The Mount: Week 1

Recap

The Big Storyline: Even though Southern Utah won this session, Fisk was the highlight of the meet, having made its program debut.

Implications: Southern Utah started strong and carried the momentum throughout the meet, setting the standard for the rest of the MRGC. North Carolina was looking to have a better start than it typically does to help itself move up in the rankings early on in the season and create a cushion come regionals. While the score wasn’t what it may have wanted, it had another opportunity to improve against N.C. State on Monday.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 21 Washington, No. 27 North Carolina, No. 28 Southern Utah, Fisk at Super 16

Why You Should Make Time to Tune in: While you may be tempted to skip the first session of the Super 16 mega meet in Las Vegas, this session will be historic, with Fisk competing for the first time. This will also be fans’ first look at North Carolina, a team poised to climb the rankings this season. 

Need More Proof? Fisk’s debut as the first HBCU in college gymnastics will be highlighted by former five-star recruit Morgan Price, who flipped her commitment from Arkansas to Fisk this spring. Also watch out for the return of North Carolina sophomore Lali Dekanoidze, who was impressive last season before a knee injury took her out of the post season. After a few rough seasons, Washington rebounded in 2022 and is positioned to continue improving. Specifically, junior Skylar Killough-Wilhelm’s lovely beam work will be a highlight. Southern Utah is a sleeper team, posting very little on social media during the preseason. One of its few posts did show six 10.0 vaults, so it will be interesting to see how many of these materialize. Additionally, with the return of fifth-years Karley McClain, Caitlin Kho, Rachel Smith and Shylen Murakami, the Thunderbirds should be a confident, composed team out of the gate.

Recap

Recap

Recap

The Big Storyline: This was a meet of good vibes. Both teams were extremely engaged, routines were clean—it was a zero-fall opening meet—and there was a sense of great joy on the floor. Both Ashley Johnston and Mike Rowe were beaming, recognizing that these opening numbers bode well for their teams’ seasons. Plus, we saw successful debuts from freshmen across the board: Nikki Smith, Sage Kellerman, Olivia Zsarmani and Gabby Gladieux all performed well.

Implications: The Spartans solidified their place near the top of the Big Ten with this number. They’ll be a tough foe in conference play all year. In the stacked SEC, Alabama also made its presence known with this number that is oh-so-close to an opening 197.

Records: Michigan State’s 196.550 is a new first-meet program record.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 12 Michigan State at No. 5 Alabama

Why You Should Make Time to Tune in: As if the new Crimson Tide staff, led by Alabama great Ashley Johnston, isn’t enough to make you tune it, the ascendant season the Spartans had in 2022 should be. These two teams should be fairly evenly matched.

Need More Proof? Freshmen Gabrielle Gladieux for Alabama and Nikki Smith for Michigan State are both highly touted and should be routines to watch on all four events. For the Spartans, Skyla Schulte is another headliner, as is Luisa Blanco for the Crimson Tide. Michigan State’s Gabrielle Stephen is capable of a perfect 9.950 Yurchenko full.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Florida dominated the competition in its first meet of the season.

Implications: The 2022 SEC champions put the rest of the SEC on notice, leaving no doubt that they’re aiming to extend their reign. Fifth-year Trinity Thomas did not compete in the all-around, but with three event titles, she left no doubt that she’s still in top form as well. 

Records: Kayla DiCello set a program record for a Gator freshman debut performance, leading Florida to its best opening score. Thomas scored the first perfect 10 of the season. Ball State notched its second best opening total while West Virginia had its second best vault rotation. 

Controversies: Thomas’ talent is certainly not up for debate, but the same can’t be said for her beam score at this meet. Fans were divided over whether or not she wobbled after her front aerial.

Preview

Current Rankings: Ball State, Lindenwood and No. 33 West Virginia at No. 2 Florida

Why You Should Clear Space on Your DVR: Florida’s roster boasts more world championship medals than many countries’ total haul, not to mention the reigning NCAA all-around champion, Trinity Thomas. The hosting Gators will understandably be the main event at this quad meet, but there are plenty of compelling reasons to keep an eye on the three away teams as well: The Mountaineers showed flashes of brilliance in 2022 and its stellar freshman class—featuring former four star recruit Miranda Smith—should only bolster the team’s prospects in the new year.  Lindenwood has been a team in flux for the past year, with a new head coach, a new division and various roster shakeups. Freshman Jaly Jones is poised to join senior star Gayla Griswold and junior Hannah Moon as impact players. Injuries decimated Ball State’s depth last year, forcing the team into five-up-five-count territory by midseason. Fortunately, the Cardinals have a strong freshman class that’s seven gymnasts deep, including former three-star recruit Zoe Middleton.

