This intriguing quad breaks down into two fairly close duals. Penn State and N.C. State are both score in the high 196s on a good day and have ceilings in the 197s on a great day. The Wolfpack being at home increases its chances of winning the meet, but increases the difficulty of improving its NQS: The home drop score for N.C. State is 196.725. (Note that a great road meet at Temple on Thursday helped out here.) Penn State, ranked No. 16 on beam nationally, is a fun and increasingly consistent team that should be able to turn in a competitive road score here.
For Penn, a team whose personnel choices and injury statuses always confuse me, I’ll be looking out for Skye Kerico. On Thursday, she had an odd fall on a bars pirouette and scratched both the rest of that routine and also her beam. I’m also missing Samantha Wu, who got a career high beam score in the anchor position at Ivy Classic and hasn’t been in the lineup since. She’s Penn’s most consistent beamer, so her absence is concerning. For Texas Woman’s, conventionally higher-scoring at home, you won’t want to miss a killer floor rotation. The Pioneers have also been improving on bars in recent weeks.
Rotation 1: NC State VT, Penn UB, Penn State BB, Texas Woman’s FX
Hall (NCSU): Nice straight FTY, stuck! Chest maybe a touch forward.
Six (TWU): Slight slide forward on the first pass, nice leap rotation. Double back, doesn’t seem to kick out and falls backward.
Piedrahita (PSU): BHS LOSO great. Side aerial, nice and square. Switch half a bit short. One and a half dismount, stuck. Great start!
Ortega (NCSU): FTY, nice dynamics, hop in place.
Zultevicz (NCSU): FTY, maybe slightly more hip angle than the last two but another really precise landing, bounce in place. So good so far.
Lassiter (Penn): Jagere, close with soft elbows, arch on bail, blind full double back cowboyd and a hop in place.
Knight (NCSU): Front pike half, little step forward with a low chest.
Gose (TWU): Double pike, chest sightly low and a slightly awkward lunge. Switch side Popa Popa, good control on her combo pass, Rudi with a long lunge.
Shepard (NCSU): FTY, great repulsion, little bounce in place.
Gazdak (Penn): Jaeger to overshoot, a touch of feet, blind full with a bit of form to stuck double back.
McElligot (PSU): Triple series, some foot form but great control.
Negrete (NCSU): FTY, scoot back.
King (TWU): Double pike, overpowers it and just barely keeps her heel in bounds. One and a half front lay is nice. Strong double back to finish, little scooty.
Barrow (Penn): Blind full double back with a step to the side.
Herring (PSU): Kickover front BHS, little bits of form. Nice rotation on her leaps, punch front full stuck on her toes.
Paris (Penn): Chow to bail, stalder to double back with a hop back. Working a little for handstands there but getting them.
Lost stream there for a minute, sorry! I think I lost Kerico bars and Salcedo beam.
Woodring (TWU): Nice double pike, great control. Front full front lay, really nice dynamics, and a great double back to finish.
Johnston (PSU): BHS LOSO steady. Switch to sheep, little check. Stuck dismount!
Maul (PSU): BHS LOSO, little bit of form. Beat to front aerial, fluid. One and a half dismount, stuck but deep.
Hernandez (TWU): Great double pike. Out of bounds on her combo pass, but still will be a big improvement over Six’s fall.
After 1: NC State 49.225, Penn 49.000, Penn State 49.000, TWU 48.650
Great start all around but seeing the Wolfpack bounce in place on every vault was a little frustrating. It was still a great rotation, but it could have been so bananas if they’d just absorbed the mat! Good bars result for Penn after another wildcard lineup choice.
Rotation 2: TWU VT, NC State UB, Penn BB, Penn State FX
Six (TWU): Decent FTY, pike down and a hop.
Maul (PSU): Nice control on her double pike, lovely leaps, a difficult switch full and then a great straddle series too. Great combo pass to finish.
Belkoff (Penn): Triple series, dead on, full turn, switch to sheep. One and a half dismount, tries to hold on and has to take a baby step forward.
Adomaites (NCSU): Maloney to Pak, some leg separations, misses her straddle…? and has to recast, Stalder double back nice.
