Streaks End, History is Made
Another regionals weekend is in the books, and Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Stanford, and UCLA came out on top as the eight teams to qualify to nationals. While upsets were few, those that did occur were of a historic variety, including Utah failing to qualify as a team for the first time ever; we also had several exciting finishes in Baton Rouge and Corvallis in particular.
Gymnast of the Week
Morgan Price, Arkansas
Price had a phenomenal regionals, starting on Friday when she won the all-around in the Lexington semifinals with a 39.575. Price would have advanced to nationals as an all-arounder regardless of Sunday’s outcome, but after a neck-and-neck race with Missouri went down to the last few routines, her 9.900 on beam in the final rotation helped secure the second team appearance for Arkansas in three years.
Other contenders: Taralyn Nguyen, who went 9.900 on floor and then stuck her Yurchenko one and a half in Stanford’s final rotation to edge Clemson for the region’s second nationals spot; Kailin Chio, who earned three 10.000 marks over the weekend, including two on vault; Maggie Slife, who became Air Force’s first ever national qualifier with her 39.55 all-around score in the second Baton Rouge semifinal
Performance of the Week
Minnesota, Corvallis Regional Final
This regional was always set to be the biggest bloodbath of the bunch, and after an extremely close meet, Minnesota took advantage of the chaos to take second behind UCLA, clinching a nationals berth as the only team with zero falls on the night. Among many strong performances, star standouts included Emma Slevin going 9.875 in her first competitive beam routine, Arianna Ostrum sticking her vault again for a 9.950, and Jordyn Lyden’s 9.950 bars and beam routines, the latter of which closed out the meet for the Gophers in rousing fashion.
Other contenders: Ohio State’s 49.550 on vault in the second Lexington semifinal, which included three 9.950 scores and secured the Buckeyes’ upset of home team Kentucky to reach the regional final; Creslyn Brose’s nationals-qualifying 9.925 on floor after a dramatic fall earlier in the rotation and overall adversity for Kentucky during the meet; Aurélie Tran’s 10.000 on bars in the Corvallis semifinal, the first in Iowa’s history and part of Iowa’s program record 49.575 on the event
Outrageous Moment of the Week
Auburn’s bars rotation was one of the most talked-about events in the country all season long, for all the wrong reasons. After a solid first three rotations of the Baton Rouge semifinal, the Tigers were just 0.050 behind second place; all that was left was their bugaboo event. Things got off to a solid start, but went downhill quickly in the back half of the rotation; Olivia Greaves, Emma Grace Boyd, and Alex Irvine all fell, which led to a season-low total on the event. After regionals, bars likely won’t be the only thing people will be talking about when it comes to what Auburn needs to change.
Other contenders: Tonya Paulsson landing her vault for a 9.700 even after the table was set to the wrong height in the second Tempe semifinal; Lauren Homecillo powering through floor when her music cut out in the Baton Rouge play-in round
Hidden Gem of the Week
Southern Utah Junior Niya Randolph quietly had yet another incredible season that culminated in a stellar 39.525 all-around performance in the first Tempe regional semifinal, including 9.900 scores on bars and floor. Had Michigan State made nationals as a team instead of Georgia, Randolph would have been the Tempe region’s all-around qualifier.
Other contenders: Abigayle Martin’s 9.925 Tempe semifinal beam routine, which secured her nationals appearance regardless of which two teams advanced; Lilia Purler’s stuck Omelianchik, which helped Arizona State advance out of its home play-in round; Nebraska’s play-in round vault lineup in which four athletes stuck their landings
Viral Moment of the Week
Few gymnasts have fun with social media like Ja’ Free Scott. After two 9.7-range scores and a fall on beam in the first Tempe semifinal, she redeemed herself with a 9.900 on bars in the final, proclaiming herself to have “beat the allegations.” Scott had fun with fans on Twitter all weekend; with Georgia making nationals as a team, we’ve likely got more fun interactions to come.
Other contenders: Stanford’s and California’s parents bringing the school spirit; LSU’s new football coach Lane Kiffin deeming Kailin Chio the GOAT
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Article by Katherine Weaver
