Tonight’s live blog features an exciting non-conference matchup as Oregon State takes on Auburn. While this may seem like an unusual pairing to some, these two teams are sure to push each other in what promises to be a high-stakes competition.
Oregon State joined the 197 club at home last week, with Jade Carey leading the charge, scoring 9.900 or higher on all four events. While hitting those scores at home is impressive, replicating them on the road, especially in a tough SEC environment, could prove more challenging. Carey is expected to shine once again, but keep an eye on teammates Sophia Esposito and Lauren Letzsch, who both posted strong 9.900+ routines in their last meet. Their consistency will be crucial in maintaining the Beavers’ momentum.
Auburn, on the other hand, returns to its home arena after securing its first SEC victory of the season against Arkansas. Freshman Katelyn Jong has been a standout, competing in the all-around in every meet so far, and will likely continue to anchor the Tigers’ lineups tonight. Auburn will need to make the most of its home-floor advantage if it hopes to pull off the upset. Early in the season, floor has been Auburn’s lowest-ranked event, so nailing those routines will be key to staying competitive with Oregon State.
Tonight’s meet will be aired on ESPN 2 or streamed live on the ESPN app. You can also visit Virtius here for live stats!
After a bit of a late start, we’re ready to rock and roll!
Rotation 1: AUB vault, OSU bars
Huff (AUB): Yurchenko 1.5, big height, pretty sizeable step off to the side. 9.750
Miller (OSU): Maloney to Pak, sizable leg separation on the Pak salto, pretty handstand, DLO dismount with a hop. 9.700
Bell (AUB): Yurchenko 1.5, had so much power, so she took several large steps forward. Little bit of leg separation before the landing. 9.675
Briones (OSU): pretty first handstand, Maloney to Pak, half pirouette right on top of the low bar, DLO dismount, small hop forward on the landing. 9.750
Schumaker (AUB): Tucked Yurchenko 1.5, hop forward on the landing, leaned forward to try to keep the stick on her tippy toes! 9.775
DeVries (OSU): Good form on the first handstand, Maloney to Pak, the Pak was a little whippy in the air, DLO dismount, stuck. First stick of the night for either team! 9.800
Hubbard (AUB): Yurchenko 1.5, little bit of knee form issues in the air, small hop forward on the landing. 9.825.
McMillian (OSU): Pretty toe-handstand on the low bar, Maloney to bail to handstand, tried to get the landing on the dismount, little bit of a stumble. 9.750
Zancan (AUB): FHS front entry front pike off, STUCK. WOW. I haven’t watched Zancan perform before but that was beautiful! 9.900!
Thompson (OSU): Geinger to open, little short on the handstand that followed. Super floaty Pak salto, finishes with a DLO, smallest slide of the feet. 9.750
Jong (AUB): Yurchenko 1.5, bit of bent elbows on the table, underrotated and took a step back on her landing. 9.750
Carey (OSU): Full-twisting Pak salto to low bar, that is literally my FAVORITE skill. Van Leeuwen back up to the high bar, DLO dismount, nailed it. Because why not. 9.975 takes the lead after rotation 1. 9.900, Tigers will have the lead after 1.
After 1: Auburn 49.000, Oregon State 48.950
They weren’t lying when they said this would be a tight meet. Half a point separates these two teams heading to rotation 2, capped off with a 9.900 on each side from Paige Zancan and Jade Carey. Hopefully, the nerves are wearing off and both teams can relax and settle in.
Rotation 2: OSU vault, AUB bars
Briones (OSU): Yurchenko full, small slide back on the landing, little bit of knees in the air. 9.800
Irvine (AUB): Blind to piked Jaeger to bail, nice combination! Half in half out dismount, small slide backward on the landing. 9.825
Thompson (OSU): Yurchenko full, pretty in the air, small slide backward on the landing. 9.800
Boyd (AUB): toe-handstand was good, Maloney had a tiny leg separation, short on the pirouette on the low bar, stalder to double tuck, hop and side step on the landing. Not the cleanest, but a hit is a hit. 9.750
Esposito (OSU): Yurchenko full, little off-center, small hop back on the landing. 9.700
Hollingsworth (AUB): Back in lineups after missing last week with a minor ankle injury. Blind change to piked Jaeger to immediate overshoot, half in half out dismount, tiny hop on the landing. 9.750
Garcia (OSU): Yurchenko 1.5, pretty position in the air, bit of leg separation on the preflight, some knees, hop forward on the landing. 9.775
Bartman (AUB): blind to straddle Jaeger, beautiful toe point in the air! Pretty transition to low bar, but weird position on the low bar. Double front dismount with a deep squat.
