This is going to be a big one. I watched about 700 meets this weekend, all documented on the live blog, in addition to running around looking for random videos from other highlights. You can find results from every meet linked here, and I also have the rankings and top scores up here. With no further ado…

2010 U.S. Nationals Deja Vu

If you watched the Florida vs UCLA meet this weekend, you may have noticed nine former U.S. national team members between the two teams (ten if you count Jordyn Wieber, team manager for the Bruins).

Throw the ‘national team member’ requirement out the window, and the number got even higher. Florida has eight former U.S. elite-level competitors while UCLA has six, many of whom were around for the 2010 era, making it quite the reunion in Gainesville. In the third rotation on Friday, we saw five back-to-back routines from the junior nationals competition that year, with Kennedy Baker, Pua Hall, Peyton Ernst, Katelyn Ohashi, and Ericha Fassbender going all in a row, which was insane and I’ll never get over it.

Also insane was Wieber standing on the side of the beam watching Ohashi mount. Thinking back to 2010 and 2011 when these two had every expectation in the world on their shoulders, it’s super time warp-y to continue watching them side-by-side in a different context less than six years later.

From ZamBonus to #SloanScoring

Speaking of these two teams…it was only a few years ago that Vanessa Zamarripa could get a perfect 10 for landing a Yurchenko full with her chest bent completely in half. Now it’s Bridget Sloan who can do no wrong in the eyes of the judges, who blatantly disregard small errors for which I’m sure Sloan would have no problem seeing them deduct.

It was all over the place on Friday, but bars was especially bad, with one judge casually throwing out a 10 despite flexed feet in her Ray and slight leg separation going into her bail, which was caught a few degrees shy of handstand and her legs bent over to one side. I feel like if I notice these things while casually watching and making snarky comments, then a judge who is paid for her professional judging abilities probably shouldn’t miss them?

We’re all human and I’m going to chalk it up on a bad angle or something, because this same judge also gave Alicia Boren a 9.95 despite bent legs going into her Tkachev and a jerky bail with a break at the ankles. Maybe it’s because they both stuck, while Bianca Dancose-Giambattisto with a comparatively perfect routine but a one foot hop back on her landing only got a 9.9? So maybe it’s more about the stick erasing all memory of errors rather than #SloanBonus, especially because other routines were bizarrely scored later on.

That said, Bridget is a BEAST who had a fantastic night and is en route to a major final year at this level. I say “at this level” because after watching her for about a decade at this point, I refuse to believe she will ever retire and I fully expect her to become the next Chuso.

The Balance Beam Situation

I’m fully stealing this title from former Utah coach and current snarkiest man alive Greg Marsden, who told Spencer – known for his Balance Beam Situation blog – that he should give his Twitter name up to LSU or Georgia for their precarious performances on beam this week. THE SHADE, GREG MARSDEN. THE SHAAAADE. I love it so much.

Anyway, Georgia actually had a very good meet earlier in the week at Arkansas, so kudos to them for getting it done on the road. And then they started off their opening home meet with incredible work on vault and bars. Like, I was truly floored at how stellar they looked. Halfway through, they were ahead of Stanford by over a point, and their first two beam routines were solid. But then they had four falls in a row, counting three and losing their lead by a few tenths going into the final rotation. HOW.

After going full-blown Tyra Banks on them, I expected them to come in big on floor, but Stanford wanted the win SO badly, and showed off gorgeous beam work to maintain their lead until only two routines were left. At this point, the teams were tied at 195.7 each, and when Stanford’s Melissa Chuang put up a gorgeous set, it meant Brandie Jay would need a 9.9 to tie things up on floor. Totally doable. Except Jay, probably so psyched and really wanting to help her team notch the win, came in with way too much adrenaline and had uncharacteristic landing deductions on every single pass. Really just total mental mistakes, and the Gym Dogs ended up losing by a little over a tenth.

LSU also struggled on beam, showing shades of Super Six prelims in their work, counting two falls and quite a few wobbles as they competed against NC State in Las Vegas. Thanks to a totally unfair fight, they didn’t need to worry about a loss, but they do need to worry about hitting in the future, especially now that they can’t rely on the stellar Rheagan Courville and rock Jessie Jordan to reel them in.

Sarah Finnegan and Erin Macadaeg definitely replace those two with their pizzazz and style, and were phenomenal on Thursday, though Macadaeg has consistency issues of her own so while she’s gorgeous to watch, I hesitate to call her a ‘savior’ on the event just yet.

Otherwise, LSU looked good, though it seemed as though Myia Hambrick got a minor injury on her beam dismount and couldn’t continue onto floor, thus the star-making debut of Macadaeg on the event, who got a 9.95 for her perfect last-minute second alternate routine. Jessica Savona also struggled heavily on bars, with extra swings and a fall to her back, though she seemed fine after.

Michigan and Bama Quietly Killing It

These two teams are both working it, and while they’re maybe not as flashy as LSU or Florida, they are both doing excellent work to start their season off on a high note. Bama had a 197.175 at home against Missouri, where both Lauren Beers and Amanda Jetter killed it for 9.95s on floor to help the team to a 49.5 total, and two days later they hit a 196.875 at Auburn where they held back a little in their lineups but still managed to come in for their 117th straight win against the Tigers.

