Comings and Goings

Oklahoma won the national title six whole days ago, which is like a thousand years ago. Sorry, Oklahoma. We're moving on. What have you done for us lately? Basically nothing? That's what I thought.

The 2017 season is just around the corner, as long as that corner is really, really far away. We don't know anything real about 2017 yet, but we do know which valuable gems and enthusiastic leaders in the training gym we won't see next year, along with which bright new lights full of possibilities and undiagnosed shin problems will be joining the teams in their place.

Detailed looks at each team and roster will come much later, when the season approaches and I actually vaguely know who these JO gymnasts are, but let's call this a preliminary glance at who's coming and who's going on each team now that the 2016 season is closed and locked away forever and the traditional eight-month moratorium has been placed on the terms "parity," "yurchenko arabian," "confident leadoff," and "life lessons." I've placed the top teams into various categories based on the current outlook and added the RQSs for the routines they will lose after 2016.

This is, of course, assuming that people do what they're supposed to and don't suddenly turn pro or run off to join a traveling circus or whatever.

Smooth sailing

LSU
Out: Jessica Savona, Randii Wyrick, Michelle Gauthier
In: Ruby Harrold, Kennedi Edney, Ashlyn Kirby

Savona - VT - 9.820 avg; UB - 9.840; FX - 9.902 avg
Wyrick - UB - 9.810; FX - 9.905



The Tigers certainly lose a few critical routines, the most important being Savona's floor, though they already gained some experience with life after Savona's vault and floor when she was out early this season (and life after Wyrick's bars when she didn't compete in the postseason). They survived, for the most part. Several of these openings should be filled by people already on the roster, and while I don't think we can have any expectations for Priessman at this point because any week she's healthy enough to compete is just a bonus, Kelley should do more next year. Add to that this freshman class, and I think there's every reason to expect LSU 2017 to be stronger than LSU 2016. 

ALABAMA
Out: Lauren Beers, Carley Sims
In: Maddie Desch, Wynter Childers, Shea Mahoney

Beers - VT - 9.905; UB - 9.690; FX - 9.915
Sims - FX - 9.868

Alabama is in a similar position to LSU in terms of not losing that many routines, though Alabama's losses carry a bit more significance, especially on floor with the team's two strongest floories departing. They'll need some of the upperclassmen like Brannan to step up and be a little more Beersy on those events and a little less middle-of-the-lineupy, but with increased contribution from a potential star like Ari Guerra who didn't figure at all by the end of the season and the introduction of Maddie Desch and Wynter Childers, Alabama's first-ever recruit who's also a citizen of District 1, I'm not too worried about the look of Alabama's future roster.

CAL
Out: Serena Leong (?), Kristina Heymann
In: Cassidy Keelen, Rachael Mastrangelo

Cal can't have much to complain about in terms of roster shake-ups since the only two seniors on the roster for 2016 were Heymann, who used to contribute a backup vault, and Leong, who has been injured forever and would be in line for a redshirt season. When healthy, Leong was half of the duo that ushered in Cal's rebirth, along with Asturias. Regardless, Cal shouldn't have to lose anything at all from this season's 7th-place team, only gain for next year. The future is bright.  


Dark, but hopeful
These schools will lose many more significant routines than the smooth-sailing schools, but their incoming classes are cause for optimism about maintaining or improving their current levels nonetheless.

OKLAHOMA
Out: Haley Scaman, Keeley Kmieciak, Hunter Price, Nicole Turner
In: Maggie Nichols, Brenna Dowell, Brehanna Showers, Jade Degouveia

Scaman - VT - 9.890; UB - 9.880; FX - 9.945
Kmieciak - VT - 9.865; UB - 9.930; BB - 9.870; FX - 9.870
Price - VT - 9.871 avg



Oh hi, we just won a national championship, and we're going to have Maggie Nichols and Brenna Dowell (back) next year. Oklahoma is losing eight routines from the championship lineups (which is a high but not necessarily devastating number), though nearly every one of those routines was a realistic and regular 9.900. But then, if Nichols and Dowell do show up and deliver next year, that's pretty much your eight high-scoring replacement routines right there (Dowell didn't compete beam in 2015 but I think we all expect that she will Brandie Jay on beam at some point in her OU career). That doesn't even account for the other newcomers, the traditional Oklahoma magicking up of unexpected routines, and the extra redshirt season from long lost Maile Kanewa.

