While much of the focus today will be on the evening session of the SEC championship, don’t overlook the afternoon session’s potential drama and excitement. These four teams are very closely matched and any one of them could come out on top, especially considering the two lower seeds, No. 12 Auburn and No. 13 Alabama, are competing in their home state.
Scores from the two sessions are combined to determine the team and individual champions, so we will not know until later tonight whether anyone from this session has won any titles, but there are several contenders. Kentucky’s Isabella Magnelli is a possible title winner on vault and beam, and Alabama’s Lilly Hudson and Gabby Gladieux could both be on the podium on floor. Don’t overlook Georgia’s Lily Smith on bars either.
The meet can be seen on SECN, with live scores provided by Virtius.
Rotation 1: Kentucky VT, Georgia UB, Auburn BB, Alabama FX
Procasky (UK) VT: Y-full with a tiny hop. 9.800
Bácskay (UGA) UB: Floaty Pak, nice Van Leeuwen, a little loose on the full turn but sticks the double tuck. 9.875
Ahern (Aub) BB: Small leg up wobble after full turn then another after her series. Sticks dismount with a large lean forward, heels come up. 9.800
Rybicki (Ala) FX: Big lunge back after her double tuck. Low amplitude on her combo pass after slightly mistiming the punch. 9.800
Rizo (UK) VT: Beautiful Y-full, straight legs in the air and lands with chest up, just a small slide back. 9.850
Berry (UGA) UB: Beautiful first handtand, holds it a second. Another floaty Pak. Great toe point on the stalder, small hop back on the double tuck. 9.825
O. Greaves (Aub) BB: Double wolf turn is solid, as is the BHS LOSO. Maybe a slight wobble after the side aerial. Gainer pike is off to the side and she takes a small hop. 9.700
Adams (Ala) FX: Triple wolf turn, great job. Solid double back, tiny movement of her plant foot on the lunge. Really beautiful form on her leaps. 9.850
Wilson (UK) VT: Front pike half, moves her left foot back on the landing. Chest a little low on the landing. 9.825
Snyder (UGA) UB: Hit her foot on the Church and had to bend her legs to catch the bar but she’s somehow able to continue. Small slide back on her dismount. 9.375
Zancan (Aub) BB: Gorgeous unique mount, really solid series. Leg separation in her 1.5 dismount and takes a hop forward as well. 9.850
Sears (Ala) FX: Absolutely gorgeous leap positions. Front tuck through to double tuck, solid landing but she doesn’t keep her front foot in place even though it was controlled. 9.850
Magnelli (UK) VT: Her usual spectacular front pike half with a small step on the landing. 9.850
Wahl (UGA) UB: Has to repeat a cast handstand on the low bar. I think she stuck her DLO but the coach was standing in the way… 9.700
Neal (Aub) BB: Some minor knee bend on her triple series and maybe a tiny lean at the end of it. Stuck the 1.5 dismount. 9.850
Hudson (Ala) FX: Front double full to start followed by beautiful fully rotated leaps. Overrotates her back 2.5 and lunges forward OOB. 9.700
Noonan (UK) VT: Yurchenko half-on pike half off, lands with her chest a little low but had very little foot movement, if any. 9.800
Scott (UGA) UB: Huge amplitude on her release, beautiful Van Leeuwen. 9.875
Groth (Aub) BB: I missed a lot of this while watching Hudson’s floor but no major errors that I saw. 9.875
Gladieux (Ala) FX: Beautiful, open tuck position in her FTDT. Front lay to Rudi to split jump is gorgeous. 9.900
Killough-Wilhelm (UK) VT: Y-1.5, beautiful in the air but slightly underrotates it and has to take a couple hops back. 9.750
L. Smith (UGA) UB: Her usual perfection and toepoint on every skill. Some minor leg separation on the backswing before the bail. Coach is once again in the way on the dismount but I think she stuck it. 9.925
McLaughlin (Aub) BB: BHS LOSO is solid, maybe some slight knee form on the BHS. Oh no, she comes off the beam after her side aerial. Small hop back on her dismount. 9.050
Walker (Ala) FX: Lands her double pike with her feet staggered but the landing is very controlled, she also had some flexed feet in the air. Back 1.5 to Barani to switch split jump, gorgeous finish but I’m not sure she had enough height on her Barani. 9.850
AFTER ONE: Alabama 49.250, Georgia 49.200, Kentucky 49.125, Auburn 49.000
We expected these teams to be very closely matched and so far that is definitely true. Each team had at least one score in the 9.7 range in that rotation, and with Georgia and Auburn having one major miss each they had to count those sub-9.8 scores. Kentucky is likely going to be disappointed in that performance on its best event.
