One semifinal down, one to go in Ann Arbor! Today’s second session features Oklahoma, NC State, Ohio State, and the winner of Wednesday’s play-in.
The reigning national champion Oklahoma Sooners should have no problem advancing to Saturday’s final. After setting a new NCAA record of 198.950, the Sooners have plenty of momentum heading into this meet, and many are on the edge of their seats waiting to see if they can reach a 199 team score. Keep your eye on Jordan Bowers as she chases perfection on the beam to complete her gym slam!
NC State has had a Cinderella ending to its season so far, and the real action is just beginning! The Wolfpack has been peaking at the perfect time, and is coming off a 197.550 at the first ACC championships since 1984. If NC State can continue its positive momentum, qualifying to the final should be fairly easy.
The team that could get in the Wolfpack’s way of advancing to round three is Ohio State. The Buckeyes haven’t scored as high as NC State this year, but they are more than capable of going above 197. But to knock the Wolfpack down, Ohio State will have to be nearly perfect, which may be tricky with its younger roster.
Finally, we have Illinois. Advancing to Saturday might not exactly be in the cards for this team based on how it scored in round one, but keep an eye on individuals like Mia Townes, Mia Takekawa, and Arielle Ward to qualify to nationals!
Rotation 1: Oklahoma VT, Illinois UB, Ohio State BB, NC State FX
Torrez (OU): Yurchenko 1.5, slightly bent knees if I’m being picky and a hop forward. 9.85
Pritchard (OSU): Hitch kick to side aerial, good landing but some flexed feet. Solid flic lay, good form and confident landing. Beat jump to straddle three quarter was nice too. Roundoff 1.5 with a hop forward to finish. 9.8
Wells (OU): Yurchenko 1.5, great form in the air and another small hop forward. 9.875
Denning (UIUC): Mounts on the low bar with a nice handstand. Maloney to shootover, leg separation on both. Tad short on the last handstand and hops on the double layout, her chest was a bit low too. 9.75
Hankins (OSU): Very nice flic lay to start, very sharp on the landing. Good front toss. Switch leap to split quarter was good too. Dismounts with a roundoff double twist, a bit loose in the air but a good landing. 9.75
Hall (NCSU): Double turn to wolf full to start, that was nice. Good double tuck, her front foot slid back a bit but overall it was a good landing. Nice switch half to wolf full. Next pass is a front handspring Rudi, better control on that pass. Finishes up with a back 1.5 to what ended up being a low front tuck and she fell. 8.925
Harris (OSU): Switch leap straddle quarter to start, absolutely gorgeous. Front aerial to back tuck series, very confident on the landing. Dismounts with a stuck roundoff double twist! 9.875
LeVasseur (OU): Yurchenko 1.5, nice straight legs in the air and she stuck it! The OU crowd is pumped up! 9.95
Vetter (OSU): Flic lay series, one slightly bent leg if I have to be picky. Gorgeous beat jump to side aerial. Switch leap to straddle quarter, tiny wobble between the two. Finishes with a roundoff 1.5, bent knees and a small step. 9.825
Scheible (OU): Really high front pike half and just the tiniest hop on the landing. Her home crowd is cheering loud! 9.9
Knight (NCSU): Front double twist to start out and she sort of stumbles backward but stays on her feet. Switch full switch full next, very nice extensions there. Rudi to a very high layout stepout next, much better control on that landing. 9.8
Ewald (UIUC): Mounts on the high bar with a blind to Jaeger. Nice Pak, great form there. Good last handstand and sticks the full in. 9.85
Siegfeldt (OU): Yurchenko 1.5, some bent knees and she sits it down. 9.2
Zultevicz (NCSU): First pass is a 2.5 to front tuck with perfect control all the way through! Tour jete half to wolf full, some flexed feet in the leap. Next is a double tuck, she was rotating slow in the air but she got it around and had a good landing. 9.875
Takekawa (UIUC): Starts on the high bar with a really nice handstand. Blind to piked Jaeger was nice. Pretty shootover down to low. Holds the last handstand and sticks the double layout. 9.95
Labat (ISU): Yurchenko 1.5, lots of distance from the table and a big hop forward. 9.75
Shepard (NCSU): Starts off with a gorgeous double pike, her lunge is a little big but she stays in bounds. Tour jete half to split full was beautiful. Front layout front full and she stuck it, no lunge needed! Last pass is a double tuck, perfect landing there! 9.725
Saltness (UIUC): Starts on the high bar with a good handstand. She fell on her Ray unfortunately. She gets back up and tries again and catches. Very pretty Pak down to low, great height and form. Short on the last handstand and a bit archy on the blind full, hops on the double tuck. 9.225
Negrete (NCSU): Alright, NC State needs a big score here. Double pike to start, she kind of has to jump into her lunge. Beautiful tour jete. Front handspring front full front layout, great form and landing. Tour jete half to split full was nice. Finishes with a perfect double tuck. 9.85
Middleton (BSU): Starts on the low bar. Nice Maloney to shootover, some foot separation on both. Right on top of her blind full and she maybe has the tiniest foot shuffle on the double tuck. 9.85
Ewing (Pitt): First pass is a back 1.5 to front layout, great control on her landing. Switch half to wolf 1.5 was good, great extension. Double tuck, she lands with a low chest and has to step forward a good amount.