Childs (NCSU): Jaeger to overshoot, maybe a little close, blind full double tuck with a baby scoot back.
Kramer (PSU): Front double full punch front, maybe a bit low on the punch, tour jete half wolf full nice. Rudi LOSO, nice secure landing.
S. Kenefick (Penn): Made the triple series, straddle 3/4 with a lean, one and a half twist with some foot adjustments.
Woodring (TWU): Nice square FTY, good repulsion off the table, medium hop back.
Hoiland (TWU): Super high FTY and a substantial bounce back.
A. Kenefick (Penn): Made her own triple series, little adjustment, switch straddle quarter with iffy positions. One and a half twist, scoot to the side.
Piedrahita (PSU): Full in, makes it look easy. Front through double back, chest maybe a little low but lunges out fine.
Harper (NCSU): Clear hip to Gienger, bail with nice body line, gorgeous double lay stuck perfectly.
Herring (PSU): Double Arabian, awesome, little step forward. One and a half front lay, effortless landing.
Ortega (NCSU): Also stuck her double lay which is all I caught of that because everything is happening at once
Shepard (NCSU): Blind to Jaeger, form maybe a little loose on the catch but not egregious, Pak is immaculate. FTDB stuck, Amazing.
Marr (Penn): BHS LOSO super secure. Switch straddle quarter, iffy split and a lean forward. Stuck the gainer full.
McElligot (PSU): Double pike, slide back. Switch half wolf full, nice precise rotation. One and a half front lay, a little extra bounce and a long step forward. Double tuck, cowboyed with a slide back again.
Salcedo (PSU): Double front, minimizes the boing on her landing which is all you can really ask for. Cartwheel LOSO for the requirements, front lay front full front pike and the flight on that front pike is always so amazing. Good one to close.
Kerico (Penn): Wolf turn solid, small leg up check on her leap combo. Lean on the BHS LOSO. Front tuck, step back. One and a half dismount, hop forward.
Wu (Penn): Full turn, front aerial to beat a little tentative but kept it moving, patient on the BHS LOSO. Split to sheep, little check. Gainer pike, baby hop.
Great exhibition for Olivia Van Horn.
After 2: NC State 98.575, Penn State 98.450, Penn 98.025, Texas Woman’s 97.350
Looking like a tight race between the Wolfpack and the Nittany Lions here, with both heading to crucial events. Penn is putting together a great meet and can go and relax on floor, while TWU was steady on vault.
Rotation 3: Penn State VT, Texas Woman’s UB, NC State BB, Penn FX
Johanson (PSU): FTY, low chest, scoot back.
Adler (NCSU): BHS LOSO good. Decisive side aerial, cat leap switch side good, hop back on her gainer full.
Hunt (TWU): Off on her Jaeger on the first attempt, clean on the second go.
A Kenefick (Penn): Double pike, low chest but good lunge. Bouncy on her combo pass.
McElligot (PSU): FTY, piked throughout, little hop.
Johnston (PSU): FTY, better but still not the most open hips, similar hop.
Jennings (NCSU): Triple series nice and clean, loved the switch to tuck 3/4! Stuck gainer full.
Gazdak (Penn): Double back, overrotated with a scoot back. Great double pike to close.
Herring (PSU): Good block on her FTY, little scoot. Definitely the best one yet.
Harper (NCSU): BHS LOSO nice and airy. Great front full dismount.
Salcedo (PSU): Omelianchik is so aggressive, chest a little low on the landing with a quick step forward.
Gilmore (TWU): Maloney to Pak, major leg sep. Blind full double back stuck!
Lassiter (Penn): Double pike, big rebound back, we cut in and out of this one so many times.
Piedrahita (PSU): Omelianchik stuck! We saw the team react to this before we saw it happen and you could tell it was going to be huge.
Ferrari (TWU): Nice Jaeger, gets her legs together fast, blind to straddle back. Double lay, slightly soft form but stuck.
Ortega (NCSU): L turn with leg a little low. BHS Onodi, step forward. Switch split beat is nice and secure, switch gainer pike stuck. Huge momentum now for the Wolfpack.