Michigan, meanwhile, competed with super tight scoring at home on Saturday, getting a 196.95 for an almost entirely solid day, save for a fall they didn’t have to count on bars. I was especially impressed with Talia “I’m So Fancy” Chiarelli’s beam, which earned a well-deserved 9.95 for being perfectly solid and technically excellent. It would’ve been an 11.7 at Florida. Seriously, though, that easily would’ve been a 10 had the judges been as lenient as they are in the SEC.

Oklahoma Flawless, Arkansas on the Rise

Okay, maybe Oklahoma wasn’t literally flawless in their two meets this weekend, but they did excellent work in both meets, getting scores of 197.125 at home and 197.05 in Arkansas. I couldn’t see their home meet thanks to the horrible deal they have with a local Fox Sports station, but I do know they were delicious on bars and beam, though Kara Lovan fell on floor meaning they had to count Chayse Capps’ 9.55 after she took several steps out-of-bounds.

In Fayetteville two days later, Lovan was out of the floor line-up but had a fall on beam, which was overall a bit weaker thanks to a couple of wobbles from newbies in the lineup. Keeley Kmieciak was a pro, however, and Capps was gorgeous from start to finish. I know I complain about SEC scoring being loose but sometimes I really just want certain routines to get 10s all the time. #Biased I also really wanted Ali Jackson to get a 10 for her Yurchenko 1.5 here. It was effortless and PERFECT.

I was super impressed with Arkansas, who also had two meets this weekend. In the first, they did incredibly well against Georgia, and though they had to count a few errors against the Sooners, they still managed some excellent work on all four events. Lots of hidden surprises on this team, and freshman Sydney McGlone already performs like a senior on floor, where she had the highest team score of 9.825 on Sunday. I also loved Leah MacMoyle’s choreography, which featured tiny little pieces reminiscent of Capps’ routine last year, and the team had a lot of great landings on vault as well as beautiful bar work.

Kentucky’s Freshmen

You may remember Kentucky’s heartbreaking season in 2015. They lost a handful of athletes to injury after a stellar start, including Shelby Hilton, whose painful fall in Florida led to the discovery of a brain tumor. (Hilton said her injury was a blessing in disguise, as otherwise the tumor likely would’ve gone undetected. As of three months ago, she is thankfully in remission.) The team is back this year, and while they’re still not completely on the mend, they are looking super promising with great work from their freshmen, including Alex Hyland, Aubree Rosa, Katie Stuart, and Sidney Dukes.

These four alone made up 54% of the meet lineup this weekend, and their scores are some of the team’s strongest. Hyland, Rosa, and Stuart each competed on three events against Auburn with Dukes in the all-around, notching a 39.125 for the second time in as many weeks to remain undefeated thus far. Hyland and Stuart also contributed on four events apiece in the first week, but mistakes for Hyland on floor and a fall for Stuart on beam kept them out of the lineup on those events this week, though don’t be surprised to see them both back soon.

These ladies are doing work and should definitely help the Kentucky momentum continue forward in the 2016 season.

Make Way for EAGL

A special shoutout this week goes to two superb teams from the EAGL conference, which I doubt most of you have heard of. But east coast teams GWU and now UNH are BOTH in the top 15 after breaching that 196 mark this week, a huge deal as the exclusive top 20 currently consists almost entirely of SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, and Pac-12 teams (the only other team not from the ‘big four’ of NCAA is the MRGC’s Boise State).

GWU continued down an awesome path this weekend, earning a 195.425 after some mishaps on vault, but putting up a huge 49.3 on floor thanks to each and every member of the team – they seriously all were fantastic. Jillian Winstanley and Cami Drouin-Allaire continue to lead the squad, with big all-around scores that currently have them both ranked individually in the top 15 as well.

For New Hampshire, they had two meets this weekend, and Casey Lauter was a standout at both, especially on beam. At home on Thursday, she got a 9.875 on the event, and then got a huge 9.95 – including a 10 from one judge – for her effortless and glorious routine at West Virginia on Sunday. The sophomore helped them to a 49.375 total beam score at WVU, though they came up short and took the loss after less-than-stellar work on bars.

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Casey Lauter’s beam from last week. Excellent stuff.

Temple’s Upset

I love really close meets, but wasn’t expecting this nail-biter between Temple and host team William & Mary on Friday. Similar to the Georgia-Stanford meet, the gap between these two teams at the halfway point was about a full point with Temple behind, though the Owls gained a considerable amount of ground on floor as W&M counted two falls on beam. Only two tenths behind going into the final rotation, Temple fought like mad to put up some great beam scores, including a huge 9.775 from Elizabeth McDuffle and a 9.725 from Sahara Gipson. Just excellent work there, and thanks to some additional blunders from W&M on floor, the Owls squeaked ahead by just 0.05 to get their first win of the season. Epic job.

