It’s an EAGL Conference matchup this Sunday afternoon as no. 34 Towson competes in a dual meet against no. 61, the Temple Owls! It is also alumni night at Temple, and, as a now alumni, if I couldn’t be there in person, it only felt right to follow along!
Last week, Towson had a strong first meet of the season against Ohio State and Ball State, scoring a 195.225, tying them for first place in the EAGL Conference alongside LIU after week two. The Tigers struggled on beam this past week having to count a 9.4 and a 9.1 for an event total of 47.75. Beam has been an area where Towson has been incredibly strong in the past, so they will be looking to tap into this depth and experience coming into the competition this weekend. Their other events seem to be strong however, counting only scores over a 9.8 on both vault and floor. No freshmen this past weekend made their debut, so it will be interesting to see if any break into the lineup after their first week.
Temple is hosting its home opener this weekend and will be looking to break into the higher scores they are capable of to drop a low score from its first two competitions. Temple had their best meet of the year so far last week in a quint meet at George Washington University, earning a team total of 194.1. For the past three weeks, the highest event total for Temple has come on floor, an event they have shown strength on in the past. However, both bars and beam have been low, having to count a fall on one or the other each time out. The Owls will be looking to their large group of returning athletes to bring the consistency and confidence they have shown in the past this time around.
If you are able to watch, you can follow along here at 5:00 EST!
Rotation 1: Temple VT, Towson UB
Vault has not been Temple’s strongest event thus far, so they will be looking to put up a good number to start this meet strong!
Weklar (TEM): Weklar is up first starting off with a Yurchenko layout 1/2. A small step to the side, but overall a good start for the Owls! 9.750.
Keener: (TOW): Starts with a Jaegar to overshoot, blind full to double tuck, fights for the landing but turns quick. Good start for Towson! 9.75.
Monk (TEM): Yurchenko full, hop back with a small pike down but a good vault! 9.775.
Hong (TOW): Little bit of a long wait … first meet things; opens with a good handstand, blind to nice piked jaegar to shoot over right to handstand. Blind, double front dismount, CLOSE to the bar and a big step forward. Besides that dismount, very nice!! Not too sure if her knee touched on the dismount. 9.650.
H. Stallings (TEM): Yurchenko full, lands on the white line but a nice vault! 9.8.
Greene (TOW): Starts with a blind, Stalder, right to piked Jaegar to immediate shoot over, another Stalder to double tuck with a step. That routine is packed! Lots of bonus. 9.775.
Ruskey (TEM): Yurchenko full STUCK!! Little chest and a little leg separation but a stick nonetheless ! Gets the stick crown, first of the night! 9.875. (I believe this is a career high!)
Vitoff: (TOW): Starts with hop over the low bar to high bar mount, but casts over on first handstand. Remounts and does a nice Geinger to shoot over, short on last handstand and a full in to end with a hop forward. 9.25.
Schugman (TEM): Yurchenko full, huge and lots of height with just a step back! Lots of power on that vault! 9.80.
Vaillancourt( (TOW): Blind to straddle Jaeger, to shootover. Dismounts with a double layout, small hop forward. A great routine to follow a fall! 9.80.
Aresta (TEM): Yurchenko full, small hop back but very nice height and control! 9.825.
Minervini (TOW): She needs a hit! Opens with a a nice combo, Tkachtev to Pak salto and ends with a stuck double layout! Towson can luckily drop that score from earlier and not have to count a fall! 9.9.
Budd (TEM) *exhibition Yurchenko full, good control on the landing, a little low chest.
(TOW): *exhibition Starts with Maloney to immediate pak, goes to do switch kip and gets a little out of control but stays on. Double front dismount to end with a step back.
Best (TEM): *exhibition round off back full on, tuck off, nice control! Fun vault! Not a very common vault so fun to see that!
Dennis (TOW): *exhibition blind to Jaegar, misses and has to remount. Swings to shoot over, dismounts with a toe on front pike half, steps forward.
After 1: TEMPLE 49.075, TOWSON 48.875.
