This meet, featuring the four Division I gymnastics teams in the state of Pennsylvania, features a number of interesting storylines from the offseason. Pittsburgh and Temple both bring new coaching staffs into 2024 and made substantial personnel changes on the athlete side, too, both from freshmen and on the transfer market. We might see a transition period for these two teams, but it will be exciting to get our first look at their new directions.
Meanwhile, Penn State bounced back in 2023 after a tough 2022 and is looking to continue its resurgence. A solid freshman class should help bolster the strength of returners like Ava Piedrahita and Bella Salcedo. Finally, Penn brought in the best freshman class in the state of Pennsylvania this year. As always, the Quakers’ depth makes it tough to predict lineups, but look for continuing strength on the leg events this year.
Rotation 1: Penn VT Penn State UB Pitt BB Temple FX
Lassiter (Penn): FTY, some leg sep, hop straight back.
Todd (Pitt): Switch split, check. Adjustment on her series.
S. Kenefick (Penn): Solid FTY, bit of pike down.
Barrow (Penn): Drastically overpowered her FTY, rebounded almost off the mat.
Dorunda (Temple): OOB on her first pass.
Vihrova (PSU): Little knees in her Jaeger, gets lost on her full turn and has to fall.
Kerico (Penn): Comes in short on her FTY and falls to her knees.
Belkoff (Penn): Nice yurchenko half, hop straight forward. When she sticks that it’s bananas.
McElligot (PSU): Maloney to Pak, a little leg separation heading up, drastic and hilarious leg separation coming back down. Stalder double tuck stuck-ish.
Ewing (Pitt): BHS LOSO, lots of form. Her screen blacked out but it sounded like there were some combo issues.
Stallings (Temple): To be honest I’m not sure which. One and a half from lay is solid. Switch switch half is OK, a little imprecise, FHS rudi to split with very weird position. Split jump full to finish.
Piedrahita (PSU): Maloney to Pak, pretty solid, on top of the half pirouette. FTDB stuck… with chest forward and an arm swing, ended up having to step.
Simons (Pitt): BHS LOSO, big check, falls. Step back on her front full dismount.
Monk (TU): Front through double pike, low chest but steps out fine. Front double full. Commentator thinks it’s a front double lay. Would like to see it.
Rushlow (PSU): Blind… leg flicker… falls. Off balance I guess.
Copperwheat (Pitt): Switch split quick and snappy. Side somi a little tentative, not sure if they’d call that arm movement a step. BHS LOSO with some soft knees but again with the very snappy landings. Just a full turn and a check. Cat leap side aerial, lean check, one and a half with a step.
Schugman (TU): One and a half front full, worked hard for that rotation and more or less made it. Switch side to straddle… something… with flexed feet. Double pike a bit short, step forward.
Donabedian (Temple): Rudi LOSO nice and clean. Gorgeous intricate leap combo, I love her dance work. One and a half Y turn, not sure if she was going for a double or just nailed the full and kept going, front double full ever so slightly stepped around. Really nice.
We have not been blessed by the Virtius gods with scores. Not a lot of scores in play at all.
After 1: Penn 48.675, Temple 48.675, Penn State 48.175, Pitt 47.100
Rotation 2: Temple VT Penn UB Penn State BB Pitt FX
Piedrahita (PSU): Great acro series. Side aerial, a little tentative. Cat leap switch half a few degrees short, nice one and a half twist.
Kenefick (Penn): Great Tkachev, blind full double full dismount stuck. Love that combo.
Maul (PSU): BHS LOSO, soft knees good landing. Full turn, little check. Switch split 3/4 badly short of splits. One and a half twist, big hop diagonally off the mat.
Dorunda (Temple): Yurchenko half, loose form big hop.
Schugman (Temple): FTY, pike down and a hop to one side. Not the greatest amplitude.
Ward (Pitt): Front full front lay, super height but substantial leg separation. Solid leap series, nice Rudi to finish.
Gibble (PSU): BHS LOSO completely misses the beam. Just no foot contact whatsoever.
Aresta (Temple): FTY, very substantial pike down but stuck. 9.725
Paris (Penn): Maloney to bail, substantial leg sep throughout, stalder double back with a hop.
Herring (PSU): Kickover front, foot shift, BHS with form. Could lose that connection. Punch front tuck full stuck.
Gazdak (Penn): Tkachev to overshoot, a little close with foot form but kept it moving. Toe on to blind full, form, double tuck with a hop.
Bedminster (Pitt): Double tuck, low chest and a little bit of a rebound. One and a half front lay, awkward with a stumble-step forward.
Salcedo (PSU): BHS LOSO, lean. Standing front tuck is so awesome. Orphan wolf jump. Stuck the punch front full.
