Oklahoma 197.850, SEMO 192.850 [Results]

It was an absolutely outstanding night for the Sooners at home on Friday night, as they posted the highest score thus far this season, nearly hitting 198 after looking especially incredible on vault and bars. The night included two perfect 10s, from Haley Scaman on her effortless FTY and then from Brenna Dowell on her incredible bar routine, where she caught a huge Church and stuck her full-twisting double layout. These two aside, the whole team looks to be in post-season shape; I don’t think I’ve seen them ever hit such an outstanding bars rotation, where Keeley Kmieciak, Erica Brewer, and McKenzie Wofford all stood out in addition to Dowell. On beam, there were a few tiny things that will likely become a focus in the coming weeks, though Chayse Capps was brilliant in her execution and performance, earning a 9.95. Finishing on floor, they looked to be at their weakest, after seeing costly errors from both Capps and Ali Jackson. Dowell came close to earning her second 10 on the event, however, nailing a giant double front, and Kara Lovan is also proving herself on this event, finishing with a 9.925.

SEMO started out great on bars and then vault; they had counted a fall on both floor and beam, but still managed to have one of their better meets overall. Alyssa Tucker had an absolutely fantastic night, earning a huge 39.125 to win the all-around after bringing in her team’s highest scores on bars, beam, and floor; Alexis Brawner was also a standout on vault with a 9.85.

Alabama 197.400, Florida 196.800 [Results]

The Crimson Tide had an excellent night at home, fighting super strong after their loss to Arkansas a week earlier. They began on vault with a huge 49.5 after clean work from everyone on the roster, including a beautiful stuck FTY from Kaitlyn Clark for a 9.975. Kayla Williams balked her first attempt because the steps in her run were off, but on her second try she had a great Yurchenko 1.5 for a 9.875. Bars was a solid event as well; Aja Sims had an excellent routine, earning a 9.85 after catching a great Comaneci and an awesome Weiler kip, and Lauren Beers earned a 9.9 in the anchor spot after hitting her Maloney to pak salto and a double front dismount. There was more good work from everyone in the lineup on beam, including a standout routine from Katie Bailey, who hit her bhs loso, cat leap to side aerial, and double full for a 9.9. I also liked the work we saw from Keely McNeer, who had a lovely front aerial to beat jump and a solid bhs loso for a 9.875. Bama finished with an excellent floor rotation; Bailey earned a 9.875 with her opening pass (a 1.5 through to stuck 2.5) looking incredible, Clark hit her double pike and great double tuck for a 9.9, and Beers brought in another 9.875 after nailing her double layout, front layout to layout half, and awesome double tuck.

Compared to Bama, Florida looked underwhelming. They hit their routines and didn’t count any falls, but the energy was definitely lacking. There were little form issues in nearly every bar routine, including an over-arched handstand in the normally near-perfect Bianca Dancose-Giambattisto’s set; Kytra Hunter also over-arched on her bail, and Bridgey Caquatto looked a little labored, catching her huge Tkatchev with bent elbows and not looking the cleanest on her bail or double layout. They looked mostly sharp on vault; there were small hops and Caquatto again wasn’t on the money, underrotating her FTY and stepping forward, but Kytra Hunter brought in a 9.975 after nailing a huge Yurchenko 1.5 with a tiny hop, and anchor Alex McMurtry looked excellent, hitting her FTY with the tiniest bit of foot movement for a 9.95. On floor, Hunter looked near-perfect a second time, bringing in another 9.975 after hitting a huge double layout and looking clean throughout the rest of her set; Caquatto in the anchor spot looked clean as well, especially on her 1.5 to front tuck and her Rudi to split jump. Freshman Kennedy Baker got the beam rotation started with a fall, sadly on her awesome double wolf turn, though she hit everything else to finish nicely. The rest of the rotation had some mistakes (Rachel Spicer’s big check on her bhs loso and Ericha Fassbender showing several tentative skills), though Claire Boyce looked lovely, hitting a bhs loso and stuck gainer full for the team high of 9.9. I also loved McMurtry’s “around the world” skill…when Randy Stageberg did it back in the day, I hated the skill, as it always looked clunky and slow, but McMurtry moves as quickly and seamlessly around the beam as if she was swinging on bars. McMurtry also finished with an amazing 2.5 dismount, earning a 9.825.

LSU 197.350, Missouri 192.725 [Results]

LSU got off to a steady start on vault, where they hit but with some form issues and hops on landings. There was an awesome stuck Yurchenko half from grad student transfer Scarlett Williams, formerly of Arkansas (she received only a 9.8, though her body line looked a little loose). Rheagan Courville had the highest score with a 9.95 for her huge, clean FTY; the one issue was a rebound on the landing. Bars was stellar overall, with Courville again standing out after hitting her Jaeger, bail to toe shoot, and stuck-full out for a 9.95. Beam also went smoothly, despite a fall from Erin Macadaeg on her bhs loso; Jessie Jordan was strongest here, showing just a slight check on her side aerial, but then nailing her bhs loso, front aerial, and stuck 1.5. The Tigers absolutely killed it on floor, earning a 49.5 after not counting anything lower than a 9.85. Standouts include Ashleigh Gnat, who earned a 9.95 after nailing her huge double layout and 2.5 to punch front, and Lloimincia Hall, who brought in an almost perfect 9.975 with her huge double layout and double back.

