Conference showdowns heat up as the Cyclones head to Morgantown to face West Virginia. After a shaky start, Iowa State seems to be finding its rhythm, gradually improving consistency. Freshman Haylee Hardin is emerging as a star on both vault and floor, earning her second consecutive Big 12 Newcomer of the Week award. Maintaining that momentum will be crucial for the Cyclones as they aim to climb higher in the conference standings.
West Virginia, on the other hand, is riding high after a season-best performance against Florida and Utah at home last weekend. The Mountaineers have faced their share of challenges, from injuries to adjusting to a coaching shuffle (with Kaylyn Millick returning for her third stint as an assistant). While vault continues to be a weak spot, the team posted season highs on beam and floor, two events that had previously been troublesome. If West Virginia hopes to notch its first conference win, it will need to repeat those strong performances. Keep an eye on Jurnee Lane, who made her all-around debut last weekend, just shy of a 39. If she competes on all four events again, expect her to improve that score.
We are minutes away from getting started, so if you haven’t already turned on your screen, you can watch on ESPN+ here or follow along on live stats here!
Oh boy, looks like Jurnee Lane suffered an injury during warmups. Interesting to see how these lineups are going to change now.
Rotation 1: WVU vault, ISU bars
Alban (WVU): Yurchenko full , bit of a pike down before the landing, small hop back on the landing. Some bent elbows off the table. 9.650.
Wills (ISU): toe hand to Maloney, good regrasp, to Pak salto, little bit of a mistake on the half pirouette but recovers very nicely. DLO dismount with a solid landing. 9.650.
Tuohy (WVU): Yurchenko full, beautiful layout position in the air! Chest was a little low, but got the landing! 9.775, career high!
Loyim (ISU): blind to piked Jaeger, bit of an arm bend on the landing. Pak salto to low bar looked good, DLO dismount, small hop in place on the landing. 9.675
E. Smith (WVU): Stepping in for Lane here after her injury. Yurchenko full, good block off the table, little hop back on the landing. 9.775, career high!
Bergstrom-Te Slaa (ISU): blind to straddle Jaeger, lost her toe point in the air. Bail to handstand, good position on the low bar, tiny bit short on the last handstand, blind full to double tuck dismount with a step back. 9.625
Nelson (WVU): Yurchenko full, nice amplitude, bit of an early twist so she landed off to the side. Pike down with a hop back. 9.700
Bochow (ISU): I forget she was a Mountaineer before coming to ISU. blind to straddle Jaeger, beautiful toe point in the air. Bail to handstand, looking really clean so far. DLO dismount with a small hop back. 9.775, ties a career-high
DiCello (WVU): Yurchenko full, really good form in the air, tiniest slide back on the landing. Bit of leg separation right before the landing. 9.850, career high, WOW!
Sgarbossa (ISU): mount on low bar, Maloney to clear hip, beautiful! Pak salto looked crisp, she just flows through this routine, DLO dismount, some leg separation with a hop back. 9.850
Rice (WVU): Mountaineers likely on track for a season high here before Rice vaults. Tsuk full, no leg separation in the leg, small step back. 9.800
Thomas (ISU): blind to straddle Jaeger, bent arms on the catch, Pak salto had some leg separation, DLO dismount, stuck. 6/6 bars rotation for the Cyclones!
After 1: WVU 48.900, ISU 48.775
I have to say, I am highly impressed with how the Mountaineers looked on vault. You can tell there was a lot of focus on the little details from landings to form in the air. I’ll be interested to see how that translates on bars. Cyclones hit 6/6 on bars for only the second time this season, giving them a lot of momentum as they head to vault.