Janik’s Flight Series Still Causing Problems

I’ve been obsessed with Janae Janik of Washington’s beam since she first debuted as a freshman, but she’s really struggling with a front aerial to bhs flight series on beam this year. In the first week, she wobbled after the front aerial, started over, and made the same mistake a second time. She made a kind of epic split decision to toss in a bhs loso, though it didn’t quite work out in her favor and she had to take the fall in addition to the deductions that had already piled on.

This week, it was that mental block all over again. It’s ridiculously hard to connect a forward element to a backward element seamlessly, especially when your forward skill has a blind landing and is prone to bobbles. But this week, after attempting and re-attempting the series, she just moved on with the routine, taking the loss of the series on its own instead of risking another five tenths off for the fall.

It’s a shame, as she’s one of the strongest – and most gorgeous! – beam workers on the team, so watching her struggling like that mentally is hard, knowing her score should be much much higher than what she’s earned so far. Not being a coach myself, I wonder how long they’ll let her try it before deciding to change it up? It reminds me a bit of Rebecca Bross and her Patterson dismount off beam in 2012, which she missed more than hit but due to her own admitted stubbornness, refused to take out of her routine. You have to admire that. But with Janik in a team situation, I’m sure coach Joanne Bowers is confronted with having to swap it for something more doable.

I’d say give it one more week to see if she can hit it, but like Kennedy Baker’s wolf turn on beam last year – which is back, hooray! – eventually it’s gonna have to go if Janik is to remain in the lineup.

Washington otherwise had a great meet last night, especially on floor, where their routines are all so much fun to watch. With Arizona State having multiple issues in their night, Washington took the win 194.65 to 192.45.

Blooper of the Week

Lauren Rice of Sacramento State had a solid bar routine going, and was reaching for a big score…a 9.7 or 9.8 at least, which would’ve been one of her team’s best. But then right before releasing out of her giants into the dismount, her hands slipped and she had a really scary ping to the floor. I’m pretty sure most would be visibly shaken or at the very least, pissed, but she stood up and started laughing her pants off. She’s Taylor Rice’s little sister, so I’m pretty sure awesomeness runs in the family.

Routine Highlights!

Every week I see about 87 routines I note as “my favorite routine EVER” so here’s where I’m going to narrow it down to those I “literally can’t live without this week” which is slightly less hyperbolic. So I’m narrowing my highlights recap down even further with a “meet highlights HIGHLIGHTS” section for routines.

• Faith Morrison, Washington- Floor

Oh mylanta, her “Groove is in the Heart” floor routine. YES, that is her music, by the epic Deee-Lite, bringing the early 90s back one tumbling pass at a time.

• Elizabeth Price, Stanford – Bars

Ebee’s “I connect literally everything” bar routine made me throw my laptop across the room, I was so excited. You know how elites are casually connecting six or seven skills now in this awesome new trend? Ebee couldn’t be left out, so she does an NCAA modified version, connecting all five of her skills – Maloney to clear hip to Church to bail to toe shoot – before dismounting with a double layout. MONSTER routine.

• Sarah Finnegan, LSU – Beam

This will probably make this list every week because I’m currently obsessed with her, so I’ll try to restrain myself in the future, but this week it gets the nod because her triple wolf turn was EPIC. Like, no one has ever done a single wolf turn as amazing as Sarah’s triple this week.

• Taylor Harrison, Ohio State – Beam

I cried at the end of this. It’s gorgeous as hell, and she nailed the crap out of it this weekend. So steady and she was so exact and purposeful with every movement. Just beautiful.

• Hannah Gilbert, San Jose State – Vault

She does a Yurchenko full-on with a back tuck off!!! This was very exciting to me. I always think, like, wow front handspring pikes are super cool and unique, which they are in a land of FTYs, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone else compete this vault in NCAA? At least not in the past several years that I can remember.

Edit- Thanks to Casey Magnuson, we now know Morgan Lane of UNC does a similar version, with a Yurchenko full-on and a back pike off! Watch the video here. Alex Marasco of Iowa State also reportedly does the tucked version Gilbert performs, though I haven’t seen video yet.

• Erin Macadaeg, LSU – Beam

Erin’s big score came on floor this weekend, but her beam was purely magical. Not only was it steady, but her arm choreo is absolutely breathtaking. It must be fully 100% choreographed to her song choice? It’s seriously like watching a dance. Like, you can barely tell she’s on beam and has requirements to fulfill. It totally distracted me from any errors she had, which is probably why I screamed “9.875?! WHY WASN’T THIS A 10?!”

• Marissa Unpingco, San Jose State – Bars

I have never highlighted a kip cast to handstand until now. You know how McKenzie Wofford of Oklahoma gets like a full-on standing ovation for her handstands at home and it’s totally deserved because her handstands are perfect? Well, Marissa’s kip casts are like BUTTER. So simple, yet so impressively smooth and clean. Her swing is gorgeous. I can’t get enough.

What did you like best that we missed this weekend? Share in the comments!

Article by Lauren Hopkins
Photo thanks to Ohio State