It’s UC Davis’ senior night, and I’m fascinated to see how things shake out between the Aggies and visiting Illinois. Both are right on the edge of regionals qualification with only a week left to produce useful scores. UC Davis is peaking at the right time, with two mid-195s in the last two weeks. Illinois set a season high last weekend, but has been stumbling through the season so far and really needs a convincing start to its double meet weekend.
Washington should have the win under control, but it’s still adjusting to the loss of junior star Evanni Roberson, who is out with a toe injury. Yale may also be facing an injury—we don’t know details, so we’ll see who competes tonight—but if the Bulldogs are in form, don’t lose track of them. The Bulldogs can put up a low 195, and depending on the day, that could be enough to upset either UC Davis or Illinois.
ROTATION 1: UC DAVIS VAULT, ILLINOIS BARS, YALE BEAM, WASHINGTON FLOOR
Well we’re here, but there’s no sound.
YEKTAPARAST – UCD: Nice Tsuk tuck full, hop in place. 9.375 WHAT?
CUNNINGHAM – UW: She’s too good to be a lead off but at least everyone gets good scores after her. Front thru double back, one and a half front pike and dances out awkwardly. Double pike short with n awkward step forward.
LANDESS – UCD: Same vault. Marginally better leg form, midsize hop back. 9.525. Absolutely ridiculous.
ALLEYNE – YALE: BHS LOSO, good leg form, lands it on one leg and steps in front. Side aerial, cat leap switch side with one leg funky, full turn. Beat split full short of position, punch front full gorgeous and stuck.
ITO – UCD: Yurchenko full, beautiful tight position, larger hop back. Judging delay for some nonsense reason.
HOWELL – ILLINOIS: Pike Jaeger, Pak. Blind full double back with a hop. 9.85
NELSON – UW: Double back, really nice, we might have missed a bit, switch ring tour jete half. This is the first time I’ve seen this routine this year and it’s GORGEOUS. She’s so elegant. Double pike comes in a touch short but hops to lunge ok. 9.675 is pretty rude.
WANG – YALE: Front aerial with a small check, BHS LOSO pretty. Now we’re leaving her to go to vault. Side aerial. Double full dismount, underrotated, hops back and gets it the rest of the way around.
LIDDLE – UCD: Big full, big bound back.
HEBERT – UCD: Pretty full tiiiiniest bit piked, step back.
DONOVAN – ILLINOIS: Short on first handstand, pike Jaeger to overshoot WAY close, almost drops her chest onto the bar. Blind full double back with a hop.
CHIA – YALE: Side aerial, BHS LOSO, oh I love this routine. So so pretty. Full turn, cat leap side aerial back full stuck. 10! JK 9.85 but I will not complain.
WASHINGTON – UW: Double back, lots of amplitude, front lay front full. Double pike, not the best landing.
HOFFA – UW: Lands slightly staggered on the full in but it’s so good in the air. Front lay front full gorg, double back with a scoot back. 9.9
WASHINGTON 49.050, ILLINOIS 49.050, YALE 48.975, UC DAVIS 48.400
Well, those scores were something. Washington scores started too low and ended up quite generous. UC Davis got fully screwed on the Tsuk tuck fulls. It’s a mystery.
Love watching Jacey Baldovino dancing on the sidelines. She’s out with what looks like a knee injury, but she’s a lot of fun either way.
ROTATION 2: WASHINGTON VAULT, UC DAVIS BARS, ILLINOIS BEAM, YALE FLOOR
CUNNINGHAM – UW: Nice full, lands with her chest slightly forward and a small hop.
ITO – UCD I blinked but ended with a really nice hollow double layout stuck.
BORDEN – ILLINOIS: Front aerial FHS sissone, a little slow but probably ok. Full turn, walkover into choreo, beat to iffy sheep, punch front full stuck.
CUNNINGHAM – UCD: Toe on to Maloney, solid, bail. Blind full with a foot flicker to double back, slightly underrotated with a step.
COOPERMAN? – YALE: Front thru two and a half, switch side Popa really nice. Double pike.
HEBERT – UCD: Bail with a little bit of legs. Legs apart on a KCH, blind with more legs, Jaeger right up in the air oh my GOD ok she’s fine. There was no distance and less rotation on that and she caught it basically with her face but managed to muscle up the next cast and keep going. Toe on front pike dismount with a hop.
LANDESS – UCD: Really nice Gienger, double arabian dismount a little deep with a hop.
BUFORD – YALE: I think that was a switch half wolf full. Rudi to huge split jump. That’s the end.
SCOTT – ILLINOIS: Kickover front BHS, front leg feels wrong, cutting away. Bye Shaylah it was nice knowing you.
SUZUKI – UCD: Blind to pike Jaeger, legs apart, too far and falls. Pak, Blind full double back with a hop.
Kind of a bummer of a senior day for the Aggies so far.
HOWELL – ILLINOIS: BHS back pike, little check, now we’re leaving her as well.