I’m checking out our regional qualification live blog in between rotations and you should be too!
Rotation 2: Alabama VT, Kentucky UB, Georgia BB, Auburn FX
Paradise (Ala) VT: Y-1.5, really nice and takes a medium hop forward. 9.800
Rizo (UK) UB: Absolutely gorgeous straddled Jaeger to open. DLO is a little whippy and she doesn’t control the stick, has to take a step back into her salute. 9.800
Howard (UGA) BB: BHS LOSO is solid. Side aerial is good. I haven’t seen any wobbles so far. Gainer full of the side, stuck. Great start to the rotation! 9.800
Ahern (Aub) FX: Front 1.5 to LOSO, well done. I missed most of her second pass while watching Howard but it looked solid. 9.850
Kvamme (Ala) VT: Y-1.5, pretty clean in the air, maybe some slight knee bend. Almost sticks it, ends up with a tiny hop forward. 9.850
Riegert (UK) UB: SO much amplitude on her Jaeger. Bail handstand looked good. Last cast handstand a little short. Blind fall a little late and then she takes a step on the double tuck. 9.750
Gleichowski (UGA) BB: Triple series is super solid. Small hop forward on the dismount. 9.775
Zancan (Aub) FX: Front tuck through to double tuck, well-controlled on the landing. Her leaps looked fully rotated to me. Small Chae tribute on her double tuck to finish. 9.750
German (Ala) VT: Y-1.5, pretty clean in the air but has to take a very large hop forward. 9.750
Procasky (UK) UB: Can’t get her hands around the high bar on the Maloney and comes off. They didn’t show the rest of the routine for unknown reasons. 9.250
Turner (UGA) BB: BHS LOSO LOSO, no issues. Sticks the dismount, this should be a high score. 9.850
Bell (Aub) FX: Front double twist to punch front, some foot form in the air but otherwise solid. Slightly overpowers her double pike, large lunge back. 9.850
Gladieux (Ala) VT: Y-1.5, lands it really well with a small hop forward. 9.900
Davis (UK) UB: Flexed feet on her straddled Jaeger. DLO a little close to the bar, takes a small step. 9.800
L. Smith (UGA) BB: Medium wobble after her first leap, definitely broke the connection but luckily she did three of them and the connection after the second was solid. 9.600
O. Greaves (Aub) FX: They didn’t show this routine but apparently it scored a 9.875.
Hudson (Ala) VT: Y-1.5 STUCK. Super clean form in the air. 9.925
Rodriguez (UK) UB: Good routine overall but she leaned back on the salute and will probably get the stick deduction. 9.850
Eaker (UGA) BB: Oh no, she almost falls on her split leap dismount and has to put her hands down. Falls after her acro series, that’s not what Georgia wanted. 8.200
McLaughlin (Aub) FX: Small leg separation while twisting in her combo pass. Slightly uncontrolled after landing her leap combo. Sticks the double pike cold! 9.875
Bunagan (Ala) VT: Y-1.5, she’s improved her form, still a little leg bend but not much. Lands it well and only has to take a medium step forward. 9.825
Killough-Wilhelm (UK) UB: Beautiful piked Jaeger! DLO with a small slide back. 9.925
Scott (UGA) BB: Noticeable lean after her full turn, but her series is super solid. Front aerial to split jump to BHS is gorgeous. Another small lean after her leap series, then she has the tiniest hop forward on her 1.5 dismount. 9.800
Groth (Aub) FX: Front double full, a little uncontrolled on the forward lunge. Sticks her front layout with no lunge. Rudi to finish, good landing. 9.900
AFTER TWO: Alabama 98.550, Auburn 98.350, Kentucky 98.250, Georgia 98.025
Auburn had a big bounce back on floor after a subpar beam rotation, but the Tigers are still trailing Alabama by two tenths. Alabama still needs to go to its two lowest-ranked events, however. Georgia needs to put that 48.825 beam rotation behind it and hope to have a bounce back of its own. Kentucky is only three tenths behind Alabama but will need to improve on its matching 49.125 event totals in order to make a move for first position after the afternoon session.
