This Big Ten matchup promises to be exciting, with both teams in contention for the win. Minnesota may have fallen to Michigan State in week six, but its 196.800 score remains impressive. A fully healthy Mya Hooten and consistent performances from freshman Ava Stewart will be key as the Gophers aim for a big road score tonight. Ohio State, on the other hand, struggled last week, posting a season-low 195.475 in a loss to Illinois. The potential absence of Payton Harris, who was seen on crutches, puts added pressure on the Buckeyes. If she’s out of the lineups, Ohio State will need standout routines from Tory Vetter and Sidney Washington to stay competitive.
Rotation 1: Ohio State vault, Minnesota bars
Washington (OSU): Starts off with a big yurchenko full, solid landing. 9.825
Jencks (Minn): Piked tkatchev, catches close with bent arms. Pak down, better. Floaty double layout with a hop back. 9.750
Grimes (OSU): Yurchenko full with a hop forward, could use more distance. 9.775
Harrington (Minn): Maloney to pak with some leg form. Good handstands throughout. Huge full in, stumbles back on the landing but solid routine. 9.675
Vetter (OSU): Big yurchenko full with a hop. 9.800
Crump (Minn): Toe on, maloney, pak. Handstands are a little short. Big double layout with a small step back. 9.800
Smith (OSU): Yurchenko 1.5, bent arms on the table but good in the air with a step forward on the landing. 9.850
Stewart (Minn): Maloney to pak, lovely. Van leeuwen with some leg form. Arched handstand on the high bar. Double front dismount is good with a step forward – it’s gotten better every week! 9.825
Coleman (OSU): Very dynamic 1.5 but doesn’t quite get the landing, big lunge forward. 9.800
Hooten (Minn): Blind change to huge piked jaeger to overshoot, really nice today. Flings the full in out super far but drills the landing. 9.900
Reutzel (OSU): Super clean front handspring front pike, great distance and a small hop. 9.775
Lyden (Minn): Toe on, maloney, bail – a little arch on the bail. Much better handstand on the high bar. Dismounts with a clean double layout, fights for the stick and gets it. Great end to that rotation! 9.900
Ex – Baham (OSU): Solid yurchenko full with a hop back. 9.750
After 1: Minnesota 49.175, Ohio State 49.050
Solid opening rotations from both teams with nothing too crazy – good or bad. Minnesota will be looking to extend its lead as it heads to vault, and hitting bars will be crucial for the Buckeyes, who have yet to break 49.000 on the event this season.
Rotation 2: Minnesota vault, Ohio State bars
Pearl (Minn): Good height on the yurchenko full but not much distance, clean form and a small hop. 9.775
Washington (OSU): Maloney to pak is clean. Blind full to double back with a late handstand, hop back on the landing. 9.825
Steensland (Minn): High yurchenko full, some leg separation on the table. Lands with a step forward. 9.775
Parks (OSU): Toe on, maloney, pak – nice form on the first two elements but gets no distance on the pak, can’t reach the bar and unfortunately falls. Continues the routine from the low bar. Finishes with a double layout, looks like she lands with her knees locked and stumbles back a bit. 8.775
Moraw (Minn): High yurchenko with some form on the table, lands with a great stick. Definitely the best full of the three. 9.900 matches her career high.
Walker (OSU): Pressure’s on to hit after a fall. Blind change to piked jaeger, excellent handstand and solid form. Pak caught a little close to the bar. Blind full, a little late, to stuck double tuck. She delivered! 9.825
Crump (Minn): Great dynamic yurchenko 1.5, takes a lunge forward. 9.850
Rader (OSU): Gets a little stuck on her opening handstand. Maloney to pak with some leg separation, hits her feet on the ground and has to take an extra swing. Finishes with a big double layout with a hop back. 9.350, which the Buckeyes will have to count.
