One of last week’s biggest storylines was Florida becoming the first team to break the 198 mark this season. The question now is whether the Gators can maintain that high-scoring potential outside of SEC competition. Head coach Jenny Rowland often experiments with her lineups early in the season, so expect some movement here. Watch to see if both Leanne Wong and Anya Pilgrim compete in the all-around, as that could signal how seriously Florida is taking this meet.
Florida isn’t a lock for the win, though. Utah is more than capable of challenging the Gators on all four events. Despite the loss of star freshman Avery Neff, the Red Rocks have shown impressive resilience. Vault and floor depth remain a bit of a question for Utah, so don’t be surprised if head coach Carly Dockendorf also tweaks her lineups to maximize scoring potential.
As for West Virginia, it would take an extraordinary performance for the Mountaineers to place higher than third in this meet. However, they’ll be aiming for a strong showing to jumpstart their season. After making nine consecutive regional appearances, West Virginia struggled last year and hasn’t yet rebounded. Hosting two top-tier teams could help boost their scores, but they’ll need to bring their best gymnastics to the floor to capitalize on that opportunity.
Rotation 1: WVU VT, UF UB, UU FX
Alban (WVU): Yfull, a little pikey but stuck. 9.625
Sloane Blakely (UF): Maloney, pak, little leg separation. Sticks her double front. 9.875
Glynn (UU): Clean first pass. Great extension in her leaps. Back 1.5 to front full to close. 9.85
Tuohy (WVU): Yfull with pike down and a step back.
Pilgrim (UF): Lovely first handstand to pak. Van Leeuven, nice and clean. Sticks her FTDT dismount, cool as a cucumber. 9.925
Zirbes (UU): Front double full, controlled lunge out of it. Switch half to Popa, pretty clean. Back 1.5 to front lay pretty. 9.825
Lane (WVU): Yfull with a big bounce back. 9.75
McCusker (UF): Just caught her dismount, double lay with a small foot adjustment. 9.9
Nelson (WVU): Yfull, a bit crunched in the air and a hop back. 9.675
Skye Blakely (UF): Straddle tkatchev to pak, no problems. Double front half with a big step forward. 9.825
DiCello (WVU): Yfull with a bounce back. 9.775
Winger (UU): I missed her first pass. Switch full, direction a bit off and short of split. Closes with a 2.5, steps OOB. 9.675
Wong (UF): Her usual clean Maloney, pak, and Van Leeuwen. Sticks her double lay dismount. 9.925
Smith (WVU ex.): Yfull, very piked down and a small hop.
Smith (UU): Front double full, slightly lopsided lunge. I can barely hear the music but I’m trusting her interpretation of it is as good as it normally is. Rudi to LOSO, beautiful, flashes the U to close.
Harris-Miranda (UF): Gorgeous ray to bail. Blind full to double lay, stuck. Great routine. 9.9
Gilstrap (UU): Front lay to Rudi, slight loss of balance in the lunge. Gorgeous extension in her leaps, but the direction is a little ambiguous. Ah yes, let’s put the scoring tower right on top of her during her dance. Front lay to front full into an arabesque. 9.875
McCallum (UU): Big full in to open, a bit of a slide on the lunge. Punch front to double tuck, much better control on the lunge. Double wolf turn, somehow manages to make it look pretty. Switch leap, switch full, good. 9.925
After 1: UF 49.525, UU 49.375, WVU 48.575
Florida takes an early lead with a massive 49.525 bars rotation. Utah isn’t too far behind, and avoided counting Winger’s 9.675. If both teams keep up this caliber of gymnastics for the rest of the meet, we are in for an absolute treat. WVU had six hit vaults, but none were as high-flying as it would probably have liked. The all-around battle is also looking exciting, with McCallum, Wong, Pilgrim, Smith, and Harris-Miranda all recording scores of 9.9 or better.