Rotation 2: ISU vault, WVU bars
Wills (ISU): Yurchenko full, big height in the air, some loose knees, hop back on the landing. 9.775
Alban (WVU): clear hip to Geinger, good transition to handstand on the low bar, DLO dismount, had to bend over to stay on her tiptoes and keep the landing. 9.625
Wilke (ISU): Yurchenko full, early twist off the table affected the angle of the vault, small hop in place on the landing. 9.750
Leigh (WVU): Blind to straddle Jaeger, lost a little form in the air, leg separation on the Pak salto, DLO dismount, hop back on the landing. 9.700
Loyim (ISU): Yurchenko full, good block and amplitude off the table, some knee form in the air, hop back on the landing. 9.775
McDonnell (WVU): toe-hand to a beautiful Ray, Pak salto, almost straddled with the leg separation in the air, hop back on half pirouette to double tuck dismount. 9.700
Sgarbossa (ISU): Yurchenko full, very clean block, good height and distance, small hop back on the landing. 9.750
Skeel (WVU): Collegiate debut for Skeel here! Goes for the Tkatchev and misses the catch, remounts and gets her bail to handstand, DLO dismount with a step back. Not quite what she wanted for a debut, but when she hits, that’ll be a good routine for WVU. 8.650
Bergstrom-Te Slaa (ISU): Yurchenko full, cleanest vault I’ve seen from the Cyclones so far, tried to get the stick, but had to take the step and arm swing. 9.750
Macy (WVU): Usually the anchor, but needs a hit here following Skeel’s fall. Blind to piked Jaeger to immediate overshoot, very difficult combination but handled it well. DLO dismount with a small movement in place. 9.725
Hardin (ISU): Omelianchik, LOTS of distance, small hop forward on the landing. VERY good rotation for the Cyclones on vault. 9.825
Brown (WVU): Trying to erase Skeel’s 8.650. First bar routine of her career. Blind and peels off the bar going for the release. WVU will count a fall here unfortunately. Reattempts the skill and gets it the second time. Bail to handstand, good handstand position before the dismount. Double layout dismount with a stick. 8.975.
After 2: ISU 97.650, WVU 96.625
Cyclones take the lead after WVU has to count a fall on bars. Hardin’s 9.825 led the team and will be a big boost as they head to floor. The Mountaineers were looking good on bars, even with two newcomers on the event due to Lane’s injury. It will be interesting to see how the second half of this meet goes as both teams are searching for their first conference win.
Rotation 3: WVU beam, ISU floor
Leigh (WVU): BHS LOSO, bit of an adjustment on the landing on the layout. Cat leap to switch half to beat jump, good leap combination. Side aerial, another balance check. Gainer full off the side, small step on the landing. 9.650
Loyim (ISU): Opens with a nice open double tuck, switch side to straddle jump, good position in those leaps. Back 1.5 to front layout, nice control on the landing. Good opening for the Cyclones! 9.725
DiCello (WVU): Good control on her full turn, BHS LOSO LOSO, lean after the 2nd layout. Switch leap switch leap, good movement between the leaps. RO 1.5 dismount with a stick. She will be thrilled with that. 9.700, they think it’s too low, I actually think it was spot on.
Schell (ISU): FHS Rudi stag jump, stag was a little out of control. Toe point on the switch side straddle half was very nice, back 1.5 to front layout to close. 9.725
Lowe (WVU): BHS LOSO series, so glad she’s using this instead of her previous series. Side aerial to beat jump, looks a lot more confident. Beat jump to split 3/4, balance check on the split. RO 1.5 dismount with a stick! She previously did a side aerial to side somi series, so I’m glad to see her doing something more consistent. 9.650
Manternach (ISU): Double pike to open, nice amplitude and toe point in the air. Front tuck through to double tuck, underrotated with a low chest, but stayed on her feet. Good toe point on her leap series to close! 9.575, drop score for now.
Brown (WVU): BHS BHS LOSO triple series, she’s become so much more confident on that series and I am here for it. Switch leap to pike jump, kept those arms moving. RO double twist dismount, stuck. Nice to see her come back strong after a rough bar routine. 9.675, hmm, that’s an interesting score.
N. Adams (ISU): Front double full to open, little bit of loose knees in the air on the twists. Great height on the jump series! Front layout front 1.5 to close it out. So far so good! 9.825
K. Adams (WVU): Full turn to open, great control. Front aerial to BHS series, good connection, has done a layout out of that before, so adds a split jump after to help her SV. Beat jump split jump split full, leg lift after the last jump. Gainer pike off end dismount. 9.650
Wilke (ISU): Back 1.5 front full, bit of an underrotation with a hop back on the landing. Switch side to straddle, some arm wave after the straddle. Double pike to close, small foot adjustment on the landing. 9.750
There’s been a LOT of judges’ conferences today, dear goodness.
