Oklahoma @ UCLA Live Blog

Sunday, March 13

1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Kent State, Yale @ George Washington - SCORES

2:00 ET/11:00 PT – West Virginia @ Pittsburgh - SCORES - ESPN3

3:00 ET/12:00 PT – Utah State @ Illinois-Chicago - SCORES
4:00 ET/1:00 PT – William & Mary @ Towson - SCORES - Stream
5:00 ET/2:00 PT – Oklahoma @ UCLA - SCORES - TV: Pac-12

6:00 ET/3:00 PT – Air Force @ Alaska - SCORES

In case you weren't excited already, @badbebop on Twitter made this for the meet:

I know, right? People are super talented. 

Now, back to resenting all of humanity...

In the early action today, George Washington was in line for a score well into the 196s but counting an 8.8 on bars drops the total down to 195.400, which is squarely in their unusable range. GW's ranking is already sort of fine, so today's meet was much more important for Kent State. The 195.275 isn't a score that will stand out, but it replaces a 193.725 road score and will shoot Kent State all the way up to a temporary ranking of #30. Exceptionally important performance. That knocks Bowling Green back down to 37th for the moment in spite of the big score yesterday. It will get interesting.

Here's where the RTN rankings stood as of this morning:

Hi, Stanford. You're going to need to not count a fall at Pac-12s, K? Or do, and then we'll just have Mad Max regionals.

Oklahoma is currently sitting pretty at the top, but today's result is more interesting for UCLA. The Bruins will need an equal-season-high of 197.475 to move back ahead of Georgia for the moment and set up that theoretical Utah/UCLA/Washington/Stanford regional we all want. Everything will change after Pac-12s, but a boy can dream. 

Also, in case you're wondering whether the Phipps jingle from that episode of I Love Lucy has been stuck in my head all day for no reason, it has. 

UCLA will have Ohashi in on beam and floor this week. Francis and Cipra return on floor. Still no Peng (let's hope we get an update). Savvidou remains on bars.Will be interesting to see what UCLA scores on floor today because this is pretty much going to be the peak floor lineup, at least with Mossett out of action.

Kmieciak is in on only bars today for Oklahoma, resulting in some reshuffling of the lineups. No Scaman on bars as well, so not quite Oklahoma's peak offering. Opportunity for Catour to keep carving out spots in these lineups.

We're getting the vaguely uncomfortable BLACK LIGHT ATTACK Oklahoma intro video in addition to the usual Pac-12 Net fare.

"Spring forward into the best gymnastics meet of the year." See how Jim did that? "The twinkling eyes of Greg Marsden." I love you, Jim.

It's already KJ's 10th year at Oklahoma? How did that happen? Didn't she just start?

ROTATION 1:
Cipra - VT - good dynamics this time, nice direction on the full, still a pretty big hop back. She'll need more control come postseason. 9.800

Jackson - UB - loses toes a bit in jaeger and not the highest, good legs on bail, hits vertical - solid hs - sticks tuck full. That's a start. 9.875.

Honest - VT - hop back on her full, off line, hop back, smaller hop back, but add that to the direction and the soft knees, so the score shouldn't be too huge. 9.825. Or whatever. 

Lehrmann - UB -wow - overbalanced a handstand and went over, extra swing - nice jaeger - beautiful bail, just crazy good - everything excellent after the error including a stuck tuck full - I love her handstands, just too far on that first one. 9.600.

Hall - VT - well, I guess we can say she stuck that 1.5. Came in short and laded very squatty, loses her leg form in the air. Quite messy. 9.800.

Capps - UB - good first hs - nice finish on full turn - solid tkatchev, not huge but has enough counter - bit of a leg break in the bail this time - step forward on tuck full - a couple smalls in there but precise in most elements. 9.825.

Meraz - VT - better open on her full - some leg breaking, though, and a step back - 9.775. 

Catour - UB - small arch in first hs - high tkatchev and gets a little counter in there at the end - very clean legs on bail and hits vertical - muscles up a handstand but good vertical - sticks DLO. Very happy with the dismounts so for for OU. 9.925.

Bynum - VT - larger pace forward on her yarabian - Greg identifies it as an arabian through somewhat gritted teeth, but this is among the few vaults that can be identified as arabian since the turn is quite early. 9.850.