Missouri began with some rough bar routines, including falls from Briana Conkle (after over-arching her bail) and Miranda Eubank (on her piked Jaeger); freshman standout Shauna Miller landed her double layout a bit low, while Sasha Sander arched over on her straddle back (though was able to save it). The best routine came from anchor Becca Johnson, who had a clean giant full to Gienger to overshoot before sticking her double back. On vault, they looked good, though like LSU they had lots of bounces and steps; Miller looked strongest, hopping slightly in place on her FTY. There were some landing issues on floor and a very unfortunate fall from Becca Schugel on her triple full, so they had to count some low scores, reaching just a 47.825 overall. Laura Kappler’s routine was the highest earner with a 9.7 after she opened with a great punch Rudi to bhs to loso. The Tigers finished well on beam, including great routines from Kappler (who nailed her bhs bhs loso and gainer full) and Miller (who earned a 9.85 after hitting her bhs loso and cat leap to side aerial to layout full).

Auburn 197.075, Arkansas 196.250 [Results]

Auburn upset Arkansas at home by nearly a point after a consistent day, including an insanely strong bars rotation where they brought in two 9.925s from Kait Kluz and Caitlin Atkinson. Atkinson had a fantastic night overall, winning the all-around with a 39.45; other standouts include M.J. Rott on vault and floor, Megan Walker on bars and beam, and Kelsey Kopec on bars. Arkansas didn’t really have any major issues at all aside from a fall from Paige Zaziski on floor, which they were able to easily overcome. They just weren’t as dynamic or clean as the host team, though they had some standout routines of their own. Amanda Wellick was fabulous on all four events, earning a 39.3 in the all-around in addition to a pair of 9.9s on vault and floor. Zaziski had great routines on bars and beam, while Heather Elswick looked solid on floor, earning a 9.875.

Stanford 197.000, Oregon State 196.450 [Results]

Everything Stanford did on Monday night looked seamless and solid, helping them to their first 197 of the season after they went 49.05 or better on all four events. Beginning on vault, they had the same iffy form and bouncy landings most teams are currently experiencing, though Elizabeth Price stuck her huge FTY with zero problems, winning her sixth event title of the season after earning the first perfect 10 of her NCAA career. On bars, Price in the anchor spot brought in a 9.925 and yet another event title for her excellent routine featuring a Maloney, Church to bail to toe shoot, and a near-stuck double layout. Also strong on this event was Nicollette McNair, who earned a 9.9 after catching a great piked Jaeger, bail to toe shoot, and sticking her full-out. On beam, Rebecca Wing opened with an absolutely gorgeous set, bringing in a 9.9 for her beat jump to full-twisting back handspring, front aerial to bhs loso, and switch leap to split jump to gainer full. Ivana Hong also looked beautiful here, hitting her Onodi to bhs with a slight check before hitting her bhs loso, split jump to sheep jump, and a stuck gainer pike for a 9.875. Floor was a little underwhelming as a whole, though Taylor Rice earned a 9.875 for her strong and clean tumbling.

OSU got off to a great start on bars, with Chelsea Tang’s 9.925 set tying Price for the title. Tang had a lovely giant full to bail to toe shoot, perfect handstands, and a stuck full-in. Also solid here was Shireen Khamedoost, who hit her Maloney, bail, and great stuck double layout for a 9.875. On vault, there were hops and steps from nearly everyone, though Maddie Gardiner and Erika Aufiero practically stuck their FTYs for a pair of 9.9s, and Taylor Keeker had an absolutely gorgeous Yurchenko half, earning a 9.925 after hopping over slightly to the side. There were some short landings on floor (including from Gardiner, Cerise Witherby, and Chelsea Tang), but Risa Perez brought a lot of energy to her routine and nailed her tumbling for a 9.875. Finishing on beam, the team struggled after a fall from Perez and a couple of messy routines early in the lineup, though Tang again brought in a big score of 9.875 after hitting a solid effort in the anchor spot.

Georgia 196.975, Kentucky 194.225 [Results]

Like Stanford, things finally came together for Georgia, who had a great day at home to defeat Kentucky. Brittany Rogers back on everything but floor gave the Gym Dogs that little push they needed, as did a few lineup changes made by coach Danna Durante. On vault, 9.9s went to Ashlyn Broussard for her stuck FTY and to Brandie Jay on her huge Yurchenko 1.5. Rogers’ bar routine looked effortless, as she nailed her stalder to ricna, bail to Ray, and stuck double layout for a 9.975. She had a couple of checks on beam, and Sarah Persinger had big wobbles and fights there as well, though the team still managed a 49.1 after strong work from Broussard and Natalie Vaculik, and capped off with a 9.875 from Mary Beth Box, whose move to the anchor position proved to be a smart one. On floor, Persinger again struggled, crashing her double pike, though the team was on fire for the rest of the rotation, including a gorgeous routine from Vivi Babalis, and then a huge and confident set from Jay, who nailed her full-out and a huge double pike for a 9.925.

Unfortunately, Kentucky started the meet with a knee injury to Alexis Gross, who only just returned from injury at the start of this season. Then on vault, Khadijah Hudson had a bad landing on her FTY, collapsing and screaming in pain before being carried out of the arena. The two injuries definitely put a damper on the team, and they looked shaken for much of the meet (though by the end, Gross had returned in a brace and on crutches and was the loudest cheerleader for the rest of her teammates. There were some nice bar sets, including a 9.8 from Marissa Beucler who stepped in at the last minute as Gross’ replacement; she hit a nice Jaeger to overshoot and then stuck a huge full-in. On vault, Brittany Furuyama had to go right after Hudson’s injury, but hit a nice FTY with a step for a 9.775, a score matched by Beucler who had a hop on her FTY. Floor was a strong event aside from a fall from Katie Carlisle on her double tuck; Kayla Hartley scored a 9.8 as the anchor after hitting a big double pike and front layout front full. Beam was unfortunately a rough event, with falls from Amy Roemmele (on her side aerial) and Taylor Puryear (on her side somi), and then a few mistakes and bobbles in pretty uch every other routine, though Cori Rechenmacher had an excellent set for a 9.825 after hitting her front aerial, bhs loso, and 1.5 dismount.