You Can Fast Forward, but not Through This: The addition of Georgia transfers Rachel Baumann and Victoria Nguyen, plus having Ellie Lazzari and Morgan Hurd back in play means there are legitimately two lineups worth of top beam workers on this Florida roster. Additionally, if any team can upstage Florida’s floor lineup, it’s West Virginia. The Mountaineers deservedly ranked 19th on floor in 2022 thanks to big tumbling and assistant head coach Zaakira Muhammad’s superb choreography. Griswold’s Yurchenko one and a half—which scored as high as 9.975 last season—is always worth watching, and finally, there’s no better way to put it: Ball State vault is just cool. From Suki Pfister’s outstanding front handspring pike half to Victoria Henry’s Yurchenko one and a half to freshman Aislyn LaBadie’s Yurchenko full on tuck, this is one lineup you won’t want to miss.

Recap

The Big Storyline: In front of a packed home crowd, Utah used its trademark event—beam—to distance itself from visiting LSU in a battle of two top 10 teams to open the season. Freshman Makenna Smith had an impressive start to her season, tying for the vault title on her first college routine, while Maile O’Keefe anchored the Utes’ 49.475 beam lineup to highlight a night when Utah did have to overcome two falls. The Tigers had no falls, but small errors compiled despite standout all-around performances from returning star Haleigh Bryant and emerging star Aleah Finnegan.

Implications: With strong performances for the opening weekend of the season, both teams showed that they will be in contention for conference titles and spots at nationals. Utah was one of two teams to break 197 on the first evening of the season, trailing only Florida’s 197.750.

Records: Despite the loss, LSU’s total was its highest opening road score in program history.

Controversies: With the most-followed college athlete, Olivia Dunne, at the meet came a bit of drama. A large number of teenage boys swarmed the exit of the arena, bombarding those leaving, asking where the Tiger gymnast was and if she would be making an appearance soon, and causing LSU to move its team bus to avoid the crowd.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 6 LSU at No. 3 Utah

Why You Should Cancel Plans for It: In the biggest dual meet of the opening weekend, a pair of top-ranked and national-title-hopefuls will battle one another to kick off the season. The Utes enter 2023 coming off back-to-back third-place finishes at the national championships and are looking to get back to the top of the podium, while the Tigers are looking to bounce back from a rough end to 2022 where they were stunned in the second round of regionals in a season with a national title as a realistic goal. Both teams are loaded with talent again this year and this opening meet is a great opportunity to get a decent idea of what to expect from each program over the next few months.

What We’re Watching: Set for her NCAA debut is former five-star and top-10 recruit Makenna Smith, who competed in the all-around at the Red Rocks Preview and was in the presumed top-six on at least bars and vault—where she stuck her 10.0 start value Omelianchik. This meet, which should be a toss-up, will also feature a stellar all-around bout between Utah’s Grace McCallum and LSU’s Haleigh Bryant and Kiya Johnson, who are all capable of 10s on several events.

What Else to Know Before Tuning in: Despite being in different parts of the country, these two programs have several ties to one another. LSU’s assistant coaching duo—Garrett Griffeth and Courtney McCool Griffeth—previously coached at Utah before moving back to the SEC. The Utes’ volunteer assistant coach, Myia Hambrick, was an All-American as a Tiger. Cammy Hall, who transferred from Utah to LSU over the summer, was set to be a factor for the Tigers on vault but is sidelined for the season with an injury.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Behind a breakout performance form Chloe Widner, Stanford won the second session of Super 16 as the senior won two events en route to the all-around title. The Cardinal also notched an event win from touted freshman Anna Roberts, who vaulted a dynamic Yurchenko one and a half. Second place Georgia had the best showing of the evening on bars, where transfer Josie Angengy took the event title. Oregon State, the favorite entering the meet, opened with several misses on bars.

Implications: While the Beavers’ start wasn’t ideal, it’s become typical for them to start the season slow; don’t hit the panic button on yet. Georgia also started slow last season, with its 2023 opening total nearly a point and a half better than a season ago’s.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 14 Oregon State, No. 17 Stanford, No. 20 Georgia and Rutgers

Why You Should Cancel Plans for It: The second quad meet of the Super 16 mega meet features a trio of top-20 teams and a Rutgers program with raised expectations. Superstar Jade Carey boosted Oregon State to nationals-contender status last season and should have it in the picture yet again, while conference rival Stanford is hoping to ride the wave of its Cinderella story run to the regional final last postseason. After finishing 30th in 2022, Georgia will debut a new look after it revamped its roster this offseason via the transfer portal and a top-five freshman class.

What We’re Watching: Two former five-star recruits are set for their collegiate debuts, with Georgia’s JaFree Scott and Stanford’s Anna Roberts both likely to make lineups for their programs as freshmen standouts. Taralyn Nguyen and Claire Dean are two other Cardinal newbies to keep an eye on as they make up most of their top-ranked freshman class. And while nobody will want to miss a single routine from Carey, keep an eye on Rutgers, too, as a trio of former four-star recruits highlights a massive, top-15 rookie class to compliment veteran Hannah Joyner.