Kmieciak - UB - great height on that Ray - strong hs - aggressive and vertical broomstick bail - small step forward on tuck full, landed a little chest forward, but should be a good score. 9.825. 

Preston - VT - Smallish hop back on her full - good dynamics, legs together throughout, pretty good chest up - not the security on the landing of last week. 9.875.

Wofford - UB - hits first hs - excellent full turn - high jaeger with toes pointed throughout - pasted together through the bail - final handstand is a bit short perhaps - sticks tuck full. Basically the identical routine she has been doing all season. 9.950. Fair score. 

Oklahoma 49.400, UCLA 49.150
OK vault rotation for UCLA. As one of the team's weaker events, they'll take that 49.150, but the landings remain pretty uninspiring. Not the bang-bang vault landings of last week that brought a much more impressive score. No one was really even that close to a stick, and the scores were a bit charitable for those big hops. They gave the judges the opening to go lower, which they'll have to stop doing.

Overjudging the dismount landings in that bars rotation for Oklahoma, which accounted for a larger difference in some of those scores than I would have expected, as the sticks with weaker form outscored the better routines with steps on landing through much of the rotation. One area setting Oklahoma apart is those handstands, maybe just two missed in the whole rotation (including significantly that final hs from Wofford). A couple landing steps on a few of the routines, but also some impressive sticks.

Danusia just casually wearing a tiara because Danusia. All the seniors. I love that you can't see Sadiqua's because of her hair.

ROTATION 2:
Jones - VT - just the smallest slide back with one foot on that full, good distance, power and open up. Should probably outscore any of the UCLA vaults. 9.875. Same score as Preston. But really, though?

Francis - UB -good first hs - legs together on shap, smallest legs apart on bail - great amplitude on shoot back to high, clean hs - borderline finish on that full turn, FINALLY sticks the double pike. The stick is back. 9.825.

Lehrmann  - VT - she's vaulting? Good distance and form on her full as well, off to the side, small hop back. 9.850.

Meraz - UB - good legs and vertical on her bail - getting more counter on that tkatchev, still a touch flat - one short hs in there - whips out that usual DLO, legs apart, larger pace back. 9.800. Mmhmm. Sure.

Price - VT - hs front pike 1/2 - comes in just a tad short this time with a small hop forward - love that she's in the lineup now. And should be worth it because of the 10 SV. 9.900. OK?

Savvidou - UB - starts with a dead hang - hits piked jaeger - works into the handstand better this week - cleaner through the bail, just a couple leg quivers here and there - the handstands will be the highlight of this in time - sticks a cowboyed double back. Her best so far. It's getting there. 9.875. With a cowboyed double back?

Capps - VT - allllllmost sticks that full - lovely vault but I would classify that as a step-salute - great open, straight form throughout.

Metcalf - UB - legs apart on shap but solid, and clean through the bail - good amp and counter on shoort to high - VERY short on final hs, two paces back on a cowboyed double front - it's OK, but the very end of that routine is just a deduction trap. 9.850. Feel free...

Scaman - VT - gorgeous 1.5 in the air, but the larger pace forward this time. love her open on this vault. 9.875.

Honest - UB - high tkatchev - legs together in the straddle back and very vertical - TOES TOES TOES still - sticks her tuck full this time, staggered, some form. 9.950. Oh. HAHAHAHAHA. Oh. 

Jackson - VT - fab 1.5 - hops forward/sideways on it but great distance and keeps her form throughout -9.875.

DeJesus - UB - good first hs - finishes full turn well - Sophina legs on gienger, but not too extreme - small legs apart on bail - dismount - super lock-legged and a lunge back, which is not her usual error. Cue Tim Daggett lock-legged landing sound effects. 9.800.

Janay Honest and McKenzie Wofford got the same bars score. Just...enjoy that one for a second. And know that I saw it too, and we're all in this together. NCAA gym therapy. We all need a session.

After 2: Oklahoma 98.775, UCLA 98.450
UCLA got some crazy bars score there, and should give the judges a muffin basket for that one. At least one. Like five. Oklahoma solid on vault, but they can still land better than that as we look forward, some larger landing errors for Scaman and Jackson that took what should be huge scores down a little bit. Weird that Price ended up winning vault here as she landed relatively short on her vault with a hop forward.