Minnesota 196.875, Michigan State 195.750 [Results]

Minnesota came back from a disappointing start to the season to pull in a huge win at MSU on Saturday. The Gophers went 49.125 or better on all four events, including a massive 49.4 after a gorgeous beam rotation, and Lindsay Mable won the all-around with a 39.575 after also winning the event titles on vault with a 9.9 (tied with MSU’s Nicola Deans) and beam and floor with a 9.925 each. Jenny Covers was also solid across the board, Ciara Tomson had a lovely bar routine, and both Madie Hanley and Rachel Haines looked flawless on beam.

MSU also had a fantastic day, coming back from a fall on each event but vault to prove their consistency in a pressure situation. Though they couldn’t pull out a win, they looked great for the most part, especially on vault and floor where they went 49.1 and 49.0 respectively. Lisa Burt killed it in the all-around, earning a 39.475, including a 9.9 to win the bars title, and then a pair of 9.875s on beam and floor. Nicola Deans tied for the vault title with a 9.9 and hit beam for a 9.8, finishing with a 39.175 in the all-around, Elena Lagoski looked strong on vault and floor, and Holly Ryan had a stellar beam set.

Michigan 196.850, Illinois 195.475 [Results]

Michigan looked solid from start to finish on Sunday, making only tiny mistakes throughout their meet to defeat Illinois by over a point. Their vaults could use a little attention to detail on the landing, as there were hops or steps on pretty much all. Sachi Sugiyama’s score of 9.875 was the best, bringing in a 9.875 for her powerful Yurchenko 1.5 where she did step forward, but was otherwise impressive in her form. On bars, the Wolverines again had hops on all six dismounts, though they otherwise looked commanding, with Sugiyama again earning the top score after hitting great skills including her Gienger, pak salto, and full-in dismount; freshman Brianna Brown also looked really clean and lovely there, hitting a Ray, toe on to pak salto, lovely handstands, and a double layout. Beam was a great event for Michigan, with anchor Talia Chiarelli earning a 9.875 after hitting a solid bhs loso and big double tuck dismount and with Nicole Artz showing a lovely front aerial to bhs and punch 1.5 dismount for a 9.9. Artz was also the top earner on floor, where she showed a huge piked full-in and looked clean in her dance skills, bringing in a 9.95 for the title.

Illinois got started with six lovely bar routines, where pretty much everyone has gorgeous lines and clean skills. The strongest routine was from Giana O’Connor, who had a giant full to Tkatchev to straddleback and then a stuck double layout for a 9.85; I also loved the van Leeuwen from Mary Jane Horth and Erin Buchanan’s beautiful giant full to pak salto, toe shoot, and stuck double layout. Like Michigan, there were some hops and steps on vault, though O’Connor showed a powerful FTY for a 9.875. The Illini fielded just five athletes on floor, though still brought in a 48.75 after mostly clean routines, including a 9.85 from O’Connor, who had a great front tuck through to double back and a big double pike. On beam, Buchanan again had some lovely work, showing a gainer layout and roundoff 1.5 for a 9.825, a score matched by Sunny Kato, who performed a lovely cat leap to front aerial and a stuck gainer pike.

Boise State 196.725, Southern Utah 195.750 [Results]

Boise State blew this meet out of the water, going 49.125 or better on all four events and not having a single fall all meet. Kelsey Morris won the all-around with a 39.2 after doing especially well on vault, bars, and floor, where she earned the title with a 9.875. Also strong were Ciera Perkins on vault (she won the title with a 9.925) and bars, Diana Mejia on bars and beam, Paige Urquhart on beam, and Mackenzie Bennion on floor. Southern Utah also had an awesome day; despite falls in all four rotations, the Thunderbirds fought back to finish with a 48.875 or better on each. Standouts include Tyly Bozzuto in the all-around with a 39.025, Danielle Ramierz on vault and bars, Stacie Webb on vault, beam, and floor, Jamie Armijo on bars, and Brittney Jensen on floor.

Utah 196.725, UCLA 194.725 [Results]

The Utes had an excellent two-point win against Pac-12 conference foe UCLA on Friday night after a fantastic vault rotation and then clean, consistent work across their remaining events. On vault, scores built steadily to reach a pair of 9.9s from Tory Wilson and Kailah Delaney on their FTYs, and then a deserved 9.95 for Georgia Dabritz on her big, clean FTY with a tiny hop. On bars there were some form issues, but no real matters of concern; at the end of the lineup, Corrie Lothrop earned a 9.9 after hitting her Jaeger and double layout with a small hop, and then Dabritz anchored with a 9.875 after catching her Comaneci, Jaeger, and a big full-in, nearly stuck. Kari Lee had a gorgeous beam routine for the Utes, showing a lovely bhs loso loso and a great double full dismount for a 9.9. Things got a little scary after Baely Rowe fell on her bhs loso loso (she crashed on the beam and bounced to the floor), but anchor Lothrop got things under control, hitting a solid effort including a 1.5 dismount. Floor was surprisingly weak for the team, with Becky Tutka stumbling on her underrotated double tuck and anchor Wilson landing her double layout a bit short. In between the two, however, Lothrop hit a great full-in and double pike for a 9.875 and Dabritz nailed her Rudi loso and a great triple full for a 9.925.