FLORIDA
Out: Bridget Sloan, Bridgey Caquatto, Bianca Dancose-Giambattisto, Morgan Frazier
In: Amelia Hundley, Alyssa Baumann, Rachel Gowey, Maegan Chant

Sloan - VT - 9.900; UB - 9.945; BB - 9.910; FX - 9.950
Caquatto - VT - 9.810; UB - 9.915; FX - 9.900
BDG - UB - 9.865

You wouldn't think the Gators would be in much trouble next year since they're simply losing the services of that non-competing walk-on Bridget Sloan. (Who?) Still, somehow, Florida is bleeding the same number of essential routines as Oklahoma, with the added problem of losing the team's big old star, 10.0-machine, and four-year identity of the program. It's a worry. Fortunately, as Jean-Ralphio would say, this freshman class is off the cherrrrts.

Because Florida is losing such important gymnasts, however, these newbies can't come in and be I'm-not-helping elites who are perpetually injured. They have to be multi-event 9.9s, which will make it interesting to watch how they progress during this summer's Trials season. None are in the serious hunt for the US Olympic team, but that doesn't mean they can't be ground into a fine powder trying. Baumann and Gowey are beautiful rays of starlight, but they also have that fragile "I can only do bars and beam in college because my bones are now made of tears and hope" look to them, and Amelia Hundley is from CGA, so enough said. Florida will need to get a couple big leg-event routines out of this group.

National Championship Preview Part 3: You're All Super to Me, Except for Five of You

Without knowing how the semifinals will play out, previewing Super Six is like looking for shadows in a blindfold factory. Still, performances so far this season have provided a pretty good indication of which teams are in serious contention to win the title and which teams are simply looking to make Super Six/snatch a respectable finish if one of the top teams falters. Surprise, surprise, the four most likely title contenders are also the four top-ranked teams.

Those rankings exist for a reason. The ultimate champion has not come from outside the top three since the beginning of the Georgia dynasty in 2005, when Georgia entered the postseason in 5th, and for each of the last three seasons, the regular-season top three has also finished Super Six in the top three places. So while a weird upset or two in the semifinals could help the chances for a cusp team like Utah to get into the rarefied territory of podium-land, the four teams that should be challenging for the title of Superest of the Super Six, because you're all just super, are Oklahoma, Florida, LSU, and Alabama. The only other team that spent any time in the top three this season was Michigan, and that ship has sailed. 

A rotation-by-rotation team comparison as to the pace they'll need to set won't be possible until we have the rotation order, although this is the draw for Super Six for quick reference once we know how the semifinals finish.


The winner of the second semi gets Olympic order, and the winner of the first semi gets to start on beam. Fun. The third-place teams are the ones who will end on byes, as by design.

Of course, to win Super Six, you have to be good on all the things, but rather than just go through the teams and say, "It would be nice if Florida got a good score on bars, and also beam, and floor, and vault. That would make it easier to win" (duh), I've assigned each of these four teams a critical event, not necessarily a "must-win" event because that's hyperbolic (and I never, ever, ever write hyperbolically), but one that should be a massive strength, can't be a massive weakness, or is generally the best indicator for that team as to whether a title chase is really on.

Vault – LSU


LSU's ability on vault and concerted use of Gnat Power has made the Tigers the only non-Oklahoma team to occupy the top spot on any event to end the season. If circumstances play out the way they have during the regular season, vault appears to be the juiciest opportunity for the other teams to strike a blow to the Sooners since Oklahoma's RQS is just a pitiful 49.415 here. (Like, are you even trying?) LSU is the best poised to do that.
 
Difficulty has become the watchword on vault this year, though it has not exclusively dictated success. Among these four teams, Alabama shows the most 10.0 SVs with three 1.5s and an Omelianchik but is ranked the lowest of the four, while LSU and Oklahoma each show three 10.0 SVs and Florida shows two. In spite of performing the least difficulty in the group, Florida is ranked second on vault, largely by virtue of having the two best fulls in NCAA as well, but LSU has displayed the best balance of difficulty and stickitude to make this event the place where the Tigers can shake off underdog status and and put pressure on the more-favored teams with a 49.5.

