The opening weekend of the NCAA season features a matchup between teams that are geographically close but enter 2026 from very different competitive positions. Host Rutgers endured a tumultuous 2025 campaign, but after the midseason ousting of its head coach, the Scarlet Knights surged, climbing 10 spots from their 2024 ranking and earning the final regionals berth. Rutgers will welcome back graduate student Emily Leese and her Yurchenko one and a half after she missed last season with injury. Vault remains an area to watch, as it was the team’s lowest-ranked event in 2025 and a clear focus for improvement.
Temple, a member of the EAGL alongside several East Coast programs that often fly under the radar, continues to showcase standout individual talent. Junior Kyrstin Johnson’s floor routine went viral last season, and her new 2026 choreography should be one of the meet’s highlights. Floor is especially important for the Owls this year, as they look to replace four routines lost to graduation following the 2025 season.
Brockport enters the weekend fresh off a 2025 NCGA-East title and aims to defend that crown in 2026. The Golden Eagles will lean on experienced contributors in juniors Kiara Hockman and Lienna Kay, along with sophomore Emma Brookins. Complementing that core is a sizable incoming class of 11 freshmen, giving Brockport added depth and flexibility across all four events.
The competition will be streamed on B1G+ at 2 p.m. ET. Don’t have B1G+? Sign up today for the monthly pass with the code COLLEGEGYM3 for just $10.99/month (regularly $12.99/month).
Live scoring can be found here: https://virti.us/session?s=Kjw73C9cAD
Rotation 1: Rutgers VT, Temple UB, Brockport BB
Livestream has started but warmups are still going on, so sit tight for a few minutes.
This is a tri-meet with multiple events occurring at once, so we won’t get to see all the routines. The stream will focus on Rutgers, as they are the home team, and the livestream is presented by B1G+, Rutgers being the only Big 10 team competing today.
Chevaire VT Yurchenko full. Good height and body position with a hop back. Good start. 9.725
Larson VT Yurchenko full comes in short, chest low, two hops forward. Maybe just freshman or first meet of the year jitters. 9.45
Goldsmith VT Yurchenko full is stuck, but had legs apart on the pre-flight. She’s wearing the stick crown. 9.675
Riley VT Yurchenko 1.5 comes in short and takes a step back. Has legs apart and bent on pre-flight, so this won’t necessarily score higher than the Yurchenko fulls despite the higher start value. 9.625
Leese VT Back from injury, she vaults a Yurchenko 1.5 with good distance, beautiful body position and a small hop on the landing. Best vault of the rotation by far. 9.900
Dildy VT Yurchenko full with a straight body, open position throughout, and a small hop on the landing. 9.800
Sutphen UB Nice HS on high, piked Jaeger, slows down a little after her bail, full pirouette on high ends past vertical. Goes directly into double tuck dismount and get the stick. She follows a routine with a fall. 9.800
York BB Falls on LOSO series. Switch half is short of split. Bends at waist on front aerial, so nerves are showing. Layout front full off end of beam. Follows 2 falls in this rotation. 8.825
Dunne UB is getting her handstands to vertical, good legs together on Pak. Bent elbows on giant before full twisting double tuck dismount. She also gets the stick and the stick crown, so landings are going well for Temple. 9.825
Hockman BB She pauses before switch half, possible deduction for excessive preparation. BHS LOSO is solid. Switch half to split jump with adequate split. Front aerial to beat jump. Front layout full with straight body lines. Just small deductions in that routine. Confidence and fluidity will probably come later in the season. 9.675
Kay BB Front roll mount, cat leap into switch side, one leg a little low. Does BHS BHS LOSO and lands without difficulty. Beat jump to split 3/4, very short of split, gainer back pike dismount. Brockport comes back well after the falls earlier in the rotation. 9.750
AFTER ONE: Rutgers 48.725 Temple 47.950 Brockport 46.500
Rutgers started off the season with a bang on vault, the highlight being Emily Leese’s return to competition after missing all last season following an Achilles tear. Temple had to count a fall on bars, which isn’t what they were looking for, so we’ll see how they rebound on beam, an even more prone to falls. Brockport was bitten by the beam gremlin, resulting in three falls, two of them counting toward their total. Now that they have the most nerve-wracking event out of the way, hopefully they can get back on track.