UCLA had yet another bad day, setting the tone almost immediately as freshman JaNay Honest had a Shayla Worley moment and missed the high bar on her mount. Hallie Mossett then had a bad routine, taking an extra swing, catching her pak too close, taking another extra swing, and then hitting her full-in with a hop. Peng Peng Lee and Sam Peszek both hit lovely routines for 9.9s; Lee hit her Bhardwaj and van Leeuwen with no problems while Peszek was super clean from start to finish, though they were unable to earn more than a 48.1 overall. Vault wasn’t bad; overall they need to focus attention on the details, but there was a surprisingly nice FTY from freshman LaNiesha Jopre Irvin, who earned a 9.9, and then Peszek brought in the same score for her usually clean work. Floor was solid, with every routine to count a 9.825 or better; Peszek again had the high score here for the team with a 9.875. The Bruins fell apart on beam, however, with issues in nearly every routine. The big errors belonged to Ellette Craddock, who didn’t fall but had multiple big breaks on nearly every series, big wobbles from Sophina DeJesus, and a fall from Lee on her bhs layout. Danusia Francis nearly had issues with her dismount, but managed to pull it off thanks to the pause she took between her signature skill and the gainer full (hit a bit low), bringing in a 9.8. Anchor Peszek finished things off with a huge 9.95 for a nearly perfect routine that included a front aerial to bhs loso and a stuck double full. Hopefully someday it’ll all come together for UCLA, but we haven’t seen them do it yet this year.

Penn State 196.550, Maryland 194.450 [Results]

PSU was the picture of consistency on Saturday, posting a 49.1 on bars and 49.15s on the remaining three. Briannah Tsang was outstanding, earning a 39.5 to win the all-around after also nabbing the titles on beam (with a massive 9.95) and floor. Her teammates Sidney Sanabria-Robles and Krystal Welsh were also excellent across the board, and Nicole Medvitz earned a 9.85 for her fantastic beam routine. There wasn’t a weak link in the bunch today, making it an easy two point win over Maryland. The Terps looked good everywhere but beam, where they counted two falls to their total of 47.9, though Stephanie Giameo looked solid in her routine. Other standouts included Katy Dodds on vault, Abigail Epperson on vault and bars, and the Tang sisters on bars.

Nebraska 196.250, Rutgers 195.375, SCSU 190.450, Brockport 188.075 [Results]

Rutgers came together for a tremendous performance on Saturday afternoon, though they weren’t quite good enough to top Nebraska and their killer vault rotation. The Huskers earned a 49.6, making it a stellar event for the second week in a row. Also for the second week in a row was a perfect 10 for Ashley Lambert, who stuck her FTY; Hollie Blanske also brought in a big score with a 9.95 while Jessie DeZiel and Kami Moore each earned a 9.9. Bars and floor also looked good; DeZiel’s 9.9 on bars was the title-winner, while both Blanske and Grace Williams earned 9.9s on floor. The Huskers counted a fall on beam, though Jennie Laeng, DeZiel, and Williams all looked solid there.

Rutgers was impressive everywhere but beam. Having Claire Jones back in the lineup really helped out, as she brought in a 9.8 on floor along with Emma Hoffman, though April Baker was the big standout there with a 9.875. Baker also looked sharp on vault and bars, Hoffman was lovely on bars, and Anastasia Halbig was excellent on beam. SCSU had some issues in each rotation, but we saw great routines from Nicole Pruchnik and Jenny Kaufman on vault and floor, and Chelcie Rosborough on beam. Brockport had struggles on bars and floor; standouts include Stephanie Schuler on vault and bars and Lily Jagodzinski on beam and floor.

Ohio State 196.200, Iowa 195.225 [Results]

Ohio State looked confident and consistent on Saturday, defeating Big 10 foe Iowa by a point. Tenille Funches hit a fantastic vault for a 9.875, and then came back from a fall on bars to hit strong sets on beam and floor. Samantha Kent and Rachel Abrams had lovely bar routines, Taylor Harrison was excellent on vault, beam, and floor, and freshman Stefanie Merkle hit vault and beam before nailing floor with a huge 9.925. Iowa looked excellent in their first three rotations, but counted a fall and then some smaller mistakes on beam, normally a beautiful rotation for them. Sydney Hoerr was great across the board, earning a 39.125 for the all-around title, Angel Metcalf was a heavy contributor on vault, bars, and beam, Johanny Sotillo had a solid bars set, and Alie Glover was strong on vault and beam.

Central Michigan 196.175, Ball State 193.775 [Results]

CMU killed it as the visiting team on Friday night, bringing in a gigantic score after nailing all four events, including a 49.25 on floor after everyone hit huge routines. Halle Moraw was a superstar, earning titles on her three events with a 9.85 on vault, 9.875 on beam, and 9.9 on floor, a title she shared with teammate Kirsten Stambaugh and Ball State’s Denasiha Christian. Kylie Fagan blew everyone out of the water as the bars anchor, bringing in a huge 9.925 and helping the team to a 49.15. Though Ball State wasn’t able to get close to CMU after counting three falls on beam, they still had some great work elsewhere. In addition to her floor title, Christian had the team’s best score on vault with a 9.825, Brooklyn Schumacher was strongest on bars with a 9.85, and specialist Baylee Bell was their highest earner on beam with a 9.8.