The most significant contributor to LSU's vault success this season has, of course, been Gnat's DTY, which has spent most of the season in automatic 9.950 for a hop/10 for a stick, Zamarripa territory. It has been judged in an entirely different galaxy from Price's DTY, so one of the more interesting aspects of semifinal day will be seeing how Gnat's and Price's DTYs are evaluated by the same panel of judges in the same session of the same meet for the first time (Price wasn't yet performing the DTY when the two teams met earlier this season at Metroplex). Stanford vaults in rotation five of the semifinal, and LSU vaults in rotation six. The judges will not be able to justify evaluating them with different lenses, so does Gnat's score come down to what Price's has been, or does Price's score go to up what Gnat's has been?

LSU need the latter to be true in this meet and relies on that gigantic number for Gnat's DTY to get the vault advantage over the other teams. Another significant factor in LSU's vault score is Savona, who has returned from injury to perform her 1.5 again, though the landing control has not been there so far and her score has been dropped a few times. With one sometimes-9.750y vault in the lineup from Finnegan/Cannamela/Macadaeg, LSU can't afford to be forced to drop Savona's score in a Super Six context.

Who's lunging on a 1.5 for 9.850? That's the major question for all of these teams on vault because we've seen nearly everyone who has upgraded to a 1.5 in NCAA this year have moments of bounding forward out of it and making the team drop her critical score. The landing control for Jackson and Scaman accounts for the variation in Oklahoma's vault results and has created this opening for other teams that wouldn't necessarily have been there last year, as does Alabama's reliance on Beers' 1.5 in particular. She basically decides if the vault score is going to be competitive. Florida has the safety net of the Sloan and McMurtry fulls which can still get 9.900 and show less unpredictability in landing, but it's the Boren and Baker 1.5s that dictate whether it's a good vaulting day or a title-winning vaulting day.

Every time one of these teams throws up a 1.5, there is a legitimate one-tenth swing in the scores hanging on that landing, which is a dramatic margin in Super Six. These vaults I mentioned are going to be a real treat for us in Super Six because every stick is a gold star and every shoulder-width lunge is a kick in the stomach to title hopes. You can't get 9.850 on a critical, late-lineup vault in Super Six and expect to win. I anticipate a lot of "should she really have been doing a 1.5?" second-guessing once the results of Super Six are in. I anticipate it mostly because I will 100% be doing it.

Bars – Florida


This was supposed to be Florida's year to dominate bars, with 5/6 of last year's lineup intact including three near-guaranteed 9.9s, while Utah lost Dabritz and Oklahoma had to reconstruct its depleted bars lineup using nothing but kindling and double-sided tape. Florida has been extremely strong on bars this season but has not been the very best team. That title goes to Oklahoma for superior handstands and stick frequency. I was concerned about Oklahoma's bars this year because of what seemed like a dearth of options, but it's a sign of a top bars school that they have been able to take "don't even look at the bars" routines from Capps and Jackson and turn them into suddenly serious scores this year, much as Florida was able to do with McMurtry last year. For all of the light-speed eye-rolling we do about McMurtry's scores, her pre-Florida bars work was never-making-a-lineup-ever level.

Still, Florida shouldn't be letting this happen. If you were to offer me Sloan, Caquatto, McMurtry, BDG, Boren, and Baker against Wofford, Kmieciak, Scaman, Capps, Lehrmann, and Jackson, I'm taking Florida's group every time. That should be the NCAA's best bars team, and while second place is not a slouch position and 49.4s are not slouch scores, that becomes less true when you're trying to win Super Six. Second is no longer good enough. Florida currently doesn't have a first-place ranking on any apparatus, but bars is a mighty opportunity to win an event given the talent of this lineup.

It's little things that have brought Florida "down" on bars lately. Sloan's DLO used to be an auto-stick, and it isn't right now. Also, sometimes the judges say, "Stay with me on this one, but maybe McMurtry's bars routine isn't perfect..." Plus, Baker, Boren, and BDG can get a little 9.850 with their dismounts, especially because it's so hard to take only a .05 step on a double front like Baker's. Usually it's either a stick or a bound for a tenth. Baker possesses a great talent for minimizing her hops, planting so quickly that even though it seems like she's starting to bounce a million miles, she suddenly stops much closer to her landing position than it seemed like she would be, forcing the judges to make a decision about how significant her lack of control really was. Still, her score can go down to 9.800-9.850 depending on the dismount in a snap, and Florida can't tolerate any of these little issues when trying to beat Oklahoma on bars.