Rotation 2: UU VT, WVU UB, UF BB
Zirbes (UU): Y1.5, clean in the air with a small step on landing. 9.775
Alban (WVU): Gienger, some leg separation on the catch. Cleaner on the bail. Double lay with a hop back. 9.725
Draser (UF): BHS LOSO, good. Sticks her RO 1.5 dismount. 9.875
McCallum (UU): Y1.5 with a sizeable step forward. 9.85
McDonnell (WVU): Slightly short on the first handstand. Ray, pak with huge leg separation. Short again on the last handstand, double lay with leg separation, a small bounce back and then a little step forward. 9.625
Sloane Blakely (UF): Front aerial, bit of a wobble and then the BHS. Connection shouldn’t be credited but it probably will be. Switch leap, switch half, beat jump. Full turn is clean. Sticks her gainer full. 9.9
Gilstrap (UU): Yfull with a small bounce back. 9.8
Smith (UU): Her usual gorgeous Omelianchik, stuck. 9.95
Leigh (WVU): Straddle jaeger to pak. Double lay, best of the Mountaineer’s rotation so far, with legs together and stuck. 9.75
Pilgrim (UF): Candle mount. BHS LOSO, a little off but hides it well. Quick full turn. Cat leap to front aerial, the tiniest shoulder dip. Switch leap, split leap, good. Cartwheel gainer full, stuck. 9.875
Glynn (UU): Y1.5, over the line and a step back. 9.8
Lowe (WVU): Just saw her dismount, a blind full double tuck with a small shuffle back. 9.775
Morgan (UU): Y1.5, lands deep in the knees and takes a step forward. 9.825
Beam scores aren’t loading for some reason, I’ll add them as soon as they’re available.
Nguyen (UF): Onodi to bhs, a bit slow but no wobbles. Did the commentary just call an Onodi a front aerial? Switch leap, split jump, shoulder check. BHS 1.5 with a step forward. 9.8
Macy (WVU): Straddle jaeger to shootover, nice. Very short on her last handstand. Double lay, a bit pikey and some leg separation, but stuck. 9.7
Lane (WVU): Straddle jaeger with very bent knees to shootover. Double lay with a big hop back. 9.525
Wong (UF): Switch leap, split leap, good. Front aerial to split jump is solid. BHS LOSO good. Calm full turn. Tucked gainer full off the end of the beam with a small hop back. 9.9
Harris-Miranda (UF): BHS LOSO BHS, spot on. Switch leap, split jump, again no problem. Full turn is good. Front toss with a big leg up check. I like the little gator chomp hidden in her dance. RO 1.5, a little underrotated and steps back. 9.65
After 2: UF 98.870, UU 98.600, WVU 97.250
Things remain close at the halfway point of the meet! Utah was a bit hoppy on vault, and Florida had to drop an uncharacteristic 9.65 from Harris-Miranda, but both teams are still on pace for a great score. Bars can be a problem event for West Virginia, so they’ll be happy to have put up some solid scores, including a 9.8 from Trinity Macy.
Rotation 3: UU UB, WVU BB, UF FX
Nguyen (UF): Front double full to a split jump, very pretty. Switch ring to switch half. Missed her last pass. 9.65
Leigh (WVU): BHS LOSO with a medium hip check. Kicks out of the full turn. Flexed back foot and short of split in her switch half. 9.725
Smith (UU): Gorgeous van Leeuwen. Toe front pike half dismount with a small hop. 9.75
Padurairiu (UU): Maloney to bail. Beautiful final handstand to a ftdt with a small hop. 9.85
Pilgrim (UF): RO 1.5 to double full, such a cool pass. Punch front to double tuck, a little short and steps forward. 9.7
Glynn (UU): Maloney to bail, good form. Staldeer to double tuck with a small step forward. 9.825
Lane (WVU): BHS LOSO, clean. Calm full turn. BHS 1.5 dismount, stuck. 9.825
Clark (UF): Double lay, can’t absorb the landing and takes a bounce. Switch full to a sky-high Popa. Punch front to double tuck, slides back in the lunge. 9.8 feels high.
Morgan (UU): Maloney to Bhardwaj to van Leeuwen, very difficult and well executed. Sticks her dismount. 9.875
Lowe (WVU): Full turn is good. BHS LOSO, super solid. Side aerial to beat jump with a small shoulder check. RO 1.5 twist with a small hop forward. 9.75
Sloane Blakely (UF): Full in with a controlled landing. Back 1.5 to front full, no problems. 9.95, Florida needed that.
Zirbes (UU): Sky-high to straddle jaeger to either a low bail or high shootover. Full in dismount, a little underrotated.
