You Get a 10! And YOU Get a 10!

It didn’t take long for Florida to go 198+ this year. Thanks to several questionable 10s – for Alex McMurtry on bars, Bridget Sloan on beam, and Kennedy Baker on floor – the Gators now have a stronghold on the top ranking. I don’t like whining about 10s every week, so I won’t whine. Just know that I’ve mastered the art of aggressive eye-rolling and also, I never ever EVER blame the gymnasts. They obviously have no control over it and just try to go out there and do their best. I’m sure they’re more critical of their own performances than the judges are, and I wouldn’t be surprised if on occasion they’ve questioned how in the world did they score what they scored. But insane judging aside, Florida is clearly one of the best programs in the country anyway, so I don’t REALLY care. But I do wonder how visible mistakes and form breaks noticeable on my tiny phone screen escape the eyes of the judges watching a few feet away.

With that said, the Gators performed brilliantly this weekend, defeating SEC foe Bama by half a point with the Crimson Tide also bringing big hits to the table with an especially stellar rotation on beam, and Lauren Beers finally showed shades of the senior performer she should be every week.

Sooners and Tigers Now 1-1

LSU got a leg-up over Oklahoma at home this year, but the Sooners were the ones to emerge victorious in their neutral battle at Metroplex, defeating LSU by nearly a point as the Tigers yet again gave it away on beam after an otherwise solid day. The least-expected fall was the one from Sarah Finnegan on her triple wolf turn. What started out as the coolest skill ever has slowly regressed to ‘meh’ last week and ‘welp’ this week, as she finished the three wild and messy rotations with her chest too far forward, causing her to fall off the beam in an otherwise excellent set. This was also her first turn in the all-around, so it was disappointing to see her not finish as strongly as she otherwise could have, but she did have a great day beam aside.

Gnat once again got a perfect 10…I actually preferred her first 10 last week, as she had a little Raistafina knees going on in one of her twists here, but hey. Let her have it. She’s such a positive force on this team and brings so much joy to her gymnastics, it’s always a treat watching her week in and week out.

OU defended their title with sheer brilliance on bars and beam. McKenzie Wofford is one of the gymnasts who has never gotten a 10 on bars but absolutely NEEDS one if only as a “you go girl” at the end of her career because I don’t think I’ve seen anyone look this consistent for this long. Beam could’ve gone a bit better, but seriously everyone at this meet gave it their all, and the lowest score to count all night was a single 9.8 and they had zero falls or even slightly more than minor mistakes. Awesome work, and their win brought this little rivalry to a tie for the 2016 season.

The Big Pac-12 Upsets

Washington and Stanford were also part of this Metroplex meet, and while everyone had their eyes on the Cardinal as the team to fall in line behind the top two, Washington snuck ahead to top their season best by 1.5 points, finishing with a 196.175. Amazing what a team can do when everything comes together! Led by senior Allison Northey in an excellent performance, Washington was stellar on bars and beam, both of which have been a bit tricky thus far in the year. They put up only five athletes on vault, which held them back a smidge, and weren’t quite as solid on floor, though overall it was a changed Washington and hopefully their momentum going forward can keep them on the rise.

Stanford also had excellent bars and beam performances, especially with Ivana Hong and Elizabeth Price leading the way, but they just aren’t quite able to hack it on vault and floor, where lack of power on the former and problems with landings on the latter meant multiple subpar scores, leading them to a 196.075 to finish a tenth behind their neighbors to the north.

This wasn’t the only upset, however. On Monday, an even crazier battle between Cal and UCLA in Berkeley put the Golden Bears on top of the Bruins by over a point. UCLA started off on a sour note on bars with two falls from Stella Savvidou, the Cyprus elite from Australia in her debut performance. Savvidou couldn’t hold her handstands and had to drop off twice, something Sonya Meraz repeated later in the lineup to give them a 48.7 there. Vault and floor were good, if not great, but disaster struck again on beam with falls from both Angi Cipra and Peng Peng Lee, leading to just 48.35. With “super frosh” Katelyn Ohashi out with a fractured sternum after her horrifying fall last week, the team had four lineup spots to replace and just couldn’t seem to find their groove, though Danusia Francis did some great work on beam, as usual.

Cal, meanwhile, stayed on top of their game from start to finish, overcoming bumps along the way to a 196.375 finish. Led by Olympic hopeful Toni-Ann Williams – who performed her kickass double front beam dismount! – the squad looked excellent on vault and floor, and though there were some wobbles on beam, they made it through without any major issues to complete the upset.

Utah Kills it for Kari Lee

I don’t think many expected an Arizona upset of Utah in Salt Lake City, but with sophomore all-arounder Kari Lee out and their floor already a dangerous weakness, it was a possibility. The Utes had a good day up to that point, with Lee cheering wildly from the sidelines after rupturing her Achilles in practice a week earlier, but when they got to floor they blew it out of the water, almost as if to say “what weakness?” Counting a 9.875, 9.9, 9.925, 9.95, and insane 9.975 from anchor Sam Partyka, the Utes kept building on one another to reach a level no one knew was possible, finishing the meet with a season-best 197.15 after demolishing their season-high floor score by nearly half a point.

Arizona, so steady against UCLA last week, finished nearly two points behind that score this week with a 194.85 after counting a fall and several otherwise-poor performances on beam in addition to some weak routines on their other three events. No one had a really stellar day, to be entirely honest, and there just wasn’t that attention to detail to make them stand out the way they needed to.

IT WAS A DELTCHEV!!!

