After a rather “meh” competition against the Bruins on Monday, Utah will be looking to post a score big enough to drop its 197.3 against UCLA to surpass Kentucky’s position in the early NQS rankings. The test this week for The Utes will be finding replacements for Amelie Morgan’s spots in the bars and beam lineups.
Stanford is coming off a season-high road score against Oregon State. As long as there isn’t an implosion, The Cardinals should see a dramatic rise in the NQS rankings and should expect to drop their 193.625 against Michigan. Pay attention to standout routines from Anapaula Gutierrez who went 9.950 on her stuck Yurchenko one-and-a-half last week and Taralyn Nguyen who tied her season-high 9.9 on floor last week.
Rotation 1: Utah Vault, Stanford Bars
Winger – Utah: Stuck 1.5, some knees in the post-flight. 9.950
Dean – Stanford: Ray, doesn’t get her hands around the bar and comes off, clean Pak, step forwards on the double tuck. 8.950
Zirbes – Utah: 1.5 – finds the landing well but takes a small hop. Also has some knees in the post-flight. 9.925 is an interesting choice.
Gutierrez – Stanford: High Jaeger directly to bail, some leg separations into the blind change, double front half, chest forwards and a hop. 9.8
Glynn – Utah: Technically the best 1.5 so far – takes a medium-sized lunge and is slightly off direction but the amplitude and distance is great. 9.850
Neault – Stanford: Maloney to Pak, clean, back waver on the last cast handstand, late on the toe-full, stuck double tuck. 9.925
Smith – Utah: Omelinachik, good distance and does maintains a great pike-shape throughout the duration of the vault. No bent knees here! Medium hop on the landing.
Robinson – Stanford: Big Jaeger, catches it close, bail handstand is a bit off direction, stuck full-in.
Rucker – Utah: 1.5 – Good amplitude and good form in the air but takes a sizeable step back. 9.850, the same as Glynn.
Alexeeva – Stanford: Higgins to Jaeger, Pak, clean, late on blind full into stuck double tuck. 9.900 – I don’t think they’re taking anything for the late blind fulls?
Gilstrap – Utah: Big FTY, hop back.
Widner – Stanford: Big Tkatchev, blind full to bail handstand, fine handstand positions, hop back on the DLO. 9.850
After 1: Utah 49.400, Stanford 49.300
Stanford did a good job recovering after Dean’s fall to almost catch Utah. The Utes had a good vault rotation just with some hoppy landings, but they’re overrotating this week rather than underrotating like we saw on Monday.
JaNay is about to MURDER Jim
Rotation 2: Utah Bars, Stanford Vault
Smith – Utah: Clean Pak, Shap-half is good, stuck toe-on half dismount. Great start. 9.975 – I mean you kind of have to.
Zeng – Stanford: FTY some piking in the air.
Paulson – Utah: I missed a lot of it but very late on the blind full and takes a big hop on the double tuck
Neault – Stanford: Full-on, pike off – slight hop back and another waver. 9.700
There’s some deliberating on Paulson’s score… it’s a 9.775…
Zirbes – Utah: Ray to Pak, nice, short on half-turn, stuck full-in dismount. 9.925
Gutierrez – Stanford: 1.5 – a little underrotated and takes a hop back. Has some knees in the air.
O’Keefe – Utah: Maloney to Pak, floaty, perfect half turn, stuck double Arabian dismount with some cowboying. 9.925
Dean – Stanford: 1.5 – some bent arms on the table and a hop to the side.
McCallum – Utah: Maloney to Pak to stalder to Shap half, slightly short on the last handstand, full-in dismount with hop forwards. 9.800
Looks like Cluck is scratching for Stanford.
Sabado – Utah: Short on first handstand, Jaeger into bail, leg separations, double layout with a hop back. Good comeback for her this week. 9.825
After 2: Utah 98.850, Stanford 98.225
Utah extends its lead with a solid bars rotation highlighted by Smith’s 9.975. Stanford had an okay rotation on vault but only having five gymnasts go up shows that The Cardinals are really just trying to get through this meet.
Rotation 3: Utah Beam, Stanford Floor
Smith – Utah: Hitch kick to front aerial to lean to split jump, BHS LOSO, leg up lean, kick, lean to switch leap, stuck gainer full. Tentative start. 9.825
Landry – Stanford: 1.5 to layout, good control, fine positions in the dance elements, doesn’t get any height in the double-tuck and crashes it.