Rotation 2: Rutgers UB, Temple BB, Brockport FX
Early UB Geinger with small leg separation, overshoot, full pirouette on high bar looks like it finished on time, double tuck dismount is stuck. Great debut on this event for this gymnast. 9.800
Rains UB Very nice handstand on high, good height on straddle Jaeger, overshoot. Does a stalder HS on high, which you don’t see much in college gymnastics. Double tuck dismount with a small hop. 9.800
Kay FX Lands short on her front full.
Richards UB Blind half to straddle Jaeger, which is unusual, overshoot, another blind half to flyaway with 1.5 twists. Nice to see a routine that varies from the norm, and it was performed with good form. 9.750
Dildy UB Another debut on this event. Toe handstand is done well, Maloney to Pack with leg separation, another good handstand position on her half pirouette on low, full twisting double tuck dismount with a small hop. Excellent routine for her. 9.825
Adrian UB Straddle Tkatchev with adequate height, Pak with leg separation, giant full into double tuck dismount. Lands with chest forward and takes a step. 9.775
Schenkel UB Very good form on blind change to piked Jaeger, overshoot, toe on pike half with a large step forward. 9.750
Brookins FX Front double full lands short and messy, punch Rudi goes better. Does a little comedy in her choreography at the end with facial expression involvement. 9.625
Rengifo BB Has a long wait to start her routine. Wobbles on full turn. BHS LOSO is well done. Cat leap to side aerial and falls. Switch leap to split jump, BHS 1.5 dismount with a hop.
Saravia FX Whip half to Rudi with confident looking dance to end her routine. 9.725
White BB She looks tentative starting off with cat leap to switch half. BHS LOSO lands securely. She almost smiles after her full turn. Split half crosswise on the beam also lands well, but she paused going into it. RO 1.5 dismount with a small hop. Good routine, and she’s probably relieved to have the first beam routine of the year out of the way. 9.600
Dunne BB Wolf turn is performed while maintaining her body position. BHS BHS LOSO, lands well. Then wobbles on front aerial to split jump. Switch leap to switch leap is done well and takes great leg strength. Kicks up to handstand then goes into a back full off the side of the beam and sticks it. Very good routine. 9.700
Henry-Jubitana BB Overturns her full spin and has to pull her hips back. Cat leap to side aerial, bends at the waist and turns to the side to hold it. Leg up and falls after her BHS LOSO. Switch leap to split jump, short of 180 degree split. BHS 1.5 dismount with a stick. She looks understandably disappointed as she high fives her teammates. 8.975
AFTER TWO: Rutgers 48.950 bars – 97.675 total Brockport 48.225 floor – 94.725 total Temple 46.575 beam – 94.525 total
Well, well, well. Division III Brockport is ahead of Temple after the latter counted two falls on beam. Temple needs to come back strong on the leg events to get back into a respectable scoring range. They have a lot of work to do in this meet and in the upcoming season after performing below their capabilities in the first half of the competition. Rutgers showed good form on bars and didn’t have a single miss. The highlight was Gabrielle Dildy scoring the team high of 9.825 in her first collegiate bar routine.
Rotation 3: Rutgers BB, Temple FX, Brockport VT
Leese BB Pauses before front toss to BHS, not sure if she’ll get connection value. Split 3/4 lands solidly. Full turn and beat jump are executed without noticeable deduction. Does a front tuck dismount off the end of the beam with a stick and a big smile. She was not credited with the connection so start value is 9.8 instead of 10. 9.250
Weaver VT Yurchenko layout with flexed feet and a bit of pike, but a decent landing, and she looks happy with her performance. 9.375
Kay VT Yurchenko tuck full with a hop. 9.550
Adrian BB Full turn on releve. BHS LOSO with only a small upper body adjustment. Switch leap to switch half. Second jump is short of split but her hips rise on both elements, making her leap pass stand out among the competitors. BHS double full is stuck. That is a hard skill to stick, that is very impressive. 9.825
Pell VT HS front tuck with a half, short of rotation and falls flat. 8.700
Smith BB Does an interesting stomach roll to start off the routine. BHS BHS LOSO with a small adjustment. Switch leap switch leap, bobbles at the end. RO 1.5 dismount. Does an arm circle but doesn’t move her feet. 9.600
Hockman VT Yurchenko full with nice, straight body line, and a hop back. Division III schools are generally working to upgrade to twisting vaults, and this team achieved that with one vaulter. 9.750