Good start for both teams! Temple has started stronger than their past couple of meets, and Towson was able to avoid counting that fall from Vitoff. Temple looked consistent on vault and the veterans showed their experience in this vault lineup in the last couple of spots and were able to bring in some big scores for the end of this first rotation. Towson looked strong on bars and had some very unique routines but lacked with their sticks that could’ve given them a couple more tenths back. Overall, a strong start for both as they switch to the next event.
Rotation 2: Towson VT, Temple UB
Weitz (TOW): Starts for Towson with a Yurchenko full, nice height with a big step back. 9.775.
Dehaan (TEM): Her first home meet ever coming back from an achilles injury last season!! How exciting! Starts with a pike Jaeger to shoot over very nice, blind full to double tuck small hop back, but a nice lead off routine for Temple! 9.60 (looking at the replay, slid her feet on the mat on the shootover)
Hoffman (TOW): Yurchenko full, a little ‘happy feet’ on the landing and a little under rotated but pretty good vault. 9.625.
Hogan (TEM): Bar troubles, just waiting for Hogan to be able to go!
Poblete (TOW): Towson is going while the bar issue is resolved: full on, tuck off, lands short but stays on her feet. 9.650.
Vitoff (TOW): Yurchenko full, huge, nice block and shape in the air, a shuffle on the landing but very nice! 9.750.
Halsell (TOW): Yurchenko full, lands a little one front in front of the other, a good fight, but a nice vault with great height. 9.775.
*Temple is getting another touch warmup after the little mishap
Tisler (TOW) Yurchenko full, very nice, small hop back but great finish with her chest up. Good finish for Towson! 9.850.
Calafati (TOW) *exhibition Yurchenko full, nice landing and good control
Hogan (TEM): Alright we are back! Starts with a nice Maloney, misses the handstand, toe handstand, ittle loose shootover, dismounts with a great blind full to a stuck double tuck! A great way to get Temple back to competing after a super (!!!!!) long wait. 9.725.
Johnson (TEM): Starts with a nice Maloney to the high bar, to a nice shootover, ends with a huge double lay, almost stuck! Literally so close to a stick just a small shuffle. That was a great routine! Very nice lines and form on that overall. 9.825 (this is also a career high!)
Donabedian (TEM): Starts with a Geinger to shootover, catches a little close but very nice. Nails last handstand, blind full to a double tuck dismount with a hop back. A good routine to keep it going for Temple! 9.7.
S.Stallings (TEM): Temple’s highest scoring bar routine from last week, hoping to duplicate that performance. Starts with a blind to piked Jaegar, hits the bar but misses. Chalks back up and starts from the shoot over. Nice high to low bar transition, and ends with a blind full to double tuck, small hop back. 8.95.
Whalen (TEM): A little extra pressure on her after a bit of a crazy rotation, but she’s a veteran. Starts with a high bar handstand to shoot over, right back up to a sit up, little close. Nice handstand to in bar Tkachev, dismounts with a full in STUCK! Looked very aggressive, but controlled. Great ending for Temple! 9.825.
After 2: TEMPLE 97.750, TOWSON 97.675
Another good rotation for both teams! Temple had a much better bars rotation than previous meets, and after a long (long) wait, this was a great way to come back. This rotation was highlighted by Whalen’s 9.825 clutch routine in the anchor spot and Johnson’s career high also of a 9.825! For Towson, their vaults matched the Owls in consistency, but their landings were a bit more controlled. Tisler ended the rotation with a huge Yurchenko for a 9.850, capping the second event for the Tigers. After two rotations, this is a meet only separated by less than a tenth! Heading into the second half of the meet, both teams need to do their ‘normal’ on floor, but go into beam more aggressive as this is an event they have both struggled with in their past competitions.
Rotation 3: Temple BB, Towson FX
Schugman (TEM): Back in her lead-off spot! didn’t show most of the routine, get gets the stuck dismount with a round-off 1.5! 9.825.
Tisler (TOW): opens with a front lay to front 1.5, nice control. Second pass, back 1.5 to front lay, a little hoppy on the landing, but stays in and a great first routine for Towson! 9.825.
