With just two days to go until the season begins for realsies, I probably should be all previewy and forward looking. Nope. After the last month, I'm previewed out. Let's just get this thing started already.
Instead, before we get caught up in all our new obsessions with our various Elizabeth Prices and Peng Peng Lees and Alex McMurtrys and forget about all the routines from before they existed, I'm taking one last opportunity to watch and compile a few memorable routines from last year's seniors while I still remember that they happened.
After that, it's a clean slate and the new season is allowed to begin.
Katherine Grable - Floor
Lindsey Cheek - Beam
Alicia Asturias - Floor
Emily Wong - Floor
Shona Morgan - Beam
Sarie Morrison - Bars
Kim Jacob - Beam
Sarah DeMeo - Beam
Showing posts with label Sarah DeMeo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sarah DeMeo. Show all posts
January 7, 2015
January 1, 2014
#2 Alabama Preview
Happy New Year, it's Alabama time, ready for a brand new season full of competing for the championship. Early last season, the Tide had just enough problems on bars for low 49s that the RQS never recovered enough to catch what Florida and Oklahoma were putting up (finishing at just some paltry 197.415), but Alabama was always right in the hunt as a realistic winner. When Florida had the beam issues in Super Six, it seemed almost guaranteed that Alabama would pounce on that for a three-peat, but lack of stuck vaults and two beam mistakes combined to dash their dreams and relegate them to the third place status at which they also finished the regular season.
The Crimson Tide looks to occupy a similar place in the hierarchy this year, always a potential title winner hanging on the cusp of being the favorite. The team has lost a number of important seniors from last season, so there's some reason to be wary about how these lineups will shape up, at least in January. However, the 2013 injuries to Gutierrez and Sledge may now end up being beneficial in a way because the absences of those two at the end of last season gave experience to competitors who wouldn't have competed otherwise but will be counted upon this year. There aren't as many unknowns in the Alabama lineups as there might have been otherwise.
The issue this year may not be so much the quantity of lost routines but the significance. Alabama was already a fairly deep team last year, especially on the Alabama-y events, and with a group of freshmen in Amanda Jetter, Katie Bailey, Aja Sims, Dominique Pegg, and company who can all be at least backups on multiple events, the team should have plenty of possible options across the apparatuses. Finding the person who can not only compete in those spots but manage some Ashley Priess 9.925s will be the story of this season.
Vault:
Oddly, Alabama's vaulting last postseason was just OK. Sure, 49.350 is a great score for most teams, but not for this team. They could have and should have been in the 49.500 conversation, especially at that time of year, but the landings just disappeared into a cloud of smoke after SECs and the absence of Marissa Gutierrez really started to show.
Still, there's rarely reason to worry about Alabama on vault, so even though they're losing some significant quality, they should have a strong look at those big scores once again given the strength of the people who are returning. Diandra Milliner, Kayla Williams, Kaitlyn Clark, and Lauren Beers have all proven 9.9 capable and should score regularly in the 9.875+ realm. Those vaults alone will carry Alabama's scoring past the large majority of teams, though I would like to see Williams graduate to a higher place in the lineup this season.
The Crimson Tide looks to occupy a similar place in the hierarchy this year, always a potential title winner hanging on the cusp of being the favorite. The team has lost a number of important seniors from last season, so there's some reason to be wary about how these lineups will shape up, at least in January. However, the 2013 injuries to Gutierrez and Sledge may now end up being beneficial in a way because the absences of those two at the end of last season gave experience to competitors who wouldn't have competed otherwise but will be counted upon this year. There aren't as many unknowns in the Alabama lineups as there might have been otherwise.
The issue this year may not be so much the quantity of lost routines but the significance. Alabama was already a fairly deep team last year, especially on the Alabama-y events, and with a group of freshmen in Amanda Jetter, Katie Bailey, Aja Sims, Dominique Pegg, and company who can all be at least backups on multiple events, the team should have plenty of possible options across the apparatuses. Finding the person who can not only compete in those spots but manage some Ashley Priess 9.925s will be the story of this season.
Vault:
Oddly, Alabama's vaulting last postseason was just OK. Sure, 49.350 is a great score for most teams, but not for this team. They could have and should have been in the 49.500 conversation, especially at that time of year, but the landings just disappeared into a cloud of smoke after SECs and the absence of Marissa Gutierrez really started to show.
Still, there's rarely reason to worry about Alabama on vault, so even though they're losing some significant quality, they should have a strong look at those big scores once again given the strength of the people who are returning. Diandra Milliner, Kayla Williams, Kaitlyn Clark, and Lauren Beers have all proven 9.9 capable and should score regularly in the 9.875+ realm. Those vaults alone will carry Alabama's scoring past the large majority of teams, though I would like to see Williams graduate to a higher place in the lineup this season.
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