What Else to Know Before Tuning in: While many faces on Georgia’s roster are new to the program, several begin their Gymdog days with collegiate experience under their belts. Josie Angeny transferred into the program this offseason from Kentucky, Vanessa Deniz joined from Oklahoma and Ball State’s Sandra Elsadek is now down in Athens.

Recap

The Big Storyline: The Golden Bears shattered expectations with the 11th best score in program history and the third highest score of Week 1 competition. 

Implications: California ranked third in the Pac-12 preseason coaches’ poll but outscored top-ranked Utah’s first-meet score despite the latter having the benefit of competing in a dual meet at home. Despite losing several key contributors from last season’s lineups, Iowa came out swinging with 49-plus on three events. 

Records: California turned in its best opening meet score. Junior Andi Li tied her career high on uneven bars while freshman teammate eMjae Frazier tied a program record on beam in her collegiate debut. Iowa’s team score was its second best in program history. Eleven of the Hawkeyes gymnasts tied or set career high event scores. 

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 8 California, No. 18 Iowa, No. 22 BYU, and No. 24 Arizona State

Why You Should Cancel Plans for It: The first session of the Super 16 mega meet featuring only ranked teams will give us a look at a handful of programs that are dark-horse picks in their conference races. California won its first Pac-12 title in program history by tying for last season’s regular season crown and figures to be in the fight again with some standout freshmen added to the roster. Arizona State was part of that tie for the Pac-12 title last season, but after a disappointing postseason, it has a lot to prove with its roster of returnees. BYU and Iowa lost a lot of routines to graduation and will both show off plenty of fresh faces.

What We’re Watching: Set to make her NCAA debut is former elite eMjae Frazier, who should be a difference-maker for California with standout skills and difficulty on every event; she could help elevate the Golden Bears into the nationals picture after being on the bubble in recent years. Iowa’s two standout gymnasts—JerQuavia Henderson and Adeline Kenlin—return after the Hawkeyes’ upset run into the top 16 last season and will lead a new-look team while BYU’s top-10 freshman class will be relied upon immediately. Arizona State’s team returns the core of its roster from its ninth-place finish in 2021 and could pull a stunner if Hannah Scharf and Alex Theodorou are on their A-game.

Recap

The Big Storyline: The highly anticipated season-opening quad meet delivered on the excitement, with a competitive battle through all four rotations, highlighted by postseason-level routines. Top-ranked Oklahoma had few issues claiming the top spot while Michigan stormed back from an iffy start on beam to nab second in a tight race for runner-up thanks to a strong floor rotation capped-off by Sierra Brooks. Sooner freshman Faith Torrez had a strong debut in nabbing a share of the floor title alongside teammate Jordan Bowers’ vault crown while Sunisa Lee paced third-place Auburn with a perfect score on beam en route to the all-around win. UCLA was in second most of the evening, with Jordan Chiles nearly hitting perfection on bars and Chae Campbell stealing the show on floor.

Implications: All four teams posted strong scores that should keep them in the top 10, with Oklahoma’s total the highest of the weekend to keep it in the No. 1 position.

Records: Auburn broke its program record for highest season-opening score by almost a point while UCLA’s total was its best in an opener in 18 years.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4. Michigan, No. 5 Auburn, and No. 10 UCLA

Why You Should Cancel Plans for It: Capping off the Super 16 mega meet in Las Vegas is one of the most stacked opening weekend quad meets in recent memory if not ever. The all-top-10 bout features four of the most popular and prolific programs in the sport today and is set to be a competitive, nationals-level matchup. The Sooners earned the top spot in the preseason poll after retaining all but a few routines from their championship roster and added a pair of former five-star recruits. Auburn finished fourth last season but was jumped by Michigan in the preseason poll after retaining two fifth-year all-arounders from a team that faltered in last year’s national semifinal, while the Tigers should challenge for the final yet again behind Sunisa Lee in her final collegiate season. UCLA underwent a coaching change during the offseason and optimistically could return to the nationals landscape should its roster perform at the talent level it possesses.

What We’re Watching: In addition to the already-established superstars among these teams, a handful of big-name freshmen are ready to make their collegiate debuts. The class of 2022’s top recruit, Selena Harris, is a major contributor to the optimism surrounding the Bruins heading into the season, and Oklahoma’s pair of former elites, Faith Torrez and Ava Siegfeldt, give the Sooners tremendous depth. Natalie Wojcik and Abby Heiskell came back for a bonus year to help lead the Wolverines to a repeat of the national title they won in 2021, while Derrian Gobourne is using her extra year to help push the Tigers to their first.