NC State 196.175, Texas Woman’s 193.275 [Results]

NC State had a fabulous meet, with an especially fantastic performance from Brittni Watkins, who won the all-around witha  39.525 in addition to nabbing the vault (9.925), beam (9.85), and floor (9.9) titles (she also had a 9.85 on bars). Also solid was Chelsea Knight on vault, Hannah Sobhan on bars, Nicole Wild on beam, and Lane Jarred on beam and floor. Overall, pretty much everyone was solid, though there were a few bumps on floor. TWU had a strong day on bars and floor, though counted a couple of falls on beam and had some rough vaults throughout their opening rotation. Stephanie Repp did a great job in the all-around, Kayla Jones looked strong on vault, Courtney Cochefski had a lovely bar routine earning a 9.9 for the title, Spencer and Schyler Jones were steady on beam, and Spencer Jones also had a great performance on floor.

Arizona 196.050, Washington 195.950 [Results]

This was a really fun meet ending with a super close finish, though Arizona managed to hold onto the lead they had all night despite a last-minute push on beam and floor. There were some landing errors on vault, though Hailey Burleson had a big clean FTY with a step back for a 9.825, the best for the Huskies. On bars, Allison Northey had the team high of 9.875 after hitting a great piked Jaeger to overshoot in the anchor spot; Janae Janik also had a lovely set, including a Maloney to pak salto for a 9.8. On beam, the team got over a fall from Joslyn Goings on her flight series quickly to earn a 49.125. Janik anchored, earning a 9.825 after hitting a front aerial to bhs and cat leap to side aerial. Jackie McCartin also had a lovely routine, showing great flexibility on her split jump to stag and sticking her gainer pike for a 9.875, while McKenzie Fechter showed an awesome front handspring mount and front aerial to bhs for a 9.85. Janik unfortunately put her hands down on her double pike on floor, but the rest of the rotation was flawless, including a pair of 9.925s at the end of the rotation from Faith Morrison and Zoey Schaefer. Morrison had a big double arabian and great double tuck, while Schaefer finished things off with a double tuck and lovely front full to front full to stag.

Arizona looked polished and consistent from start to finish, averaging a 49.0125 across their four events. Allison Flores had a great night, winning the all-around with a 39.425 after going 9.85 or better on each, beginning with a 9.85 on bars after nailing her Tkatchev, bail, and stuck double layout. Their only fall on that event was from Victoria Ortiz in the anchor spot, who fell on her huge Tkatchev. On vault, Flores again had the high score with a 9.875 in a decent rotation with lots of big rebounds on landings. Floor brought in the highest score, with Jessie Sisler showing off an energetic routine including a punch Rudi to loso, double pike, and double full to front tuck for a 9.9. On beam, everyone hit, with Sisler again grabbing the highest score of 9.875 after an absolutely beautiful routine that included a solid bhs bhs loso and a stuck 1.5 dismount.

Cal 195.900, Denver 195.500, San Jose State 194.200, Arizona State 192.650 [Results]

Despite counting a fall on beam, Cal pulled out a win with an otherwise excellent meet on Sunday, including scores of 49.25 on vault, 49.05 on bars, and 49.3 on floor. Toni-Ann Williams once again proved to be brilliant, earning a 39.475 to win the all-around in addition to titles on vault and floor with huge scores (9.925 and 9.95 respectively); she also shared the bars title with a 9.825. Emily Richardson and Charlie Owens matched her on bars; Owens also performed well on vault and floor, placing second in the all-around with a 39.325. Other standouts include Zoe Draghi on floor, Arianna Robinson on floor, and Desiree Palomares on beam.

Denver had a couple of problem routines, including from the normally solid Nina McGee on beam, though overall they looked sharp, especially on vault and floor. McGee looked great on her other three events, including earning a 9.9 on floor. Rachel Fielitz was solid on vault, and Julia Ross put up a lovely beam routine for the team high of 9.8. San Jose State had a consistent day; standouts include Cami Guywer on vault and floor, Maddie Herr on bars and beam, and Kaitlin Won on vault and bars. Arizona State fielded only five athletes on vault and floor, which was unfortunate, as Beka Conrad fell on floor and they had to count her 8.55; they also had two vaults in the 9.5 range and weren’t able to hit solid routines on bars or beam. Just an overall tough meet for the Sun Devils, though they had a few standout routines from Taylor Allex on vault, beam, and floor, Carissa Kraus on bars, and both Natasha Sundby and Allie Salas on floor.

Utah State 195.500, Brigham Young 195.300 [Results]

This was a close one, with USU narrowly edging out BYU after an incredible beam set in the final rotation. USU struggled on bars at the start of the meet, though things picked up from there leading to a lovely finish, where they earned a huge 49.275 after posting scores all 9.825 and above. The three all-arounders, McKinzey Martinez, Sarah Landes, and Bailey McIntire, were all on their game throughout the meet, and we also saw nice work on beam from Hayley Sanzotti and Michelle Yasukochi. BYU looked strong on vault, bars, and floor, but in the third rotation, faced struggles with beam, where most routines were a bit shaky. Jill van Mierlo and Makenzie Johnson were superb in the all-around; other standouts include Eliane Kulczyk on bars and floor and KayCee Gassaway on floor.

New Hampshire 195.450, Pittsburgh 192.175 [Results]

UNH had a fantastic meet this week, making it through without counting a single fall while earning a high 49.05 on beam. Meghan Pflieger, who won the all-around with a 39.2, was reliable on all four events, going 9.8 on vault and floor and adding a 9.825 on beam. Other standouts include Elizabeth Mahoney on vault, Makenzie Kerouac and Erika Rudiger on bars and Casey Lauter on beam. Pittsburgh looked rough on the other hand, beginning with counting two falls on bars and ending with a shaky beam rotation. The typically strong Miya Dotson had an uncharacteristically off day, though still brought in a 9.725 on floor. Tracey Pearson was a standout on vault, Taylor Laymon was good on bars and floor, Dani Hall brought in the team’s top beam score of 9.725, and Lindsay Offutt hit 9.8s on bars and floor, though also had unusual struggles on vault and as the anchor on beam.

