The Mount: Week 10

Results

Results

Recap

The Big Storyline: Even though Missouri pulled away and got the win here, Ball State was able to keep things interesting through the first couple of rotations. Each of the top three teams had strong meets with scores that helped their regionals position. 

Implications: Missouri was unable to jump into the top 16 in the rankings but remains in striking distance going into the conference championship. Ball State and North Carolina were both able to get a usable road score to stay in a regional position with one more away opportunity to go.

Records: Hannah Ruthberg tied the program all-around record for Ball State with her 39.400.

Controversies: This SECN+ stream was a quad box without commentary, scores, or lineups, which made for an interesting viewing experience.

Results

Results

Results

Results

Recap

The Big Storyline: A “non-gymnastics related health issue” meant another meet for Auburn without Sunisa Lee, keeping the Tigers from getting a massive score on senior night. Auburn still put up a respectable performance, led by Cassie Stevens’ all-around set, but with the standards of the SEC rising as the postseason approach, the score may not be enough. Penn State put up a top 10 program score and a season-high on the road, helping to solidify its postseason aspirations as regionals draw closer. 

Implications: Auburn was surpassed by Kentucky in the conference rankings, meaning that the Tigers will not be in the night session of the SEC championship. Auburn also fell out of the top 10 for the first time this season. Penn State rose five spots up to No. 33, making what was once an outside view of the regionals bubble seem much more plausible.  

Dual Meet

Recap

The Big Storyline: Both Alabama and Boise State had off nights, with neither getting scores that could increase their NQS. 

Implications: Despite only scoring a low 197, Alabama was able to hold to its night session spot in the SEC. As for Boise State, this low score allowed many teams to pass it over the weekend and has put it on the bubble for regionals. Boise State is looking likely to be in a play-in meet but will need to secure it regionals spot at MRGC championship next weekend first.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 31 Boise State at No. 8 Alabama

Why You Should Make Time to Tune in: Cards on the table: It’s highly unlikely that the Broncos are going to upset the Crimson Tide at home on senior night. The individual event titles, though? Those are up for grabs. In addition to Emily Lopez, who snagged the team’s first 10 in program history two weeks ago on bars, keep an eye out for Adriana Popp. She’s notched 9.950s on both vault and floor this season.    

Need More Proof? Alabama’s Luisa Blanco is the reigning SEC Specialist of the Week after scoring her second consecutive 10 on beam and contributing a clutch 9.950 on floor following two falls.

Results

Recap

The Big Storyline: In a night that was focused on honoring the LSU seniors, junior Haleigh Bryant was the star of the night, scoring three perfect 10s and giving LSU the victory in its final home meet of the season. 

Implications: With the victory, LSU secured the No. 2 seed at next week’s SEC championship and will compete in the night session. WVU will move into a more solid position to qualify for the postseason, depending on the results of its meet Sunday at Rutgers.

Records: 49.750 on floor exercise is the second highest team score on that event for LSU. Bryant also tied individual career highs on vault, bars, and floor and tied the program high all-around score with a 39.875. Bryant is also the first gymnast in LSU history to score three perfect 10s in one meet. For WVU, 196.450 is the highest score against an SEC opponent in program history.

Results

Recap

The Big Storyline: For just the second time in program history, the Golden Bears broke 198 as Mya Lauzon’s triple event title evening powered California to a new school record. A giant 49.600 on beam to follow its usual standout bar lineup pushed California to its new best as it easily won the first of two home quad meets of the weekend. Stanford’s Chloe Widner had a big night as she pushed the Cardinal to an upset of Ohio State, who faltered on bars early and wasn’t able to make a comeback.

Implications: Stanford is the only major mover in the rankings, sliding into the top 20 after a new road best.

Records: California’s beam total ranks first in program history.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 15 Ohio State, No. 20 Stanford and No. 47 Utah State at No. 7 California

Why You Should Make Time to Tune in: This is an interesting spread of teams. California has quietly cruised to a No. 7 ranking, Ohio State picked up where it left off last season, Stanford is having another good season, and Utah State’s had a rollercoaster season after losing the bulk of its 2022 competitive routines to transfer.

Need More Proof? California has the No. 3 bars team in the country; Andi Li and Madelyn Williams are particularly stunning. eMjae Frazier also notched a 10 on floor last week, and Mya Lauzon stands out on beam and floor. Payton Harris is living up to her potential for the Buckeyes; keep an eye out for her Yurchenko one and a half. Nicole Riccardi and Colby Miller are great on bars, and Elexis Edwards and Claire Gagliardi are ones to watch on floor. Stanford’s Anna Roberts stands out on vault and floor, and watch for Chloe Widner and Ira Alexeeva on bars and beam. Sofi Sullivan, Brianna Brooks and Carley Bayles make a great back half of Utah State’s beam lineup, while Alivia Ostendorf is coming into her own on vault and floor. 

Recap

Recap

The Big Storyline: Highlighted by the NCAA’s best all-around performance of the year from Jordan Chiles, UCLA earned a new season high for the second weekend in a row to finish the regular season. Chiles’ nearly deduction-less night featured her second bars 10 in as many meets, taking her perfect score total to three in 2023. Vault troubles doomed visiting Iowa State in the second rotation, but the Cyclones did improve on their previous week’s road total by over a point.