National Championships Preview Part 2: Deja Vu in Spoilertown

Every year. Every year it's the same. One semifinal looks like it's going to be close and exciting and weird and controversial, and the other looks like a straightforward stroll through the local meadow in a world made only of springtime. Except, it never really works out that way. Take last year's second semifinal, when Oklahoma, LSU, and Alabama squared off against Auburn, Nebraska, and Oregon State. "Ah ha ha," we said. "Bring me another glass of port. Oklahoma, LSU, and Alabama will surely advance."

Nope. The infamous freshman-lost-her-mind heard 'round the world saw Auburn qualify instead of LSU. Nebraska managed to produce a similar complication the year before, against many of the same teams we see gathered this year. Almost all of them. I know. The straightforward semifinal tends to have a way of getting our attention, so how confident do we feel that Oklahoma, Alabama, and Utah will emerge from this session? What tricks do the Bruins have planned for us? Whom will they exhume to perform a surprise routine this time?

Competing teams (starting event)
[1] Oklahoma (bye before floor)
[4] Alabama (bye before bars)
[5] Utah (vault)
[8] UCLA (bars)
[10] Cal (beam)
[12] Nebraska (floor)

Competing individuals
All-around – Maddie Gardiner, Oregon State; Nina McGee, Denver; Amanda Wellick, Arkansas; Brianna Brown, Michigan; Mollie Drenth, Iowa; Lisa Burt, Michigan State

Vault – Taylor Allex, Arizona State
Beam – Risa Perez, Oregon State; Shani Remme, Boise State
Floor – Lizzy Leduc, Illinois; Rachel Slocum, Eastern Michigan

Though three clear favorites have established themselves in this group, it's not quite as meadow-like as some of the "easy" semifinals have been in past years. Alabama and Utah did not perform overwhelmingly at regionals, and UCLA absolutely possesses the talent to advance on a good day. Something I hadn't realized until now: Since the advent of Super Six, UCLA has never gone three straight seasons without qualifying. Having missed out on Super Six the last two years, the Bruins are in line to make an unfortunate piece of history if they don't secure the upset this time around. #saveuskyla

Let's get to it.

OKLAHOMA
The Sooners have begun to separate themselves from the rest of the teams in recent weeks, not showing the same variations in performance, blips, and inconsistencies of the other top contenders. Oklahoma's regionals score was the highest in the country by a pretty solid margin and the performance was by far the cleanest.

Oklahoma must be the title favorite at this point but far from a prohibitive one. Several areas have emerged, from security of vault landings to floor difficulty, that may be cause for concern in a Super Six context when needing to defeat the likes of Florida, but for now, Oklahoma is the safest pick. If the Sooners were to lose it at the semifinal stage, it would be the biggest upset of any of the teams. Oklahoma hasn't had a single fall in a competition routine since February 7th and hasn't seen two actual falls in the same rotation all season long. That's a rather remarkable feat, so while we can question some of the details, Oklahoma would have to count a fall to fail to emerge from this semifinal. And that would be a first.



I'll go into detail in the Super Six preview, but a critical area I'll be watching in the semifinal is how those early-lineup floor routines are evaluated, especially with the Sooners starting on that event. At regionals, Brown and Capps pretty much nailed their routines and got 9.850s (and Jones performed somewhat near her normal for a 9.800), but Oklahoma is going to need higher scores for those routines to reach a national-championship-winning total. The last four winners (counting Florida and Oklahoma in 2014 as two different winners) have all scored over 49.6 on floor in Super Six. Given the evaluation of floor this season, I imagine that will be the standard once again.

ALABAMA and UTAH
Alabama and Utah were twinsies on regionals day, each scoring 197.125 at a home regional. Alabama had some flopsy moments on beam and got hit by the bars landings monster, while Utah was sort of fine across the board but will need better vault and floor landings come nationals. Both exposed patches of minor concern and showed just four 9.9s (all of Alabama's coming on floor), which isn't enough for championships to be sure about fending off other 197-capable teams.