A fun conversation on Tumblr last week about the rarity of the special snowflake unicorn skill the Deltchev came full circle this weekend as I saw not one but THREE in competition at the NCAA level. Grace Williams of Nebraska, McKinzey Martinez of Utah State, and Anna Corbett of Western Michigan all performed the bars skill, which involves a forward swing with a half twist before performing a front salto, usually straddled. The skill was made famous a few years ago at the Professional Gymnastics Challenge when one of Coach Nastia Liukin’s athletes performed it but the judges considered it a Gienger. THE DRAMA.

Nebraska Upsets Michigan

Speaking of Grace Williams, the sophomore helped her team to an upset against Michigan at home on Friday Night, scoring a massive 39.5 in the all-around with great work everywhere, though especially on her rock-solid beam. I watched this meet while multitasking watching Florida and it made Florida’s over-scoring all the more apparent, as I watched routines at Nebraska get 9.8s or 9.85s when they would’ve been over a tenth higher down south. It was an interesting juxtaposition, and while it’s hard to cross-compare meets, it’s easy enough to see comparably-hit routines getting wildly different judge analysis.

Either way, the Huskers had a season-best of 196.775 to finish a couple of tenths above Michigan, breaking their 196.9 streak after counting a rough beam score as Lauren Marinez failed to connect her front aerial and didn’t count a series while Nicole Artz fell on her front toss. Had they not fallen, they likely would have broken 197, so it’s definitely a bummer…though Artz was otherwise great – including a 9.975 for a nearly flawless floor – and freshman Olivia Karas yet again had a dynamic, aggressive fight to  top the all-around podium with a 39.525, looking solid on everything she does.

Good News First, or Bad?

I am lowkey obsessed with Arkansas this year, especially as they keep growing in their confidence week after week. On Friday, they hit a 196.6 for yet another win, this time against Auburn…though it was hard to celebrate because Auburn went home with two devastating injuries, including a busted ankle for the almost ridiculously powerful walk-on A’Miracal Phillips – who looked to stay in good spirits as they carried her off – and a knee injury for Emma Engler, who was sobbing in pain as she under-rotated her 1.5 dismount off beam, twisting into the mat as she landed.

Both freshmen for last year’s Super Six surprise squad, Phillips and Engler were already big contributors to the program and will be missed as the season continues. It’s never easy to see a single injury go down in the midst of NCAA competition, but two in one night is unbearable and we wish them well.

The Tigers did need to count a beam fall, very unfortunate after their otherwise strong night, but on a good note, Caitlin Atkinson was on fire, Abby Milliet put up a brilliant bars performance, and the remainder of the team did excellent work in their attempt to upset the Gymbacks. But in the end, the Amanda Wellick-led Arkansas was able to maintain the level of consistency that has gotten them this far, finishing with a 49.35 on floor after big scores from everyone in the program.

Breaking 196

Aside from Washington, three more teams reached the 196 mark this weekend, and it all happened on the road, making the milestone all the more exciting. Denver beat Bowling Green 196.125 to 194.525, Minnesota posted 196.075 to defeat Ohio State 194.9, and Iowa had a 196.275 to Maryland’s 195.5, with all three teams reaching levels of consistency that they can hopefully spend the rest of the season trying to match.

For Denver, coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart said it was great to see everything finally come together, especially in a season where they’re missing several of their top contributors, two of whom are out for the year. But Nina McGee continues to own the stage, going 39.525 after nailing all four events, while the team itself showed why clean landings on floor really do matter (though I have to admit, I’m not a huge fan of their choreography overall…McGee’s routine aside).

Lindsay Mable has been in a bit of a rut this season everywhere but beam, though still managed to perform well enough to help the Gophers cross the 196 bridge. The team overall was best on bars, with Bailie Holst nearly getting a perfect 10 for her incredible performance. And over in Maryland, Iowa had a decisive win in what was a solid meet for both teams, showing few errors on all four events. Mollie Drenth was their standout, going 9.9 on floor and 39.35 in the all-around, though we also saw great work from Alie Glover, Johanny Sotillo, and Melissa Zurawski.

GEORGIA HIT BEAM

I saved this for last if only because it was probably the most exciting thing that happened in my life.  I couldn’t watch this meet live because I was so petrified that Georgia would once again have a meltdown, especially on the road. So I saved this one for Saturday when I knew what was going to happen and that I’d be safe slash wouldn’t scream out in terror/anguish when the inevitable happened.

Greg Marsden actually linked to a little graphic on Twitter that shows Georgia as one of the best programs in the country on three events https://twitter.com/Pac12Marz/status/693499978216386560, so it truly is a shame that beam is such a game-changer. “Hitting” this week meant little more than making it through alive, as they did see a fall from Gracie Cherrey in addition to some wobbly sets throughout the rest of the lineup, with Brittany Rogers’ 9.875 the only score above a 9.8. “Hit” beam for most top teams is around a 49.2-49.5, so to say they ‘hit’ and still only came in with a 48.775 is a bit harsh, but alas. It’s better than nothing.

Otherwise, the Gym Dogs looked lovely on bars, overcoming a fall from Rachel Schick there and showing fantastic work from everyone else on the lineup, and also had some super strong work on floor, especially from anchor Brandie Jay and fellow senior Mary Beth Box.

For Kentucky, they had a few clean-up errors that need to be taken care of before we see them join the ranks of stronger programs, including rough landings and some form errors, though freshman Sidney Dukes continues to be a super strength and literal ray of sunshine, hitting everything and going 39.3 in the all-around. She was joined on all four events by fellow freshman Alex Hyland, and the two did a fantastic job anchoring the beam rotation with zero problems after a fall from Cori Rechenmacher up right before them.

Article by Lauren Hopkins
Photo thanks to Washington Gymnastics