Kerico (Penn): One and a half front lay, nice and clean, switch side half to straddle, double tuck with a scoot back.
Bowns (TWU): Maloney to bail, leg sep and catches with bent elbows, some odd timing in this routine. Blind full double tuck sat down.
Shepard (NCSU): Giving Shepard two 9.9s in front of her is dangerous. Nice L turn, switch straddle quarter is very sharp, BHS LOSO is right on. Stuck the one and a half dismount on her heels.
S. Kenefick (Penn): Two and a half punch front, bounces right into the corner, nice Popa Popa. Good control on the front double full to finish.
Negrete (NCSU): Front aerial BHS, cat leap switch half to beat, so aggressive. There’s something so tangible about her focus. Stuck the double full… mostly? Held it for a moment before stepping to salute.
What a freaking beam rotation for NC State, either way.
Davies (Penn): OOB on her double pike so she’ll be the drop score for an amazing floor rotation.
After 3: NC State 148.050, Penn State 147.700, Penn 147.250, Texas Woman’s 146.000
Rotation 4: Penn VT, Penn State UB, Texas Woman’s BB, NC State FX
Song (Penn): FTY stuck!
Johanson (PSU): Tkachev, not the highest with minimal counterrotation, DLO stuck!
S. Kenefick (Penn): Twisting onto the table on her FTY, little hop in place. BHS one and a half, hop forward.
Hernandez (TWU): BHS LOSO, lean. Switch switch half to beat and honestly a great position on that switch half.
Ortega (NCSU): Rudi, rebound back. One and a half front lay really nice, clean positions and nice rise through the pass.
McElligot (PSU) Maloney to Pak with leg separation, solid half pirouette, stalder double back stuck
Kerico (Penn): FTY, slightly closed hips but good airtime, hop back.
Belkoff (Penn) Yurchenko half, clean and pretty as always, small hop straight forward.
Barrow (Penn): FTY, nice amplitude, hop straight back.
Brkljacic (TWU): Switch switch, misses her second foot but gets it back on the beam quickly, kickover front to beat with a lean. BHS gainer full, hop back.
Piedrahita (PSU): Maloney, touch of form on the backswing, to really nice Pak. FTDB, baby scoot back.
Knight (NCSU): Front double full great. Tour jete half tour jete half to stag leap, cool combo. Rudi back tuck, mistimed that intended LOSO but the tuck step out was cool anyway.
King (TWU): BHS LOSO, off line and falls,
Mace (PSU): Toe to Maloney to Pak, leg separations throughout. DLO, big hop back.
Shepard (NCSU): Gorgeous double pike. Front lay front full, som leg sep in the air but super precise on the landings, double back that looked okay but clearly had a little bit of extra momentum because she has a beam-style check leaning back and swinging her arms to try to keep it in bounds. She did keep it in, which counts for something,
Hoiland (TWU): Pretty scale, front aerial BHS and swum through that entire connection trying to get it back on line but succeeded. Cat leap switch side. Her extension is really lovely. Front gainer full stuck.
Bowns (TWU): BHS LOSO, aggressive and sharp, switch switch half and bends the knee on the switch. Cat leap side aerial nice.
Negrete (NCSU): Little slide back on the double pike. Pretty tour jete half, clean on the combo pass, the rotation on her leaps is so good. Bounce back on her double tuck.
FINAL: NC State 197.375, Penn State 197.000, Pennsylvania 196.050, Texas Woman’s 194.575
Another entry into Penn’s record book. Yawn. It’s getting repetitive.
(Amazing meet for the Quakers. They just keep rising.)
Highlights all around there. NC State and Penn State will both make headway in the rankings based on this meet, and an event title for Texas Woman’s’ Brooke Ferrari is an awesome achievement.
VT: Piedrahita (PSU) 9.900
UB: Harper, Shepard (NCSU), Ferrari (TWU) 9.925
BB: Ortega, Shepard (NCSU) 9.925
FX: Herring (PSU) 9.950
AA: Shepard (NCSU) 39.600
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Live blog by Rebecca Scally