Bars landings. When both these teams have recorded significant results this season, they have done so by sticking bars dismounts. Alabama broke 49.5 on bars both during the landslide against Georgia and at SECs, as did Utah during its own win against Georgia for a season high 197.675. Aside from floor (for floor reasons), bars should be the next-highest score for both teams. Alabama has proven 9.950-for-sticks from Winston and Brannan, but also has those high-risk dismounts from Beers and Jetter that we've all seen dancing with the devil from time to time. The Tide cannot afford 9.800 for those routines at nationals. Bars is too important.



A big bars score is especially significant for all the top seeds because the most likely challenger is UCLA, and UCLA's bars rotation usually hovers somewhere between "well..." and "ack." Alabama and Utah will both look to rack up a significant edge solely because of bars so that if UCLA does end up having one of those great beam and floor days to get up into the 197s, there's still a buffer.

Alabama Regional Preview

While several of the regionals this year could produce an unexpected nationals qualifier that we will pretend signals the beginning of a new era until next season when everything returns to normal, the most exciting changing of the guard will happen in Alabama. Though some of the challengers elsewhere, like Denver and Minnesota, haven't qualified to nationals for a few years, the teams in this regional have been stranded in the desert for much, much longer. Cal has been absent from the national championship since 1992, and Boise State and Kentucky have been absent since always. In fact, with three all-time nationals appearances, #5 seed West Virginia is the second-most accomplished team in the competition.

Competing teams (starting event)
[4] Alabama (bye before bars)
[10] Cal (beam)
[15] Boise State (floor)
[21] Kentucky (bye before floor)
[26] West Virginia (bars)
[34] Bowling Green (vault)

Competing individuals
SEMO (Alexis Brawner – AA; Lauren Israel – AA; McKinzie Jones – FX)
Northern Illinois (Andie Van Voorhis – VT; Jamyra Carter – UB; Lauren Africano – UB; Megan Greenfield – BB)
Arizona State (Allie Salas – AA; Taylor Allex – VT, FX)
Illinois-Chicago (Mikailla Northern – AA)
Illinois State (Amanda Mohler – BB)

The favorite – Alabama



Alabama is Alabama. Competing at home against a relatively unheralded squadron of challengers and coming off an impressive second-place showing at SECs should really be all we need to know about Alabama's qualification outlook. Coleman may no longer the impenetrable home fortress it once was, now the site of previously unheard of losses to LSU and Arkansas, but the idea of Alabama getting upset at home by two whole teams in this meet is difficult to fathom. 

Unsurprisingly, Alabama had its best meet of the season at SECs, which happened to coincide with actually getting all the good people in the lineups simultaneously for the first time. Amazing how that works out. Winston returned on three events, all the top-scoring floor workers competed, and Bresette was able to show her Omelianchik, which is a higher-scoring option than her full. All of this combined to make Alabama look like a peer of Oklahoma, Florida, and LSU in the title race rather than the leader of the challenging pack. These lineups still don't look fully finalized (you can't quit depth exploration cold turkey), as I'd still perhaps like to see Winston vaulting and, critically, that was not the highest-scoring beam lineup Alabama could put out. Sanders did an excellent job of suddenly being a gymnast now, but hit routines from Beers and Bailey are going to score higher than what she (and potentially Brannan) can bring. 

It's an issue of hitting (both Bailey and Beers fell the week before), but if the coaches feel comfortable putting Bailey and Beers in the lineup, this team looks more formidable and closer to 198. If not, Alabama may be giving up a crucial tenth or two on beam, the rotation that knocked them down below Florida's at SECs.

The fight – Cal v. Boise State

This meet represents a brand new phenomenon for Cal. We've seen Cal perform well in significant meets against strong teams over the last three seasons, but for the first time I can remember, Cal will enter a significant meet not as an upstart, or an underdog, or a spoiler, or a sentimental favorite but as a favorite. Cal should finish second here and should qualify along with Alabama. Not doing so would be a disappointing result given the wonderful opportunity to make nationals presented before them. Welcome to expectations, Cal. It's nice to have you here. 