Brown (WVU): BHS BHS LOSO with an adjustment at the end. Kicks out of the full turn. Switch leap, pike jump, solid. RO double twist, camera angle blocked the landing.
McCallum (UU): Her usual clean pak and Van Leeuwen. Huge full in dismount with a small hop.
Wong (UF): Double lay with a huge bounce back into the lunge, has to lift up her front leg to stay in bounds and on her feet. Whip half to front full is much cleaner. 9.925 I’m sorry what
Harris-Miranda (UF): Punch front to double back, has to step forward into the lunge. Great oversplit in her leaps. Back 1.5 to half to stag, nice control. 9.925
After 3: UF 148.175, UU 147.900, WVU 146.250
Florida got some gifts from the judges in what quite possibly should have been a sub 49 floor rotation. It gives them the lead going into the final rotation. Utah had a solid but not flashy bars rotation, and will be hoping for more sticks moving forward. West Virginia put its beam woes behind them for 49.000 on beam. This should hopefully give the Mountaineers the momentum they need to finish big on floor.
Rotation 4: UF VT, UU BB, WVU FX
Pilgrim (UF): Y1.5 with a small hop and then a step forward. 9.775
Padurariu (UU): Double wolf turn with great control. Front aerial to bhs, nice fluidity in the connection. Split jump to a pretty ring jump. Gainer pike stuck. 9.925
Alban (WVU): Opens with a clean double pike. Front lay to front full. Big double tuck to close.
Bui (UF): Clean Y1.5 with a small hop forward.
Sloane Blakely (UF): Meant to do a Y1.5, but she gets lost in the air. It ends up being a Yhalf and she has to somersault out of it. Thankfully she’s okay. 9.2
Winger (UU): BHS LOSO BHS with a small lean. Switch leap to split jump, solid. Stuck gainer full. 9.9
Wong (UF): Half on front pike half, small bounce. 9.925
Tuohy (WVU): Opens with a front double full. Back 1.5 to front lay, front lay is very low but she gets it to her feet. 9.75
Ferris (UF): Y1.5 with a shuffle-hop forward. 9.825
Harris-Miranda (UF): Y1.5, STUCK. Gorgeous.
Smith (UU): Candle mount. Full turn is good. BHS to a floaty LOSO, solid. Front layout, split jump, straddle quarter, nice. Tiniest wobble in her dance. Stuck gainer pike dismount. 9.875
Leigh (WVU): Last pass is to a Rudi to LOSO, nails it. 9.925
Morgan (UU): BHS BHS LOSO, rock solid. Switch half, very short of split, beat jump. Front gainer full, stuck. 9.9
Lane (WVU): Opens with a Rudi to punch back layout to split jump, really fun! Closes with a big punch front double full. 9.85
McCallum (UU): Her signature triple to double wolf turn, so controlled. BHS LOSO good. Switch leap to split leap, no problems. Tucked gainer full with a small foot adjustment. 9.925
Gantner (UU): Bhs loso, beautiful. Switch half to straddle jump, solid. Clean full turn. RO 1.5 twist with a small step. 9.85
Smith (WVU): Full in, a bit of leg form and hops forward on landing. Switch half, Popa, Popa, some foot form but not something that’s likely to be deducted. Front lay to rudi, good. 9.825
Maness (WVU): Back 1.5 to front lay, dances out of it. Switch ring to switch half, ring position isn’t really there. Finishes with a front handspring Rudi, a little low. 9.8
FINAL: UF 197.525, UU 197.425, WVU 195.475
Utah had an amazing beam rotation, but it wasn’t enough to catch Florida. The Gators’ win may be partially due to some happy floor scoring, but they had some great vaults. 197.525 isn’t the 198 of last week, but it’s certainly nothing to scoff at. West Virginia had great beam and floor, and if they can get vault and bars to match, it might start to resemble the regionals-worthy quality it once possessed. Today’s score is a season high by more than a point.
VT: Harris-Miranda (UF), Makenna Smith (UU) – 9.950
UB: Pilgrim (UF), Wong (UF) – 9.925
BB: McCallum (UU), Padurariu (UU) – 9.925
FX: Sloane Blakely (UF) – 9.950
AA: Wong (UF) – 39.675
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Live blog by Naomi Stephenson