The NCGA Dismount: Week 9

Recap

The Big Storyline: In the marathon gymnastics event of the season, Oshkosh, Whitewater and La Crosse all advanced to the NCGA national championships. Oshkosh upset Whitewater in the teams’ first head-to-head battle on the season. Every team competing with the exception of Whitewater posted a season high team score. Emily Buffington had the meet of her life, posting a near-perfect 9.875 on vault. Kara Welsh and Rachel Lewellen continued their trend of matching vault scores with a 9.775 a piece. Kerrie Legault had a season high on her signature event, posting a 9.775 for her unique, stalder-filled bar routine.

Implications: All three qualifiers to nationals posted scores over 191, indicating that all are ready to contend with Brockport for the title. The record breaking season continues for Oshkosh. Are the stars aligning? Will the Titans be able to replicate this performance May 26? That will be what it takes to challenge for a national title. There were so many stand out performances that it is difficult to zero in on just a few. Emily Buffington and Emma Grant both proved that they are worth the hype, taking home three regional titles between them. The race for the national vault title is going to be a tight one with several viable options coming out of the West Region. There were ten athletes who went 9.7-plus on the event. Strong uneven bars performances came from Kerrie Legault and a trio of UW-Oshkosh gymnasts. In the fight for a beam title, don’t forget about Effie Ferguson. She’s had several 9.6-plus performances on the event this year already and just keeps getting better. Andrea O’Connell from UW-Eau Claire secured herself a bid to the national championship on floor with the strongest performance of her young career. . 

Records: UW-Oshkosh broke its program record for the second time this season, posting a 192.300 to take the conference title. Emily Buffington’s 9.875 on vault and 9.850 on bars were both career highs. Rachel Chesley surged to take the floor title with a career high 9.825 of her own. 

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 76 Gustavus Adolphus, No. 78 Hamline, No. 77 UW-Eau Claire, No 67 UW-La Crosse, No. 65 UW-Oshkosh, No. 69 UW-Stout, No. 74 Winona State at No. 64 UW-Whitewater

Why You Should Make Time to Tune in: This week’s competition determines which teams will qualify to the NCGA national championships. The top three teams will gain an automatic bid to the highest competition in Division III gymnastics. The best part is that with rankings this close, there are more than three teams that will reasonably be vying for the qualification spots. Expect to see not only the big skills that larger programs have made famous but unique skill combinations you can’t get anywhere else. 

Need More Proof? The one-two punch of Rachel Lewellen and Kara Welsh have been killing the vault game for UW-Whitewater all season. Lewellen even managed a stick on senior night last weekend for a 9.800. Speaking of vault, have you seen Mikala Bugge? This sixth-year brought a new upgraded vault to her final season. Where else is there a front handspring front tuck half in the NCAA? Staying on theme, Kennedy O’Connor jumped into the Winona State lineup as a sophomore with a 10.0 start value of her own. Don’t be surprised when she does a full onto the table instead of doing the standard Yurchenko entry. Gustavus Adolphus’ Sophia Redding has been swinging her way into the history books all season. No really, she is now the owner of the bars program record with 9.700. Her Maloney to overshoot combination is so smooth and strangely satisfying. You won’t want to miss it. Tia Ravara has been approaching UW-Eau Claire’s record herself with her most recent 9.700 on beam. Her lines and split positions are next level. It would be a crime to watch a meet with UW-Oshkosh and not pay attention to Emily Buffington. It’s rare to find a gymnast who can so easily combine the power needed for vault and the swing required for bars. Her front handspring front pike gets better every week. Keep an eye out for her huge double Arabian bar dismount, too. Emma Grant has been leading the way on beam for UW-La Crosse all season and most recently was added back to the vault lineup. Her combination of power and grace makes her a fun athlete to watch. Hamline’s Madeline Sowinski battled back from a foot injury to dominate on floor this season. Check out her solid tumbling and entertaining choreography.

Recap

The Big Storyline: While Springfield may not have notched the score it was looking for, MacKenzie MacLeod cruised her way through the meet with new highs. The Pride notched a season high on vault and beam, the final score hindered by an uncharacteristic low-scoring floor rotation, counting several low scores. The Bombers narrowly topped their previous season high score on vault and scored within their average range of bars for the season so far. Beam and floor proved to be an issue, as Ithaca has had a long-standing fight with beam since its season high back on February 13th.   

Implications: Despite the struggles, Ithaca sits behind Brockport and continues to hold off Ursinus in the East. In Division III as a whole, Ithaca won’t move from its fifth-place position, holding off Stout as the Blue Devils’ season comes to a close. Springfield will slide from ninth into 10th, after Eau Claire scored a staggering season high at the NCGA-West regional.  

Records: MacKenzie MacLeod lead the Pride with a new career and program high of 9.875 on beam.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Host Cortland had its best meet of the season by a staggering three and a half points. The Red Dragons had their best bars score of the year by over two points, recorded a new season high on beam and nearly topping the best vault score as well. Brockport has successfully closed out its own season undefeated, scoring over a 190 for the sixth time this season, tying with the 2018 season. Ursinus scored its third-highest of the season, falling just shy of a 47 on vault but flashing its well-fought bar consistency to prove it’s not a team to be counted out. The Anchorwomen smashed several records and flashed a new season high by nearly two points. They scored season highs on every event except floor, where the team scored in the 47 range for the sixth time this season.

Implications: With this as the final week of the regular NCGA-East season, Cortland proved it could possibly fight its way into the top three at regionals and move onto nationals. So although Cortland slid from 11th to 12th, its new high score came within a few tenths of Ursinus’ own season high. Brockport heads into regionals with the highest SAS, average and high score of the season across all of Division III. Assuming a stellar performance and qualification to nationals next weekend, Whitewater’s high score is just over a tenth behind the Golden Eagles. Ursinus finds itself right between NCGA-East competitors Springfield and Cortland, with less than a point between the three. Rhode Island College rounds out the top three in the east and a solid seventh in the division, keeping Winona at bay for another week as we head into regionals. 

Records: A household Rhode Island College name, Olivia Keyes set another new program record with a 38.400 in the all-around, the previous score her own. Rhode Island posted a program-best of 187.025 as well as on bars with a 45.050 and beam with a 47.825. Cortland’s Glynis Curcione broke the school record and scored a new best with a 9.875 on bars. For Ursinus, Isabella Scarpetti scored a personal best 9.500 on beam, as did Gabrielle Pitt with a 9.275 and Ashley Cromer with a 9.225. Kasey Ricci pocketed a 9.425 person best on floor.