Ruskey (TEM): Starts with a nice BHS LOSO, solid. Beat jump to front toss, very nice. Looks confident!! Cat leap to switch side, a little short but stays on. BHS 1.5 to end and sticks!! Contagious sticks so far! 9.825.
Hong (TOW): Starts with a front double full, over rotates and falls out of bounds. Torjete 1/2 split full, split full. Second pass, back 1/2 to front full, under rotates and almost slips, but stays up. 8.95.
Aresta (TEM): starts with a BHS LOSO, picks up her front foot, but stays on! Cat leap to switch side, a little short. Beat jump to straddle 3/4, a big balance check but stays on. BHS 1.5 to end, a little shuffle on the landing, but a good fight on that routine and ends strong with a very controlled dismount. 9.625.
Weitz (TOW): Just waiting while there is a judges conference. Okay, Weitz is up! Opens the routine with a front through to double tuck, comes up pretty short, but stays up. Nice leaps with a good shape on her ring! Second pass, nice double pike to end. Fun choreo ending! 9.7.
Dorunda (TEM): Opens with a BHS LOSO LOSO, brings up front foot but very nice. Cat leap to a good switch side. Wobble on the full turn, ends with a nice cartwheel 1.5 stuck! 4/4 so far on beam for the Owls, much better than their past couple of meets! 9.825.
Calafati (TOW): Starts with a front double full to front pike. Lots of difficulty, shuffles on the landing a bit. Second pass, front rudi, straight back layout to straddle jump. Nice strong finish! 9.8.
S. Stallings (TEM): Starts with BHS BHS LOSO, is off. Back up with a switch leap to split jump very nice. Ends with a round off 1.5 (I think stuck! can’t really tell with the angle) 9.025.
Minervini (TOW): Opens with a front layout to front rudi, is out with one foot. Huge double pike to end! Lots of power in this routine, just needs a little more control on that first pass and that will be a big score! 9.7.
Donabedian (TEM): In this anchor spot after a fall, but again, another veteran in this spot. Starts with a switch leap to ring double stag, very nice. Front aerial to BHS, very nicely connected. Side sumi, solid. Ends with a round off 1.5 stuck! That was a huge routine in a clutch spot! 9.875.
Vaillancourt (TOW): Swiftie intro!!! Love! Starts with back 1.5 to front lay, very nice. Switch 1/2 to straddle full, very nice. Ends with a front rudi to a straddle jump, a little weird ending, but a good way to close for Towson to not have to count a fall in this rotation. 9.825.
Whalen (TEM): *exhibition Starts with a BHS LOSO, is off on the series. Back up with switch leap to split jump. Switch half, a little back leg low. Split 1/2 side ways, solid and a cartwheel tucked back 1.5 to end with a step on the landing.
After 3: TEMPLE 146.725, TOWSON 146.525
Both teams got the hits they needed! Neither have had to count a fall which has been something they’ve struggled with early in the season. Temple has had their best beam rotation yet with a handful of 9.825s in the lineup. With the fall of stallings, Donabedian came in huge in that anchor spot with a 9.875. Towson was able to drop an early, low score, and end strong on one of their highest scoring events. Temple is ending on their strongest event, and Towson is moving to beam where they have been strong in the past, but struggled last week. This will be a close one in the end!
Rotation 4: Towson BB, Temple FX
Minervini (TOW): Starts with a nice front aerial to BHS. Beat jump to split 3/4, solid. Switch leap to wolf 3/4 a little bobble. Side aerial with a step back. Ends with a gainer full off the side, stuck! A nice finish for her meet and a great start for Towson! 9.775.
Ruskey (TEM): Starts with a front thru to double tuck, very nice! Slides her front foot a litte, but great chest up on the landing. Switch side to split 1.5, gets it around. Ends with a solid double pike! What a meet for her! A great lead-off routine for the Owls to start the fourth rotation. 9.8.