Gantner – Utah: BHS LOSO to split jump, switch half to beat jump, bobble on the full-turn, front-full off the beam. 9.775
Cluck – Stanford: Short on the DLO, back 1.5 to front pike, switch half to straddle full, short on the positions, double back with a lunge back.
McCallum – Utah: Triple wolf-turn, double wolf-turn, solid, BHS LOSO, solid, split leap to switch leap, stuck gainer full. 9.975
Neault – Stanford: Very short on the double-pike, switch leap to Ferrari, Rudi with some legs in the air. 1.5 to layout to finish, doesn’t get lots of amplitude.
Paulson – Utah: Beat jump to aerial LOSO, switch leap to split jump, slightly short of 180, stuck gainer full dismount. 9.975
Robinson – Stanford: Double pike to open, double tuck with a lunge back, back 1.5 to Barani, piking and low amplitude. 9.725
O’Keefe – Utah: Switch leap to split leap with a hesitation, aerial to LOSO, rock solid, stuck gainer full dismount. The third 9.975 of this lineup. Yeah that’s not-
Widner – Stanford: Front layout to full, big lunge forwards, double pike, feet in the air, solid landing.
Winger – Utah: Cat leap to front toss to split jump, pretty short of 180, hesitation connecting the switch to split jump, solid BHS LOSO, aerial full dismount with lunge back. 9.750
Nguyen – Stanford: Big DLO, some knee form in the air, 2.5 to front pike to finish. 9.850
After 3: Utah 148.375, Stanford 147.275
Besides some interesting judging choices on beam Utah had a great beam showing and will be moving to floor and could be on track for a 198. The Cardinals had some rough moments on floor but will be happy just to get through this meet to drop their 193.
Rotation 4: Utah Floor, Stanford Beam
Carter – Stanford: BHS BHS LOSO, slight waver, slightly short on the dance combo, 1.5 dismount with a hop. 9.825
Paulson – Utah: Front tuck through to 2.5, front layout to full, floaty back 1.5 to layout.Good start. 9.925
Nguyen – Stanford: Aggressive LOSO LOSO to start, cat leap to switch quarter, straddle to beat jump, waver on full turn, double-full with a big hop and a step back.
Zirbes – Utah: Front double-full with a lunge, great control on the back 1.5 to front full. 9.950
Robinson – Stanford: BHS LOSO, solid, switch leap to split jump, solid aerial, stuck 1.5 dismount. 9.9
Gilstrap – Utah: Great amplitude on the Rudi, nice positions in the leaps, front layout to full nice amplitude again. 9.900
Neault – Stanford: BHS BHS LOSO, solid, beat jump to ring jump, solid, 1.5 dismount with a hop forwards.
Rucker – Utah: Short on the full-in, fine positions in the leaps, back 1.5 to front layout, could get more amplitude on the layout. 9.850 – that’s high considering the stumble on the first pass
“How do you do gymnastics on the radio?” You read my live blog out loud ;D
Alexeeva – Stanford: Wolf turn, arms got a little wavey, solid BHS LOSO, tentative switch half, stuck aerial full dismount.
Jim just yelld IS THAT POO? Referencing Alexeeva’s Winnie the Pooh ankle tattoo and I died.
McCallum – Floor: Great full-in, layout to Rudi, front foot slides back a bit. Oops she got a 10.0 okay!
Widner – Stanford: Confident opening dance series, good BHS LOSO, front aerial to split jump, stuck gainer full dismout. Great finish. 9.975
O’Keefe: Huge double pike, front layout to full, controlled, back 1.5 to floaty layout. So if McCallum’s was a 10.0 lets see what they do with this one. 9.925. Sometimes it just feels like a random number generator.
FINAL: Utah 198.075, Stanford 196.625
Utah finally enters the 198 club after a monstrous 49.700 on floor, its highest team floor score in 5 years, and will be happy to use this number to challenge Kentucky for the number four spot in the national rankings. Stanford had a fine day for another meaty 196. Today’s performance will help The Cardinals dramatically climb the NQS rankings which was the main goal for today.
VT: Winger (Utah) 9.950
UB: Smith (Utah) 9.975
BB: McCallum (Utah), Paulson (Utah), O’Keefe (Utah), Widner (Stanford) 9.975
FX: McCallum (Utah) 10.0
AA: Neault (Stanford) 39.175
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Live blog by Daniel Rothwell
