Round two gets underway in Baton Rouge as Stanford, North Carolina, Michigan, and Utah State battle for two spots in Saturday’s regional final. Michigan is looking to return to the regional final after round-two exits the past two seasons. Beam is the Wolverines’ signature event, led by Kayli Boozer, and starting there could provide an early boost as they chase a score near their 49.600 season high.
Stanford enters as the top seed, powered by senior Anna Roberts, who is coming off a remarkable stretch that includes three perfect 10s in her final season. The Cardinal are favored to advance, but even if they don’t, Roberts is well positioned to move on as an individual.
North Carolina and Utah State loom as dangerous dark horses, both capable of capitalizing on mistakes from the favorites. Sydney Seabrooks and Nyla Morabito have been standout performers all season and will be key if their teams hope to pull off an upset.
A group of individuals will also compete, representing New Hampshire, Pittsburgh, and Towson. Serena Mullin joins the all-around field as a late addition following Whitney Jencks’ injury withdrawal, competing alongside teammates Mady Harvey and McCall McMullen. Pittsburgh’s Hallie Copperwheat is another to watch, with four scores of 9.900 or higher this season and a career-best 9.950.
Rotation 1: Stanford VT, North Carolina UB, Michigan BB, Utah State FX
Stanford VT
Jung-Ruviviar: Y full, some elbow bend on the table, hop back on the landing
Barbosu: Tsuk full, good block off the table, hop back on the landing.
Gronski: Y full, tried to go for the stick, ended up hopping forward on the landing with a low chest.
Soma: Y full, lots of height off the table, hop backwards on the landing.
Roberts: Has 10.0 potential here. Y 1.5, nice height off the table, tried for the stick, arm swing and had to adjust a foot on the landing.
Nguyen: Y 1.5, good height and distance off the table, Stanford’s first stick of the rotation! Cardinal really needed that one.
Minervini (Towson): Full on, pike off, nice distance off the table, hop back on the landing.
UNC UB
Stippich: nice first handstand, blind to straddle Jaeger to immediate overshoot, nicely done. DLO dismount with a hop in place.
N. King: Maloney to Pak, finishes the half pirouette on top of the low bar. Blind full to double tuck dismount with a step in place.
Stanley: Maloney to Pak, nice handstands throughout. Really pretty final handstand. DLO dismount with the tiniest hop forward on the landing.
Prejean: GORGEOUS Tkatchev combination, short on her final handstand, double front dismount with a small hop in place.
Fink: Maloney combination was clean from high to low, hits her final handstand, DLO dismount with a stick. Tar Heels doing really well so far!
Rueda: Maloney to Pak, nice body positions in the air, tiny bit short on her final handstand, blind full to double tuck dismount with the tiniest hop back.
Chiu (Pittsburgh): short on the first handstand, blind to straddle Jaeger, arms looked a little bent on the catch. Hits her final handstand, blind full to double tuck dismount with a scoot back on the landing.
Michigan BB
Parenti: BHS LOSO, solid. Switch leap split jump, back leg could’ve been a lot higher. Front aerial to split jump, some bent knees on the aerial. RO 1.5 dismount with a step back on the landing.
Walters: Beautiful opening series. Sissone switch half beat jump, back leg also could’ve been higher there. Front full off the end with an arm swing and step in place.
Davis: Hits her front aerial, Switch leap to pike jump, beautiful form in the air on that pike jump. Not many should do that skill and she’s one that can pull it off. Solid on the dismount.
Ranger: BHS LOSO, medium sized balance check on that and a turn to the side. Hits her leap series, comes back nicely with her front toss. Solid routine other than that balance check on the series.
Boozer: Big routine here as Michigan has three straight 9.700s in a row. Hits her splits nicely, BHS LOSO series was clean, BHS gainer full to end with a stick.
Bauman: Solid start with her full turn. BHS LOSO, solid. Switch leap straddle half, nice extension in the leaps. Side somi, arm swing afterwards but keeps moving. Gainer pike dismount with a stick.
