preseason tend to coalesce in late December and suddenly feel like a lot of potential problems.
Should we be bracing for disaster for Arizona? Recent reporting about the apparently dire financial straits of the Arizona athletics department raised concerns about the possibility of gymnastics being cut, and after Lindenwood gymnastics was cruelly and suddenly eliminated this week with no possible recourse, concern for Arizona was refreshed. Is this team living under a sword of Damocles? Is there a way out for this team?
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Article by Rebecca Scally
Weird thing about Michigan is they could replace last year’s grads with routines sitting on the shelf the last two years. Not sure why they didn’t at least give those kids a couple of chances to compete.
I think Wahl is also getting a pretty big push at UGA.
I think most women’s gymnastics teams are generally safe due to title IX but am fearful mens is about to get bludgeoned. And every school outside of SEC and Big 10 will come to a reckoning in terms of athletic funding.
Love the analysis overall, but the part about Mulligan seems harsh, personal, and unprofessional. There are ways to express doubt about Bev’s hyping without plainly insulting an athlete in a hurtful and unnecessary way.
I personally think that no one can replace the one and only TRINITY THOMAS. To me, it is the end of an era. However, I do think Florida’s freshman class is superb and has a good chance of making an impact and providing consistent 9.00 + scores, that will help them contend for a national title.
LSU has a big chance of winning the national title this year with their huge amount of depth, however, I worry that they will struggle with consistency.
Michigan was also very stupid for making their whole lineups for the past 2-3 years of only upperclassmen, and I think their choices for the past few seasons are going to harm them this season.