Big Ten Championship Session One

Recap

The Big Storyline: It was the Wolverines’ meet to lose, and a sub-49.000 floor rotation was all it took for Minnesota to capitalize and win the title. Iowa was in the hunt until a rough beam rotation pulled the Hawkeyes back into a tie with Illinois. The Illini had a great meet except for their first rotation; beam wasn’t up to par and dug a hole they were never able to climb out of.

In the afternoon, Rutgers won the day with consistency. Every other team had highs and lows; it was a close meet start to finish, but avoiding counting any major mistakes is what pushed Rutgers to the top. The Scarlet Knights sealed it with back-to-back 9.900s from Hannah Joyner and Belle Huang on beam.

Postseason Implications: Illinois is now the sole owner of No. 16 and the final seeded regionals spot, purely because Georgia didn’t compete this weekend. Michigan lost ground to LSU for No. 3 but will still be a No. 1 seed. Nebraska and Rutgers will both miss regionals at No. 39 and No. 40 respectively, after other bubble teams had better days and moved ahead.

Records: 197.750 is a new program record for Minnesota. This is the highest-ever finish at Big Tens for both Rutgers and Maryland.

Controversies: Vault judging was pretty happy across the board, especially in session two, which is odd for a four-judge panel.

Conference Awards

• Gymnast of the Year: Lexy Ramler (Minnesota)
• Newcomer of the Year: Adeline Kenlin (Iowa)
• Coach of the Year: Larissa Libby (Iowa)

Preview

• No. 26 Ohio State | 196.194 NQS | 196.400 season high
• No. 31 Maryland | 195.844 NQS | 196.275 season high
• No. 32 Penn State | 195.775 NQS | 196.000 season high
• No. 36 Nebraska | 195.713 NQS | 196.150 season high
• No. 42 Rutgers | 195.381 NQS | 195.975 season high

If you can only watch one meet, here’s why it should be this one… Look at those season highs. This group is closely bunched together. While the session two teams are largely out of reach, this group will fight hard for the afternoon win—and it’ll be an exciting meet start to finish. This is one that very well could come down to the last routine.

If this is one of many meets you’ll be watching, don’t miss this… 

Beam is a big event for Ohio State. Ella Hodges has a shot at the conference title with her best hit, so tune in during the third rotation, around 1:45 p.m. ET, to see what she can do. For Penn State, the make-or-break event is bars. The Nittany Lions shine there and really have no room for error since their other three pieces are weaker. Don’t miss that lineup in the final rotation, around 2 p.m. ET.

What’s the bigger picture to keep an eye on? Nebraska is right on the regionals bubble. It is currently counting a 195.250, a number that should be easily droppable. The bubble teams are very competitive this year, and there will absolutely be movement in those rankings all day. The higher the number, the better the Huskers’ regionals insurance. Rutgers looks out of it, but it’s lugging around a 194.800. It’ll want another near-195 to see how high it can land, and if it can squeak in. The top three teams are more or less locked, but with all of the jockeying for position that will be happening, a strong away number never hurts.

By the Numbers

Past Champions

• Ohio State: 5 titles, last won in 1987
• Maryland: 0 titles
• Penn State: 0 titles
• Nebraska: 2 titles, last won in 2013
• Rutgers: 0 titles

Records Watch

• Team: 197.850 (Michigan, 2000)
• Vault: 49.725 (Nebraska, 2012)
• Bars: 49.625 (Michigan, 2004)
• Beam: 49.550 (Penn State, 2000)
• Floor: 49.700 (Michigan, 2014)
• All Around: 39.800 (Ray)
• Vault: 10.000 (Wymer, Kabnick, K. Rowland, Mable)
• Bars: 10.000 (Peters, Ray)
• Beam: 10.000 (N. Smith)
• Floor: 10.000 (Sampson, Wong)

Last Time Out

Nebraska finished third in 2019, after Illinois snuck ahead when the Huskers counted sub-par vault and beam numbers. Penn State was fifth, Ohio State seventh, Maryland ninth and Rutgers 10th. Maryland and Rutgers both had disastrous beam outings that pulled them down below 195.

*Special thanks to Drew Porche for all of the Records Watch data provided in this preview.