Whitewater will be kicking off its season on the road against the defending NCGA national champion, Oshkosh, which just notched a 192.100 at its first meet of the season last week. Last year, when Whitewater and Oshkosh went head-to-head, the visiting Titans fell to the Warhawks by 2.5 points, with the Warhawks claiming victory, going on to best Oshkosh, who would claim 3rd at Nationals, with La Crosse taking home the title.
So, although the Titans may not be the reigning champs, they’ve certainly shaped themselves into a legacy team. And a legacy team that’s hungry to prove itself again is dangerous.
Tune in to the WIAC Network at 6 p.m. ET to catch these teams live in action, and I’ll be here for anything you might miss. For scores and lineups, head to Virtius.
Running through intros!
Rotation 1: Oshkosh VT, Whitewater UB
Muraski (UWO): Tucked y full, form in the air, steps.
McConkay (UWO): Tucked y full, better in the air but still with form issues, stuck!
Phillips (UWO): Y full, legs in the air, good chest position, steps.
Ellis (UWO): Y full, better distance, steps on the landing. Still with form in the air.
Evans (UWO): Y full, really, really, really strange block, gets it around.
McGibboney (UWO): Y full, good height, hops back, form could be tighter.
Whitewater is currently standing in front of the camera for bars completely.
Talley (UWW): Shy first hs. Full to piked geinger, bail to low is wiggly. Full to double tuck, not sure what the landing looked like but everyone is celebrating.
Balian (UWW): Okay, I can somehow see even less. Things were realized. Shaposh to bail. Shy last hs. Full to double tuck, steps back, good chest position.
Summers (UWW): Good hs. Free hip to tkatchev to bail, release was sky high, bail had form issues. Fights for that hs before the toe on pike half dismount, steps back and to the side.
Copeland (UWW): Shaposh to pak, lovely shaposh, leg sep in pak. Half turn. Full to double tuck, sticks!
Heffernan (UWW): Half to straddle jaeger, good. Toe circle to bail, great form on the bail. Full to double tuck, steps back, then moves the same foot forward again. So, two deductions for steps instead of one.
Magel (UWW): Half to piked jaeger, looovely. Bail to hs, fights for that, looks good! Double lay, good height, leg sep, steps back.
AFTER ONE: Whitewater 48.425, Oshkosh 48.400
Oh, so it’s going to be that type of meet, huh? The type of meet where every single little tenth, shuffle, foot adjustment, doesn’t just mean something, it could count in a major way. Oshkosh looked good on vault, and Whitewater didn’t give a whole lot away on bars. It’s the little things that are the big things today. But, let’s remind ourselves, it’s week two. And if nothing else, we can fall asleep dreaming of Heffernan’s form on the bail handstand.
Rotation 2: Whitewater VT, Oshkosh UB
Pound (UWW): Tucked Y full, not a ton of height there, lands with chest down, steps.
Copeland (UWW): Tucked y full, cleaner form in the air, chest down, steps.
Balian (UWW): Lay full, bounces.
Summers (UWW): Y lay full, good set, form in the air.
Moore (UWW): Y lay full, chest down, and saw her bounce forward. Just an awkward landing.
Rider (UWW): Y half on, pike off, stuck!!!
Hughes (UWO): Good first hs. Half to straddle jaeger to shootover, form in the bail. Full to double tuck, good height, steps back. STrong routine, just form throughout.
Bretschneider (UWO): Half to straddle jaeger, GORGEOUS. PAk has good height, leg sep in the air but good toe point. Shy last hs. Double lay, same leg sep as pak, but I’d say that landing was stuck.
McGibboney (UWO): Half to tkatchev, good. Bail to hs, lovely, lovely. FTDB, steps back, good chest position. Good routine!
Evans (UWO): Half to a piked jaeger to shootover. Shy last hs. Full to double tuck, sticks!
Hayden (UWO): Solid routine out of hte corner of my eye, great height on the release. Ends with double tuck.
McConkay (UWO): Piked geinger, leg sep. Free hip. Bail to hs, good form there. Full to double tuck, foot adjusment in place.
AFTER TWO: Oshkosh 96.900, Whitewater 96.700
Whitewater left some tenths on the table after vault, it was a great showing, don’t get me wrong, but shuffles here and there took their toll along with chest positions. Oshkosh went lights out on bars, strong handstands, good form, and solid dismounts.
Rotation 3: Oshkosh BB, Whitewater FX
Ratkowski (UWO): Small check on the full tunr. BHS loso, squares it as she lifts her chest. STrong leap series, great extension. Ah, comes off on the second leap series. BHS 1.5 lay, steps to the front and side.
Oshkosh hasn’t gone sub 190 in quite a bit of time, so let’s see if the Titans can brush this off.
Warkentien (UWO): Quite the delay here. Smooth full turn after waiting for so long. BHS LOSO, squares as stands it up, smooths it over. Cat lap to a nervous switch half to beat, not the strongest form but fighting through. RO lay 1.5, stuck! Back on track.
Jakubiak (UWO): BHS Loso, front leg comes up, feels like nerves. Front toss, comes off. Ah, Oshkosh will be counting a fall. Correction on the full turn to keep from a wobble. Switch leap to straddle quarter, good! Gainer lay full, stuck!