North Carolina 195.350, Towson 194.525, William & Mary 190.900, West Chester 188.025 [Results]

North Carolina had a solid win on the road, besting Towson by nearly a point after especially great rotations on bars and beam. There were some strong vaults from Morgan Lane, Sarah Peterson, and Haley Watts. On bars, anchor Kaitlynn Hedelund hit a solid routine for a 9.875 while Lexi Cappalli hit for a 9.9 to earn the title. Lane was the strongest on beam for UNC, and both she and Cappalli were outstanding as the final two on floor, earning a pair of 9.825s. Towson also looked best on bars and beam, though didn’t really have any major issues elsewhere; they were just a tad less clean as a whole. Standouts include Katie Sassa on vault, Nicolette Vignola on vault and floor, Vicki Vesecky on bars, Tyra McKellar on bars and beam, and both Lauren Ross and Lauren Cahalan on beam.

William & Mary and West Chester battled for the third place team spot, though W&M was a bit more consistent across the board; their major downfall was bars, where they counted only two solid routines in their final rotation, from Monica Oullet and Brittany Stover. Stover had an excellent day, including team high scores on vault (earning a huge 9.875), beam, and floor. Her sister Brandy was equally strong on beam for a 9.725, and Maggie Lundeen had a great floor performance for a 9.725. West Chester counted some falls all day, though they also had some standout routines, including from Majesta Valentine on everything but bars, including a 9.75 on beam. Meghan Brannon was the team’s best earner on bars (9.3), while Cassandra Ringer and Lindsay Knapp had strong beam performances and Madison Brent looked great in the leadoff position on floor.

Eastern Michigan 195.250, Bowling Green 192.425 [Results]

EMU was strong and tidy in their three-point win over BGSU on Saturday, finishing with a 49.0 on floor after Chantell Loehner put up a 9.875 for a steady routine in the anchor spot, overcoming a fall from Paulina Miller one routine earlier. Other standouts include Anna Willette on vault and floor (she also picked up the all-around title with a 39.175), Carinna Lo Bello on bars and beam, Lacey Rubin on beam, and Rachel Slocum on floor. For BGSU, Great Britain transport and freshman Laura Mitchell earned a 9.85 on beam for the title in her very first meet. The team also saw strong action from Jamilah Ali on vault, Victoria Heath on vault and floor, Amanda Lievendag on vault and bars, Alyssa Nocella on bars and beam, though they couldn’t overcome counting falls on both bars and beam in addition to some weak form throughout their meet.

George Washington 195.025, West Virginia 194.850, Iowa State 194.850 [Results]

GWU is on a roll this season, remaining undefeated after eking out a narrow win over WVU and ISU. They began with a solid start on floor, including a 9.8 from Cami Drouin-Allaire who had a fabulous double pike, front full to front layout, and a double tuck. Vault was excellent, including a stick from Elena Corcoran on her Yurchenko half for a 9.85 and then a lovely FTY for Drouin-Allaire, who brought in a 9.875. There were a few weak spots on bars, though Jillian Winstanley had a great routine including a nice full-in dismount for a 9.775, and then they finished counting five hit routines on beam, including more great work from Winstanley who earned a 9.825 after hitting her front aerial to front toss and a nice switch leap to split jump to straddle 1/4.

Host team WVU set a nice tone on vault with a great rotation that included a 9.875 for a huge near-stuck FTY from Jaida Lawrence. On bars, there was a scary fall from Zaakira Muhammad, who peeled off the bars way too early for her dismount and just face-planted without even really attempting any rotation. This was the only major problem, however, though they lost valuable tenths to some form issues; Alexa Goldberg’s routine was excellent, though, bringing in a 9.85 after she caught her piked Jaeger, a great handstand in her bail, and a big double layout. Beam saw some wobbles and checks, though Beth Deal had a relatively steady set including her bhs loso and gainer layout, and the team finished up strong on floor, where Dayah Haley had a memorable routine for a 9.85 after she nailed her big full-in and double pike.

Iowa State began with a consistent, if not excellent bar rotation; all routines counted were between 9.725 and 9.8 with all-around champion Caitlin Brown (who finished with a nice 39.3 overall) looking impressive after hitting her Gienger to overshoot and giant full to double back for a 9.75. On beam, Sammie Pearsall had a rough fall on her one-arm bhs loso, landing the bhs completely off-line and scraping the side of the apparatus as she went down on her loso. They were able to overcome this with some solid work from Alex Marasco, who hit her one-arm bhs loso and side aerial to layout full, and then again from Brown, who also competes a one-arm bhs but as part of a three-element series, which she nailed; she also hit her front aerial front full dismount, earning a huge 9.9 for her routine. The team as a whole looked good on floor, where anchor Haylee Young hit her double tuck, front full to front layout, and double pike for another 9.9, but they finished poorly on vault after Briana Ledesma stumbled forward quite a bit on her Yurchenko half and then right after her, Micole O’Dell fell. Leadoff Marasco and then Brown and Young all had great efforts, however, helping the team to a 48.6 on the event.

