Session one of the GEC Championship features #63 William & Mary, #64 Cornell, #65 Bridgeport and #66 Southern Connecticut. Last year, William & Mary won its session by half a tenth over Cornell, which in turn outscored Bridgeport by only two tenths. As the top three teams are currently separated in the rankings by less than a tenth, expect a thrilling finish.
Among the individuals to watch, you don’t want to miss Southern Connecticut freshman Gigi Mastellone’s bar routine, which scored the first perfect 10.0 in program history earlier this year. Additionally, do keep an eye on Cornell’s lights-out beam rotation and on Bridgeport senior Kieran Ross’s unique choreography on floor.
Welcome everyone! The competition will be underway in about 45 minutes!
Update: Kieran Ross of Bridgeport is in a boot and will not be competing today. She was an asset for the Purple Knights especially on vault and floor.
Rotation 1: SCSU on vault, William & Mary on bars, Cornell on beam and Bridgeport on floor
Kelly, vt: tucked Yurchenko full, hop back
Kuper, ub: super solid routine, stuck double layout dismount
Walton, bb: BHS + LOSO, solid, good leap jump on the side of the beam, fall on side aerial, dismount with step forward
Aucoin, fx: Rudi, a tad out of control, front layout to front full twist, underrotated, front full twist to front layout, better landing
Laird, ub: Tkatchev to bail, good, full twist to double tuck dismount, tiny step back
Allen, vt: hit Tsukahara vault
Singletary, fx: triple twist, helicopter legs, front layout to front full, better landing
Byun, bb: beautiful front toss, BHS + LOSO, solid, 1.5 twist dismount, good landing. 9.825, big cheers when the score comes up
Sipes, ub: Maloney to bail to handstand, double layout dismount, she’s delighted, handstands a bit questionable.
Bare, ub: huge Tkatchev to bail, stuck dismount. W&M is on fire on bars!
Ruecker, vt: tucked Yurchenko full, hop back
Fall for Quiana on bb, Cornell will have to count a fall on beam
Blatchford, ub: Jaeger to bail, beautiful lines, full pirouette to stuck double tuck dismount, wow!
Dorr, vt: good tucked Yurchenko full, small hop back
Staruk, fx: full-in, beautiful height but several steps back, possible OOB, 2.5 twist, form in the air but amazing difficulty, front layout to front pike, great landing
Wozniak, ub: full pirouette to Gienger, some form, bail to handstands, arches and is off but keeps going, double layout dismount. Not a disaster, W&M have five great routines under their belt
Kenney, fx: 2.5 twist, beautiful form in the air, Rudi, overrotated but great amplitude, third pass in combination, great landing
Beers, bb: cat leap to front toss, slight balance check, BHS + LOSO, other small balance check, good leap series, another small check, good fouetté turn, stuck 1.5 twist dismount, the coach is delighted!
Sepulveda, fx: front tuck to 2.5 twist to front tuck, low on landing, Rudi to LOSO, good landing but form in the air
Burton, bb: this is her only event of the day, front aerial to side aerial super solid, good leaps, solid front toss, 1.5 twist dismount, step back. Beautiful routine, though I saw her stick the dismount in warmups!
After 1: W&M 48.725, SCSU 48.500, Cornell 48.325, Bridgeport 48.275
W&M started super strong on bars and is now moving to beam, where its entire lineup can do amazing things. SCSU will be happy with a solid rotation on vault. Cornell showed off some great routines on beam but had to count a fall.
Rotation 2: Bridgeport on vault, SCSU on bars, William & Mary on beam and Cornell on floor
Kuper, bb: solid leap series, BHS + LOSO, balance check, front toss, other check, nervous routine, BHS to 1.5 twist dismount, nearly stuck, she looks very happy with that
Rothstein, fx: double tuck, good landing, double pike with bent knees, may be downgraded to a double tuck
Faulkner, bb: full turn, solid, BHS to LOSO, big balance check but stays on, cat leap to switch leap half, a bit low, side aerial, small balance check, stuck dismount off the side of the beam
Kenney, vt: first two vaults of this rotation weren’t great, Yurchenko half on front tuck, great landing
Fall for Arnold on bars in the third spot, but the first two routines were great.
Moylan, fx: Rudi to back layout, hop on landing, beautiful double pike
Blatchford, bb: full turn, good control, BHS to BHS to LOSO, great landing, side aerial, small adjustment, leap series won’t get credited, stuck dismount to the side of the beam, coach looks delighted nevertheless
Quiana, fx: beautiful double pike, front full to front layout, amazing. 9.900, team is ecstatic
Ruecker, ub: Maloney with leg issues to Pak salty, better, good final handstand, double tuck dismount with hops back
Frazier, bb: BHS + LOSO, beautiful, great leap series, front toss, slight adjustment, 1.5 twist dismount, small step forward
Beers, fx: double pike, small adjustment on landing, huge double tuck
Jordan, ub: gorgeous release moves, double layout dismount, stuck, this is going to score HIGH!
Ngo, bb: full turn, nice, BHS to LOSO, balance check, cat leap to side aerial, solid, stuck dismount to side
Mastellone, ub: Tkatchev to Pak, one of her best ones, amazing handstands, full-in, small hop forward
Costello, bb: BHS to LOSO, good landing, solid full turn, switch leap to switch leap, a bit underrotated, switch leap three quarters, solid, the team goes wild, that skill must have been a source of concern, 1.5 twist dismount, small step to the side
After 2: Cornell 197.600, W&M 197.300, SCSU 196.775, Bridgeport 196.250
Cornell posted a huge 49.225 on floor to take the lead over W&M, which still had a very good rotation on beam. SCSU finished with two 9.850s on bars by Jordan and Mastellone, which boosted the team’s score.