Rains BB BHS LOSO, turns one shoulder a bit on landing. Cat leap to front aerial has a secure landing. Split jump to ring jump — back leg is nowhere near her head, so that jump might be downgraded. Gainer full dismount with a step. Rutgers might need to reconsider its routine composition to get full credit for each routine. 9.650
Riley BB BHS LOSO with arms circling to the side. Split jump to split 3/4, short of split on the latter, lean forward. Another wobble on full turn. BHS 1.5 dismount with a hop. Some things to clean up in that routine. 9.675
Johnson FX We finally get to see Temple in this rotation. Front tuck to double tuck. She continues with her great hip-hop inspired dance and enjoyable performance quality. Looks like she got the split on her heap pass front full to Rudi, then the stream cuts away. 9.725
Dildy BB Front toss to BHS. I think she will get the connection. Cat leap to switch side, good split on that skill. Straddle 1/4 lands well. Cartwheel to full off the side for her dismount. One judge gave her 9.90 start value. 9.800
Thomas FX Double pike with low chest and legs apart. She smiles and looks like she also likes performing dance. Front full to front layout with a stuck landing. 9.725
AFTER THREE: Rutgers 48.550 beam – 146.225 total. Temple 48.525 floor – 143.050 total Brockport 47.575 vault – 142.300
Rutgers remains in the lead by over 3 points. They avoid the beam curse fall-wise, but the lack of credit on several dance and acro combinations pulled their score down. We didn’t get to see much of Temple’s floor rotation, but five of the six scores were in the 9.7 range, which is a good foundation on which to build. Brockport lost ground in this rotation due to the low start values of its vaults. While this will never be a high-scoring event for this team, cleaning up form and landings can get the team total over 48.0.
Now that the dreaded beam rotation is out of the way for all the teams, we’re looking forward to a strong finish all around.
Rotation 4: Rutgers FX, Temple VT, Brockport UB
Chevaire FX Double pike with a solid landing. Front layout front full lands short requiring her to take a step back. Split full to Popa, a little short of full split. Double tuck with flexed feet and a good landing, but chest not as upright as in her double pike. A good start for Rutgers on floor. 9.700
Johnson VT Yurchenko full. Doesn’t get a good block and subsequently lands close to the vaulting table. 9.575
Schenkel FX Double front full performed well. Switch leap to wolf full, split is short. Does a layout step out on the side, presumably to get her back tumbling requirement covered. Front layout with knees slightly bent to Rudi with pike down. 9.775
Rengifo VT Yurchenko full with a large hop back.
Adrian FX Back 1.5 to front full, a pass you see a lot from the top NCAA teams. She sticks it, no controlled step needed. Gets good height on her leap pass but bounces out of her wolf full. Punch Rudi with a step on landing. Rutgers is keeping up good performances on floor. 9.875
Goldsmith FX Front double full, legs apart during the twist and stumbles forward. Front full to front layout, hips rise nicely, the best example of that. Switch side Popa with no noticeable deductions. Rudi to layout to straddle jump, shows control on the landing. 9.800
Leese FX Full in with legs apart but lands with chest up and feet don’t move. Short of full straddle position on her Popa, takes it down to the floor with a Shushanova. Front tuck to very high double tuck. When she points her toes on both saltos, it will be a thing of beauty. 9.825
Dildy FX Front tuck to double tuck, only a slight leg separation on the double salto. Switch full to Popa gets good amplitude. Double pike lands with her weight forward and does a small hop in place. Great floor rotation to finish the meet for Rutgers. 9.900
Shiau FX – Exhibition Double pike with slight knee bend but not difficulty on landing. Back 1.5 to front layout which is very short of rotation. Swich full with bent knees. Double tuck is short and she pops forward.
Rutgers 49.175 floor Temple 48.275 vault Brockport 46.800 bars
Rutgers will be happy with its score today, especially with the changes in NQS making early season meets more important. It’s the team’s best opening meet score in history, which is quite an accomplishment. Emily Leese shows she’s back at full strength, and Gabrielle Dildy wins the all-around in her first try at all four events. Temple will need to put this meet behind them and concentrate on confidence to avoid counting falls in the future. Brockport got off to a weak start as it did in 2025 before regularly scoring in the 192.0 – 193.0 range. The visitors will be looking to rebound in next week’s meets.
FINAL: Rutgers 195.400 Temple 191.350 Brockport 189.100
VT: Leese 9.900
UB: Dunne, Dildy 9.825
BB: Adrian 9.825
FX: Dildy 9.900
AA: Dildy 39.325
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Live blog by Jessica Needle
