It’s an SEC-EAGL matchup that is bound to be a good one as teams get the opportunity to not only compete on podium during the regular season but also get a taste of the NCAA championship venue before the big show in April. LSU is the heavy favorite Friday, but questions remain about it as a title contending team, especially on beam, where it had two errors last week. Arkansas has shown incredible improvement from 2017 and is making a case for inclusion in the night session of the conference championship come March. Missouri is in a bit of a rebuilding process but has shown moments of prowess so far this season. If the Tigers can put together a clean meet, anything can happen. Finally, George Washington, the lone non-SEC team in the field, is coming off a solid road performance at Denver and will look to improve even more in St. Louis. With a hit, the Colonials could capitalize on the setting and upset one or more of its higher-ranked opponents.
With a four-ring circus, bear with me as I try to bring you quick hits from as many routines as possible throughout the competition. There will be a focus on LSU, but each of the teams will see time in the live blogging spotlight.
Injury report: Arkansas’ Sydney McGlone is out for the rest of the season after getting “Tommy John” surgery on her elbow Feb. 14.
And, since apparently it’s 1912 and not 2018, there will not be live scores for this meet. HOWEVER, your saviors at NCAA Gym News have set up a spreadsheet for live-ish scores that you can follow throughout the meet. We also set up a Twitter list to follow along with the teams at the competition.
Carol already had her fun in the first session of this meet, with Minnesota’s Ivy Lu earning a perfect 10 on beam and 9.975 on bars, so you know things are about to go off the deep end. I’m so excited. Let’s get started.
Rotation One
Cannamela (LSU), vault: FTY basically stuck, 9.850
Yamzon (Ark), bars: nice Tkatchev, missing a few handstands but finishes with a big FTDLO with a small hop
Winstanley (GW), floor: opens with a nice full-in, second pass is another E! a front double full, GW is in a gorgeous new sparkly leo, random front aerial, finishes with a nicely landed double tuck, 9.875
Laird (Ark), bars: this commentator says heighth so automatic F, some short handstands, hop back on the double layout dismount
Zois (GW), floor: opens with a super clean double pike, 2.5 for a second pass that just drops out of the sky, fhs front full, front half, a nice routine from her
Hambrick (LSU), vault: Y1.5 with just a small hop forward, 9.925
Edney (LSU), vault: Y1.5 nice landing
Kelley (Missouri), beam: didn’t see it but 9.925 so Carol’s here in full force I’m going to guess
Crasa (GW), floor: nice double pike to open, 1.5 to front pike a little lose form, some loose feet here and there on her leaps, ends with a double tuck landed nice just chest a tad down
Speed (Ark), bars: her usual great routine, just a short handstand in there
Someone’s off on beam for Missouri but didn’t catch who. Meanwhile, Arkansas had a fall on bars from Garner—ends well with a hop on her double tuck.
Drouin-Allaire (GW), floor: her usual, ends with a clean double tuck and really has superb form throughout
Ward (Miz), beam: bhs bhs loso solid, cat leap to side aerial solid, ends with a ro 1.5 stuck, a good comeback routine for that lineup
Seibold (GW), floor: double tuck front foot slide back on landing, fhs front full front half some leg form, ends with a 2.5 and just BARELY saves it from going out of bounds
Rotation Two
Zois (GW), vault: nearly stuck FTY, could use a bit more distance
Durante (LSU), bars: big straddle jaeger, great handstand after, good transition, nailing her handstands, stuck cold FTDT, she’s becoming quite the bar worker
Pfeiler (GW), vault: this is her first year in the vault lineup as a senior and it’s often her highest-scoring, also Decatur, Georgia, represent! FTY stuck, beautiful form in the air maybe a tad squaty on the landing
Harrold (LSU), bars: hits her zucchold cleanly, nice handstand to clean straddle jaeger, just a hop on her double front dismount, better than it has been
Laird (Ark), beam: hits her side aerial, ends with a cartwheel gainer full with a hop back
Winstanley (GW), vault: Y1.5 with just a hop forward, good height and distance
(Miz), floor: fhs front full to front lay solid, tour jete half to split full
Mermelstein (GW), vault: I think they’re trying to hide her between Winstanley and CDA because it was a weaker vault in general but not “bad”
Sorry if I’m skipping around! Trying to get as much as I can while still getting the highlights for you guys…
Priessman (LSU), bars: archy first handstand, hits release to immediate pak, nails last handstand, two giants to stuck double lay, great routine and a nice set up for Finnegan