Mullin (New Hampshire): Side aerial LOSO series, spot on. Finishes with a RO 1.5 dismount, hop forward on the landing.
Utah State FX
Orengo: Front through to double tuck, side step on the landing. Nice extension and rotation in her leap series! Back 1.5 to front for final pass, solid opening routine for the Aggies!
Yelle: Front double full to open, stutter step out of it, but stays on her feet. Switch side straddle jump, well over 180. Back 1.5 to front layout, solid.
Peterson: FLO to Rudi, some leg separation throughout both skills. Got her backwards tumbling element on the layout step out. Front layout to front full, much cleaner in the air on that.
Morabito: Double tuck to open, nice height in the air. Nice extension on the leap series. Front layout front full front tuck, nicely done! Aggies quietly cruising.
Vater: Front double full, little out of control on the step out of it but covers it well. Hits her leap series, finishes with her combination pass.
Gruber: 2.5 twist to punch front, WOW, love that difficulty! Switch side straddle jump, Back 1.5 to front full, nicely done in combination, loved the rise between skills.
McMullen (New Hampshire): Double tuck, steps out of bounds with the power she had. Little bit of form issues with her wolf jump, combination pass was solid. Had the arena to herself and minus the step out, nailed it.
AFTER ONE: Stanford 49.100, North Carolina 49.100, Utah State 49.100, Michigan 49.075
Well. I’m not sure if anyone had this being a three-way tie at the top after one rotation but North Carolina and Utah State rose to the occasion and took advantage of Michigan and Stanford’s lack of precision on landings to keep them right in it after the first rotation.
Rotation 2: Utah State VT, Stanford UB, North Carolina BB, Michigan FX
Utah State VT
Witte: Y full, beautiful block off the table with a stick.
VanderToolen: Y full, good block, height and distance, small hop back on the landing with a bit of a low chest on the dismount.
Valdez: Y full, some elbow bend off the table, good distance with a hop back on the landing.
Medrano: Y full, lots of power off the table, hop back on the landing.
Vater: Y full on, pike off. Had the stick and second guessed herself and took the step backwards. Good for the Aggies, they’ve had a hit rotation so far!
Morabito: Y full, HUGE height off the table, small hop backwards on the landing.
Lannon (Towson): Y 1.5, nice distance from the table, lands off to the side with a step forward.
Stanford UB
Jung-Ruivivar: Maloney to Pak combination was solid, nails her final handstand, blind full to double tuck dismount with a stick.
Sorrento: Pretty first handstand, Maloney to Pak salto, doesn’t quite finish the half turn on the low bar, DLO dismount with a step back on the landing.
Robinson: Blind to straddle Jaeger, nice straight arms on the catch, Pak salto was good, FTDT dismount with a stick.
Roberts: Stanford coming back strong with three straight scores of 9.850. Roberts finishes her routine with a stuck DLO dismount. Should be right up there with those other scores.
Barbosu: Short on her final handstand, didn’t quite have the height on her dismount, but manages to get it around with a stick.
Soma: HOLDS that first handstand to show it off, skills are gorgeous throughout, DLO dismount with a hop back on the landing. That was fabulous.
Minervini (Towson): Tkatchev to immediate Pak salto, looked like she caught it close to the bar, DLO dismount with a stick.
North Carolina BB
Seabrooks: Stumbles on her full turn, BHS LOSO, another balance break but keeps it small. Cat leap to switch side, getting her confidence back, front toss to beat jump, BHS 1.5 dismount with a stick. Tough start, but came back strong at the end!
Stippich: BHS LO LOSO, leans to the side to adjust but stays on. Switch leap straddle jump, nice extension. BHS gainer full with a step back on the landing.
Aoki: Straddle quarter jump had an arm swing but covered it really well. Front aerial to beat jump, some loose knees in the aerial. RO 1.5 dismount with a deep squat and a step.
