You can make a case for Kentucky being a little vulnerable here. The Wildcats’ top scores have been heavily skewed toward home this season, and last week’s performance at the SEC Championship was underwhelming. Meanwhile, Georgia and Southern Utah both arguably are better than their ranking and both have scored 197.000+ this season.
Here’s the flip side, though: Both underdog teams have been majorly inconsistent in 2022, with Georgia beam and Southern Utah floor causing running issues. Neither is a stranger the home scoring game, either. These two absolutely have the peak necessary to threaten Kentucky, but it would take some real magic—or Kentucky mistakes—to make this a real possibility.
I don’t mean to neglect Auburn, but with a NQS fully four tenths above Kentucky’s, there’s just not much danger to the Tigers today. There’s always a chance, but we’ll mostly just be looking out to see how much this team has left in the tank after a record-shattering regular season.
Assuming that Auburn makes it to nationals, this session has some strong contenders to advance as individuals. It would be a surprise to see No. 4 Raena Worley miss out on this regional’s all around spot. Meanwhile, Southern Utah senior Shylen Murakami is ranked inside the top 25 on bars and there’s always a chance that Rachel Baumann from Georgia will have another magic day on floor.
Rotation 1: Kentucky VT, Georgia UB, SUU BB, Auburn FX
Ward (UGA): First things first, the lineups on the screen are wrong. True Shap, soft knees under the bar, to bail. Double layout with a baby hop. 9.8
Procasky (UK): FTY, pretty and flared, little hop. 9.725 is stingy but it’s the first score of the day.
Watson (Aub): Double Arabian with a little hop forward. One and a half front lay is solid, underrotated double tuck with a step forward. 9.775
Nixon (UK): FTY undercooked, hop forward 9.8, no way that was worse than Procasky.
De Jong (UGA): Toe on to Ray, fall. A little short on the bail, stuck-ish double layout. 8.9
Vultaggio (SUU): BHS LOSO LOSO good. A touch of knees but steady. Switch split, 1.5 dismount with a deeper squat and a hop to salute. 9.85
Cashman (UGA): Tkachev, flat feet, good bail, stalder shoot. Solid dismount. 9.825
Magnelli (UK): Stuck the front pike 1/2, great! 9.9
Patterson (UK): Another great pike half, a little less height and a hop back. 9.9
Nipp (SUU): Front aerial to beat. BHS LOSO with a little wobble. Full turn, gainer full off the side stuck. 9.8
Stevens (Aub): Front lay to Rudi good, tour jete half wolf full. Double tuck mildly cowboyed but well controlled. 9.85
Worley (UK): One and a half stuck-ish on her toes. 9.95
Groth (Aub): Front double full, hoppy. Front full front lay is quality, Rudi with a little front foot wiggle. 9.9
Schild (UGA): Okay Ray, legs come apart on the bail, hollow double layout with a big step forward. 9.8
Gorgenyi (UNH): FTY, medium hop back. 9.8
Roberts (UGA): Toe to Maloney to bail solid. Missed a handstand, double layout with a baby hop. 9.875
Schwartze (SUU): BHS LOSO tentative but made. Beat to LOSO, split to sheep, good combo work here. Baby hop back on dismount. 9.8
Lee (Aub): Double layout overrotated, scoot back. One and a half front full twists into the ground a little but the landing is good. 9.9
Nguyen (UGA): Toe to toe blind to pike Jaeger, flat feet and little form moments, solid bail. Double layout overrotated, two steps back.
McClain (SUU): BHS LOSO, comes in sideways and falls. Switch to split shaky. One and a half dismount with a step.
Decavitch (KSU): Maloney to Pak, form throughout, slightly imprecise half turn on the low bar. Whippy double layout but stuck.
Gobourne (Aub): Open double back, super controlled landing. Dances out of her combo pass and conceals the fact that she’s totally still twisting, solid double pike. 9.95
After 1:Â Kentucky 49.400, Auburn 49.375, Georgia 49.150, Southern Utah 49.025
Great start for Kentucky, solid but not exceptional for the others here. Georgia and SUU both survived fear events, so that’s a good start, but neither is exactly heading to a strength either.