Rotation 3: Cornell on vault, Bridgeport on bars, SCSU on beam and William & Mary on floor
Burke, fx: double tuck, stuck, good second pass in combination
Moylan, vt: Yurchenko layout, there was a problem with her warmup, so she didn’t get to vault, so I’m glad she’s safely landed.
Allen, bb: good leap jump to the side of the beam, cat leap to leap jump, solid, hit across series, hit 1.5 twist landing. I saw her falling on this routine a few times this year, that must feel delightful!
Imbarlina, ub: Tkatchev with some knees, bail to handstand, handstand a bit questionable, full pirouette to double tuck dismount, hop back
Rothstein, vt: Yurchenko full, step forward. First 9.95 start value for Cornell on vault
Faulkner, fx: good double tuck to open the routine, 1.5 twist to front layout, good landing
Aucoin, ub: very short on first handstand, good Gienger, hits feet on floor on Pak salto, great double layout dismount, so much amplitude
Whitaker, vt: tucked Yurchenko full, step back but beautiful in the air
Frazier, fx: cowboyed double tuck, trips on the mat and falls, good second pass in combination
DeFrancisco, vt: Yurchenkok half, good in the air, step forward. Not a bad vault but I saw her sticking one in warmups
Kahl and Dinisoe on beam just showed off amazing routines in the second and third spots, the team looks delighted
Ngo, fx: Rudi, good landing, 1.5 twist to front layout, short on landing
Stanfa, bb: BHS to BHS to LOSO, fall, good leap series, nearly stuck 1.5 twist dismount, she looks disappointed
Beers, vt: excellent Yurchenko full, plenty of amplitude, nearly stuck landing. 9.900 the team is jumping up and down!
Hernandez, ub: Maloney to Pak, Pak a bit close but great form in they air, double layout dismount, almost stuck. Great routine
Melanson, bb: front toss to BHS, she will not get credited that connection, questionable connection also on the leap series, side aerial, balance check, tucked 1.5 twist dismount, hop forward
Costello, fx: excellent double pike, a bit short of rotation and amplitude on the leap series, 1.5 twist to front layout, slightly underrotated, Rudi, best of three landings
Penzi, fx: double pike, good landing, double tuck, step forward, 1.5 twist to front layout, very low, her 1.5 twist was basically a full, I’m impressed that she pushed through
Lee, bb: long wait, as there’s a judges conference; good full turn, front toss to leap jump to switch leap half, solid and unusual, front aerial to BHS, solid, front full dismount, somewhat underrotated, but she’s a beamer, beautiful routine! 9.850, the team loved that, one judge gave a 9.900!
After 3: Cornell 146.100, W&M 145.425, SCSU 145.050, Bridgeport 144.700
Cornell fended off W&M with a good rotation on vault; they don’t have many 9.95 SVs but Beers’ 9.900 helped a lot. W&M were good on floor but had to count a near fall. SCSU showed some lights-out routines on beam but also some subpar ones. The same can be said about Bridgeport on bars.
Bridgeport needs a 48.600 on beam and a seriously bad rotation on bars for Cornell to retain a chance of making nationals.
Rotation 4: William & Mary on vault, Cornell on bars, Bridgeport on beam and SCSU on floor
Beyer, fx: double tuck, good landing, second pass in combination, slightly underrotated, excellent landing on her Rudi
Costello, vt: tucked Yurchenko full, small step back, coach looks very happy
Tehrani, ub: Gienger to bail, Gienger with bent knees, good double layout dismount
Sepulveda, bb: Liukin, I thought she was going to fall but no, front toss to BHS, solid, Rudi, nearly stuck, big sigh of relief, that was a great routine for her! 9.800, she almost cries
Kuper, vt: stuck Yurchenko half, gorgeous
Blatchford, vt: tucked Yurchenko full, small hop back
Rothstein, ub: didn’t catch the details but hit routine for her, strong double layout dismount
Huang, vt: Yurchenko full, some form in the air, but nearly stuck
Burke, vt: messy Yurchenko half
Shambo, ub: excellent Jaeger, bail to handstand, short, double layout, step back
Kuebler, vt: Yurchenko half, low on landing, but the coaches look really happy
Kenney, bb: front toss to back tuck, check, hit dismount, she’s happy
Moylan, ub: Maloney, some form, bail to handstand, a bit short, full-in dismount, fall. That looked painful, but she’s ok. Cornell will count a second low score after its opening one on beam.
Imbarlina, bb: full turn, beautiful, front aerial to BHS, solid, beautiful leap series, great extension, BHS to tucked 1.5 twist, slight hop. Great routine
Allen, fx: double pike, beautiful landing, front layout to front full, another super solid landing, good double tuck, slightly overrotated
Melanson, fx: 2.5 twist to front tuck, some form issues, 1.5 twist to front layout, beautiful in the air and on landing, good Rudi, some knees
Barry, bb: BHS to LOSO, solid on landing, though knees in the air, solid leap series, still some knees, good full turn, front aerial to leap jump, super solid, stuck front full twist dismount. “Let’s go”, she screams. She’s delighted and so is the team.9.825
Final: SCSU 193.900, W&M 193.850, Cornell, 193.775, Bridgeport 193.500
SCSU finished on top after a lights-out rotation on floor. W&M had a fine rotation on vault but had to count some low scores and Cornell didn’t deliver on bars. Bridgeport finished super strong on beam with a 48.800.
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Live blog by Talitha Ilacqua