ROTATION 3:
Gerber - BB - hits wolf - walkover to beat jump, clean, swings through to beat to keep the combo going - large wobble on her loso series, bends at the waist - strong 180 on switch and split - better on the side somi - secure landing - sticks gainer full but will get hit pretty hard for that large wobble. 9.800.

Brown - FX - secure landing on front 2/1, high and well controlled - sticks her front lay to front full as well, close to OOB but definitely in - lovely loso split full and straddle jump also hit 180, this is one of her confident, lovely routines - good chest up on rudi, excellent start. Not big, but excellent. 9.875.

Meraz - BB - loso series right off the beam - she hit zero parts of her legs on the beam on that loso - first thing that hit was her hip, which had to hurt - pausing a little - talking through whether she's going to continue with Val. And she won't continue.

Capps - FX - good landing on double pike, slightly chest low - love this routine to death - front full to layout, clean and high - switch side and popa no question - nails rudi, pretty high as well this time, that looked stronger than some of her others. 9.925. That'll do. 

Shapiro - BB - three series to loso, bends working out of it but stays on - switch and split are solid - check on full turn as well - she hasn't ever looked as confident as in that first competition routine - side aerial to full, a bit short and off line on that full with a small hop.

Marks - FX - Didn't vault this week but is in on floor - nice float on that front 2/1, crossover step out of it - large stumble out of her 2.5, doesn't fall but brushes her hand on the ground as she lunges around - front lay to front full. We'll be obsessed with her in a year. 9.700.

Sonya Meraz going again at the end? Wait what is this? Is this just a UCLA thing?

Ohashi - BB - Three series to layout 2ft - smallest lean but great - switch ring, front leg remains a little low on that - great positions on her switch and split, a little slow in combo but not enough to take from it - great walkover - loso full dismount with a step back. Good one. 9.900.

Jones - FX - great high 2.5 to front tuck - funky chicken sarcastic choreography as a comment on the state of modern dance - 1.5 to layout, solid twisting form, a bit of slide but mostly controlled - split full and wolf full fine, a little short of rotation - very secure double pike, chest down. 9.925.

DeJesus - BB - lovely walkover, connects to back tuck, chest down - secure kickover front, alos a bit low on that but doing well not to wobble - switch to shush - attitude and a half turn, which always kind of looks like a mistake but she does it every time - gainer front layout full off the end, hop forward. 9.850.

Jackson - FX - whip 1/2 to rudi and sticks it, excellent form and nailed landing - whip 1/2 to front full, a bit short on that landing with a hop back - leap amplitude on switch side and popa - nails double pike - Oklahoma looking more postseasony with each meet. 9.950.

Francis - BB - check on walkover this week, into beat jump - solid loso series this time - wobble on "split jump" after switch as well, she is off this time. Not her usual confidence, just tightness in most of the skills which she doesn't usually have or need to have because she's Danusia - Y spins - sticks her dismount as has become usual, swims to hold the stick but holds it. 9.875.

Scaman - FX - fab DLO, secure and chest up - rudi to loso, she had trouble with that in one meet but it was weird since it's such a comfortable skills for her, great here - switch side and popa is excellent, and nails her double tuck landing. Scores have been rising, so we'll see. Very strong landings, and they hit their dance elements (often because they don't go for particularly difficult dance elements) which means they're incurring fewer deductions. 9.950. Saving 10s for Bynum.

Meraz - BB - OK, she's getting to go on beam again. We'll have to talk about this and have a lot of thoughts.Wobbles on loso series again and falls again. BUT WAS THERE A CAMERA FLASH?!?!?

They'll drop this anyway so it doesn't matter in the end, but here's my thing: Yes, camera flashes at gymnastics meets are NOT COOL and dangerous for the gymnasts. It's a big issue, should be taken seriously, and is not acceptable. But at the same time, is that even a rule? Going again because there was a camera flash? Do you get to do that? I want a judge explanation immediately. There obviously have been camera flashes during beam routines before when people haven't gone again. What level of audience distraction/intervention qualifies for a go-again? And can you employ this on any event, like "oh, I went OOB on floor, but there was a camera flash, so...do I get to go again?" Sometimes it feels like things just happen for UCLA reasons. Like Miss Val just uses her magical dagger eyes to will them into being.