Rotation 3: Auburn VT, Alabama UB, Kentucky BB, Georgia FX
Huff (Aub) VT: Y-1.5, some soft knees in the air and takes a medium step forward on the landing. 9.750
Gladieux (Ala) UB: Straddled Jaeger to bail. Blind full into double tuck, stuck but I’m not sure she finished the blind full perfectly vertical. 9.850
Rodriguez (UK) BB: BHS BHS LOSO is very solid. Sticks her dismount. 9.850
Williams (UGA) FX: Great double pike to open. I suspect her last leap wasn’t full rotated, looked 1/4 short. Sticks her double tuck closed. 9.875
Zois (Aub) VT: Y-full, some clear leg separation on the twisting but legs were straight. Leaned back on the landing and swung her arms to hold the stick. 9.725
Hudson (Ala) UB: Leg separation on the Maloney, the last cast handstand may have been a little short. Lands the FTDT dismount with staggered feet but sticks it. 9.875
Brose (UK) BB: Front tuck, lands with her shoulder slightly down but somehow doesn’t wobble. Acro series is solid. Overrotates her full turn slightly. Steps forward on the 1.5 dismount. 9.750
King (UGA) FX: Steps out of bounds on her punch front after the front double full. Beautiful height on her front layout. 9.700
Schumaker (Aub) VT: Tucked 1.5, lands it upright but has to take a small step backward (underrotated). 9.775
Walker (Ala) UB: Floaty Pak. Maloney to Geinger is solid. FTDT dismount has some flexed feet and she takes a step back and salutes while a little off-balance. 9.850
Lee (UK) BB: BHS BHS LOSO, that LOSO was nice and floaty. Sticks the 1.5 dismount! 9.800
Bácskay (UGA) FX: FTDT to open, absorbed the landing a little low but otherwise controlled. Back 2.5 to punch front is solid, I would’ve liked a little more height on the punch front but that’s being picky. 9.850
Hubbard (Aub) VT: Low height on the Y1.5, ends up underrotated and she sits it down. Sam says Hubbard left the arena for a few minutes before the vault so we’re unsure if that’s related. 9.200
LaCoursiere (Ala) UB: Lands her dismount with her chest way down, tries to hold the stick but has to swing her arms several times and bend at the hips and ends up with a small step. 9.725
Bennett (UK) BB: BHS LOSO LOSO with pointed toes. I missed her leaps but Sam says they could’ve used more extension. Gainer pike dismount is stuck. 9.775
Wahl (UGA) FX: Underrotates her FTDT and has to take a large step forward to save it. Chest slightly low on her double tuck, a little overpowered on the lunge back. 9.775
Zancan (Aub) VT: Front handspring to front pike, STUCK. She leans forward a little too much to be deductionless but that should score high. 9.850
Fuller (Ala) UB: Nice patience on her Pak, nice Van Leeuwen too. Some flexed feet on her DLO dismount but she sticks it. 9.950
Killough-Wilhelm (UK) BB: Front aerial to BHS LOSO with a small leg-up wobble. Small hop forward after her 1.5 dismount. 9.775
Aquino (UGA) FX: Very overpowered on her front tuck through to double tuck and she flies back out of bounds. Then she has the opposite problem on her double pike and lands short, has to lunge forward to avoid the fall. That’s too bad because she’s a great tumbler. 9.525
Bell (Aub) VT: Beautiful Y-full, it looked clean in the air. Hops in place on the landing. 9.825
Adams (Ala) UB: Maloney to bail handstand, arches the handstand but saves it front going over. Leans back on her dismount and ends up having to take a step. 9.750
Magnelli (UK) BB: BHS LOSO LOSO, very small lean but hardly noticeable. Front aerial is super solid. Gainer pike stuck. Fantastic routine as usual! 9.900
L. Smith (UGA) FX: Front double full is gorgeous and very well controlled. Back 1.5 to front full, slightly imbalanced on the landing. Rudi to straddle jump, great. 9.925
AFTER THREE: Alabama 147.825, Kentucky 147.350, Auburn 147.275, Georgia 146.950
We finally have our first 9.95+ score of the meet and it came from Ryan Fuller on bars. I’m a little surprised Magnelli beam didn’t reach that number, but I was also watching Smith on floor so I may have missed something. In terms of team scores, Alabama seems to be running away with this session, but they’re headed over to beam where anything can happen. Kentucky has been super consistent in its scoring so far and is going to floor, so if Alabama makes any mistakes on beam the Wildcats will be in great position to take advantage of the opening. Auburn isn’t far behind Kentucky but is going to its lowest-ranked event in bars. Georgia is also moving to its lowest-ranked event (vault) so chances are this meet will come down to Alabama and Kentucky.
Of note: Georgia has a team deduction of 0.200, I’m not sure why though!