After 1: Oklahoma 49.425, Illinois 49.225, NC State 49.150, Ohio State 49.100
Well, the standings after this rotation are unexpected to say the least! Illinois had some great bar routines and is sitting right behind the national champs! Mia Takekawa had a gorgeous routine and scored a huge 9.950. Ohio State had some good beam routines, but had to count a 9.750, which keeps it behind the Illini. NC State had a shaky floor routine. A fall from freshman Maddie Hall forced the Wolfpack to count a 9.725 from Emily Shepard, which is not what this team wanted to start the meet out. The 16th ranked Wolfpack will have some work to do in the next three rotations.
Rotation 2: NC State VT, Oklahoma UB, Illinois BB, Ohio State FX
Zultevicz (NCSU): Yurchenko full, pikes it down, lands with a low chest and steps forward. 9.675
Sievers (OU): Starts on the low bar with a beautiful handstand. Gorgeous Maloney to Pak, perfect form. Hits that last handstand and takes a small step back on the full in. 9.85
Gonzalez (OSU): First pass is a double pike, fights for the controlled lunge but her front foot slides back. Next is a front layout front full, much better landing there. Switch side half to straddle jump, above 180 on both. Last pass is a back 1.5 to front layout, great form and landing. 9.825
LeVasseur (OU): Starts on the high bar. Toe on into a nice Tkatchev. She’s really hitting these handstands. Pretty shootover down to low. Hits her final handstand, a bit over on the blind full but sticks the double tuck. 9.9
Ortega (NCSU): Yurchenko full, pikes down but not as much as Zultevicz and takes a hop. 9.725
Riccardi (OSU): Starts with a double pike, her front foot may have slid just the tiniest bit back. Tour jete half to Popa was very pretty, good straight legs. Next pass is a back 1.5 to front layout, good control on that landing. She finishes her routine with a super high double tuck, but her front foot did slide. 9.8
Adler (NCSU): Yurchenko full, slightly piked hips throughout and a big hop back. 9.725
Torrez (OU): Starts on the high bar with a nic Ray. Super high Pak down to low, great height and form. Good last handstand and sticks the double layout. 9.875
Byrne (UIUC): Nice candlestick mount, she looked a bit off but she was really holding on! Super solid flic lay to start, great form and finish. Straddle jump was above 180. Beat jump to sheep jump was solid too. Finished with a roundoff to double twist with a step back. 9.825
Knight (NCSU): Front pike half, super high but not very far from the table and she fights for the stick! 9.9
Smith (OU): Starts on the high bar with a Ray to Pak combination, her legs are glued together on the Pak. Good last handstand and takes a couple steps forward on the double layout. 9.8
Mueller (UIUC): Small wobble on her turn to start. Very nice flic lay. Switch leap switch leap, a bit short of 180 on both from my angle. Beat jump to front toss, small shoulder drop but nothing major. Finishes with a stuck roundoff 1.5! 9.825
Shepard (NCSU): Yurchenko full, great distance from the table but slightly pikes it down and hops back. 9.8
Davis (OU): Jumps over the low bar to mount. Holds the first handstand into her blind to super high Jaeger. Beautiful Pak down to low as usual. Hits the final handstand. Blind to double front half out and she sticks it like she usually does with one foot a little in front. Great routine as usual! 9.925
Harris (OSU): Starts off with a front handspring to front double twist to front tuck, great control, maybe some bent knees on the rouble. Very nice switch side Popa, over 180. Finishes with a double pike and she slides back into the lunge. 9.85
Bowers (OU): Jumps over the low bar up to high. Great first handstand. Blind to her very high piked Jaeger. Gorgeous Pak, perfect form. Holds that last handstand. Sticks the full in! That was a flawless routine. 9.975
Hodges (OSU): First pass is a great double pike, great height, pointed toes, and a controlled lunge. Tour jete half Popa Popa was good, nice extension. Last pass is a front handspring Rudi to a layout stepout with a perfect landing. 9.9
Middleton (BSU): Switch leap to split jump to straddle quarter, big wobble aftr the leap. Nice flic lay, wobble at the end though. Cat leap to side aerial with a much better landing there. Finishes up with a tucked front full and she sticks it! 9.575
Pfister (BSU): Starts off with a super high double tuck, I can’t get over that height. Great landing too. Very nice switch side Popa wolf full, awesome extension. Next up is a front handspring front full front pike, the pike was super high and the landing was perfect. Double pike to finish up and she lunges forward instead of back.
