The number of perfect 10s over the past few years is steadily increasing, but is it because the judging is easier or the gymnastics is better? This week, we’re revisiting former NCAA gymnasts who got close but never quite scored a perfect 10. All of these gymnasts have at least 10 scores of 9.95 or greater.
When rating these routine, I’ll use the same five-star scale I do with perfect 10.0s during the season to see if they are on par with other recent 10s. I’ll use a green check mark to denote those routines that were appropriately scored below a 10.0, even with the generous allowances some 10.0s have received in recent years.
If you like this article and have any requests for more “classic” routines or other favorites from other recent gymnasts, comment on the article or let us know on social media!
As a reminder, here’s the 10.0 rating scale I’ve been using all season:
✅ This should not have been a 10.0 routine
⭐ This was clearly not a 10.0 routine (but still very good!)
⭐⭐ There was definitely a deduction there, but maybe the judges blinked?
⭐⭐⭐ 10.0 vibes, but not actually perfect
⭐⭐⭐⭐ It was a “college 10”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 100% a perfect routine
Alicia Boren (Florida), 2019 Floor
Number of non-10s in her career: 11 9.95s, two 9.975s
Leg form (-0.05)
Foot adjustment (-0.05)
Underrotated wolf full (-0.05)
Score: 9.975
Rating: ⭐⭐
This is on par with some of the two-star 10.0s I’ve seen recently. She has some deductions in her jumps (that are often missed), as well as minor form and a landing error that would be easy to miss.
Chelsea Davis (Georgia), 2014 Bars
Number of non-10s in her career: 12 9.95s, one 9.975
Leg form (-0.05 to 0.1)
Step back on landing (-0.1)
Score: 9.95
Rating: ✅
I don’t think this routine would have gotten a 10.0 during the current judging climate, mostly because her landing was clearly not well controlled, as she steps back before she can close her feet together for the stick. The leg form on the tap may have been missed if the judges’ eyes were in the wrong place, but the landing deduction seems pretty clear.
Brenna Dowell (Oklahoma), 2019 Floor
Number of non-10s in her career: 12 9.95s, three 9.975s
Step back on her front double pike (-0.1)
Precision of turn in jumps (-0.05 to 0.1)
Leg separation on landing x2 (-0.1)
Score: 9.975
Rating: ✅
This routine was very overscored considering her large step backward out of her double pike. Although underrotation is not a deduction, there is a deduction for a step on the landing in the opposite direction of the tumbling pass. Dowell also overturns her tour jete half and underrotates her straddle full—and doesn’t land with her feet together on either jump. I would expect at least a half-tenth deduction on the jumps and think this routine should have gone 9.8 to 9.85 or lower. If she had overrotated her first pass, she could have been in the three-star 10.0 range.
JerQuavia Henderson (Iowa), 2022 Floor
Number of non-10s in her career: five 9.95s, five 9.975s
Small hop on landing (-0.05)
This was a beautiful routine and could have gone 10.0 if she had been able to step into a controlled lunge on her landing instead of having a tiny hop forward. I’ve seen routines with more obvious deductions go 10.0 this year, so I think this hop could have easily been missed in real time, depending on how far away the judge was from the corner.
Score: 9.975
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Brandie Jay (Georgia), 2016 Vault
Number of non-10s in her career: eight 9.95s, three 9.975s
Shoulder angle (-0.05)
Leg form (-0.05)
Crossed feet (-0.05)
Her score of 9.975 felt a bit high for me. She whips it over quickly, using her legs to get her twist around and easily find the landing. However, she did have some pretty clear issues on the table, and her toes were crossed the whole time in the air, which was very noticeable, at least from this angle.
Score: 9.975
Rating: ✅
Alaina Johnson (Florida), 2014 Bars
Number of non-10s in her career: eight 9.95s, two 9.975s
Leg form (-0.05)
Failure to join heels on landing (-0.05)
Pike down (-0.05)
Score: 9.975
Rating: ✅
This was a great routine overall, but her dismount had some noticeable errors. However, the leg separation is almost impossible to see from the side angle, and the piked body position at the end isn’t consistently deducted. She did forget to close her heels at the end of the routine, though, and although this should be a clear deduction, we’ve seen other 10.0s with the same error. I do think a 9.9 to 9.95 was the correct score for the routine, given the multiple issues on the dismount.
Naomi Morrison (Michigan), 2022 Vault
Number of non-10s in her career: five 9.95s, five 9.975s
This looks better than over half the perfect Yurchenko one and a halves I saw this season. She has a Great block, good form, and a clear, solid landing. This absolutely could have and should have gone 10.0.
Score: 9.975
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Brittany Rogers (Georgia), 2016 Bars
Number of non-10s in her career: 11 9.95s, one 9.975s
Body position (-0.05)
This one was a hard routine to judge, especially due to the camera angle. She had a lot of little things, like a very slight arm bend in her giants and circling elements, and some of her casts also looked borderline. The only deduction I saw specifically, though, was the excessive arch in her Pak salto, but she moves through the position so quickly that this also could have been easily missed. This is a routine that could really vary based on the “toughness” of the judge, depending on whether or not they decided to take all the “almost” deductions or those that aren’t routinely taken in NCAA.
Score: 9.95
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
MyKayla Skinner (Utah), 2019 Vault
Number of non-10s in her career: nine 9.95s, four 9.975s
Arm bend (-0.05)
Leg separation (-0.05)
Early turn (-0.05)
Skinner has some leg separation on the table and a very early turn. However, those aren’t consistently taken in college, and I can see judges giving this a 10.0, especially at home.
Score: 9.975
Rating: ⭐⭐
Toni-Ann Williams (California), 2015 Floor
Number of non-10s in her career: seven 9.95s, nine 9.975s
Pike down (-0.05)
Front foot adjustment (-0.05)
Hop (-0.05)
Lack of control (-0.05)
Williams has some very impressive and powerful tumbling in her routine, but there were some clear deductions on her landings. Her leap series also looked like it might have been a little off, but the quality of the video was such that I didn’t feel confident in taking those deductions. I can see this scoring a 9.9 to 9.95, especially if the judges missed the foot slide on the double layout.
Score: 9.95
Rating: ✅
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Article by Rhiannon Franck
Rhiannon Franck is a former national-rated NAWGJ women’s gymnastics judge with over 15 years of USAG judging experience and nine seasons judging NCAA gymnastics.
I was hoping to see Mollie Korth listed here. She definitely deserved a 10 for a vault she did at Arkansas.