Clemson and Iowa State come into today’s match-up with intriguing storylines both on and off the mat. Clemson is of course finishing its first season as a program, and it’s safe to say that it’s been a successful one, with multiple 197-plus scores and a home attendance average over 8,000 fans. A postseason appearance is the icing on top of the cake, but the Tigers will be hungry for a win today to prove they’re better than their No. 30 ranking after spending most of the regular season in the top 28. Iowa State, meanwhile, returns to the regional field after a one-year absence, an important step for new head coach Ashley Miles Greig.
While it’s easy to take a look at the teams’ NQS and season highs and conclude that Clemson is the heavy favorite today, it’s important to note that both of the Tigers’ 197-plus performances have come at home, and they have been plagued by inconsistency issues in road meets. Should that inconsistency make an appearance today, Iowa State absolutely has the talent to take advantage. However, Clemson’s road scores have averaged out higher than Iowa State’s over the course of the season, so the Tigers are still favored to come out on top.
The winner of today’s meet will advance to face Florida, Missouri, and Georgia tomorrow evening, but the loser will still see several individuals compete for a chance to qualify to nationals. Clemson would have an all around representative in Rebecca Wells, Molly Arnold on vault and floor, Kielyn McCright on beam, and Brie Clark on floor. Iowa State would have Noelle Adams on vault, beam, and floor, Josie Bergstrom on vault and beam, and Kaia Parker on floor.
By virtue of its higher ranking, Clemson will rotate in Olympic order today, with Iowa State will follow the bars-vault-floor-beam road order. Video can be found on ESPN+ and live scores on Statbroadcast.
Rotation 1: Clemson VT, Iowa State UB
Wells (CU) VT: Yurchenko full, stuck! Some leg separation on the entry and some soft knees in the air, but that’s a great start for Clemson. 9.825
Thomas (ISU) UB: Beautiful handstand to start. Straddle Jaeger is very solid. Some visible leg separation on the Pak. DLO, small slide back, maybe some more leg separation but hard to tell from my angle. 9.725
Jackson (CU) VT: Yurchenko full, her legs buckle a bit on the landing and she ends up putting a knee down. From the replay it’s hard to tell if it was weight-bearing or just a brush. 9.300
Basuel (ISU) UB: Short first handstand. Beautiful straddle Jaeger! Bail to handstand is right on top of the bar, though her body was maybe a little twisted. Double tuck dismount is stuck but she has to bend at the hips and swing her arms to avoid taking a step. 9.725
Arnold (CU) VT: Yurchenko 1.5, she takes a sizable step forward on the landing but her form in the air was pretty clean. 9.850
Schell (ISU) UB: Slightly over on first handstand but saves it. Piked Jaeger, nearly goes over on bail handstand but saves it again. Nice final handstand! Full turn to double tuck, she clearly had flexed feet in the air and took a large step forward out of it. 9.700
Rutherford (CU) VT: Another Yurchenko 1.5, she takes a hop forward but seems really happy with it! 9.875
Wills (ISU) UB: Maloney to Pak is great, half pirouette on the low bar was pretty close to vertical. DLO dismount with a small hop back, it looked like she might’ve bent her knees a little on her final giant going into the dismount. Replay also shows some leg separation on the Pak and the DLO. 9.800
Minner (CU) VT: Tucked Yurchenko 1.5 with a very large step forward. 9.775
Loyim (ISU) UB: Piked Jaeger is gorgeous! Maybe a little short on the handstand going into the Pak. She has to muscle up on her kip cast handstand and ends up redoing it. DLO a little pikey with a little hop. 9.425
Brown (CU) VT: Holman was originally in the lineup as anchor but maybe they made a switch because of the early fall. Yurchenko full, stuck! She had some leg form issues in the twist, some clear separation there. But Clemson seems thrilled to be able to drop Jackson’s score! 9.875
Cooke (ISU) UB: Shaposh to Pak, clean. A little short on last handstand, then she is underrotated on DLO and has to take a large step forward. 9.650
After 1: Clemson 49.200, Iowa State 48.600
Clemson will be very grateful to drop that uncharacteristic fall from Jackson, though that is two falls in a row from her after not falling the entire regular season. If Clemson advances, it’ll be interesting to see if they keep her in the lineup tomorrow. For Iowa State, that score is a few tenths below their UB NQS, so they’ll be looking to make up for that on later events. They now rotate to vault, their strongest event!