That's not to say it's going to be a walk. Boise State has been in many ways the surprise of the season (after being the punchline of the preseason when one coach voted BSU #1), scoring a 197.025 at conference championships—at home—which bested the 196.725 Cal put up at Pac-12s. Boise State does, however, remain the least proven entity among the contending teams, having gone the whole season without facing any school seeded 1-3 in any of the regionals. We don't really know how these routines are going to be evaluated when Boise State is suddenly not the biggest and the best in the arena for the first time. The Broncos' last challenging road meet also came at Alabama, in 2015, when they did prove quite competitive through three events and were on high-196 pace until a floor meltdown.

SEC Championship Preview

Saturday 3/19
Afternoon session 2:00 ET/11:00 PT
Evening session 6:00 ET/3:00 PT

It's tomorrow! Everything starts very early, with Jesolo getting underway even before the first session of Big Tens. It'll be a huge day of live blogging and gymnastics watching, so we'll have to pace ourselves early. Don't waste your energy before the big-girl sessions begin.

Finally. After years of watching poky live score spreadsheet templates that didn't even update, followed by the recent generous bestowing of an internet stream, the SEC Championship will at last be broadcast live on actual televisions this year. Happy 1968, everyone!

In an attempt to make up for doing such a terrible job at this for so long, the SEC Network is whipping out all the bells and whistles this season, with a TV broadcast accompanied by each individual event streaming online, meaning we can make sure to watch all of Georgia's beam routines from behind our fingers while still getting the competition done in a cool two hours. I'm on board. The SEC Network is also really talking up the hip new quad-meet scoring interface it will debut (to the point where it better physically shoot candy and cheeseburgers out of the TV to live up to this), so I'm eager to see what that looks like. The SEC Net has done a very good job of displaying the scores and running totals in an unobtrusive manner so far, so there's reason for optimism.

NBC really needs to take notes on what the SEC Network does with live scoring heading into the Olympics. With an easy way to update live scores at the bottom of the screen, you don't need to watch Gabby do her grips for 25 minutes while waiting for the score. You can move on to other routines, and then display the score and real-time rankings as they come in. You know, actual development and innovation, not just MEANINGLESS TRIANGLES.

EVENING SESSION
Florida, LSU, Alabama, Auburn

While we all roll our eyes every time an SEC coach says that winning the SEC Championship is harder than winning the national championship (it objectively isn't to anyone who thinks about it for literally one second), this is still a hell of a competition with a solid five teams realistically capable of a hearty 197. Given the scores we've seen this season, however, winning this title really should take a high 197, which probably precludes Auburn and Georgia unless it's a splatfest and they slide on through. Once again, we're looking at Florida, LSU, and Alabama.

Alabama won last season, taking advantage of a beam catastrophe from Florida and beam foreshadowing wobbles from LSU to dance to the top spot with a 197.5, and Alabama's totals so far this year indicate the need for something similar. Alabama has peaked at 197.5s while LSU has gone into the 197.9s and Florida into the 198s. But, if we correct for some silly scoring and for Alabama's epic depth exploration in every meet, there's probably not actually a whole fall worth of difference between these teams. While it will be tough for Alabama to match an ideal meet from LSU or Florida based on what we've seen, I'm not willing to write off the Tide quite yet. But between Florida and LSU? Take your pick. It will be close. Let's get into it.

Rotation 1: Florida vault, LSU bars, Alabama beam, Auburn floor  



Event RQS for rotation 1
Auburn 49.435
Florida 49.390
LSU 49.370
Alabama 49.300

You'll notice something a bit unexpected in those RQSs in that they tell us Auburn should be leading after the first rotation. It could happen because of floor reasons, but I wouldn't bet on it. Although for Auburn, it's absolutely necessary if a title challenge is in play. While Atkinson's is a definite 9.9+ routine (along with occasionally Rott, Demers, and Hlawek), the high floor RQSs across the conference and country reflect loose end-of-meet scoring rather than significant supremacy over the quality of other teams on other events. It will be tough to replicate in this context, and Auburn taking a first-rotation lead would also require a couple other teams under-performing early.

