The MIC is rocking this year. Illinois State just keeps putting up numbers that are on it’s list of program bests, and is the only team outside the Power Five that hasn’t counted a miss yet this season. Superstar sophomore Nirel Bart-Williams has been missing since week two; if she returns, this team will be even more formidable. Veteran Angelica Labat has led the way, with freshman Reese Grolla shoring up the Redbirds’ historically weaker events in bars and beam. This group seems to have truly figured out those pieces, which means we need to start talking about regionals.
SEMO started off slowly, then broke 197 at the Tennessee meet. Certainly those scores were bananas, but still last week the Redhawks came back with a solid mid-195, which is competitive with their conference foes. Lindsay Ockler is the real deal on bars, while Lydia Webb and Madison Greene lead the way on beam and floor respectively. All three put up solid numbers, Tennessee aside. This should be a thrilling matchup.
I will add, the teams have consistently said this meet begins at 7 ET, but ESPN+ still lists it at 8 ET. We shall see what happens with the streaming situation.
Phew, stream is up and running! We’re in business.
Commentators seem to be students, and their intro at least was very on point.
Oh! We’ve got a former Redbird on the call! Very exciting.
Rotation 1: Illinois State vault, SEMO bars
Robinson (ISU): Yfull, pike down and a small hop. 9.775
Johnston (SEMO): Maloney, some leg sep, bigger on Pak. Excellent toe point. Blind full quite late double tuck, stuck. 9.625
Ziegenfelder (ISU): Yfull, pikey, and a medium step back. 9.7
Ingle (SEMO): Long wait. The scorers’ table is being swept? Not sure what happened. No scores in yet, so who knows. Blind leg sep to nice Jaeger. Bail hand, some foot form. Labored last handstand. Blind full double tuck, true stick. Redhawks on a landing roll. 9.7
Oh (ISU): Yfull, slight hip angle, small hop back, great distance. 9.75
Hamilton (SEMO): Hect mount. Knees on her handstand. Toe hand to big Gienger to immediate bail, some leg form. Short handstand. Soft knees on both giants, full-in low chest but held her feet. 9.75
Laster (ISU): Y1.5, great in the air, hop forward. 9.825, really mostly the hop
Webb (SEMO): Toe hand to late blind, Jaeger with soft knees, bail. Blind full bit late. Double tuck step back. Soft knees at points throughout. 9.775
Mack (ISU): Yfull, huge, big hop back. 9.85
Ockler (SEMO): Toe hand to Maloney, PERFECT leg form, Pak, foot sep. Short handstand. FTDB, small hop forward. Really excellent extension. 9.8
Labat (ISU): Y1.5, huge step forward. 9.8, it was a really gigantic step, and she stepped her back foot forward up to her initial foot.
Lopez (SEMO): Blind to Jaeger, nice form. Short handstand to bail hand. Very short on the last handstand. Blind full double tuck, step back. Just didn’t settle into her handstands at all. 9.75
After 1: Illinois State, 49.000, SEMO 48.775
That Illinois State vault rotation is really big gymnastics, the landings were just not dialed in. Huge steps and hops from half the lineup, and no sticks, really adds up. The good news for Bob Conkling is that landings are more fixable than amplitude or major technical issues.
SEMO struggled with handstands. The pieces of a great lineup are all there, with the only other major issue being periodic leg form. This one is indeed going to be down to the wire.
Rotation 2: Illinois State bars, SEMO vault
Ingle (SEMO): Yfull, quite bent knees, twisted early, came in very low, hop. 9.575
Hawksworth (ISU): Clear hip hand to Gienger, leg sep, immediate bail. Short handstand. DLO, stuck. Some foot form throughout. 9.675
Kuhen (SEMO): Yhalf, landed on her heels, falls. 9.075
Laster (ISU): Bail hand bit short. HUGE Tkatchev. Double front dismount, step. 9.65, hmm. Not sure on that one.