Nelson (WVU): Very nice shoulder cartwheel to open her routine. BHS BHS LOSO triple series, saves a fall on that series. Good rise on the leap elements. BHS gainer full dismount with a stick. 9.575
Hardin (ISU): Looking to drop Manternach’s 9.575. Nice double layout to open! Good rotation and split position on her leap series, I’m really mad I didn’t get to see her perform this routine live because this is so good! Her rise between skills on the second pass was spot on. Double pike to close, another great routine for the freshman! 9.925
Eden Webster exhibitions on beam for the Mountaineers, she was in a boot and crutches earlier this season, so it’s nice to see her recovered enough to exhibition.
After 3: ISU 146.600, WVU 145.150
Hardin ends the floor lineup on a high note with the first 9.900 plus score of the meet! WVU had no misses on beam, but scores were probably a little lower than Jason Butts and company would have liked. This meet is likely locked up, but we will see what happens when the Cyclones head to beam.
Rotation 4: ISU beam, WVU floor
Loyim (ISU): Switch leap switch leap, bit of a lean after the first acrobatic element. BHS LOSO series, solid. Switch side looked good. Gainer full off side with a stick. 9.650
Alban (WVU): Double pike to open, good amplitude in the air. Front layout to front full second pass, little step out of the layout, stuck that double tuck! Great opening routine for WVU! 9.800
Sgarbossa (ISU): Wolf turn to open, nice to see some difficulty in these skills. BHS to aerial series, Switch leap to straddle jump, her toes never stopped pointing. Cat leap to side somi, finessed the heck out of that landing, wow! RO 1.5 dismount, small hop forward on the landing! 9.775
Maness (WVU): RO 1.5 to front layout to open, beautiful ring position in her leap series. This routine is giving OU vibes with how intense she is with her performance. FHS Rudi to close. 9.800
Adams (ISU): BHS LOSO, had to work to save that series after a wobble. Switch leap switch leap connection. Side aerial, spot on. Slight balance check after the full turn. Front aerial looked good, gainer full off side with a lean forward to keep the landing. Iowa State can’t afford to give WVU any wiggle room this late in the meet. 9.625
Lowe (WVU): Double tuck to open, underrotated with a sizable step forward. Back 1.5 to front layout, some knee form in the layout, but nice rise in the second skill. Double pike to close, lacked amplitude in the air, but somehow managed to get that around. 9.600
O’Brochta (ISU): Split ring jump to open her routine. BHS LOSO, normally has a triple series here, but has struggled with consistency on it, so I’m glad to see her reworking this routine to get her confidence back. Gainer pike dismount off the end, solid landing. 9.750
E. Smith (WVU): Round off full-in to open, much better on controlling the positions of her chest on that landing. Lots of amplitude on the leap series! Front layout to 1.5 twist last pass, very nicely done! 9.825
Thomas (ISU): Front toss to BHS series, small balance adjustment after the BHS. Switch leap to straddle jump, good toe point. Good control on the full turn, RO 1.5 dismount with a step back. 9.800
Leigh (WVU): FHS front double full to open, very nice control on the step out of the landing! Switch side straddle full, her control on that series is just spot on. FHS Rudi layout step out. Should easily be the highest score so far for the Mountaineers. 9.850
Bergstrom-Te Slaa (ISU): Cat leap to front toss BHS, difficult combination but she got it today. Switch leap switch leap maybe lacked a bit of rise on the second switch. Split jump, front full dismount. Not sure if it was supposed to be tucked, but if not, that’ll be a deduction for the knees. 9.750
Tuohy (WVU): Last minute lineup addition. FHS front double full to open, very nicely done! Good toe point on the leap series. Back 1.5 to front layout to close it out, for a last minute addition, she did well and should drop the 9.600 from Lowe. 9.650
FINAL: ISU 195.375, WVU 194.175
Iowa State picks up its first win in conference play this season, while West Virginia hits its second highest team score of the season despite the injury to Lane. Hopefully, her injury isn’t too serious and the Mountaineers can get her back sooner rather than later. The Cyclones had a relatively clean meet and will take that momentum with them as they head to Tuscon on a quick turnaround.
VT: K. DiCello (WVU) – 9.850
UB: F. Sgarbossa (ISU) – 9.850
BB: J. Bergstrom-Te Slaa, L. Thomas (ISU) – 9.800
FX: H. Hardin (ISU) – 9.925
AA: H. Loyim (ISU) – 38.825
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Live blog by Savanna Wellman