Fink: Switch leap switch leap, leaps at the 180 position. Goes for her series, has some stumbles and ultimately comes off. With two routines to go, UNC will likely fall down the rankings some. BHS gainer full dismount with a stick.
Rueda: BHS LOSO, nicely done coming after Fink’s fall. RO double full dismount with a HUGE stick. Much needed routine there.
Valahovic: BHS LOSO, tiny tiny lean afterwards. Switch leap switch half beat jump, RO 1.5 dismount with a stick. Drops the 9.125 from Fink but they’re still counting a 9.625
Trotter (Towson): Solid work on her series! UNC cheering her on so loudly makes my heart happy. BHS gainer full dismount with a stick.
Michigan FX
Parenti: Double pike to open, hits her leap series well. Back 1.5 to front full, good rise between skills. Wolverines are going to have to hit a big number here to keep pace with what the other teams are doing.
Davis: Front layout to Rudi, step back on the landing. LOTS of height and extension on her leap series! Double pike second pass, her foot was definitely on that line, but I couldn’t see if a judge raised a hand or not, so it will definitely be interesting to see if they take it.
Diaz: Good scores in the first two spots here, needing to keep that momentum going. FHS front double full, sideways step out of it. FHS Rudi layout step out nicely done. Nice amplitude on the leap series, overall a solid start.
Bauman: Hits her opening pass, she had some issues in warm ups but not in the real deal. Everything is happening so fast, so I did miss a large chunk of this routine, but it was a hit, no falls to report!
Walters: Really close to the edge of the floor with the first pass but stays in bounds. Hits her combination pass, coming off two straight 9.900s from Bauman and Diaz.
Ranger: OOB on the double layout to open it up. Front through to double tuck, nicely done. Shame about her being out of bounds, that will likely make this the drop score.
Mullin (New Hampshire): Opens with a solid double tuck, hits her leap series nicely. Back 1.5 to front layout, lacked a little bit of rise between skills.
AFTER TWO: Michigan 98.450, Stanford 98.425, Utah State 98.100, North Carolina 97.900
Michigan and Stanford got back on track with almost identical rotations on floor and bars respectively. The Wolverines picked up three 9.900s from Diaz, Bauman, and Walters, while Roberts delivered yet again on the uneven bars with her first 9.900 of the day. Utah State is only a few tenths behind Stanford as it heads to bars. North Carolina had some stumbles on beam that saw them fall to fourth but heads to floor which is one of their better events. Never say never.
Rotation 3: Michigan VT, Utah State UB, Stanford BB, North Carolina FX
Michigan VT
Davis: Y full, elbow bend on the table, good distance with a hop back.
Guggino: Y 1.5, HUGE stick on the landing. Paul Juda loved it, he jumped the highest in the Michigan crowd in this arena.
Sanger: Y full, not as much distance as we’ve seen in other vaults, deep squat to try to hold the stick.
Jordan: Y full, better on distance, slides backwards on the landing.
Diaz: Y 1.5, bent elbows on the block, sideways step on the landing.
Ranger: Y 1.5, some bent elbows on the block, step forward on the landing.
Mullin (New Hampshire): Y full, hop back on the landing.
Utah State UB
Jelen: pretty first handstand, Maloney to bail to handstand is nice, hits her final handstand, double layout dismount with a SOLID stick.
Vater: Good routine up until her dismount, let go a little late and landed with her chest down and a step.
Orengo: Blind to straddle to overshoot combination solid. Short on her final handstand, DLO dismount with a step on the landing.
Bibbey: Missed a bit of this due to the Stanford fall, but she absolutely nailed her last handstand and stuck her dismount cold.
VanderToolen: Gorgeous first handstand, Maloney to Pak, looked like a bit of bent wrists on the catch, but not too bad. Stalder to double tuck dismount with a hop back.
