I love weekday night meets, especially ones with nice, accessible streams because they’re a great opportunity for fans who wouldn’t usually choose to watch a certain team if there was a SEC dual broadcast at the same time to do so. And if you’re new here, Southern Utah and Pitt are both teams you might just fall in love with.
From Pittsburgh, you’ll recognize an old friend in Michaela Burton, now hilariously referred to as #pittsburt at every opportunity in team social media. It’s also a great time to get on the Alecia Petrikis train, as the powerhouse senior got a season high 9.900 on floor last week.
At Southern Utah, it’s all about the toe point and the massive scoring potential with gymnasts like Molly Jozwiakowski, Shylen Murakami and Hannah Nipp raking in the big scores this year.
Rotation 1: SUU vault, Pittsburgh bars
Tervort (SUU): FTY, pretty in the air, bends her knees like she expects to stick it but doesn’t. Big step back. 9.8
Dugan (Pitt): Missed a handstand badly, Gienger great, another missed handstand, lovely bail. Better handstands, double layout with a step forward. Great extension on that one. 9.725
Smith (SUU): Yurchenko full on, tuck off, pretty with a step-skip moment backwards. 9.75
Brechwald (Pitt): We cut in halfway through the routine, which is cool! Commentators said handstands were iffy again. Nice double layout, little bounce. 9.7
Kho (SUU): FTY, substantial hop back. Not quite landing these today. 9.775
Ward (Pitt): True Shap to bail, noticeable leg separation and little bits of feet but dynamic, clear hip to blind full to double back stuck. Nice! 9.825
Alfaro (SUU): FTY, pretty, bounces on her toes but keeps it in place. Very good one and a great way to get the bouncies out. 9.925!
Weiss (Pitt): Tkachev with messy feet, slightly closed hips on a handstand, solid bail. Missed a handstand, double lay close to the bar with a little hop. 9.7
McClain (SUU): Tiny hop back on her FTY. 9.825 is lower than I thought they’d go, we’re not going crazy early on her.
Floyd (Pitt): Toe on to Maloney, really nice, toe on to Pak is WAY close and I don’t know how she casted out of that. Half to half to double back stuck.
Ma. McBride (SUU): Lovely open FTY, midsize hop back. 9.85
#pittsburt (Pitt): Weird huge leg split on her toe on, probably not a deduction just weird, Maloney to Pak is huge and dynamic, double lay with a hop. The speed and swing throughout is ridiculous. 9.85
After 1: SUU 49.175, Pittsburgh 48.850
Bars has been a torment for Pitt for awhile but I was really impressed by that rotation. A few athletes who clearly aren’t born bars swingers but have worked very hard to max out the potential on their routines, and some others that are legitimately fantastic. Good start for SUU, landings coming in at the end. Bars is a test—it’s usually fine, but it can be great. That’ll tell us what kind of meet we’re looking at today.
Rotation 2: Pittsburgh vault, Southern Utah bars
Brechwald (Pitt): FTY pretty in the air but a bit of direction, hops sideways straight off the eight incher. 9.775
Nipp (SUU): First handstand a touch short, released late on her Jaeger and catches high and close, great bail. Step back on her DLO. 9.775
Miller (Pitt): Huge distance on her FTY, little hop forward. 9.8
Murakami (SUU): Jaeger great, bail great, check check her usual stuff. FTDB is pretty with a little hop back. 9.825
Every time Shylen gets lowballed because she’s competing in the #2 spot, a fairy dies.
Liszewski (Pitt): A January add thriviing, we love to see it. Basically stuck her FTY. It was behind a photog’s head so I can’t actually see her feet, but it looked good. 9.85
McClain (SUU): Clear hip to Gienger great, short on a handstand, good bail, double lay with a little hop in place. 9.875
Ward (Pitt): Huge FTY, not sure when to stop walking backwards. They’ll probably just count that as one step but it wasn’t. 9.825
Rosza-Thompson (SUU): Jaeger turnover is amazing to bail, great, blind full double back absolutely nailed. One iffy handstand was really the only problem with that. 9.9
Petrikis (Pitt): Tons of distance, bouncy on her FTY, jumps back onto the second mat and then bounces again.
Tervort (SUU): Great clear hip to Gienger SO HUGE to bail, double lay, flares her arms and hops back. 9.85
Herbine (Pitt): Yurchenko arabian, so open and lovely, hop forward onto her toes and salutes quickly and gets outta there. 9.8
Kho (SUU): I’m always surprised how good this routine is. Maloney to Pak, all these SUU routines are missing the first handstand on the high bar after their transition series, FTDB a touch low with a hop. 9.8
After 2: Southern Utah 98.425 – Pittsburgh 97.900
Rotation 3: Southern Utah beam, Pittsburgh floor
DeFilippo (SUU): Subbing in for Ruby Hernandez, who fell in the lead off on Friday. Punch front, deep with a wobbly step forward but got it back. BHS LOSO, shaky connection to straddle, full turn. Switch switch half with iffy splits, weirdly the switch leap was bad and the switch half was fine. Punch front full and a hit’s a hit. 9.8 JOKES but getting a hit in the lead means everything to SUU.
Herbine (Pitt): Front lay front full nice and airy, wolf 3/2 jump definitely not around. Switch side Popa, well, this choreography is something. Double back overrotated and could have sat it but gets it with a squatty lunge. 9.725
Smith (SUU): Round off LOSO, very steady, side aerial, tour jete 1/4 with a check. Full turn, I think one and a half dismount with a step forward.