Chavez (OSU): Yurchenko 1.5 tucked, her face when she stuck was priceless! Bit of a lean back and slightly off the center of the mat, but a stuck 10.0 start is good for the Beavers! 9.900, career high!
O. Greaves (AUB): Church to immediate Pak to toe-on handstand, WOW the fact that she connected all three! Half in half out dismount, stuck! This should be the top score. 9.925, new career high!
Carey (OSU): Yurchenko 1.5, tiniest hop forward on the landing. 9.850
Jong (AUB): Maloney to Pak, no leg separation, Held that handstand before the Van Leeuwen, half in half out dismount, stuck! Not a bad way to end bars after some lower scores. 9.925, career high!
After 2: Auburn 98.175, Oregon State 98.075
The lead has expanded to right at a tenth. Having two career-high 9.925s on bars from Greaves and Jong allowed the Tigers to drop Bartman’s 9.725, a great momentum boost heading into beam. For the Beavers, the lower start value vaults with cleaner form and execution helped keep them in the hunt, led by Chavez’s career high 9.900. This is turning out to be a fun one halfway through!
Rotation 3: AUB beam, OSU floor
Zancan (AUB): Okay Zancan with the press mount. BHS LOSO, little funny in the air. Good extension on the leap series, RO 1.5 twist dismount, solid opening routine to start. 9.825
Miller (OSU): Double pike to open, good position in the air. Back 1.5 to front layout, the control on that was good. Double tuck to close, nice high chest on the landing. Two hits on the opening routines for each team! 9.850
Hollingsworth (AUB): Hits her full turn to open, BHS LOSO series, right down the center, switch half to split jump, maybe lacked a little 180 on the beam? Split half from the side looked really good. Side gainer full dismount, slide backwards on the landing. 9.825
Chavez (OSU): Double pike first pass, bit out of control on the landing. Switch side to wolf full, good rotation getting them around, back 1.5 to front layout 2nd pass dances out of it. Double tuck to close, much better control, her biggest deduction is going to be that first pass. 9.750
Groth (AUB): BHS LOSO BHS triple series, spot on. I love watching her reactions when she hits that on beam. Switch leap to switch half, leg lift after the switch half. Cartwheel to gainer full dismount, small step back on the landing. 9.750
Thompson (OSU): Back 1.5 to front layout to open her routine, good rise between the skills! Switch side half to straddle jump, good toe point in the air. Her music is probably my favorite so far. Double pike second pass, nice high chest on the landing. Little bit of knee form in the tour jete 1/2, but otherwise a great routine! 9.850
Jong (AUB): Double wolf turn to open her routine, nicely done! Standing layout layout series, nicely connected. Not many can or should do a pike jump, but she is one that should. RO double twist dismount, no movement. 9.925
Esposito (OSU): Front tuck through to double pike, took a lot of power to make sure she got it around and did. Switch side to split full, maybe missed the rotation by the tiniest amount? FLO to Rudi, got nice height on the Rudi! 9.850
Neal (AUB): Coming off a 9.925 from Jong before her. Full turn to open. BHS LO LOSO, not a single movement. Moving very quickly through this routine with her side aerial. Switch leap to split jump, angle wasn’t friendly for me to see split position. RO 1.5 twist, stuck. 9.975, career high!
Garcia (OSU): Back 1.5 to front full combo pass as the crowd is cheering in the background! WOW this choreo is fun. Double tuck to close, had a lot of height and distance, but keeps it in bounds. 9.875
McLaughlin (AUB): Looking to drop Groth’s 9.750 with a hit and this is the one to do it. BHS LOSO, very firm finish on the landing. Cat leap to side aerial, tiniest correction after the aerial. Leaps looked good in the air, fights to keep her feet still on the gainer pike dismount. This should easily drop the 9.750. 9.900 is in
Carey (OSU): Double double to open, nice height and landing. Her floor is always my favorite to watch. Good combo pass and leap series, double pike to close, bit of a lean back and shuffle of the front foot. 9.900
After 3: Auburn 147.625, Oregon State 147.400
Auburn keeps increasing its lead, but Oregon State keeps fighting back. Certainly makes this final rotation must watch tv. The Tigers ended the beam lineup with three straight 9.900 plus scores, while Carey led the Beavers with a 9.900 of her own.