Hong (TOW): Side aerial, side aerial, solid. That’s such a difficult series. Split jump to straddle 3/4, nice. Side facing split 1/2, solid. Ends with a front full with a step back. Overall, a nice routine! 9.825.
Dorunda (TEM): Starts with a strong double tuck! Switch side, split full, wolf full, a little short on the split full, but gets it around at the end. Ends with a nice front lay to front rudi, close to the corner but stays in! Very nice ending for her meet! 9.8.
Weitz (TOW): Switch leap, standing layout to open. Front aerial, BHS, very good connection. Beat jump to ring jump, beautiful. Ends with a cartwheel, gainer full stuck off the side. Very nice ending! 9.825.
H. Stallings (TEM): Opens her routine with such fun beginning choreo. First pass, back 1.5 to front lay, nice and controlled. Leap pass switch to switch ring 1/2, little bobble. Ends with a rudi to split jump, nice height and good control on that ending! 9.85 (matches her career high!)
Macasu (TOW): Starts with a front aerial, BHS a little broken connection. Switch leap 1/2 to split jump, fights for the ending (maybe misses another jump). Gainer full off the side stuck! Will be interested to see the start value on this routine, but look good minus the little bobbles. 9.625.
Monk (TEM): Freshman debut in home arena for her! Starts with a beautiful front thru to double pike! Very fun dance, floor party!! You’d never she’s a freshman with her performance! Torjete 1/2 to split full, a little shy on 180. Ends with a very powerful front double full. Such a fun routine in this fourth spot! 9.85 (matches season and career high for her!) 9.850.
Keener (TOW): starts with a BHS LOSO, pretty big wobble but stays on. Switch to tuck 3/4, solid. Cat leap, front toss, beat jump, a little wobble. Ends with gainer full stuck!
Schugman (TEM): The floor is definitely set for these ending two in the lineup! Schugman starts with a back 1.5 to front lay, very nice control. Switch side 1/2, split full, gets both around. Ends with a huge double pike! That was a great routine! Looks very comfortable and confident. 9.825.
Williams (TOW): The first for her tonight! starts with a solid BHS LOSO. Front aerial, small balance check. Beautiful lines and extension for her. Cat leap to switch half, pretty big wobble. Ends with a gainer full off the side, lands very short and hops forward. This will most likely be the score Towson will have to drop. 9.5.
Donabedian (TEM): Anchoring floor for Temple, starts with a beautiful front rudi to back LOSO. Ring torjete 1/2, I think gets it all the way around. Leg up 1.5 turn, very nice. Ends with a huge front double full! What a rotation for Temple! 9.875.
Dennis (TOW) : *exhibition BHS LOSO to start, very nice. Switch leap to split jump, solid. Front aerial, a little legs but good!Beat jump to sheep jump, beautiful. BHS gainer full to end!
White (TEM) : *exhibiton starts with back 1.5 to front pike, nice and controlled. Short on getting her leaps all the way around. Ends with a double tuck, takes a couple steps out, but stays in and on her feet.
FINAL: TEMPLE 195.900 TOWSON 195.325
A MUCH better competition for both teams! Both Towson and Temple looked more confident and like they have in the previous seasons. Both had a couple falls, but didn’t have to count any of those low scores and were able to get back on track right away. A little bars mishap didn’t throw off Temple and they were able to score their season high on this event in their home opening competition. Towson looked much more like the beam team they have in the past, not having the rotation they probably wanted, but a huge improvement from last week. Temple’s final rotation was lights out, not counting a single score below a 9.8, and ending strong with Donabedian’s 9.875. This was a tight, very exciting meet until the very end with the two being within two tenths of one another thru each rotation! Overall, both teams looked more like their ‘normal’ and look to be settling in as the season goes on.
Event Winners:
VT: Ruskey 9.875 (TEM)
UB: Minervini 9.90 (TOW)
BB: Donabedian 9.875 (TEM)
FX: Donabedian 9.875 (TEM)
READ THIS NEXT: Judge’s Inquiry: Taking Another Look at 9.975s – Which Judge Was Right?
Live blog by Julianna Roland
