I have to start out this preview by saying that I am over the moon excited about life right now because #1 Oklahoma actually has a live stream for its home meet tonight!! You have to pay $2.99 for a day pass on the university’s streaming system but that’s SO worth it.

Of course, this means Friday night will be busier than usual for us, but I’m not complaining. The Sooners will face off at home against #7 Georgia, which has pretty quietly been climbing the rankings all season, getting another bump last week as the program got to drop its opening 193.600 score, counting all scores 196.500 or better. The Gym Dogs don’t have any huge scores and they’ve only crossed over 197 once, but there’s been a level of consistency for the program that is so overlooked, and they’re thriving even without any of the huge stars that the other top programs have.

While this is a big meet for Georgia, most of the other SEC programs are playing it more low key this week, with #2 LSU at #14 Auburn, #3 Florida hosting #13 Missouri, #4 Alabama hosting #12 Boise State, and #11 Kentucky hosting a quad featuring #18 Washington, #22 Illinois, and #39 Northern Illinois. We could definitely see some surprises in this mix, so things could get exciting, especially with Boise State and Washington both breaching 197 in the past couple of weeks, putting them in a perfect position to upset if they hit and the host teams don’t, but there won’t be any knock-down drag-out battles this week (that’ll be next weekend’s LSU/Florida match…I’m already counting down the days).

Things could get really interesting when #10 Oregon State travels to #31 Stanford, though. The Cardinal posted one of its best scores of the season on the road last weekend, and like Georgia, got a significant bump thanks to the RQS allowing the team to drop one of its 193-range scores. Stanford still has yet to break 196, getting close a few times but falling short, though I have a strong feeling that tonight — the team’s senior night and final home meet before PAC 12 Championships — is when we’re gonna see it happen. Oregon State is by far the stronger of the two programs and if they hit, I give them the win, but Stanford has been building and I think tonight’s the night.

Also on Friday, #8 Denver travels to #20 Ohio State, #17 Iowa is at #34 BYU, and #23 New Hampshire hosts #59 Air Force.

We get back-to-back PAC 12 meets on Saturday evening, first with #5 UCLA hosting #28 Arizona and then with #4 Utah traveling to #45 Arizona State. The Bruins have already competed once this week, playing around with lineups which caused them to have a much weaker meet than usual, though it’s no big deal — they’ll drop that score in the RQS rankings. I think we’ll be back to most of the usual lineups this weekend, so expect a stronger meet from them as they hope to push back into the top five.

#15 Nebraska will host a quad on Saturday that will also feature #19 California, #24 Utah State, and #64 S.E. Missouri, and #16 George Washington will compete in a tri-meet at #37 NC State alongside #32 Kent State. Also notable is #21 Arkansas at #42 Michigan State, the latter a team still dealing with the resignation of head coach Kathie Klages last week in the wake of discovering her role in the Larry Nassar cover-up.

#38 Penn State deals with a similar shake-up this week, as the athletic department “relieved head coach Jeff Thompson of his duties” yesterday. Thompson and his wife Rachelle were at the center of abuse allegations last summer, with Rachelle resigning, though Thompson kept his job. With everything happening surrounding the sport right now, and with Penn State’s own history of abuse cover-ups in the past, it seems they’re taking no chances at the moment, which could explain a dramatic and immediate mid-season exit. The Nittany Lions lost to DII program #51 Texas Woman’s last weekend after counting three big mistakes on bars, and this week without their head coach, they’ll hope to come back against in-state rival #48 Pittsburgh to get back to regional contention.

Sunday will see #9 Michigan hosting Southern Utah, currently unranked due to not counting enough meets to obtain an RQS, and we’ll also get #1 Oklahoma back on the floor for its second meet in a row as they travel down I-35 to face #51 Texas Woman’s, the currently unstoppable DII team that put up a massive 196 last weekend to defeat three DI programs.

#8 Denver and #22 Illinois are back in action as well, in a tri-meet featuring #54 Illinois State, and we could definitely get a bit of drama in the Big 12 battle between #24 Iowa State and #26 West Virginia in another tri-meet with #29 Maryland as the third wheel.

All times listed are ET, the first team listed is the host team, and we’ll update any links as they are updated on each program’s schedule. Once the meet is finished, we’ll replace the links with results. Enjoy!

Article by Lauren Hopkins