After 2: Oklahoma 98.950, Illinois 98.475, Ohio State 98.425, NC State 97.975
This meet continues to surprise me! Illinois remains in second place, but only by half a tenth. NC State is having an uncharacteristic meet and counted quite a few scores in the 9.7 range on vault after Chloe Negrete scored a 9.550. Ohio State is so close to catching up to Illinois, so it’s going to come down to every detail. As for the Sooners, Audrey Davis and Jordan Bowers looked flawless on bars, but the judges seemed to disagree and the highest score of their rotation was Bowers’ 9.975.
Rotation 3: Ohio State VT, NC State UB, Oklahoma BB, Illinois FX
McCann (OSU): Yurchenko full, pikes it down but has a good landing. 9.825
Davis (OU): Flic lay, she looked a bit off but only had the tiniest wobble. Very pretty front aerial. Ring jump was gorgeous and solid. Dismounts with a roundoff double twist and she sticks it! 9.85
Washington (OSU): Yurchenko full, only slightly piked for that one and if she didn’t stick it she had the tiniest hop in place. Either way the landing was great! 9.85
Childs (NCSU): Starts on the high bar with a switch griip to Jaeger to bail, a bit loose throughout. Really holds that last handstand, good blind full to a stuck double tuck! 9.45
Siegfeldt (OU): Flic lay, takes a step back at the end. I think I missed a switch leap. Cat leap to front aerial, much better landing. Beat jump to ring jump was good too. Dismounts with a back handspring side gainer full to a stick. 9.85
Grimes (OSU): Yurchenko full to another stick! Slightly piked throughout but it was a great vault. 9.85
Bowers (OU): Flic lay, some loose lower leg form to be picky. Split leap to switch half was great. Finishes with a roundoff double twist and sticks it! 9.9
Morgan (UIUC): First pass is a double tuck, her chest was a tad low but. the lunge was good. Tour jete half to wolf 1.5 was nice too. Next up is a front layout front full, good control at the end of that pass too. 9.825
Torrez (OU): Starts with a textbook wolf jump. Side aerial to back handspring had great form but a tiny wobble at the end. Switch leap to straddle jump was beautiful. Finishes with a back handspring to side gainer full that went so high and she stuck it! 9.925
Harris (OSU): Yurchenko 1.5, good form in the air and a tiny hop forward. 9.875
Byrne (UIUC): 2.5 to front pike to start, great control through the whole pass. Switch side to Popa was nice, Popa went above 180. Nice double pike to start, it looked like she was going to be short but her landing was good. 9.825
LeVasseur (OU): Perfect flic lay to start, perfect form and landing. Switch leap to straddle quarter, she wobbled but brought it back. Cat leap to front aerial was very nice. Back handspring side gainer full dismount and another stick. 9.9
Fall for NC State on bars
Vetter (OSU): Yurchenko full, good form in the air and another stick! 9.825
Fitzgibbon (UIUC): Starts with a front layout to Rudi, pikes it down but controls the landing. Switch side to split full was good, could use a bit more split. Double pike to finish up, her chest was a bit low and she lunged forward. 9.8
From the corner of my eye I was watching Ragan Smith and it looked flawless as usual. I wouldn’t be shocked by a 10. And it’s a 10!
Shepard (NCSU): Mounts on the high bar with a blind to Jaeger, caught a bit close. Very nice Pak, great form. Nice last handstand. Sticks the full in dismount! 9.85
Townes (UIUC): She’s performing while the crowd is erupting for Smith’s 10. First pass is a front handspring Rudi to a super high straddle jump. Back 1.5 to front half, lands a little short and hops forward. Nice wolf 1.5. Tour jete half to Popa was beautiful, great lines in that pass. 9.85
Teter (BSU): Starts on the high bar. Blind full to a super high Tkatchev to a bail. Blind to a double front half out and she sticks it! The Ball State crowd here is super excited about that stick! 9.825
Middleton (BSU): Starts with a nice high open double tuck, great landing too! Next pass is a front layout front full, another good landing. Tour jete half to split full, great extension. Finishes with a double pike, she’s a bit low on the landing but keeps the front foot planted in the lunge. Again, the BSU crowd is hyped!
