Fisk, Michigan and Southern Connecticut at Rutgers

Recap

The Big Storyline: Michigan came out with the win at Rutgers, scoring a season high 198.300. The Wolverines scored two perfect 10s on vault on the anniversary of its three-10 lineup at Rutgers last year. This year’s 10s were from Sierra Brooks and Abby Heiskell. Rutgers put up its lowest home score this season with a 194.700 after having to count several low scores throughout the meet. Southern Connecticut put up its highest score of the year, and Fisk scored a 188.175.

Implications: The conference standings will remain the same: Michigan stays atop the Big Ten and Rutgers is at the bottom. Michigan’s incredible performance gives it a good road score that the Wolverines will hope to count when it’s time to use NQS.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 69 Fisk, No. 3 Michigan and No. 71 Southern Connecticut at No. 39 Rutgers

Why You Should Clear Space on Your DVR: After an off week at Michigan State, Michigan is back to looking like its usual self. Week 5 will be about if the Wolverines can break back into the 198 range on the road. Rutgers has been inconsistent this year; it’s coming off of a 194.150 and a 195.150 in the same weekend. But with the Scarlet Knights back at home, you can expect them to perform closer to their full potential. 

You Can Fast Forward, but not Through This: Michigan has some gorgeous gymnastics in all of its lineups, but you’ll definitely want to tune in to vault. Last year when Michigan competed at Rutgers, the Wolverines had three perfect 10s on the event, so you won’t want to miss the anniversary of that historic lineup. Vault is the event to watch for the Scarlet Knights, too. Emily Leese has been competing a Yurchenko 1.5 that is stuck more often than not. For Fisk, look out for Aliyah Reed-Hammon on vault and beam. She’s one of the Bulldogs’ main contributors and is coming off of a 9.700 and a 9.775 on vault and beam, respectively. As for Southern Connecticut, keep an eye on the beam. The Owls had to count several scores below 9 last week, so they’ll be looking to stay on the event and find a bit more consistency here.