Implications: The Bruins’ total pushes them above Utah this week to rank first amongst Pac-12 teams.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 44 Iowa State at No. 5 UCLA

Why You Should Clear Space on Your DVR: Senior Day at Pauley Pavilion is always a treat, and this will be the last meet for a stellar class that includes Margzetta Frazier, who will be looking to go out on a high note. Iowa State will want to take advantage of friendly scoring and get a big number before the Big 12 championship, needing some help from other teams to qualify as a team to the postseason.

You Can Fast Forward, but not Through This: Jordan Chiles has been fantastic in her sophomore season, topping out at 39.825 at last week’s competition with a 10 on bars and near-perfect scores on beam and floor. For the Cyclones, Maddie Diab has been incredible on floor, scoring 9.900 or higher in all but two routines this season.

Results

at Oshkosh

Results

Records: Emily Buffington broke the all around record for the second time this season with her 38.800.

Recap

The Big Storyline: Another Jade Cary sweep helped propel the Beavers to a critical upset of visiting Utah to force a four-way tie for the Pac-12 regular season title for the second straight season. An explosion on bars for a 49.550 made the difference for Oregon State, which was able to match or slightly edge the Utes’ totals on every event. Utah started strong on bars, but a flat vault rotation was its biggest deficit of the meet, and it wasn’t able to make up the gap.

Implications: With the Utes’ loss, California, Oregon State, UCLA, and Utah are all Pac-12 regular season co-champions for 2023. Utah will fall behind UCLA to fifth in this week’s rankings while Oregon State will jump to 11th.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 4 Utah at No. 13 Oregon State

Why You Should Clear Space on Your DVR: It’s Oregon State’s senior night, and you just know you’re going to want to watch and see what happens. Utah has fought through adversity as of late, with Grace McCallum going down and, most recently, Kara Eaker being placed in concussion protocol; we’ll see if Eaker is back. These two teams have some of the best beam workers in the country: Utah’s beam lineup ranks No. 1 nationally, and Oregon State comes in at No. 3. 

You Can Fast Forward, but not Through This: Jade Carey has taken the college gymnastics world by storm, completing her first Gym Slam with a 10 on beam last week. She stands out on the leg events, but don’t sleep on her bars or beam either. Beaver fifth-year Madi Dagen is also a treat to watch on beam and floor. Utah’s beam lineup as a whole is excellent: Maile O’Keefe and Cristal Isa stand out as highlights. Plus, Jaylene Gilstrap has tremendous artistry on floor while Jaedyn Rucker is one to watch for her power on vault and floor. 

Results

Records: Leilani Johnson’s 9.900 on floor tied 2019 graduate Navia Jordan with the highest event total of any Lady in the DIII era. 

Results

Results

Recap

The Big Storyline: For Florida, it was mission accomplished. The Gators had a strong meet that put them back on track heading into the rest of the season. Washington and N.C. State battled as was predicated and were neck and neck after the first three rotations before Washington was able to pull away with a strong bar rotation. 

Implications: Florida moved back ahead of UCLA and will like its position heading into the SEC championship. N.C. State has clinched a regionals birth along with Washington, and both will be hoping to put themselves in a position not to compete in the play-in round.

Controversies: The sound system was on the struggle bus in the first rotation, actually resulting in Alexis Ortega of N.C. State getting a second shot at her floor routine at the end of the rotation.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 3 Florida, No. 27 N.C. State and No. 25 Washington at No. 56 Texas Woman’s

Why You Should Make Time to Tune in: All eyes will be on the Gators, who’ve lost a bit of momentum in recent weeks. They should have no trouble securing the win, but coming away with an away score that will boost their NQS could present more of a challenge. There’s also an interesting battle shaping up between the Wolf Pack and the Huskies, who are neck and neck in the national rankings with regionals selection looming.

Need More Proof? There’s no shortage of stars at this meet, but don’t ignore the Pioneers: The reigning USAG champions are more than capable of big scores when they hit and have set back-to-back season highs. This Texas Woman’s team is more than capable of keeping things interesting, especially at home on senior night.

Recap

Recap

The Big Storyline: The top-ranked Sooners had no problems stopping the surging Sun Devils, as Oklahoma reached the mid-198s for the third time this season with a standout performance from Ragan Smith. Katherine Levasseur’s perfectly stuck Yurchenko one and a half ignited the Sooners before Smith’s career high tying floor bookended their strong night. A fall and wobble-laden beam rotation spoiled what was otherwise a solid outing for Arizona State.

Implications: The Sooners’ NQS-improving total was also the highest score of the weekend. Oklahoma is now mathematically locked into the No. 1 overall seed for the postseason.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 14 Arizona State at No. 1 Oklahoma

Why You Should Clear Space on Your DVR: Arizona State has been surging through the rankings after starting the season ranked No. 23. It’s coming off a victory against Oregon State and will bring that momentum to the Lloyd Noble Center. For Oklahoma, it’s coming off its first loss of the season against Michigan, meaning it will want to come out firing on all cylinders on senior day for Jenna Dunn, Ragan Smith, Allie Stern, and Olivia Trautman.

You Can Fast Forward, but not Through This: After a slow start, Arizona State senior Hannah Scharf has hit her stride and will look to continue her all-around success this weekend. Trautman, the Sooners’ self proclaimed secret weapon, has been a driving force since returning to competition, scoring a 10.0 on vault her last time at home.

Recap