Laufer: Bail to handstand to immediate straddle transition back up to high bar, WOW this difficulty is top notch! Takes a step on her dismount, but definitely a great end to a solid rotation for Utah State!
Copperwheat (Pittsburgh): blind to straddle Jaeger, caught it close but keeps going. Short on the final handstand, puts her knees down on her dismount. Ugh, I hate that that is how she’s ending her career.
Pratt (Pittsburgh): Ray release, bail to handstand, a tiny bit short on that handstand and the final one before her DLO dismount with a hop back.
Stanford BB
Dean: Side aerial LOSO series, lifts her leg for a balance break but keeps moving. RO 1.5 dismount with a stick, only major deduction I saw was the balance break on her series.
Landry: Split jump split ring with beautiful extension. Shows off her flexibility with the scale, gainer pike dismount with a stick.
Robinson: Good routine going, hits her full turn nicely. RO 1.5 dismount with a step forward on the landing.
Jung-Ruivivar: Went for her series and looked like she got lost in the air and fell on the second element. Remounts and comes back with a gorgeous leap pass. Gainer pike dismount with a stick.
Judges conference on Jung-Ruivivar’s score. Assuming it’s because she technically didn’t have a series in her beam routine since she didn’t repeat the skills, but we will see.
Roberts: Hits her series, following LJR’s 8.850. Couple balance checks throughout, BHS gainer full dismount with a stick.
Barbosu: Must hit to avoid counting a fall here. Switch leap beat jump, solid. RO double twist dismount with a stick. Stanford doesn’t have to count the 8.850, but will count Roberts 9.725.
Minervini (Towson): Hits her series. Split leap split 3/4, hits her full turn nicely. Gainer full dismount with a stick.
North Carolina FX
Stippich: Double tuck to open, slides that front foot back on the landing. Would’ve liked more rotation on her leap series. Back 1.5 to front layout, some loose legs in the layout.
Fink: Front tuck through to double tuck, pretty quick step backwards out of it. RO 2.5 twist, some issues with the landing but stays on her feet.
Aoki: Front tuck through to double tuck, underrotates and takes a hop forward. Really nice 180 extension in her leaps, FHS front layout front full, stumbles out of it. She was a late add into this lineup, wonder if the stress got to her a little.
Forbes: Steps back on her first pass, Front layout front full second pass, good form on both of those skills. The local Louisiana girl having a blast on floor, good GOD those leaps. That is all. Double tuck second pass, sticks it cold and then takes a step back.
Seabrooks: Beautiful double pike to open, slides the front foot backwards. Well over 180 on that leap series! Back 1.5 to front layout, solid position in the air throughout.
Rueda: Double tuck to open, really clean in the air. Lacking a little extension in her leap series, Much better on her switch side straddle jump after her second pass.
DeCroo (Towson): Double tuck to open was solid, comes back with a front full front layout, quick and easy floor routine!
Hoffman (Towson): NAILS her tucked full-in. Switch side straddle full, nice amplitude and extension on her leaps. Front tuck through to double tuck, another solid pass! Towson has some extremely talented athletes here today and they’re showing off!
AFTER THREE: Stanford 147.625, Michigan 147.450, North Carolina 147.125, Utah State 147.025
Stanford avoids disaster after Levi Jung-Ruivivar’s fall with two 9.900s that saw them take the lead from Michigan in the third rotation. The Wolverines didn’t have any major stumbles on vault, just some landings that weren’t exactly what they needed to keep pace. North Carolina is finishing on its best event, while Michigan heads to its lowest ranking event. Get ready for the final showdown, this is going to be good.
Also of note: Jahzara Ranger’s score came up to a 9.850 and it looks like they didn’t take the deduction for stepping out of bounds. Interesting.
Rotation 4: North Carolina VT, Michigan UB, Utah State BB, Stanford FX
North Carolina VT
Prejean: Y full, good height off the table, tiny hop back on the landing.