Miller (Pitt): Double back overrotated and scooty, got her leap series. Front lay front full, sorta misses the punch but gets it around with bent knees, double pike great. 9.8
Murakami (SUU): Silivas mount, dude commentator is freaked by it, it’s a very charming regular feature of the commentary. BHS LOSO BHS great, split to sheep clean, side aerial tuck back full stuck with feet apart. 9.85
Robatin (Pitt): Double back, overrotated, big step back. Switch half Popa Popa with an iffy split on the switch half but good from there. Front lay front pike, wolf 3/2ish. 9.4 there must have been a SV issue.
Nipp (SUU): Front aerial to beat, beautiful, BHS LOSO and pulls the front foot back the TINIEST bit. Full turn, split split 3/4 with a little check, gainer full stuck-ish. 9.825
Ward (Pitt): Wolf 3/2, you can tell from the start that we’ve got a dancer here. Front full front lay, really nice, great leaps, I think switch ring switch half? Double back underrotated and crunchy but keeps her chest up. 9.8
McClain (SUU): BHS LOSO, adjusts her foot but keeps her arms moving smoothly so it doesn’t stand out. Leaps lukewarm as usual, cat leap side aerial, full turn. One and a half twist stuck dead. 9.9
Petrikis (Pitt): Double pike, super emphatic landing. Front lay front foll, lands with one shoulder still turning but works it out fine, getting a few whoops from the audience as well as her teammates for her dance. Switch side Popa underrotated, lunges it around, double back lovely and she’s THRILLED. 9.825
Stream cut out (for everyone, not just me) but Autumn Jorgensen got a 9.85 in the beam anchor and Michaela Burton got a 9.875 to bring the Panthers up over 49 on floor!
After 3: Southern Utah 147.650 – Pittsburgh 146.925
Great pace after three for both teams! SUU could very much pull off a second 197, while any sort of hit beam rotation would produce a fabulous road score for the Panthers.
Rotation 4: Pittsburgh beam, Southern Utah floor
Loomis (SUU): Missed her first pass due to a stream issue, front lay Barani second pass landed with panache. Love a good slow lunge that’s just there to brag. Double back on her toes with a hop. She tumbles with VERY bent elbows but she’s alive. 9.85
Robatin (Pitt): Full turn, kickover front BHS. Tentative leaps, on splits and landings, but through clean. Cat leap Liukin… ish… punch front full tucked with a step. 9.725
Jorgensen (SUU): Double pike, chest a little down but lunges fine, front lay front full to stag. Seems like they’ve been coached to take their sweet time over the front passes, a lot of teams rush out of them and SUU’s landings look more impressive for the contrast. Switch ring tour jete half, hop, double back again a little deep but lunges out quickly. 9.85
Brechwald (Pitt): Full turn, little check, cat leap front aerial BHS great… wait she HAD IT! Extra step back and a check, it looked so good. Split to sheep, very short of sheep but that’s life, kickover front. Gainer pike a little close to the beam with a hop back.
Jozwiakowski (SUU): She’s been VERY hot or VERY cold this year, front double full punch front looks great so let’s hope for the former. Tuck jump 1/1, NAILED the triple full, stepped her feet a little closer together but no biggie. Switch half wolf full. 9.9!
High risk, high reward gymnastics. She’s fallen three times this year and NAILED her other three routines for 9.875, 9.9, 9.925.
Ceccarini (Pitt): Full turn, LOVE her leaps, was that a split straddle straddle 3/4? Something like that. Kickover front with a step, gainer full planted. I apparently forgot to write down that she had an acro series. SORRY JORDAN YOU WERE GREAT. 9.825
McClain (SUU): Double pike, a little odd, doesn’t really set and slightly scooty landing. One and a half front lay. Switch 1/2 Popa stuck, soft knees in the splits, great double back. 9.925
Miller (Pitt): Beaming through the SUU score celebration, switch to one arm BHS, BHS LOSO with a touch of bounce that she absorbs. Nice full turn, cat leap front aerial a little tentative, side aerial back full stuck. They’re THRILLED.
Ma. McBride (SUU): Great landing on her double pike, front lay front full. Tour jete half Popa, milking landing, overrotated the double back with a big scoot.
Burton (Pitt): Season high already locked down for the Panthers, but Burton can make it a 196 if she’s devastatingly good. Front aerial to beat, BHS LOSO just beautiful and presents very well. Full turn with an arm swing, clean leaps, gainer full stuck. 9.875 will do it EXACTLY. #pittsburt getting it done.
Kho out, DeFilippo in on floor. Giving a new routine a chance in a no-pressure environment I guess. Switch full lovely, front full front lay with a touch of bounce. Double back, steps both feet independently into lunge, switch half Popa with iffy splits. 9.7
Final: Southern Utah 197.075 – Pittsburgh 196.000
WOW huge deal score for both teams. Pitt’s first 196 of the season! First since 2018! And a second 197 for Southern Utah, and this one gets to count in its NQS.
Both of these teams have one awful road score that needs to drop ASAP, but they’re putting in the groundwork for really competitive rankings later on. Pitt has an outside look at regionals this year (very outside, but still) while SUU could totally, legitimately, not-a-stretch-at-all roll up to regionals as a top-16 seed.
VT – Morgan Alfaro (SUU) 9.925
UB – Becky Rosza-Thompson (SUU) 9.900
BB – Karley McClain (SUU) 9.900
AA – Karley McClain (SUU) 9.925
AA – Karley McClain (SUU) 39.525
Live blog by Rebecca Scally
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