Rotation 2:Â Auburn VT, Kentucky UB, Georgia BB, Southern Utah FX
Groth (Aub): Solid FTY, hop back. 9.75
(SUU): Rudi, underrotated with a major hop to one side. Good front lay front full
Davis (UK): Blind to Jaeger, flexed feet. Shapey double layout, fake stick. 9.875
Magee (UGA): Good turning leaps, nice and steady on the triple series, cross step on 1.5 dismount.
Hubbard (Aub): One and a half, little hop. Great! One of her best vaults in college. 9.85 scam
Stevens (Aub): Soft knees on 1.5 but great landing, virtually stuck. 9.925
Hawthorne (UGA): BHS LOSO, arm swing check. Split to standing switch. Major check on full turn. One and a half twist, hop forward.
Procasky (UK): Maloney to Pak, little leg sep. Blind full double back comes in deep. 9.875
Nixon (UK): Maloney to bail ultra-clean, great precision on that handstand. FTDB insanely high stuck.
Gobourne (Aub): One and a half, quick hop forward. 9.85
Watson (Aub): One and a half, a little bouncy. 9.9
Schild (UGA): I’m not at all convinced that she connected her front aerial to her BHS BHS. Switch split is nice, blanked the dismount.
Lee (Aub): Lopez, pikey and soft with major hop.
Nguyen (UGA): Onodi BHS is nice and steady. Little check on full turn, side aerial back full stuck.
Moravansky (WMU): Solid FTY, hop back.
McClain (SUU): Steady double pike, front full front lay well controlled. Got the double back. Good one.
Worley (UK): Clear hip to Tkachev. Nice Pak, full out stuck.
De Jong (UGA): Pretty full turn, steady switch split. Front aerial to beat, BHS LOSO with a check that she arrested quickly, side aerial back full with a hop back.
Schwartze (SUU): Front double full a little undercooked, steps it around. Rudi LOSO pretty. 9.8
Baumann (UGA): Full turn, side aerial LOSO with a check, uses her arms to straighten it up. Cat leap switch side, one and a half twist stuck with an arm twist.
Nipp (SUU): Solid double pike. Front full front lay, lovely straight body position, switch ring tour jete half with iffy control, scoot back on her double back and narrowly avoids going OOB.
Decavitch (KSU): One of the least made splits I’ve ever seen on a switch half, major check on a BHS LOSO, gainer full off the side.
After 2:Â Kentucky 98.925, Auburn 98.725, Southern Utah 98.150, Georgia 98.050
Rotation 3:Â Southern Utah VT, Auburn UB, Kentucky BB, Georgia FX
Perez-Lugones (UGA): Majorly short landing on her second pass, stagger to the side. 9.6
Hartley (SUU): FTY piked throughout but stuck. 9.725
Groth (Aub): Good Ray, not a ton of counter, nice Pak. Arched a handstand, has to do like four kips to make her half turn, full turn to double back stuck. 9.7
Alfaro (SUU): FTY, her usual great steady one with a little scoot back. 9.8
Magee (UGA): Blanked the first pass, one and a half front tuck… that was obviously not the plan but she stuck it, froze for a second to figure out where she was but we got there. Very deep double tuck but lunges out fine 9.575
Smith (SUU): Full on tuck off nice! 9.825
Stevens (Aub): Toe on to Ray, flexed feet and heavy catch. Good bail, missed a handstand, whippy double layout but stuck.
Kho (SUU): One and a half, soft knees but just a baby hop in place. 9.85
Magnelli (UK): BHS LOSO LOSO, looked wonky but landed fine. Switch to straddle quarter, front aerial, gainer pike stuck.
Brusch (Aub): Toe on to Maloney to bail with extensive foot form. Double layout, major hop back.
Gobourne (Aub): Tkachev, flexed feet, good Pak. Full out very high and stuck.
