The Dismount: Week 4

For full scores and results for every meet, check out Week 4 Results.

While Week 4 brought less controversy than in weeks past, it still brought plenty of excitement! We’re officially amidst a changing of the guard in the SEC, while the Sooners and Golden Bears are beginning to separate themselves from the pack ahead of their showdown this coming weekend. Here’s what went down over the weekend:

Friday Night Heights

Most of the weekend’s action took place Friday evening, as the SEC dual meet slate, Denver at Oklahoma, and Utah hosting Arizona State took center stage.

The Pioneers kept pace with the Sooners most of the night, but a wobbly final beam rotation ultimately saw Oklahoma take the win in another consistent and polished performance—even with a deduction-heavy vault lineup that kept it under the 198 mark. And while nobody broke that barrier this weekend, Kentucky was one of the teams who came the closest, as perfect 10s from Makenzie Wilson (vault) and Raena Worley (floor) bookended a huge 197.950 for the Wildcats to push them to a win over Georgia and into the top three of the rankings.

Kentucky’s rise to the top wasn’t the only signal of shifting in the SEC, as elsewhere Alabama and Lilly Hudson’s perfect vault scored a huge road win over Florida and Arkansas had no issues toppling visiting Auburn. But, the biggest result of the night came from Columbia, as Missouri was able to score an upset over LSU. After leading each of the first two rotations, the home Tigers’ iffy beam rotation put the road Tigers slightly ahead, but a massive 49.6 on floor sealed the deal while helping Missouri stay in the top 10 and within reach of the conference’s top half.

On the West Coast, Utah had no issues getting by the visiting Sun Devils, winning by nearly a point in its fourth-straight meet in the greater Salt Lake City area. The Utes look far more balanced this year than in previous seasons—when they relied heavily on beam—and have begun to distance themselves from their disappointing Week 2 performance.

The Rest of the Weekend

While much of the action took place Friday, the following two days still produced plenty of notable results as several top 10 teams were in action.

In its home opener, California secured No. 2 status with another near-198 in a win over Oregon State, looking like a Four on the Floor favorite and capable of challenging for an NCAA title. Mya Lauzon hit 39.700 or better in the all-around again as she’s on a tear in her breakout season. The Bruins also posted an impressive total—197.825—in a victory over Washington, as Chae Campbell’s vault and floor 9.950s helped keep UCLA in the title conversation.

Elsewhere in the Pac-12, Arizona raised some eyebrows with a stout 197 to defeat visiting Stanford. The Cardinal entered the season as one of the darkhorse contenders in the conference, a title that has now been overtaken by the Wildcats. After their winning performance back in Week 2, head coach John Court stated that the team has a goal of competing in the evening session of Pac-12s, and sitting just outside the conference’s top four behind the Beavers, that could become reality.

The Big Ten’s top two, Michigan and Michigan State, notched wins over Nebraska and Iowa, respectively, as the pair finished the weekend tied at No. 13 in the rankings. We only have to wait a few more days to determine who’s the early favorite for the conference crown, as the pair face off in a dual in Ann Arbor on Sunday. Get ready for a showdown between Sierra Brooks, who owns the nation’s top all-around score, and Nikki Smith, who earned the Spartans’ first-ever floor 10 over the weekend.

NCGA and USAG Breakdown

In New England, Bridgeport notched a win at its first home meet of the season. The Purple Knights posted a 193.550, sweeping Alaska, Ursinus, and Rhode Island. That same score would’ve swept Brown, SCSU, and Alaska at Brown’s home meet, as Brown posted a top score of 192.900. What we’re saying is West Chester is the only team with a higher score than Bridgeport in the GEC so far this season. Don’t show up to a knight fight this year without your sticking shoes. Of course, it’ll be a tough year for anyone in the USAG to topple Lindenwood who is on a roll, but for January, this is a great place to be.

Brockport continues to run away in the NCGA-East but zooming out to the big picture shows they still have a lot of ground to cover with Oshkosh, Whitewater, and La Crosse all continuing to dominate in the West. Just how dominant? Whitewater’s top score is over two points of Brockport’s best. In fact, Whitewater’s 194.450 is better than the Golden Eagles’ top score last season by 1.200. It’s far too early to be contemplating nationals, but this year, it might never be too early to start finessing the details. That being said, Ursinus is oh so quietly locking its sight on punching that ticket. 

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Article by Brandis Heffner and Allison Freeman