This first event is also critical for LSU to establish a high-scoring pace since bars is their weakest event (the RQS is lower on beam, but beam). Finnegan is obviously a star, and the return of Priessman ups the scoring potential, but a couple 9.800s with form breaks and lower amplitude at the beginning of the lineup put LSU's bars behind those of Florida. If LSU can get Zamardi, Finnegan, Priessman, Wyrick, and Hambrick all in the lineup at the same time, however, that should minimize counting any low scores and bolster what could be a flat event, but those five have not actually been in the same lineup yet this season. Judging by a high 197 standard, LSU must go into the 49.4s on bars to avoid falling off the pace.

Friday Live Blog – Everything That's Ever Happened

Friday, March 4

6:00 ET/3:00 PT – Central Michigan @ Bowling Green - SCORES

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Florida @ Kentucky - SCORES - SECN

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Utah @ Michigan - SCORES - BTN(log-in)

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Auburn @ Georgia - SCORES - SECN

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – NC State @ George Washington - SCORES 

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Eastern Michigan @ Kent State - SCORES - Stream

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – NCGA regional (Winona State, Hamline, Gustavus Adolphus, UW-Whitewater, UW-Stout, UW-Eau Claire, UW-Oshkosh @ UW-La Crosse) - SCORES - Stream

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Nastia Liukin Nastiathon for the Nastia Cup - SCORES - Stream
7:30 ET/4:30 PT – Iowa @ Iowa State - SCORES

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Arizona @ Oklahoma - SCORES - TV: Various Fox Sports

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Arkansas @ Missouri - SCORES - SECN

8:30 ET/5:30 PT – Alabama @ LSU - SCORES - SECN

9:00 ET/6:00 PT – Minnesota, Air Force @ Denver - SCORES

9:00 ET/6:00 PT – Penn State @ Arizona State - SCORES - Stream

9:00 ET/6:00 PT – New Hampshire, BYU @ Utah State - SCORES - Stream

10:00 ET/7:00 PT – Ball State, Seattle Pacific @ Oregon State - SCORES - Stream

10:00 ET/7:00 PT – Southern Utah, Michigan State, Lindenwood @ Cal - SCORES

10:00 ET/7:00 PT –  Brown @ Sacramento State - SCORES -

Week 8 rankings


All kinds of things will be happening right from minute one, so pull yourselves together like now. I'll be on SEC duty for the most part, but I'll keep an eye on all the scores and make the necessary comments for those of you focused on the Nastia. I'm like a public service. Don't worry, just everyone is competing tonight.

The Weekend Plans – March 4-6

Two weeks of normal competition until the conference championships. Two. The ranking and RQS situations are currently urgent, verging on EEEEEE, for more than a few teams. Plus, we have the elite world barging in this weekend. If you plan on doing things this weekend that aren't watching gymnastics while making vaguely snarky yet harmless observations, we're not friends.

Top 25 schedule

Friday, March 4

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – [2] Florida @ [23] Kentucky

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – [6] Utah @ [5] Michigan

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – [8] Auburn @ [10] Georgia

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – NC State @ [21] George Washington

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – [24] Eastern Michigan @ Kent State

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Nastia Liukin Nastiathon for the Nastia Cup
7:30 ET/4:30 PT – [17] Iowa @ Iowa State

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – [18] Arizona @ [1] Oklahoma

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – [9] Arkansas @ [14] Missouri

8:30 ET/5:30 PT – [3] Alabama @ [4] LSU

9:00 ET/6:00 PT – [19] Minnesota, Air Force @ [13] Denver

10:00 ET/7:00 PT – Ball State, Seattle Pacific @ [20] Oregon State

10:00 ET/7:00 PT – Southern Utah, Michigan State, Lindenwood @ [12] Cal

Saturday, March 5

11:30 ET/8:30 PT – AT&T Cupful of Americans 

5:00 ET/2:00 PT – Northern Illinois, Illinois State, Illinois-Chicago @ [22] Illinois
6:00 ET/3:00 PT – Like a Men's Thing? With John Orozco? 