Anyway: Oklahoma 148.400, UCLA 147.675
This is not going to be the score UCLA wanted. Just a meh meet so far. Oklahoma just got a million points on floor, a 49.625.Great routines from Oklahoma, really really strong landings, but these high floor scores reinforce the problem that floor scoring is going too high for everyone and when whole lineups are getting into the 9.9s, the level of scrutiny and general standard needs to be revised to be more critical to create more of a separation. (Start actually deducting for crossed legs in twisting, for instance...or get rid of the switch side + popa as an acceptable dance combo to fulfill the requirement.)

ROTATION 4:
Jones - BB -secure loso series - full turn - cat leap to kickover front is solid - small bend at the end of switch + switch series - could be closer to 180 on that series but not too bad - sticks 1.5 - strong opening. 9.900.

Ohashi - FX - very smooth double tuck (because she's Katelyn Ohashi and it's a double tuck) - 1.5 to full to 1/2 to split to front tuck is wonderful, great form throughout - illusion turn is getting a bit better - switch ring to a somewhat rushed split 1/2 - chest down on double pike but also keeps the front leg down so as not to slide. 9.825.

Lehrmann - BB - lovely walkover - great style - toe point through loso series - switch into straddle 1/4 with a slight bend adjustment - sticks 1.5 - works beam through butter. 9.825.

Honest - FX - small slide on double pike, chest down, very high tumbling - also slides forward on front lay to front full - small stagger on her double tuck landing, some weird steps on her passes in that routine. 9.850.

Catour - BB - fluid on full turn - solid loso series though a little closer to the beam than others - cat to switch side - smooth walkover as well, this is the best I've seen from her - sticks gainer pike. Just a casual 9.950.

Francis - FX - whip through to double tuck is controlled this time - 2.5 with a crossover step - no trouble with the splits in this routine after that weird one on beam - secure double pike as well, chest down problems but hit her tumbling. Senior day standing ovation. 9.950. Senior day.

Brown - BB - smooth walkover to bhs - beat jump to straddle 3/4 with a bend to adjust - was going to wobble on her switch split so turned it into a switch split to scale, like you do - good gainer full but a couple more errors in that one compared to the solidity we've seen. Still 9.900.

DeJesus - FX - short landing in punch front 2/1, awkward stagger - very low chest on doubel tuck - she clearly wants this one as her last home floor but she's off in this first couple passes a little - switch ring looked very good - L leap full - half to a layout (arched) - into beat jump and drop split. 9.775.

Jackson - BB - smooth full turn - she's into the lineup this week, which I didn't really expect to see from her in her career - wobble on loso series with leg up - switch side with quick balance adjustment with one arm - nice high straddle jump into loso - 1.5 with hop forward. 9.800.

Cipra - FX -strong double tuck, legs in true tuck and chest up - splits and straddle positions look solid - 1.5 to half to straddle to front tuck - runs out of her front tuck into the strongest part of her routine, her non-phone rolling - sticks double pike, chest minorly down, but one of her good ones and will be a big score.

Capps - BB - no one moves as smoothly as she does on the beam - precise loso series to beat jump - full turn is strong - walkover to scale and makes it actually look good - switch and straddle 1/4, great - sticks gainer full - let's see - 9.975. Would have been fine with a 10.

Bynum - FX - nailed DLO this time, good control - we'll see what she needs to do to get a 10, which won't be all that much - keeps her front foot down on the double back side pass, good control - "full twisting sissone" I guess is what I'm going to call it - wolf -  through to double back final pass - looked pretty controlled, a little slidey, so we know where this is going, don't we? Oooooh, 9.950. Legit surprised. I thought she would basically just have to stand up, though I do agree this routine has enough built-in that it shouldn't be getting a 10. 

Oklahoma 197.950, UCLA 197.200
Oklahoma largely nailed this meet. UCLA almost did what was needed to re-pass Georgia but will continue to bleed ranking spots down to #9. Tomorrow, I'll go through all the new rankings and RQS scenarios.

When you just casually check and there are 80 comments on a live blog. Something weird must have happened at a UCLA meet! Telltale sign.