Rotation 4: OSU beam, AUB floor
Esposito (OSU): Let’s see if Oregon State can mount a come-from-behind victory here. Switch leap to switch split to standing layout, fun and creative connections! BHS LOSO, spot on. Good form on the full turn, RO double twist dismount, little bit of loose knees in the air, but stuck the landing. 9.875
O. Greaves (AUB): Front tuck through to double tuck, great positioning on the landing. I don’t normally love ring leaps, but I can deal with her position. Double pike to close, repositioned her feet on the landing. Good opening and honestly, I can’t wait to see her take on the all-around one day. 9.850, career high.
Buckner (OSU): BHS LOSO, very floaty in the air between the skills. Split jump to double stag, shuffled her feet slightly on the side aerial. BHS 1.5 dismount, stuck. 2/2 on landings so far for the Beavs. 9.900, ties her career high.
Groth (AUB): FHS front double full, nailed with a controlled step on the landing. Good extension and toe point on the leap series. Back 1.5 to FLO, another stuck landing. The ABBA nerd in me loves this floor routine, and hearing everyone sing “Dancing Queen”. FHS Rudi to close, clean landings on all three passes. This should be a good score. 9.900
Letzsch (OSU): Ugh I’m so happy she’s back. That’s all. Front aerial to back tuck, keeps the arms moving to get her connection. Split jump to ring jump to beat jump, flowed really nice between the skills with beautiful split. Front gainer full dismount with another stick. 9.900
Bell (AUB): Um hello front double twist to punch front! Love that! SO much height on that leap series, this girl can perform. Double pike, slight slide of the feet backwards on her landing, but that might be one of my favorite floor routines so far this year. 9.775
McMillian (OSU): Front toss to BHS swingdown series, unique series and does it well. Beautiful extension on the leaps, back gainer full dismount with ANOTHER stick. The Beavers are feeling it. 9.850
Neal (AUB): Coming off a 9.975 on her beam routine last rotation, can she add on to a career night? Whip to double tuck, good control on the landing. Good extension and toe point on her leaps! Double pike, slide back of the feet on her landing. Short and sweet and to the point, my favorite. Should get the Tigers back on track. Oh she was CLOSE to stepping out. 9.775, they did take an OOB deduction.
Gonzales (OSU): Front aerial to back tuck, slight wobble after the back tuck. Cat leap to side aerial, good connection. Switch leap to split jump, good extension in the leap positions, front gainer full dismount with another hit landing. 9.925
Jong (AUB): Tucked full-in to open, good height and control on the landing. Wolf turns on floor are good, RO 1.5 to front full, that front full rose nicely! Great night for the freshman! 9.900
Carey (OSU): Finishes her night on the all-around. BHS LOSO, nailed it. Switch leap to switch half, good 180 split. Front aerial, beautiful. Gainer full, stuck. Beavs go 6 for 6 on beam with fantastic landings. 9.975
McLaughlin (AUB): Final routine of the night for the Tigers! Back 1.5 to front layout to open, good start. Good extension and toe points on the leap series. McLaughlin needs a 9.950 to win it here. Double pike to close, shuffled her feet ever so slightly on the landing. I don’t know if it’s a 9.950, but it was still a fantastic routine. 9.875, the Beavers will walk away with the victory!
Or…..maybe not.
FINAL: Auburn 197.025, Oregon State 196.975
If you saw an earlier version of this recap, no you didn’t. ESPN moved on in its programming, but apparently Auburn inquired on Neal’s floor score, got the OOB removed, raising her score back to a 9.875 and giving the Tigers the win. Talk about shock value for those who thought the Beavers had won (me included). Either way, this was a hard fought meet and both teams should be thrilled with their performance!
VT: Chavez (OSU) & Zancan (AUB) – 9.900
UB: Greaves (AUB) & Jong (AUB) – 9.925
BB: Carey (OSU) & Neal (AUB) – 9.975
FX: Carey (OSU), Groth (AUB) & Jong (AUB) – 9.900
AA: Carey (OSU) – 39.625
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Live blog by Savanna Wellman
War EAGLE!