After 3: Oklahoma 148.525, Ohio State 147.700, Illinois 147.675, NC State 146.900
Ohio State has taken over the second finals spot after the third! The Buckeyes caught the stick bug on vault, and the scores show it! Illinois had great floor routines too, and its last rotation will be crucial. Mia Townes and Arielle Ward’s Yurchenko 1.5s may make the difference in today’s meet. Oklahoma had some stellar beam routines including a perfect 10 from Ragan Smith. NC State is continuing to struggle, with multiple uncharacteristic mistakes on bars. Hopefully the Wolfpack can stay calm and finish out strong on beam. It’s a close one going into the last rotation!
Rotation 4: Illinois VT, Ohio State UB, NC State BB, Oklahoma FX
Pritchard (OSU): Mounts on the high bar. Starts with a great handstand. Nice Geinger to bail, she did a great job keeping her legs together. Good last handstand, right on top of that blind full and takes a small step forward on the double tuck. 9.8
Davis (OU): First pass is a front handspring to front double twist to a nice controlled kick. Switch half wolf full sissone was nice. back 1.5 to front full was good, maybe some slightly bent knees. Good routine! 9.875
Coppola (UIUC): Yurchenko full, pikes it down but has a really nice landing. 9.85
Washington (OSU): Starts on the low bar with a nice handstand. Really nice Maloney to Pak, legs glued together throughout. A bit short on the last handstand and the blind full and takes a small hop back on the double tuck. 9.85
Johnson (OU): Starts off with a front lalyout to Rudi. very nice form and control on the landing. Next pass is a nice double tuck, her foot may have slid a tiny bit, but definitely not much. Switch half to wolf full, small hop there. 9.85
Townes (UIUC): Yurchenko 1.5, bent knees in the air and a hop back. 9.775
Vetter (OSU): Starts with a super high Tkatchev and a nice shootover to a good handstand. Nice last handstand and takes a step forward on the full in. 9.85
Smith (OU): First pass is a really high open double tuck with a perfect landing to finish. Back 1.5 to front layout next, another perfect finish there. Switch side to wolf full, the leap was very pretty and above 180. Finishes with a double pike, her front foot slid a tiny bit into the lunge. 9.875
Byrne (UIUC): Yurchenko full, slight pike throughout and a hop on the landing. 9.825
Harris (OSU): Mounts on the high bar with a nice handstand. Gorgeous Ray, perfect form. Nice shootover down to low. Holds that last handstand. Right on top of the blind full and sticks the double tuck. 9.9
LeVasseur (OU): Starts off with a full in, her chest was pretty low but she controls the lunge. Switch side to a Shushunova, great extension on that leap. Last pass is a back 1.5 to front half to straddle jump, great control there as usual. 9.9
Riccardi (OSU): Starts on the high bar. Really nice first handstand. Gorgeous Ray, she caught from the perfect distance. Great Pak down to low, really nice form. A bit short on the last handstand. And she sticks the Stalder to double tuck! Ohio State is on fire and the team and crowd are pumped! 9.875
Torrez (OU): First pass is a double layout, has great form and a great landing as she usually does! Beautiful tour jete half to wolf full. Front uck through to double tuck and she sticks it! 9.925
Ward (UIUC): Yurchenko 1.5, great form in the air but takes a couple big steps back. That might make the difference. 9.75
Hankins (OSU): Mounts on the high bar. Short on the first handstand. Blind to a nice Jaeger. Pak down to low, some leg separation there. Nice last handstand and takes a step back on the double layout. 9.8
Bowers (OU): Starts off with a front handspring front double full to front tuck, that front tuck was really high and the lunge was perfectly controlled. Next she does a sky-high double pike with super pointed toes and a perfect landing. Switch leap through to switch half to wolf full was beautiful. 9.95
Kraus (Lin.): Wobbles on her full turn to begin the routine. Flic lay, wobbles but stays on. Hitch kick to switch half to beat jump, that leap was gorgeous. Finishes with a back handspring to side gainer full, she pikes it down but sticks it! 9.7
Bedminster (Pitt): Nice high double tuck to start and she controls the landing perfectly. Switch side half to Shushunova was good too. back 1.5 to front layout was good too, nice control again. Switch side to Popa, a bit shy of 180 but still really good.
Final: Oklahoma 198.050, Ohio State 196.975, Illinois 196.750, NC State 195.950
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