N. King: Y full, hop back on the landing but really clean in the air.
Fink: Y 1.5, little bit of an elbow bend off the table but absolutely stuck that landing. The UNC crowd LOVED it!
Seabrooks: Y full, LOTS of distance, sizable hop backwards.
Valahovic: Y 1.5, had the height and the distance, really big jump forward on the landing.
Forbes: Y full, lots of height off the block, tiny hop back on the landing.
Belanovski (Towson): Y full, absolutely stuck. Had good form in the air, tiny bit of chest position on the landing.
Michigan UB
Clapper: blind to piked Jaeger, catch, overcooks her handstand afterwards but stays on the bar. DLO dismount with a tiny hop.
Diaz: Maloney to bail to handstand, short on the final handstand, double layout dismount with a stick.
Sanger: Hits her first handstand, blind to piked Jaeger, caught it kind of close, Pak salto down to low bar, no issues there. Hop on the dismount.
Bauman: Short on the first handstand, blind to straddle Jaeger to immediate overshoot, nice straight arms on the catch. Short on the last handstand, double front dismount with a step back on the landing.
Parenti: Pretty first handstand, catches her Ray close, hits the Pak , tiny bit short on the final handstand, double layout dismount with a stick.
Lew: Little bit short on the opening handstand, blind to piked Jaeger, caught it with some bent arms, Pak salto was whippy, double layout with a step back.
Mullin (New Hampshire): Little loose on the first handstand, some leg separations throughout, FTDT dismount with a STICK.
Utah State BB
Jelen: Hits her series. Solid routine going, gainer full dismount with a stick.
Orengo: Cat leap to front toss to BHS, paused a bit before the front toss, so not really sure if they’ll give her credit for the connection. Tiny hop on the dismount.
Medrano: BHS LOSO solid. Leaps are solid at the 180 degrees. Gainer full dismount with a stick.
Valdez: BHS LOSO, tiny balance adjustment but covers it well. Switch leap to switch half, back leg needed to be up higher on the switch half. RO double full dismount with a stick.
Laufer: Really pretty front toss, overrotates the full turn slightly. Switch leap to straddle quarter solid. RO double full dismount with a stick.
Witte: BHS BHS LOSO, spot on. Split jump to split 3/4, solid. Trying to watch Michigan on bars at the same time, so I did miss a bit of this.
Harvey (New Hampshire): BHS BHS LOSO, solid. Cartwheel down to one knee, Beat jump to split ring, Gainer pike with a stick.
Stanford FX
Robinson: Good routine going, switch leap to straddle jump, nice extension on those leaps. Double pike to close it out.
Walker: Double pike to open, nice controlled step back. Switch half wolf full wolf full, little bit out of control after the second wolf jump, but she sells it. Front tuck through to double tuck, nicely done.
Nguyen: Gorgeous double layout to open! Following a 9.950 from Alana Walker, WOW! Front tuck through to double tuck, sizable step back out of it. Feels like Stanford has this locked up.
Jung Ruivivar: Whip back to double tuck, underrotates and hops forward on the landing. Hits her second pass much cleaner, overall solid routine for the freshman after a rough go on beam.
Roberts: Hits her first pass. Front layout to Rudi second pass, controlled all the way through.
Barbosu: Whip back to double tuck to open it up, solid. This is some fun choreography, 2.5 twist to front pike, looked a little loose throughout her skills, but stays upright and will likely secure Stanford’s place in the regional final!
Minervini (Towson): FLO to Rudi to open up this final routine of the session. Beautiful extension on her leap series. Back 1.5 to front layout, looked a little underrotated with the step back.
FINAL: Stanford 197.175, Michigan 196.600, North Carolina 196.250, Utah State 195.750
VT: Nguyen (Stanford) – 9.950
UB: Roberts (Stanford) – 9.900
BB: Barbosu (Stanford) – 9.925
FX: Barbosu & Walker (Stanford) – 9.950
AA: Barbosu (Stanford) – 39.575
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