What Else to Know Before Tuning in: The keyword to describe this session of the inaugural Super 16 is “star power.” Seven of the top 20 gymnasts in the all-around at last year’s national final will compete in this session, including runner-up and beam champ Lee. Additionally, we’re anticipating the return of several big names from injury, including Michigan’s Carly Bauman and Nicoletta Koulos, alongside UCLA’s Margzetta Frazier and Emily Lee.

Recap

Records: LIU sets a new opening meet record with a 194.400.

Recap

The Big Storyline: It shouldn’t be lost that this meet marked the beginning of competition for Greenville’s program, and the DIII squad saw some strong numbers, especially on vault and floor. The Buckeyes getting the SEC upset over Kentucky and having some lights-out performances from the jump is significant, especially since this big number included a miss on beam. Kentucky set a strong foundation to work from the rest of the season with no huge crises. Arizona’s day was marred by a bar rotation that included counting a 9.225.

Implications: With this number, Ohio State marks its arrival in the top group in the Big Ten, nestling itself between No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Michigan State. Internal conference standings are going to be incredibly competitive this year. The Buckeyes are also sitting tied at No. 10 nationally with LSU, a huge statement.

Records: The Covelli Center was sold out.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Missouri put together one of the best beam rotations in the country to steal the win from the Illini after trailing the entire meet. The Tigers’ 49.525 ties Oklahoma and Denver for a top beam number in the first week. Illinois on the other hand was shaky on beam and missed what could have been a huge opening weekend score after strong showings on the other three events. Still, both teams will be very pleased with these solid numbers to build from moving forward, especially given the number of debut routines we saw across the meet.

Implications: Both the SEC and the Big Ten will be incredibly competitive this year, and these mid-196s put both teams in strong positions from which to build, from the middle of each respective conference’s standings.

Controversies: The way this meet was presented was bad. BTN+ is often questionable, but this broadcast included erratic camera work, fully missed routines (in a dual!) and one confused commentator often talking over his more knowledgeable counterpart. To top it off, the live scores never worked, and we only got sporadic updates on the broadcast.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 9 Missouri at No. 23 Illinois

Why You Should Make Time to Tune In: Missouri is coming off of a historic fifth-place finish at nationals while it’s looking like the Tigers will continue to fight for a spot in the top 10. It’ll be tricky, but with an outstanding freshman class and veterans who know what it takes to make it to nationals, the Tigers are looking to make it back to Fort Worth. It all starts with this meet. Even though Missouri had a stellar season in 2022, don’t look past the Illini. They might look different this year after losing some veterans in the offseason, but the new additions should help the team continue to rise in 2023.

Need More Proof? Illinois sophomore Makayla Green is returning from injury this year, and we expect to see her on multiple events. With the addition of Green and all of the incoming freshmen, Illinois will be trying to fill the shoes of the veterans lost in the offseason.

Recap

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The Big Storyline: Winona State showed up and showed out, improving by almost two points over two days since it’s season opener. The Warriors—led by senior Breanna Ho in her all-around debut weekend—notched either an event win, a 9.500-plus score or both on every event. 

Records: Every event total put up by Simpson will stand as a program record (at least for the current week). Bailey Tessena and Emma Tolbert share the honors of the team’s first individual event wins, earning them on beam and floor, respectively.

Recap

Recap

The Big Storyline: The beginning-of-the-season floor landings and beam wobbles hurt both teams, but North Carolina was able to improve on its beam performance and landings on bars enough to eclipse the 196 mark. N.C. State made its season debut with Shepard in the all-around and Negrete back, showing good things to come for the Wolfpack.

Implications: North Carolina will still be behind on average for now after a 194 in its first meet of the season, but the Tar Heels now have the top score in the EAGL so far and a first win over the Wolfpack.

Records: Multiple records were broken in Chapel Hill. North Carolina posted its highest home opening score, N.C. State posted its highest season opening score, and Tar Heel Lali Dekanoidze’s 9.975 was a program record, too.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 31 N.C. State at No. 27 North Carolina

Why You Should Clear Space on Your DVR: The Wolfpack and the Tar Heels finished off last season as the top two teams in the EAGL. This first meeting between these two teams will be a great way to see how they stack up against each other in 2023.

You Can Fast Forward, but not Through This: Chloe Negrete will be making her return for the Wolfpack after missing last season with an Achilles tear, so watch out for her on her three signature events: vault, beam and floor. Other notables for N.C State include Emily Shephard on both bars and beam and Alexis Ortega on beam with her fan favorite back handspring to
Onodi acrobatic series. North Carolina starts 2023 with a double header after competing at the Super 16 in Las Vegas on Friday. Be sure to watch out for Kaya Forbes on vault and both Elizabeth Culton and Julia Knower on beam. North Carolina looks poised to make the jump in the rankings this season, and to do so, beating N.C. State here is a good first step.