Stewart (Minn): WOW super clean yurchenko 1.5 with a stick. Went a little off center and maybe didn’t hold her landing position for long enough, but a great vault. 9.900
McCann (OSU): Nice ray, some bent arms. Handstands are a little short throughout. Blind full – much better handstand there – to double tuck with a step. They’ll be happy with that one. 9.775
Hooten (Minn): Yurchenko 1.5, leg separation on the table but drills the landing. Two huge, stuck 1.5s in a row is excellent news for the Gophers. 9.950
Vetter (OSU): Absolutely gigantic tkatchev, I have no idea how she catches that. Clear hip to pak, good. Finishes with a huge stuck full in – excellent. 9.850
Reutzel (OSU): Blind change, jaeger, overshoot – close catches on the releases. Finishes with a nice stuck double layout – they would have loved to have that be a counting score!
After 2: Minnesota 98.550, Ohio State 96.600
Counting a fall on bars hurts Ohio State, while Minnesota runs away with a very respectable 49.375 on vault, capped off by a big 9.950 from Hooten. If the Gophers keep this up over the next two rotations, this should be a comfortable win for them.
Rotation 3: Ohio State beam, Minnesota floor
Guevara (OSU): BHS LOSO with a lean. Cat leap to switch half with a step back. Love her low to beam choreography. Round off double twist with a stick, really nicely done. 9.775
Jencks (Minn): Front double twist with crossed legs and a bit of a crazy landing. Switch half to straddle full, good. 1.5 to front layout, much better control there. Rudi to straddle jump, great height. 9.800
Smith (OSU): Double wolf turn, clean and controlled. Front toss to back handspring, solid with some leg form. Straddle jump with an adjustment, pauses before the straddle 1/4. Gainer full off the side, stuck with an arm wave. She didn’t have a dance series after that wobble, so we’ll see what they do with that. 9.775
Steensland (Minn): Rudi to layout stepout, very good. Round off 2.5 is super clean. Switch half to wolf full, good. 1.5 to front layout, clean but could have used more height. 9.850
Coleman (OSU): She’s in for Rader here. BHS to layout, big hip break but holds on! Split jump to straddle 1/4, solid. Gainer full off the side with a small hop. 9.725
Pearl (Minn): 1.5 to front layout with excellent rise, that’s how it’s done! Switch side half to straddle full, good. Double pike, overcooks it a bit and the front foot comes up. 9.875
Vetter (OSU): They’ll be looking for a big number from Tory here. BHS LOSO, super solid. Beat jump to side aerial, big wobble and she falls – ouch. Switch leap to straddle 1/4, good. Gainer full off the side with a step back. 9.050
Koch (Minn): Very clean front double twist. Switch full to wolf full, nicely done. 1.5 to front layout, clean and high. Finishes with a clean rudi, excellent routine! 9.900
McCann (OSU): She needs to hit here. Round off to layout, balance check but holds on. Switch leap to split jump. Round off 1.5, a little off center with a hop back. She delivered when it mattered, well done! 9.850
Gonsiorowski (Minn): Huge full in, very good! Switch side to straddle full. 1.5 to front pike, super dynamic yet controlled. High double tuck with a little hop in place. I love watching the Gophers on floor, they’re so clean and controlled and pretty much all doing three pass routines. It’s a super fun lineup to watch. 9.900
Warga (OSU): Front aerial to BHS, slow connection but solid. Cat leap to switch half, split looks a little tentative. Front pike toss, solid. Gainer pike off the end with a step forward. Nice routine. 9.700 – that score makes sense on its own but zero sense compared to Coleman and Smith. Not sure what’s going on there.
Hooten (Minn): Here’s the big one. Huge full in, front foot slides back a bit. Switch side to wolf full, great height. Front full to front pike, super floaty as always. Ends with a giant double tuck – excellent from start to finish. 9.925
Ex – Rader (OSU): BHS LOSO, solid. Cat leap to side aerial, a little low. Switch split jump to straddle 1/4, good splits. Gainer full off the side with a small hop. 9.875
Ex – Crump (Minn): Huge double pike, stumbles back on the landing. 1.5 to front layout, good. Switch side to split full. Sky high double tuck, too much power and flies OOB. Such dynamic tumbling! 9.575
Ex – Walker (OSU): BHS LOSO, super solid. Cat leap, front aerial, beat jump – very nice. Looks very calm and confident. Hitch kick to switch side, good. Gainer pike off the end with a step back – I’d love to see that in the lineup! 9.825
After 3: Minnesota 148.000, Ohio State 146.500
Minnesota is on 197.000 pace after a killer floor rotation, posting a 49.450. The Gophers are just phenomenal to watch on that event. Ohio State’s 48.825 is an improvement on last week’s beam score, but when your top score is from an exhibition routine, you won’t be thrilled. This team is capable of posting some big numbers on floor, so let’s hope they can finish strong there!