LIDDLE – UCD: Gienger, way too far, falls as well.
Another fall in the exhibition from Cammi Johnson.
ALLEYNE – YALE: Double pike… to hands and knees, looked like it wasn’t much fun on her ankles. Stayed down for a second, popped into her landing pose, walked away but then sat down after a few steps to have it looked at. Hope she’s okay 🙁
ILLINOIS 98.150, WASHINGTON 98.075, YALE 97.775, UC DAVIS 96.600
Definitely not Davis’ day. Oddly I’ve seen the Aggies do this at home before this season.
SUZUKI – UCD: BHS LOSO, little check, keeps it on. Cat leap side aerial, tentative and arrests it with her arms. Switch straddle quarter, leg up choreo, gainer full off the side stuck. Falling on your senior night sucks. Following it with a routine like that is magic.
SCOTT – ILLINOIS: Is she doing floor to Taylor Swift? She might be. Just saw a Rudi, twisting into the lunge a little but no biggie.
LIDDLE – UCD: BHS LOSO, off, aerial round off. Cartwheel gainer full stuck.
OTTO – ILLINOIS: The twisting Shush is the coolest freaking thing. Rudi to close.
ITO – UCD: BHS BHS LOSO, switch short of split to straddle 1/4, tic toc choreo, gainer pike.
YEKTAPARAST – UCD: Hip circle under the bar, I always forget she does that, BHS LOSO. Switch side, switch half to beat, the parents in the chat are bickering about which events they want the stream to show, gainer full with a hop.
HOWELL – ILLINOIS: This one makes me so happy. Front thru double back, and that’s all we get to see!
HEBERT – UCD: Triple series, full turn, sissone switch side. One and a half dismount stuck. Another great recovery from a fall, good for her.
THOMPSON – UW: Finally showing bars after a concerted campaign by the UW parents. Jaeger with messy feet to bail, half in half out STUCK. If all the dismounts have been that good the 9.9s are legot.
LANDESS – UCD: Another triple series.Then I had a stream failure moment.
Just caught Agah stick her gainer pike in the exhibition. YAY SENIORS
WASHINGTON 147.650, ILLINOIS 147.150, YALE 146.000, UC DAVIS 145.650
Freaking WASHINGTON. What the heck was THAT. 49.575???
AGAH – UCD: Think I missed something at the start, great Rudi, switch half. Front lay front full, one and a half front pike. Really solid last floor routine at home.
RUTTAN – UW: Front aerial back tuck, full turn, switch half to beat a bit short of split. Very interesting choreo, side aerial back full with a step. Competitive debut and she NAILED it.
SUZUKI – UCD: Double pike maybe to start?? Ferrari, one and a half front tuck and scoots right up to the line. Line judge is out of frame so couldn’t see that. Switch ring tour jete half, one and a half front tuck again? stuck. Maybe the first one was meant to be laid out.
WASHINGTON – UW: BHS LOSO, queen of straddles, side aerial tuck back full stuck.
Saw Shaylah Scott go down hard on a Y full in the background. Didn’t look like an injury risk but must have winded her.
SKLOW – UCD: Last I saw of this girl her arm was in a cast. Double pike, great. She can DANCE. One and a half punch pike, good. I love this routine, performance quality and conviction through the ROOF. One and a half front lay really solid.
ROSE – UW: Split jump on, cat leap front aerial BHS stunning. Full turn, oh don’t you dare cut away.
COPIAK – UW: Full turn, BHS LOSO landed straight vertical, no sweat. Cat leap switch side, cutting away.
YEKTAPARAST – UCD: I’ve been super attached to her her whole career, I’ll be really sad to see her graduate 🙁 Front double full, great, she took a hilarious fall in touch that I want to gif later. Front lay Barano LOSO flieeees, switch side Popa ambiguous on the rotation. Double back to close, a little under.
Unless I missed something Monica Riley just did her best beam routine of the year in the exhibition for UW.
HEBERT – UCD: Seven Nation Army honestly never gets old. Double pike, really milking the choreo today, one and a half front lay and really pretended to stick it. Switch ring switch side I think, fabulous double back, not her trademark stick but a perfect NCAA lunge.
FINAL: WASHINGTON 196.975, ILLINOIS 195.600, UC DAVIS 194.850, YALE 194.725
Best meet of the year for the Huskies despite a slow start on floor. I couldn’t find the stats about how good that bars rotation was but it was GOOD. It’s time we came to terms with the fact that Madison Copiak is one of the best gymnasts in the West.
Everyone else had a few disappointments today, not least with the judges’ irrational disgust for tucked vaults, but it was fairly solid. Jessica Wang’s 9.925 on bars and Kelley Hebert’s 9.950 on floor were amazing.
VAULT: Copiak 9.875
BARS: Copiak 9.975
BEAM:Copiak, Rose 9.925
FLOOR: Hebert 9.950
AA: Hebert 39.225
Live blog by Rebecca Scally
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