Carter (Ark), beam: standing full turn is beautiful, love watching her on this event, side aerial a little dumpy to back full stuck
Finnegan (LSU), bars: toe-on tkatchev, hits shootover right to handstand, maybe a TOUCH shy on land handstand but sticks double layout
Garner (Ark), beam: missed connection but missed the skills… great side aerial to loso with a balance check, full turn good, dances right out, side aerial to back full basically stuck
Burton (Ark), beam: front aerial to beat jump with a small lean in between, bhs loso with another lean but fine, full turn good, split jump to a college style sheep jump, stuck gainer full to end, solid routine for her
Rotation Three
Macadaeg (LSU), beam: beautiful full turn, switch to switch half to beat lovely, nails bhs loso like she does, stuck gainer full, great routine to start
Zois (GW), bars: short first handstand, blind to straddle back, nice handstand, tkatchev, arched handstand, nearly stuck dlo
Pfeiler (GW), bars: giant full a little short to gienger nice, great shootover handstand, giant full to double tuck with a hop
Hambrick (LSU), beam: she works so smoothly in and out of skills, nice switch to straddle quarter, ro double full with a very small foot movement
garner (Ark), floor: double pike with chest a bit low, switch half to popa oversplit and so so lovely, front lay to front full , great routine with a lot of personality
CDA (GW), bars: falls on her release, short shootover handstand, good last handstand and giant full to stuck double tuck
Edney (LSU), beam: front aerial to wobble, bhs loso timid, full turn fine, nailed piked front toss
Bower (Miz), vault: glad she’s finally back in the lineup, fhs pike half solid
Desiderio (LSU), beam: front aerial to wobble to sissone, bhs loso solid, full turn slightly overturned, switch leap to switch half to beat jump good, stuck gainer full, similar routine to Macadaeg in composition
Winstanley (GW), bars: jump over low bar mount, short first handstand, gienger nice, short handstand, transition is solid but nearly falls on a squat on and has to do a roundy round after flailing her arms a bit, sticks her FTDT cold though
Campbell (LSU), beam: back tuck to split, cool little back roll thing, ro double twist with a pretty crooked landing but not too bad
McLaughlin (GW), bars: jaeger, short on shootover handstand, nice last handstand, FTDT with a slightly wonky landing but that’s one of her best routines of the season
Finnegan (LSU), beam: single wolf nice of course, side somi probably done the prettiest you’ll see, stuck side aerial to back full, 9.975
Carter (Ark), floor: fall on her last pass, pretty low front tuck out of a combo pass
Rotation Four
Cannamela (LSU), floor: doub le tuck last pas a bit crunched/short landing
Mermelstein (GW), beam: nice series, hit her leap series, ro 1.5 hop forward to finish
Kirby (LSU), floor: bit of a short/wonky landing on her first pass, duble tuck a tad out of control, last pass is the most controled
Shaffer (Ark), vault: Yhalf, medium step forward
Wellick (Ark), vault: FTY small hop
Zois (GW), beam: switch to split 3/4 with a bobble but saves it, bhs loso nailed with just a bit of in-air leg form, full turn fine, switch ring could use a bit more ring, ro double twist stuck, nice finish
Desiderio (LSU), floor: big double lay, hitting her leap positions well, double pike to end with a bit of a large step back
Pfeiler (GW), beam: bhs loso solid and beautiful in-air form, perfect full turn, switch to gainer loso to beat no issues, cat leap to immediate switch side maybe a TAD closed, this is a great routine so far, cartwheel gainer full with just a heels moving together movement, awesome routine that I feel like always gets underscored
Edney (LSU), floor: a bit of an uncontrolled landing on her last double tuck but an overall good routine
Finnegan (LSU), floor: 1.5 through to 1.5, slight cross step, double tuck is solid and chest up, switch ring to switch half is lovely, final pass a double pike which is basically man stuck, awesome routine
Winstanley (GW), beam: awesomely unique front aerial to front toss series, connected well, perfectly stuck ro double to finish, GW had a great meet here tonight
Hambrick (LSU), floor: she stucks that double layout every time but I’m sorry LSU fans, the second layout is PIKED, shouldn’t be a 10 until she fixes it, also sticks that double pike to close but flights a tad for the man stick, her normal routine so wouldn’t be surprised with another 9.975 or even a cracky 10—9.975 is the score so there you have it
Final Scores: LSU 198.075, Missouri 196.025, George Washington 195.65, Arkansas 195.575
Live blog by Elizabeth Grimsley
Any word on where Sarah Edwards is tonight? Please don’t say she’s injured.
Edwards featured in both vault and floor at LSU’s second meet of the weekend, at home against TWU. Looked perfectly fine to us!