Sacramento State 194.925, UC Davis 194.900 [Results]

It was a super close finish between the MPSF conference foes, with just 0.025 separating host team Sac State and UC Davis. Sac State actually got off to a bit of a rough start on vault and showed some form issues on beam, though floor was excellent, with the team bringing in a 49.125 after especially strong performances from Cassie Benning and Annie Juarez. Benning also looked strong on bars and beam, while Juarez had the top vault score of 9.75 along with all-arounder Lauren Rice, who looked great on bars and floor as well. Kalliah McCartney also had a strong all-around performance, bringing in 9.8s on bars and floor and finishing in third place, within a tenth from Rice as the winner. Tiana Montell of UC Davis placed second after bringing in solid scores on vault, beam, and floor. Overall, the team looked consistent, though couldn’t overcome some of their weak form on vault to bring in high scores there (Montell’s was best at 9.8). On bars, Lisa Witorski was a standout with a 9.8, while Stephanie Stamates looked excellent on beam and floor, and Alexis Brown had strong sets on bars and beam.

Kent State 194.900, Western Michigan 193.325 [Results]

Kent State had a mostly consistent night, beginning with twelve hit routines on vault and bars, including a 9.85 from freshman Brooke Timko on her FTY and a 9.8 for Rebecca Osmer’s excellent bar set. Beam had a few more form issues, though floor was superb, with every score counted a 9.675 or better, and Rachel Stypinski earned 9.875 on both events. Western Michigan struggled a bit on bars and floor, though seemed to be mostly together otherwise despite some form issues. Jessie Peszek looked great on bars and beam, Kelsey Hood was stellar on all four events (including 9.8s on vault and floor) to win the all-around with a 38.95, and Jessi Buis had a superb vault for a 9.875.

Penn 193.150, Yale 191.000 [Results]

Penn pulled out a big two-point win at home in this Ivy League matchup on Sunday after exceptional performances on bars and beam. They hit all of their vaults, albeit with some form and landing errors; specialist Emily Paterson’s 9.55 was the team’s highest. On bars and beam, it was one solid routine after another, with every score to count a 9.65 or better. Emily Shugan and Morgan Venuti were best on bars with scores of 9.75 and 9.775, respectively, while Amber Woo (9.75) and Elyse Shenberger (9.775) were strongest on beam. Shenberger also brought in a 9.75 on floor, while Carissa Lim earned a 9.725 to help them to a 48.35 event score. Yale had some errors and falls on three of their events, though beam was great for the Bulldogs, with Morgan Traina earning a 9.775; Traina also had a huge 9.825 on bars and finished with a 38.575 for first place in the all-around. Other standouts include Anna Merkuryev on vault and beam, as well as Katherine Lucas with a big 9.7 on floor.

Seattle Pacific 192.650, Air Force 192.275 [Results]

SPU came out on top with a big win as the visiting team, besting the hosts by nearly half a point with consistent performances on all four events. Standouts include Ariana Harger on vault, Tracie Villanueva on bars, Kristi Hayashida on beam, and Shannon Escarra on floor. Sydney Clark didn’t have top scores on any event, but was mostly solid across the board, and won the all-around with a 38.425. Air Force had fantastic vault and floor performances, but counted several falls between bars and beam. Jessica Wallander looked strong on vault, bars, and floor, Shannen Kelly and Kara Witgen had the team’s best scores on beam with a pair of 9.75s, and Alexandra Stych had a solid floor routine for a 9.8 to win the title.

Brown 192.375, Bridgeport 191.500, Rhode Island 177.925, URI 170.650 [Results]

Northern Illinois 191.950, Lindenwood 191.275 [Results]

It was a super close meet between NIU and DII team Lindenwood until the final rotation when Lindenwood struggled to make it through beam. NIU was mostly consistent, albeit a bit on the messy side during some routines. Vault was their strongest at a 48.4 after a pair of 9.7s from Courtney Dowdell and Megan Greenfield and then a 9.775 from Amanda Stepp, who went on to earn a 9.7 on beam and a 9.65 on floor. Lauren Africano was the team best on bars with a 9.675, Greenfield was strongest on beam with a 9.775, and Kelly Nortz looked great on floor for a 9.7. Lindenwood had a tremendous start to their night, going 12-for-12 in the first half. Courtney Heise looked great on both vault and bars, winning the bars title with a 9.775 while Rachel Zabawa won the vault title with a 9.825. On floor, Valeri Ingui and Hannah Rector shared the title with a 9.725. Unfortunately, the team counted falls on beam, with only Kiersten Sokolowski and Ingui hitting, earning a 9.7 and 9.8, respectively. Still, a near-defeat for the relatively new DII squad over a DI team is outstanding, and the Tigers continue to get better with more experience.

Whitewater 191.600, Hamline 185.675 [Results]

Whitewater hit an enormous score at home on Saturday after looking especially strong on vault and bars. Cici Talcott looked great on vault, earning the title with a 9.775; she also brought in a 9.65 on bars along with Grayson Esslinger, while Stephanie Cross won the bars title with a 9.7. On beam, there was a pair of 9.7s from Steffi Heuer (who also looked great on floor) and Hannah Lee, and then all-around champion Courtney Pickett won the title on floor with another 9.7. Hamline struggled with a few falls, though did show off some strong routines throughout the day, including Alexis Nault on vault and floor, Jacklyn Clements on vault and beam (where she tied for the title with a 9.7), Briana Bridgeford on bars, and Sela Fadness on floor.