Webb (SEMO): Yfull, bent arms on the table. Hop back. 9.75
Grolla (ISU): Long wait. Toe hand to Maloney, slight leg sep, nice Pak. Toe point queen here. Short hanstand to toe full double tuck, small step back. 9.8
Lopez (SEMO): Yfull, twisted early, piked it in and stepped back. 9.75
Heiner (ISU): Arched handstand a touch. Toe hand to Ray, nice, good turnover, soft knees. Bail. Good handstand. DLO, foot form, step forward. 9.75
Greene (SEMO): Yfull, piked down, the most dynamic vault we’ve seen yet, held her feet. 9.825
Wabi (ISU): Blind to pike Jaeger, gorgeous. Bail was clean. Blind full bit late, double tuck, stuck. Beautiful work. 9.875
We didn’t see the final SEMO vault on the stream, but it was Ockler and she went 9.825, so.
Labat (ISU): Toe hand to Ray, foot form, immediate bail. Late handstand, FTDB, hop forward. 9.8
After 2: Illinois State 97.900, SEMO 97.450
The Redbirds really have the pieces on bars. Some handstand issues, some leg separation to tidy up, but overall the releases are big and clean. A tidy lineup in the making. Meanwhile SEMO really bounced back from those two early iffy vaults, minimizing deductions and sticking some landings. Good momentum for both teams heading into the second half.
Rotation 3: Illinois State beam, SEMO floor
Robinson (ISU): Bhs loso, soft back knee on both. Switch half, a legit one!, to beat. Best switch half outside the top fiveish teams, I’d say? Cat to solid side aerial. Gainer full, some leg sep but true stick. What a leadoff! 9.8
Okayyyy, I see the Louboutins Megan Harrington.
Hamilton (SEMO): 5/2, good landing, couldn’t see her in the air due to the camera angle. Switch 3/2, little under. Front lay to front 1/1, bit low. RO 3/2 front lay, nice there. 9.75
Mack (ISU): Nailed the front tuck mount after a fall there in exhibition last week. Bhs loso, falls. Ah! Cat to switch quarter, chest a bit forward in the air. Bhs 3/2 soft knees and a hop forward. 9.25
Napolitano (SEMO): RO 5/2 front tuck, bit low on the tuck and a little offline. Tour jete half to wolf full, off balance in the air and a little under on the wolf rotation. Double tuck, good landing. Switch leap, soft knees. 9.75
Davis (ISU): Bhs loso, leg up but brought it back. Switch to switch half, short of 180 there. Front toss, small check. RO 3/2 small hop. 9.75
Crouch (SEMO): Long long wait. It seems like SEMO pulled Lindsay Ockler from the lineup (she’s icing an ankle, hopefully okay) so there could be an issue with the lineup order. Rudi to double stag, bit low on both. Switch side to wolf full, cheated the rotation some. She just isn’t getting much punch, and as a fellow knee injury gal, I get it. RO 3/2 punch 1/1, again, the amplitude. 9.85
Lau (ISU): Bhs bhs loso, solid! Just some foot form. Switch to split half beat, clean, couldn’t fully see the 180s from the camera angle. Gainer full, stuck. Short and sweet! 9.825
Ingle (SEMO): RO 5/2 punch front, hopped some and managed to stay in bounds. SEMO is a squad of twisters! Front lay Rudi, bit short on the Rudi rotation. Switch half Popa, cheated the rotation a little. 9.775
Grolla (ISU): Lot of pressure on the freshman to hit with the earlier fall, but Lau really to things back on track. Handstand bhs loso, lovely, ah, touches the beam and falls. Wolf turn double, pretty. Switch to straddle, great 180s. Cat to solid side aerial. Cartwheel gainer 3/2 off the end, step. Ah, what a shame! She’s so lovely here. 9.275
Webb (SEMO): 5/2, little off balance in the step out. Switch ring switch full, short on the rotation. FHS Rudi to straddle jump, traveled pretty far back on the jump. RO 3/2 front 1/1, low but around. 9.775
Labat (ISU): Front aerial, no deductions there. Bhs loso, small check. Switch to switch half, a little short but not hugely so. BHS 3/2, small hop in place. Phew! 9.9
Greene (SEMO): Front lay Rudi, really floated the Rudi. Side aerial.Double tuck, textbook lunge out. Little labored on her second leap, but hit the 180s. 9.85
After 3: Illinois State 146.450, SEMO 146.450
Oh we’ve got a TIE. Counting that fall erased the Redbirds’ lead completely. It’s their first counting major error of the season. In addition to Bart-Williams, Madison Kipp is also fully MIA today, and missing both on beam is especially brutal. Good on this team for having the depth to still be doing this well.