Rotation 2: Iowa State VT, Clemson UB
Wills (ISU) VT: Yurchenko full, not a lot of height and she ends up piking it down some. Small hop back. 9.800
Webb (CU) UB: Maloney to Pak, slides off the bar on the recatch. Another early fall for Clemson so the pressure is on. Gets back on and is very short on her half pirouette on the low bar. DLO stuck! 9.125
Schell (ISU) VT: Another Yurchenko full, not a lot of distance and she takes a sizable step to the side/back. 9.750
Jackson is having to wait a while for a judging conference on Webb’s routine, it looks like the judges aren’t agreeing on start values (I can see two judges flashing a 9.7 SV but can’t see the other two). Pressure’s on for Jackson who fell in the first rotation and now is following a fall in the second and has to wait a long time.
Jackson (CU) UB: Straddle Jaeger is barely caught and then she SOMEHOW catches her bail handstand, wow. Not sure how she saved that! Full-twisting double tuck dismount with a step forward. 9.675 will have to count
Adams (ISU) VT: Beautiful Yurchenko full, stuck! I thought she landed with her feet pretty far apart but it looks like she was able to bring her heels together on the replay. 9.825
Lippeatt (CU) UB: Holds her first handstand then hits a Ray. Pak to the low bar is good. Feet separation on her full turn going into her double tuck dismount with a hop forward. 9.750
Bergstrom (ISU) VT: Yurchenko full, her elbows were visibly bent on the block even from across the arena. Not a lot of distance and then she takes a small hop back. 9.800
DeGuzman (CU) UB: Love her toepoint! Her straddle Jaeger is beautiful. Maybe short on her last handstand, but her DLO is perfect and stuck. Best routine of the day so far! Replay shows a little leg separation on the dismount but I’m betting the judges couldn’t see it because I sure couldn’t. 9.800 (after the conference) – Score later changed to 9.900
Parker (ISU) VT: Yurchenko full, small hop in place. 9.800
Oh look, another judges’ conference on bars! The Clemson coaches are standing very close and glaring.
Rutherford (CU) UB: Opens her routine with a fall on her Ray, so Clemson will be counting a fall. The rest of her routine is strong, small step on the DLO. 9.000
Hong (ISU) VT: Yurchenko 1.5, legs are visibly bent and feet are flexed in the air, and she takes a hop to the side on the landing. 9.800
Wells (CU) UB: Archy on first handstand. Tkatchev to bail, maybe some small foot form issues but nothing major. FTDT dismount is great with a small hop back on the landing. 9.775
After 2: Iowa State 97.625, Clemson 97.325 97.425 (after DeGuzman’s score was raised)
Well well well, we have a meet! Iowa State indeed took advantage of its strongest event by scoring a 49.025, but Clemson contributed a very weak bars rotation to fall behind. Will Clemson get through the rest of the meet without counting another fall, and will Iowa State be able to deal with the pressure of leading at the halfway point?
Rotation 3: Clemson BB, Iowa State FX
Lippeatt (CU) BB: Front layout to back handspring swingdown, it looked solid from my angle. Switch split to split leap. Small wobble after her side aerial to split jump combo. Gainer front full dismount, small wobble to the side and it doesn’t look like she fully rotated it. 9.725
Manternach (ISU) FX: Front tuck through the double front, well controlled. Double pike with another good lunge, her feet were very flexed in the air. Switch side half to straddle straddle to close. 9.750
Wells (CU) BB: Switch split to split 3/4. BHS LOSO very solid! This is a confident routine. Double twist dismount is stuck! Clemson really needed that. 9.900
Cooke (ISU) FX: Front double twist to open, there may have been some leg form issues in the air but the landing was good. A little short of rotation on her second wolf full. Back 1.5 to front layout to finish. Replay definitely agrees with me that there was a lot of leg form on the first pass. 9.800
McCright (CU) BB: BHS LOSO with a large balance check. Beat jump to tuck full, a little short of rotation. Side aerial to split jump. Gainer full off the side, stuck. 9.750
Wilke (ISU) FX: Back 1.5 to front lay to open. Switch side half to straddle (?) but there may have been some over/underrotation in here. Double pike with flexed feet but a good landing. 9.800
Church (CU) BB: BHS LOSO, solid. Beat jump to split 3/4. Side aerial to wolf jump, I know that’s a connection that Rhiannon wouldn’t give but who knows about these judges! Back 1.5 dismount with a hop forward, it looked like she had some leg separation in the twist. 9.750