UIC 191.375, Illinois State 188.600 [Results]

UIC got off to a strong start on vault and bars during their home meet on Sunday, with Kimberly Randall and Gabby May earning solid scores on both. May, who won the all-around with a 38.925, went on to earn a 9.7 on beam and a 9.75 on floor, the team’s best scores on otherwise weak events (the Flames counted falls on both). Other standouts include Citlali Cuevas on bars, Riley Cholod on beam, and Nikki Woodruff on floor. Illinois State started off with some falls on bars, though Sami King came in with a strong performance for a 9.65. Vault was strong overall, with a 9.7 from Laura Jonas and a 9.725 from Kristyn Bossle. On floor, they counted some rough routines, but saw strong performances from Samantha Ward and Sarah Fisher, and though there were some big errors on beam, King brought in a 9.75 and Amanda Mohler won the title with a 9.775.

Temple 189.900, Ursinus 189.575 [Results]

Despite some rough routines from Temple here and there, they still managed to squeak out a win over visiting Ursinus after Ursinus had to count some falls on floor. Temple got off to a good start on vault, where senior Lauren Capone anchored with a 9.7 for her big FTY. On bars, they had to count a fall after Briana Odom missed her piked Jaeger and Alexis Arena missed her straddle Jaeger. They had a couple of great sets, though, including one from Michaela Lapent, who looked lovely and hit her blind full to double back for a 9.75. Hannah Popper had a freak fall in the warmup during her hecht mount and was taken out of the lineup, but she hit a fabulous exhibition set. On beam, the team had to count a fall after Mikaela Postlethwait missed her bhs loso and Stephanie Verry missed her switch half, though they otherwise had some great work, especially Lapent on her lovely bhs loso and 1.5 dismount, and then Arena finished with an excellent stuck gainer pike for a 9.725. On floor, Postlethwait sat her double front, Lapent put her hands down on her Rudi, and Capone as the anchor had a fantastic routine until she crashed her 2.5 at the very end of her routine, but Verry hit for a 9.75 and the fierce Jasmine Johnson killed it, nailing her double arabian, 1.5 to front tuck, and double tuck for a 9.8.

Ursinus got off to a somewhat rough start on bars, counting two falls though featuring solid work from Amanda Palladino and Lauren Chavis. They picked things up nicely on vault, however, as Kristin Aichele and Kristina Steffenhagen both hit powerful sets for a 9.725 and a 9.775, respectively. The team was at their best on floor, where Kelsey Jewell earned a 9.775 followed by a huge 9.8 from Steffenhagen who had incredibly powerful and clean tumbling, and though it looked like the DIII squad might pull of a win over their DI opponents, they were forced to count a fall and some messy work on beam in the final rotation. Steffenhagen was again at her best there, and Aichele was also strong, earning the team’s best of 9.675.

Cornell 189.050, Cortland 187.300 [Results]

Cornell fought back from some rough vaults to earn a decisive win over the DIII team from Cortland. Courtney Spitzer had an excellent day, hitting bars for a 9.7 and then beam for a 9.8, winning the titles on both. Lauren Wong and Krystin Chiellini both hit strong vaults for a pair of 9.4s, Elana Molotsky had strong routines on bars and floor, and Joy Gage looked sharp on beam and floor. Cortland struggled a bit on bars, but picked things up and finished strong on floor and them beam, going 47.475 and 47.175 respectively. Standouts include Elise Konikoff on vault and beam, Maddy Scozzie on bars, Amanda Scanlon on beam, and Meghan Goyden on floor.

La Crosse 185.675, Oshkosh 179.750 [Results]

La Crosse had a big win at home on Thursday night, showing an especially strong performance on floor for a 48.15. Ali Berry had a great night, hitting all three of her events, including a 9.675 on floor for second place; first place on the event went to Kelsi Vomacka with a huge 9.7. Nicole Wangler won the vault title with a 9.4, while Lauren Wilson and Amy Enright had the highest bars score with their shared 9.575. For Oshkosh, there were some struggles across the board, with floor their best at just 45.45. Leane Blais was solid on bars (9.3) and beam (9.325) while Krystal Walker was consistent on vault, beam, and floor.

Springfield 184.650, Ithaca 183.675 [Results]

Winona State 182.875, Eau Claire 181.925 [Results]

The meet had been going in Eau Claire’s favor on the first three events, especially after Winona State struggled to make it through beam, though an exceptional floor rotation from Winona at the end of the meet in addition to some falls from Eau Claire on beam gave Winona the lead by nearly a point. The home team began with some solid vaults, including a 9.35 from Jade Donaldson, and then nailed bars, where Kathryn Pipp had the top score with a 9.55 though every routine was strong. Beam was where things kind of fell apart, with the highest score just an 8.975 from leadoff Cassidy Kieven, though the team turned a 180 on floor, where there were some very strong routines, including a 9.675 for Brooke Hiestand. For Eau Claire, Desirae Stanton brought in great scores on vault and floor, Erin Olson was solid on beam and floor, and Kellie Dougherty had a solid set on bars.

Stout 179.100, Gustavus 177.525 [Results]

Stout had some great routines on Friday to win the meet as the visiting team using a tiny team with just seven athletes on the four events. Kaylee Jondahl, who placed second in the all-around with a 36.45, had some struggles on bars, though hit vault with a 9.525 for the title and also had solid sets on beam and floor; we also saw exemplary work from Randi Schorzman on vault (9.425) and beam (9.625 for the title). Gustavus got off to a good start on vault (including a 9.45 from Alex Kopp), though fielded just five athletes on bars and were unable to earn above Lauren Kershner’s 8.9. Kershner’ was also the team’s strongest on beam (9.175), while Rachel Thiner earned a 9.325 on floor for the title.

Article by Lauren Hopkins and Sarah Chrane