Rotation 4: Georgia VT, Auburn UB, Alabama BB, Kentucky FX
Scott (UGA) VT: Y-full, medium hop back. 9.800
Boyd (Aub) UB: Leg separation on the Maloney but the Pak is nice. Stalder into double tuck, lands with the feet staggered and has to hop a bit to bring her heels together. 9.850
LaCoursiere (Ala) BB: Really solid routine, small hop on her dismount. 9.825
Procasky (UK) FX: A little uncontrolled on the forward lunge out of her first pass. I don’t think she fully rotated her leaps. Double tuck to finish is landed well. 9.850
King (UGA) VT: Y-1.5, overpowered a bit and has to take a large step forward, it may have been a cross step actually. 9.725
Leonard (Aub) UB: Cast handstand is a little short after her release move. DLO is piked down but she sticks it. 9.850
Rybicki (Ala) BB: I missed most of her routine while watching Magnelli, but she did stick the dismount. 9.800
Magnelli (UK) FX: Possibly some leg form in the air on her first pass, and her leaps weren’t super well controlled either. Double pike, I would’ve liked to see a little more amplitude but she landed it well. 9.875
Bácskay (UGA) VT: Y-1.5, lands it upright and only takes a small hop. Some minor leg form in the air. 9.800
Bartman (Aub) UB: Beautiful straddled Jaeger. Patient on the Pak, a little loose on the half pirouette on the low bar. Double front dismount with flexed feet and takes a sizeable step back on the landing. 9.800
Ladanyi (Ala) BB: Front aerial to split jump is nice. BHS LOSO, solid. Beautiful leap series. Sticks the dismount. 9.900
Rodriguez (UK) FX: Rudi to back layout is really nice. Lands her double tuck with her chest low and has to take a step forward. Back 1.5 to Barani to straddle jump, good finish. 9.800
Aquino (UGA) VT: Tsuk full, stuck! I noticed some clear leg separation on the preflight. 9.875
Groth (Aub) UB: Comes off the bar on her Ray. Pak is a little low. Small step on the dismount. 9.100
Hudson (Ala) BB: Front aerial to BHS is solid. Switch leap to switch leap, nice. Side aerial to beat jump, no wobbles so far in this routine. Hops forward on the dismount landing and then is leaning forward on the salute. 9.800
Killough-Wilhelm (UK) FX: Front double full is really nice and well-controlled. Back 1.5 to front layout, a little low on the front lay compared to the previous element but that’s being picky. 9.875
Wahl (UGA) VT: They didn’t show this but it scored a 9.725.
Irvine (Aub) UB: Beautiful piked Jaeger, maybe a little short of horizontal on the bail. Some visible leg separation on the FTDT dismount plus a step. 9.875
Gladieux (Ala) BB: BHS to back pike is solid. Big leg-up wobble after the front aerial and tries to finesse it into an arabesque. Double twist dismount is stuck! 9.850
Brose (UK) FX: Gorgeous double pike with pointed toes! Front full to front layout is also good. Front double full to finish, great. 9.925
A. Smith (UGA) VT: Y-1.5, takes a medium hop forward on the landing. 9.800
O. Greaves (Aub) UB: Caught the piked Jaeger a little close, then she can’t catch the Van Leeuwen and comes off the apparatus. Big step back on her FTDT landing. 9.300
Adams (Ala) BB: Really strong routine, I didn’t notice any wobbles or major mistakes. 9.900
Davis (UK) FX: Double pike, clean in the air and a solid landing. Beautiful straddle positions in her leaps. Floaty back 1.5 to front layout. Double tuck to finish. Great routine! 9.900
FINAL: Alabama 197.100, Kentucky 196.775, Georgia/Auburn 195.950
That was a really great performance for Alabama with only three scores below 9.800 (and nothing below 9.700) in the entire meet. After being the last team to qualify to SECs it’s got to be a confidence boost to win this session going into regionals. Kentucky had a good day but not a great one, and with a few more stuck landings the Wildcats could’ve been fighting for the session with with Alabama. Meanwhile Georgia and Auburn will not be happy with today, putting up sub-196 scores at SECs is going to leave a bad taste in their mouths going into the postseason. Hopefully we’ll see a turnaround at regionals. In terms of individuals, I imagine it’s going to take 9.950+ on an event in order to be in contention for the SEC title, and the only one of those we saw today was Alabama’s Fuller on bars, so we’ll have to wait until tonight to see how that measures up against the top four teams.
VT: Hudson (Ala) 9.925
UB: Fuller (Ala) 9.950
BB: Magnelli (UK)/Ladanyi (Ala)/Adams (Ala) 9.900
FX: L. Smith (UGA)/Brose (UK) 9.925
AA: Gladieux (Ala) 39.500
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Live blog by Jenna King
