Keanna Abraham waiting to compete on beam.

LIVE BLOG: No. 39 Illinois State and No. 70 Alaska at No. 47 UC Davis

Illinois State is heading into the meet as the top-ranked favorites, but is coming off of their season-low team score after a troubled bars rotation. The Redbirds have faced trouble on bars in the last two meets, but have scored above a 49.000 in week 3, proving they are capable of being a strong team on the event. Illinois State holds season-high scores of at least 49.000 on all four events, proving that they are capable of hitting the 196.000 mark for the first time this season.

UC Davis will host this tri-meet in their final home meet of the season. Despite holding a lower ranking than Illinois State, the Aggies are the only team at this meet who have scored above a 196.000 this season. The Aggies are led by sophomore Amelia Moneymaker, who has competed in the all-around in every meet this season. Moneymaker has been a steady competitor for UC Davis and holds a season-high of 9.900 on floor. Junior Keanna Davis has been a 9.900+ machine on vault and floor this season and holds a 9.975 career high on floor. In the final home meet of the season for the Aggies, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 10.000 from Abraham on either of those two events.

Alaska has shown consistency this season, scoring in the 191.000 range five times this season. The Seawolves have been strongest on beam this season, the event that holds their highest ranking. Alaska has yet to hit a 49.000 on any event this season, but have come close on beam and floor. Led by all-arounders Montana Fairbairn and Claudia Lessig, Alaska has the potential to drop a low road score that is dragging down its NQS.

Link to score broadcast: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=521880

Looks like the stream is having some issues, and I’m not entirely sure if the meet has gotten started.

Rotation 1: UC Davis VT, Alaska UB, Illinois State FX

Missed all of the routines due to the live stream 🙁

After 1: Illinois State 49.300, UC Davis 49.025, Alaska 45.925

The live stream was black during the whole first rotation, but looks like Keanna Davis scored a 9.900 on vault, likely from a Yurchenko 1.5. Alana Laster from Illinois State scored massive 9.925 on floor, matching her season-high on the event. Alaska had a rough bar rotation, but still managed above their season-low on the event.

Rotation 2: Illinois State VT, UC Davis UB, Alaska BB

Otsu (UCD): Nice Piked Jaeger, followed by an overshoot, slight leg separation. Nice handstand on the high bar. Double layout dismount, some leg form in the air but nicely landed. 9.800.

Fairbairn (Alaska): BHS + Side aerial, nicely connected. Front full dismount and gets the stick!

Laird (UCD): Straddled Jaegar, really nice! Pak salto the low bar, some foot form in the air. Double back dismount, takes a step.

Donovan (ISU): Big Yurchenko full, big hop back and some form issues in the air. 9.700.

Wakita (UCD): Another nice straddled Jaegar! Followed by a Pak, cleaner than the last one but still some flexed feet. Double layout dismount with the smallest hop back.

Laster (ISU): HUGE Yurchenko 1.5, just a small step backward! That was nice!

Fitz-Gerald (UCD): Straddled jaeger to shootover, slight leg separation. Double layout dismount and sticks the landing.

Gideon (UCD): Maloney to Bail, nicely done! Hits the handstand on the high bar. Double layout dismount, closes her hips in the second flip. Small hop on the landing.

Mack (ISU): Another big Yurchenko 1.5! Just a small step backward, but I am very impressed by the height on these vaults!

Moneymaker (UCD): Big piked Jaeger to shootover, leg separation. Double layout dismount and sticks the landing.

Farell (Alaska): Solid full turn. Front aerial + BHS, nicely connected! Split jump + split ring jump, short on split position. Another front aerial + beat jump. Gainer pike off the end, chest is down and takes a step forward.

Johnson (Alaska): Beat jump + split 3/4. Cat leap + gainer full off the side, short on the landing and takes a step forward.

After 2: UC Davis 98.400, Illinois State 98.100, Alaska 94.300

Season-high score on bars for UC Davis! They showed some very clean routines and nice landings. Alaska had a solid beam rotation and avoided any falls. Illinois State had some huge vaults, especially from Laster and Mack. Their block off of the table stood out, and once they find the landings, I would expect them to be capable of getting those 9.950+ scores.

It’s pretty close between UC Davis and Illinois State, with both teams starting with two solid rotations. Alaska is a bit behind, but should focus on getting back on track after a rough bar rotation.

Rotation 3: Illinois State UB, UC Davis BB, Alaska FX

Scafani (UCD): Starts off with a BHS + BHS + LOSO, really nice. Beat jump + split leap 3/4. Gainer full off the side, short on the landing and takes a step forward.

Gomez (Alaska): Rudi + stag jump, nicely controlled. Double stag full, unique! Back 1.5 + front layout, really messy form in both saltos and a big step forward on the landing.

Abahram (UCD): BHS + layout, that was huge and nicely done! Solid full turn. L hop + switch straddle, slight balance check. BHS + back 1.5, huge rebound off the beam and sticks the landing. That was good!