Gallegos (UWO): BHS loso, leg up, comes off. That’ll be two falls that Oshkosh will be counting. Graceful and lovely full turn, picture perfect.
Do not blame me for the 190 score comment, that came from their own social media.
Hayden (UWO): BHS LOSO, very soft knees but square throughout. Swithc leap to split jump, a little shy on the sjump. Front toss. RO 1.5 lay, stuck!
Hughes (UWO): BHS LOSO is dreamy. Small shoulder check on the full turn. Front toss. Switch leap to straddle quarter, some adjustment. RO 1.5, shuffle hop forward. Good.
Pound (UWW): Whip half to front full to start, good. Double tuck, okay chest position. Leaps could use a little more extension, not quite 180, soft knees and toes. But a good start to kick things off.
Haberstack (UWW): RO 1.5 to front lay, a bit low on that second half, keeps it on her feet, but archy. Leaps looked good, straddle jump was lovely. Double pike, deep landing, chest was low, not quite the set she wanted but keeps that up too.
Moore (UWW): Opens with double tuck, I think she may have gone out of bounds, definitely overcooked a little. Swithc side to wolf full series, front leg a little low. RO 1.5 to front lay, great position throughout. FHS Rudi to end, excelletn chest position there too.
Rider (UWW): Double pike, chest position a little down but good control. Front lay to front full with a choreo kick. Switch half to straddle half a touch off balance but good extension. Double tuck to end.
Heffernan (UWW): RO 1.5 to front full, I’m pretty sure she kept it in. Switch side was lovely. Step back and to the side on the 2.5 in the second pass. Bouncy leaps to follow. Good.
Magel (UWW): High double tuck! Soft knee in her first leap but good height. Front lay to front full, good. Rudi, good chest position.
AFTER THREE: Whitewater 144.550, Oshkosh 143.200
Okay, some quick math — for Oshkosh to keep the 190 plus streak alive, the Titans will need to go 46.800 on floor. Which, even counting several falls on beam, the team still went 46.300. They’ll need to count 9.360 or better for every routine. On the other hand, Whitewater’s 1.350 lead is pretty nice, but the Warhawks are set to close tonight on beam, and we know beam is a fickle, fickle lady.
Rotation 4: Whitewater BB, Oshkosh FX
Haynes (UWW): BHS LOSO, no issues whatsoever. Leg comes up on the leap series, keeps it on. RO lay 1.5, steps to the front and side.
Spadafora (UWW): Smooths over a shoulder check on the full turn. BHS LOSO, great height, but comes off. Balance check on the leap series, keeps it on. Front aerial acros, good. Solid dismount.
Gupta (UWW): Soft feet on the BHS LOSO series but no issues otherwise. Seems a little nervous. Front tuck, leg comes up, but snaps it back on. Beat to straddle 3/4, chest down, not the best of extensions or form. RO 1.5 lay, small step.
Haberstock (UWW): Check on the full turn with her shoulder, but okay. BHS LOSO small check there too. Split jumpt to straddle 3/4 but it goes wild and she comes off. Whitewater also counting a fall on beam today. Side aerial, okay. RO 1.5 lay,small hop forward.
Rider (UWW): Tiny check on that full turn, a lot of nerves across the board from both teams today. BHS LOSO, shoulders drop, smooths it over. Straddle half to transverse split jump, I clutched my pearls, no problem for her. BHS lay 1.5, fights for the stick, steps forward.
Magel (UWW): BHS LOSO, small check. Side aerial. Split half to transverse split jump, good! RO 1.5 lay, biiig hop forward. Cleanest routine form wise of the bunch.
Warkentien (UWO): Double tuck, not the strongest landing but good start to kick things off. Soft knees in the leap series.
Gallegos (UWO): Double tuck, big step back, lots of power. STrong routine overall.
Leaman (UWO): Lovely double pike, step back, power is an overall theme in this rotation for Oshkosh. LEap series looked good until the wolf, front leg was a bit low.
Oshkosh looking good so far, going 9.625 or better.
Radojevich (UWO): Front full to front full, love that pass. Very playful and upbeat routine. Switch side series has gorge height. Double tuck to end, chest down, jumps quickly into a lunge.
Ellis (UWO): Front tuck through to double tuck, good. Those LEAPS brush the rafters, great extension throughout on the straddle, others take note. Double pike, chest a little down but otherwise, fabulous.
McGibboney (UWO): Front lay to rudi, I was a little worried about that rebound but no issues. Great switch side series. Double pike, lunges forward into the finish, chest a touch down, clean in the air.
FINAL: Oshkosh 191.950, Whitewater 191.700
Beam was the great equalizer today. Oshkosh was forced to count two, Whitewater just one, but Oshkosh was able to squeak out a narrow win. The Titans may not have improved on their week one score, but they keep the 190+ streak alive.
VT: Rider (UWW) 9.775
UB: Evans (UWO), Copeland (UWW), Magel (UWW) 9.750
BB: Hayden (UWO) 9.750
FX: Ellis (UWO) 9.800
AA: —
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Live blog by Allison Freeman