Parker (ISU) FX: Double wolf turn to open. Front tuck through to double back. Straddle half to straddle jump (I think? I just got the news that Michigan is about to lose so my mind is struggling to process any other information). Double pike to close, much better on the toepoint than some of the earlier ones we’ve seen. 9.800
Kuhl (CU) BB: BHS LOSO LOSO, nice to see a triple series and she performs it well! Switch leap looked like it may have been slightly short of horizontal but hard to tell from my angle. Front toss to beat jump, a little squatty on the landing of the front toss but she manages to connect it. Back 1.5 with leg form in the air and a hop on the landing. 9.800
Adams (ISU) FX: Front lay to Rudi is gorgeous! Really nice leap pass as well. High double tuck to finish. That was a great routine. 9.875 very deserved
Clark (CU) BB: Standing front tuck with a balance check. BHS LOSO, it looked like one of her legs was bent. Straddle jump to straddle 1/4, lovely. Switch split with a check so she has to repeat it to get connection. Front full twist dismount with a step back so it was a little underrotated. 9.775
Schell (ISU) FX: Lineup change from Bergstrom. Rudi to double stag jump to open. Back 1.5 to front lay, it looked like she may have stepped out of bounds briefly but I couldn’t see whether a flag went up. 9.625 so I think the flag must’ve gone up
After 3: Iowa State 146.650, Clemson 146.550
Clemson was able to close the gap in that rotation but still trails by a tenth. Looking at NQS on their final events, Clemson should outscore Iowa State by over three tenths if everyone were to perform at their normal level. We are headed to an exciting finish!
Rotation 4: Iowa State BB, Clemson FX
Loyim (ISU) BB: Switch split to switch split 1/4, solid. BHS LOSO with a flexed foot in both flips and a small balance check. Front aerial to beat jump, really lovely. It’s rare to see a front aerial without a bent knee. Gainer full off the side with a small uncertain step in place. 9.800
Lippeatt (CU) FX: Double tuck to open, well controlled. Switch split 1/4 to Shushunova. Back 1.5 to front full. Great start to the rotation! 9.825
O’Brochta (ISU) BB: BHS LOSO LOSO, very solid! It looked like one of the legs was bent but it wasn’t obvious. Switch leap to split jump. Back pike off the end of the beam with a small hop, she also took it over to the side pretty significantly. 9.750
Arnold (CU) FX: Full-in to start, fantastic! Switch half to wolf full, no problems that I could see. Back 2.5 to front tuck, underrotates it and has to take a few steps back but she stays upright. 9.650
Wilke (ISU) BB: Cat leap to front toss to back tuck, that’s an unusual series. Back 1.5 dismount, leans her chest forward a bit and takes a tiny hop forward. 9.825
Rutherford (CU) FX: Back 2.5 to front tuck, sticks it! She looks extremely confident. Switch half to wolf full, great. Double tuck to finish, good landing. Great routine. 9.825
Adams (ISU) BB: BHS LOSO with a tiny wobble but she covers it well. Switch split to split jump with another small check. Side aerial with flexed feet. Cat leap to front aerial, solid. Gainer full dismount, a little piked down but she sticks it. 9.900
Wells (CU) FX: Full-in landed with a low chest and she has to take a step forward. There may have been some form issues in the air too. Split full to Popa to Popa (?). 1.5 stepout to double twist to finish. 9.800
Bergstrom (ISU) BB: Cat leap to front toss to BHS, really nice. Switch leap to split jump, solid. Front tucked full off the end of the beam, stuck! 9.900, the team is cheering SO loud!
Clark (CU) FX: Lineup change from Jackson. Beautiful DLO to open, lands it a little low though. Beautiful extension on her leaps, especially the straddle position. Front lay to front full to front tuck, takes a small hop back. 9.800
Thomas (ISU) BB: Front toss to BHS, solid. Switch split to switch 1/4. Back 1.5 dismount with a step back. 9.800
Jackson (CU) FX: Full-in, nice and high. Switch half to wolf full, we’ve seen that combo a lot today. Front tuck through to double tuck, takes a step forward while a little unbalanced. This just isn’t her day.
FINAL: Iowa State 195.875, Clemson 195.625
We have an upset! It honestly was not Clemson’s day, while Iowa State did not have a single fall and fully deserves to move on to the next round. What a great achievement for Miles Greig’s squad in her first year as head coach.
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