Hawksworth (ISU): Maloney to Pak, some leg separations. Nice half piroutette on the low bar. Toe full to double back, nice difficulty!

Holtan (UCD): Solid side aerial. BHS + BHS + LOSO, really good! Switch leap + straddle 1/4. Gainer pike off the end, sticks the landing!

Grolia (ISU): Huge ray to shootover! Double layout dismount, just a small hop in place on the landing.

Otsu (UCD): Double wolf turn, chest a little forward at the end. BHS + LOSO, nice adjustment in the air to make the landing solid. L hop to switch straddle. Side somi, looked really off but found it! Back 1.5 dismount and sticks the landing.

Murphy (Alaska): Double back first pass, slightly low chest position on the landing. Attempted a leap pass, looked like she bailed out of it. Second pass is whip half to front full, nicely done!

Ray (UCD): Side aerial, slight balance check. BHS + LOSO + split jump, a bit slow on the connection but it was solid. Cat leap to switch half. Slight wobble on the full turn. Front tuck full off the end with a small hop on the landing.

Hildebrand (Alaska): Front tuck through to double back, sticks it cold! Double pike second pass, really short and takes many steps forward. Switch leap to split full to wolf full, really messy.

Moneymaker (UCD): Front toss + BHS, solid. Gainer full off the side and sticks it.

Fairbairn (Alaska): First pass is a front layout + Rudi, and she shows off the control on the landing. Does a roundoff + back tuck to fulfill the back tumbling requirement. Second pass is a front layout + front full, nice landing.

After 3: UC Davis 147.625, Illinois State 147.100, Alaska 141.975

UC Davis is on track for a season-high as they head to one of their strongest events, floor. Illinois State had a very solid bar rotation after having some trouble on bars for the past 4 meets. The Firebirds notched a 49.000, their second highest score on the event this season. Alaska didn’t have their best floor rotation, as they struggled with some form and landings in their routines.

Rotation 4: Alaska VT, Illinois State BB, UC Davis FX

Holtan (UCD): Front layout + front full, controlled step forward. Double pike second pass, really nice height and landing.

Lessig (Alaska): Tucked yurchenko full, barely makes it around and takes a big step to the side.

Mack (ISU): Front tuck dismount, a bit of a stutter step on the landing but it’s solid. BHS + LOSO, looked a bit off but stays in complete control. Switch straddle, nicely done. BHS + back 1.5, just a hop on the landing.

Otsu (UCD): Front double full, big step forward. Switch straddle half, nicely done. Back 1.5 + front layout, nicely done. Double wolf turn, a bit overturned.

Ziegenfelder (ISU): Front aerial + LOSO, a bit slow on the connection and a wobble on the landing. Front toss, falls off the beam. Beat jump + split 3/4. solid full turn. Gainer full off the side, just a small hop back.

Moneymaker (UCD): Front tuck through to double pike, nicely landed. Switch half + wolf jump full, solid. Rudi second pass, chest a little bit down on the landing. Third pass is a double back with a controlled step back. Nicely done.

Davis (ISU): BHS + LOSO, really clean! Solid full turn. Switch leap + switch half, a bit short of split on the second leap. Front toss, solid. Back 1.5 dismount and sticks the landing. That was great!

Abahram (UCD): Huge double layout, bounces out of the landing just a little bit. Switch straddle half to straddle jump. Front tuck through to double back, opens up a tad too early and has to take a lunge forward.

Lau (ISU): BHS + BHS + LOSO, falls off the side. Switch leap + straddle half + beat jump. Gainer full off the side, sticks the landing.

Ray (UCD): Front tuck through to double back, big step back but nicely done! Split leap full + split jump full + Popa, nice height on those leaps! Double pike second pass, a bit of a bounce out of the landing but keeps it under control.

Labat (ISU): Front aerial, solid. BHS + LOSO, well done. Confident on the full turn. Switch leap + switch half, nicely done. Back 1.5, just a step forward.

Senthil (UCD): Back 1.5 + front layout, lacking a bit of height on the second salto. Double back second pass, lands really short and falls to her knees.

FINAL: UC Davis 197.025, Illinois State 195.475, Alaska 190.225

Wow! What a huge meet for UC Davis. In their final home meet of the season, the Aggies just smashed their season-high by nearly a point! This team has been scoring most 195’s this season, and they made a huge jump into the 197’s with today’s performance.

Illinois State couldn’t keep up with UC Davis, but Alana Laster’s huge floor perfomance earned the Firebirds their only event win of the day. Still a good day for Illinois State.

Alaska didn’t have their worst meet, but they are definitely capable of scoring a bit higher. The Seawolves had to count a fall on team, among other wobbles and form issues.

VT: Keanna Abahram 9.9000
UB: Amelia Moneymaker 9.925
BB: Anna Holtan 9.950
FX: Alana Laster 9.925
AA: Amelia Moneymaker 39.450

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Live blog by Aaron Doyle

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