SEMO is a very twisty floor group, in the best way. Lots of clean, solid tumbling kept them in it even with the late lineup change. Ockler usually beams, so we’ll see if she just had a stinger and will be back, or if the Redhawks will need to display some depth on beam as well.
Rotation 4: Illinois State floor, SEMO beam
Oh my mistake, Ockler doesn’t usually do beam. Sorry folks! I had her in my head as an all-arounder. Still, hopefully she’s okay.
Johnston (SEMO): Bhs loso, leg up check and a fall, oh tough in the leadoff. Swithc to straddle 3/2, fully dropped her chest, not at 180. Cat to side aerial, another break at the hips, just off. Gainer pike to a hop. 8.9
Wabi (ISU): FHS 2/1, nice landing and form. Got a little lost in her leaps. Ended with a wolf full that wasn’t quite the right shape nor rotation. FHS Rudi loso, moved her front foot a little. 9.825
Greene (SEMO): Pressure’s on now, but she looks steady. Handstand bhs loso, turns to the side and saves a fall. Short of 180 on her split 3/4. Cat to side aerial that kind of turned into a side somi. Gainer pike off the end. 9.525
Davis (ISU): Error with the music, she steps back off. Ah, they are taping the sting mat. Big double tuck, front foot lifts and she steps back. Short of 180 on her tour jete, missed the shape on the wolf 3/2. RO 3/2 front 1/1, couldn’t really see her feet on the landing. FHS front 1/1 front pike, shuffled her feet back a bit. 9.775
Kuhen (SEMO): Bhs loso, solid. Switch side, nowhere near 180. Beat to straddle 3/4, big wobble. RO 2/1 hop to the side. 9.625
Laster (ISU): FHS 2/1, drops it right in. Wolf full split full, great amplitude and rotation. FHS Rudi loso, scooted her feet a little. 9.875
Napolitano (SEMO): Pretty through her leaps. Nice bhs loso. Cat to side aerial, lifted a leg and low chest. Gainer full, deep chest but held her feet. 9.725
Donovan (ISU): Double tuck, couldn’t see her feet on the lunge. Switch half wolf full, nice rotation but short of 180. Front lay Rudi, big lunge but controlled. Wolf 3/2. 9.85
Ingle (SEMO): Bhs bhs loso, soft knees and flexed feet. Clean through her straddle 1/4. Beat. RO 2/1 hop back and knee form. 9.8
Labat (ISU): FHS 2/1, adjusted her front foot a bit. Tour jete half to split full, so high, clean rotation. Not the biggest oversplit but not short either. RO 3/2 front lay, much cleaner landing. FHS Rudi, moved her front foot in the lunge. 9.825
Webb (SEMO): Liukin, lovely. She has a great toe point. Switch to split 1/4, bit short of 180. Cat to front aerial bhs swingdown, almost falls, pulls herself back up. She broke that connection, in my opinion. Bhs gainer full, small hop. 9.35
Mack (ISU): Pike full-in, Little short, stepped forward. Switch side Popa, couldn’t see the 180s from this angle. Tuck 1/1. Front through double pike, too much juice, OOB and I think two steps.
FINAL: Illinois State 195.600, SEMO 194.475
Well, missing routines were the name of the game, with Ockler out of floor and Kipp added to the MIA list for the Redbirds, but both teams survived with usable numbers, even after beam did it’s best to bite both.
VT: Mack, 9.850
UB: Wabi, 9.875
BB: Labat, 9.900
FX: Laster, 9.875
AA: Labat 39.325
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Live blog by Emily Minehart