Todd (Pitt): Double pike, long and out of bounds. Front lay front full, solid double tuck, not a lot of amplitude but fine.
Kerico (Penn): Good Ray, slightly short on a handstand, clean bail. Another iffy handstand, FTDB with a step.
Reganne Cheang looked great in the bars ex. Hope to see her in lineup soon, her form is better than several of the main lineup routines.
Johnston (PSU): BHS LOSO, form throughout, split to sheep with pretty poor position. Side aerial, tentative. Stuck one and a half twist.
Ewing (Pitt): One and a half front lay, chaotic landing. Wolf 3/2 nowhere near rotated. Nice high double tuck. Works out of it fast.
After 2: Temple 97.325, Penn 97.250, Penn State 97.025, Pitt 95.475
Nobody’s out of this except Pitt. Really intriguing.
Rotation 3:
Belkoff (Penn): BHS BHS LOSO, step and fall.
Jakab (Pitt): Yurchenko layout, pace back.
Dorunda (Temple): Fell early in the routine, stuck a double tuck dismount.
Madsoe (Pitt): Yurchenko layout, form on the table and two big steps back.
A. Kenefick (Penn): After an injury odyssey last year it’s great to see her. BHS LOSO, maybe a bit off line but makes it work, switch split quarter, swims and falls. Stuck one and a half.
Ward (Pitt): First FTY for Pitt. Nice and tidy, cross step.
DeHaan (Temple): Jaeger to overshoot with great flight. Blind full, soft back but keeps legs together, to double tuck with a baby hop.
Piedrahita (PSU): Full in, great height, floor, just a little awkward. Front through double back steps out.
Anand (Pitt): Front pike half oh wow! Not the absolute highest but comfortably made with a pace back.
McElligot (PSU): Double pike, great. Switch ring switch half wolf full is really solid. Nice one and a half front lay. Great double tuck. Good for the freshman.
S. Stallings (Temple): Saw a stuck blind full double back combo.
Salcedo (PSU): Punch double front, commentators in rapture. Front lay front full front pike, the airtime is unbelievable.
Kerico (Penn): Terrible wolf turn, with love. Off on her series.
Herring (PSU): Overcooks the double Arabian and flies forward onto her hands.
After 3: Temple 145.900, Penn State 145.725, Penn 144.325, Pitt 144.000
Rotation 4: Penn State VT, Pitt UB, Temple BB, Penn FX
Aresta (Temple): Full turn. BHS LOSO, big check, hangs on. Beat to straddle 3/4, another big check. BHS one and a half twist stuck.
Vihrova (PSU): Handspring pike. clean, small hop.
McElligot (PSU): FTY, shapey, small hop.
Duke (Pitt): Toe to Maloney, lots of leg sep, to Pak, catches wonky but manages to cast out. Blind full double tuck with a hop.
Salcedo (PSU): Omelianchik, gorgeous, medium hop forward.
Gazdak (Penn): Front through double back, big scoot back with an OOB. Switch side wolf full, messy feet. Good double pike with a long lunge.
Johanson (PSU): FTY, pikey with a big step forward. Not a lot of repulsion.
Lerro (Pitt): Maloney to overshoot, soft arms, leg separations. Good double front with a step.
Piedrahita (PSU): Omelianchik, great, little hop.
S. Kenefick (Penn): Two and a half front tuck, foot slid, very awkward and an OOB.
Todd (Pitt): Lovely piked Jaeger, good clean bail, blind full with a toe wiggle to double back, step. Good!
S. Stallings (Temple): BHS BHS LOSO, pretty, fall. Nightmare beam rotation for the Owls.
VanHorn (Penn): Double front, hands down.
Lassiter (Penn): Front lay front tuck full, underrotated, big step, solid double pike. Switch side half Popa good, finishes just before that bow falls out of her hair. It was hanging on.
Davies (Penn): Front lay front full, shuffly. Tour jete half Popa. Finishes well. The stream cannot stop lagging.
Jackie Tunney wrapping up in the exhibition. Love her!
FINAL: Penn State 194.725, Pitt 193.100, Penn 192.475, Temple 192.250
A lot happened there. A lot of it was bad. But some of it was okay! Welcome to January.
Congrats to Pitt on getting the first 49 in ACC history! Literally!
VT: Piedrahita 9.875
UB: Stallings 9.875
BB: Salcedo 9.900
FX: Salcedo 9.850
AA: Piedrahita 39.000
READ THIS NEXT: From Latvia to University Park, Elina Vihrova’s Road to Penn State Was Hard but Worth It
Live blog by Rebecca Scally