Rotation 4: Minnesota beam, Ohio State floor
Koch (Minn): BHS LOSO, clean and solid. Beat jump to split jump 3/4, completely underrotates and unfortunately falls. Front toss to scale, lands very low but saves it. Round off 1.5 dismount, clean with a stuck. Hopefully they can put that behind them and finish strong. 9.150
Washington (OSU): Huge double pike with a nicely controlled landing. Front layout to front full, very good. Switch full to wolf full. Finishes with a great double tuck – excellent start! 9.850
Stewart (Minn): Split jump to ring jump, lovely. Front aerial to korbut is well controlled. Wolf turn full, slow and steady. Small wobble on her choreography? Happens to the best of us. Nice high gainer full off the side with a step back. Way to set the tone after a fall! 9.825
Coleman (OSU): Sky high full in to start. Switch side to straddle full, awesome height. Front tuck through to double back, super solid. Wow, what a routine from her! Nice to see Ohio State coming back strong in this final rotation. 9.900 – that’s a career high for the freshman.
Moraw (Minn): BHS LOSO with a lean and some knee form. Hitch kick to side aerial, solid. Beat jump to split jump 3/4. Gainer full with a stick to finish. 9.925
Grimes (OSU): Double pike, slides back on the landing. 1.5 to front layout, super clean and controlled. Switch side to straddle full. Double back, a little out of control with a big lunge back. 9.800
Rowray (Minn): BHS LOSO is rock solid. Switch leap to straddle jump half, excellent. Front toss, solid. She looks SO confident up there. Switch side is excellent. Front gainer full dismount, stuck – wow, impressive performance from her there! 9.950 – well deserved. I honestly wouldn’t have been mad about a 10.000 there.
Guevara (OSU): Front double twist to front tuck, super clean. Switch side to straddle full, nice. This routine is so fun and the crowd is eating it up. Rudi to layout stepout, a little crazy but controls the landing. This final rotation is crazy good. 9.875
Pearl (Minn): BHS LOSO, drills it. Bit of a wobble on her full turn but covers it up easily. Switch leap to straddle 1/4, good. Front aerial to beat jump. Gainer full with a step back, nicely done. 9.800
Vetter (OSU): Drops a double tuck out of the sky. Split leap full, straddle full, straddle full – good. Front layout to rudi, well controlled. Great routine to close out her meet after a disappointment on beam. 9.875
Lyden (Minn): Double wolf turn, nicely done. BHS LOSO, clean. Cat leap to switch side. Round off 1.5 dismount with great height and a small hop – they’ll be able to drop Koch’s fall. 9.875
Gregory (OSU): Front layout to rudi with some leg form. Cartwheel to LOSO, pretty. Switch half to wolf jump. Front layout to front full, a little messy in the air. Good hit to close out this meet. Oh, that was her floor debut – great start for her, as an anchor too! 9.775
FINAL: Minnesota 197.375, Ohio State 195.800
That’s a season high for the Gophers, and a well-deserved one. They’ve been getting increasingly clean and consistent as the season goes on, and this big away score will be great for the NQS. Ohio State had a tough meet to start, but that floor rotation was money. The Buckeyes put on a good show to close out the meet at home – they just need to figure out how to bring that energy to the other three events.
My personal routines of the night were JJ Coleman’s floor and Brooklyn Rowray’s beam – they’re worth a re-watch.
VT: Hooten (Minn) – 9.950
UB: Hooten (Minn), Lyden (Minn) – 9.900
BB: Rowray (Minn) – 9.950
FX: Hooten (Minn) – 9.925
AA: Vetter (OSU) – 38.575
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Live blog by Sophie Poirier