Roberts (UGA): Good double back. Switch switch is pretty, double pike great. 9.9
Patterson (UK): Made the acro series, front aerial to split. Missed the dismount but it had a hop.
Lee (Aub): Maloney pak van Leeuwen, baby arch on the high bar, FTDB stuck. 9.95
Worley (UK): Cat leap switch side, front aerial BHS LOSO with feet. One and a half twist stuck. 9.875
Baumann (UGA): One and a half front full, sits. Switch side to straddle. Yeah, this is a problem for UGA.
Hawthorne (UGA): Great double tuck, front lay to Rudi to split, bounces OOB.
Gorgenyi (UNH) Maloney to bail solid, FTDB with chest down and a step back. 9.825
After 3:Â Kentucky 148.225, Auburn 148.025, Southern Utah 147.025, Georgia 146.575
Rotation 4:Â Georgia VT, Southern Utah UB, Auburn BB, Kentucky FX
Hollingsworth (Aub): Full turn, BHS LOSO nice and steady. Switch switch half, major check. Couple extra steps to get that back on track. Side aerial back full. 9.7
Cashman (VT): FTY, hips slightly closed with a hop back. 9.775
Schwartze (SUU): Great hop change, pike Jaeger. Good bail, blind full double back stuck. 9.875
Brusch (Aub): BHS LOSO with foot form, switch straddle quarter, gainer full.
Patterson (UK): One and a half front lay, missed the punch and barely rotated that with a lot of form. Step forward on her double tuck. 9.425
Magee (UGA): One and a half, big step forward. 9.8
Nipp (SUU): Blind to Jaeger, usual little arch on catch, bail aggressive with a little leg split. Double layout with a little step back. 9.8
Hawthorne (UGA): Big FTY, very small hop back.
Barney (SUU): Majorly missed the first handstand, toe on to ray to overshoot with some form. Double layout whippy, hop back.
Stevens (Aub): BHS LOSO with substantial form and a bend check. Stevens, stuck one and a half twist.
Murakami (SUU): Blind a little late to Jaeger to overshoot, super clean. FTDB with a hop back.
Baumann (UGA): One and a half twist, hop.
Roberts (UGA): Actually cleaner than I’ve seen her one and a half vault but a bound forward.
Haigis (UK): Rudi LOSO super snappy. Switch side Popa, great dance, double pike. 9.95!
Groth (AU): BHS LOSO BHS tentative, switch half great, full turn. Front aerial, side aerial back full nailed. 9.95!!
Kho (SUU): Maloney to Pak, little leg sep.
Davis (UK): Double pike, super control. Switch side Popa, one and a half twist front layout is lovely. Nailed the double tuck, I didn’t see a whole lot to take there. 9.95
McLaughlin (AU): Switch BHS LOSO great. Beat jump side aerial, full turn, gainer pike with a hop forward.
Worley (UK): Can slam the door here with Patterson’s 9.45 to drop. Even if nationals doesn’t happen for UK, Worley has a great shot to qualify as an all arounder. STUCK THE FULL IN OKAY. Front full front lay, another stick with maybe a baby foot shuffle?? I could see them not taking that. Double tuck, hop back, cmon girl I wanted the ten.
Lee (AU): Wolf turn, got the series, switch switch half nice and steady. Great gainer full off the side.
FINAL:Â Kentucky 197.750, Auburn 197.500, Southern Utah 196.325, Georgia 195.725
These are the teams we expected to advance, but Kentucky looked every inch the better team today and deserved to walk away with the win and the higher seed heading into tomorrow. That’s also a program record for the Cats. Southern Utah finished its season with dignity, while Georgia
AA Champ:Â Raena Worley (UK) 39.700
VT Champ: Raena Worley (UK) 9.950
UB Champ: Cally Nixon, Raena Worley (UK), Suni Lee (AU) 9.950
BB Champ: Suni Lee (AU) 9.975
FX Champ: Derrian Gobourne (AU), Anna Haigis, Hailey Davis (UK) 9.950
Live Blog by Rebecca Scally
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