Sunday, March 6

2:00 ET/11:00 PT – Ohio State, Bowling Green @ [25] West Virginia

2:00 ET/11:00 PT – [21] George Washington, Pittsburgh, Texas Woman’s, Yale @ Maryland

3:00 ET/12:00 PT – [10] Georgia, [16] Stanford @ [7] UCLA
3:00 ET/12:00 PT – Utah State @ [15] Nebraska

3:00 ET/12:00 PT – [13] Denver, [19] Minnesota @ Air Force

4:00 ET/1:00 PT – Michigan State @ [11] Boise State

Live blogging
Whew. We've got a Friday in front of us during which every little thing on Earth will happen. All the top 10 teams except UCLA (always gotta be different...) have overlapping meets on Friday, which is either exciting or really poorly planned. Get all 20 of your screens ready. That doesn't even count Nastia's Athletic Cup, which I probably won't blog since so much NCAA action will be happening simultaneously, but I'm sure others will be all up in that business. Pink things. I already blogged it. I usually end up watching it in about October, when all the competitors are starting NCAA and I need to remember who they are. 

Utah/Michigan will be broadcast on tape delay on BTN, four hours after the actual meet, which normally would be annoying but in this case may be some built-in prioritization and scheduling. This weekend is a women's basketball whatever, so there will be far fewer live TV meets than usual. It's an internet weekend. Or as I call it, a weekend. 

The big deal on Saturday is American Cup. I'll be tweeting. Obviously. Then back to blogging on Sunday for the Georgia/Stanford/UCLA threeway.

Rankings
We have a theoretical chance for movement at the top of the rankings, but just theoretical. Florida would need to score a 198.175 away at Kentucky AND Oklahoma would need to score 197.475 or lower at home against Arizona for Florida to take over the top ranking spot. Both teams are safe at 1-2 even if they do end up flip-flopping.

We could see some spot exchanges as we go down the top 10, with Utah and Michigan meeting on Friday with the higher ranking on the line and Auburn preparing to drop a fairly low road score and looking to leapfrog UCLA. #10 Georgia has the most to gain/lose this weekend with two meets, the Sunday meet away at UCLA being significantly more important. Georgia is still counting a 195.675 road score right now, and with even just a normal meet and a hit beam in both of the weekend's endeavors, the Gymdogs will expect to zoom up, potentially as high as 7th, though a lot would need to go their way with the other teams for that actually to happen.

That UCLA Sunday meet is the most critical ranking meet of the weekend since it will also determine Stanford's ceiling and decide whether the Cardinal are in the running for a #2 regionals seed. With a mid-196, Stanford is right in it, but with another 195, it will be exceedingly unlikely if not impossible.

Eyes on Denver as well, coming off that 197.5 and with two meets this weekend, one at home and one at almost-home against Air Force. I would honestly not be bowled over to see Denver knocking into the top 10 at the end of the weekend if Arkansas and Georgia don't perform. 

Iowa is also looking to drop a 194.900 this weekend in a big rivalry meet against Iowa State and could move as high as #12 if things fall just right. Fall being the operative word.

Friday Live Blog – LSU @ Florida; Michigan @ Oklahoma; Georgia @ Alabama

Friday, February 26

5:00 ET/2:00 PT – West Virginia, Penn State, Temple, West Chester, S. Connecticut (@ Philadelphia, PA) - SCORESish

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – LSU @ Florida - SCORES - SECN

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – George Washington, NC State, William & Mary @ Towson - SCORES - Stream
7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Rutgers @ North Carolina - SCORES

7:30 ET/4:30 PT – Maryland @ New Hampshire - SCORES 

7:30 ET/4:30 PT – UW-Oshkosh @ UW-Eau Claire

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Michigan @ Oklahoma - SCORES - TV: Various Fox Sports

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Missouri @ Auburn - SCORES - SECN

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Kentucky @ Arkansas - SECN

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Iowa State @ Illinois - SCORES 

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – SEMO @ Air Force - Stream

8:30 ET/5:30 PT – Georgia @ Alabama - SCORES - SECN

9:00 ET/6:00 PT – Boise State @ Utah State - SCORES - Stream

10:00 ET/7:00 PT – San Jose State, Alaska @ Seattle Pacific - SCORES - Stream

Week 7 rankings

The big day! Eight of the top ten teams are in action, most of them against each other. We're late enough in the regular season now for this to feel like the first postseason preview, where we'll get a borderline realistic sense of how these matchups might go come April. Of course, with a number of big SEC duels and many of the top teams competing at home, we're going to have to conduct a 10.0 pool. Pick five people competing today whom you think will get a 10 from at least one judge, and the winner gets the grand prize of self-righteously rolling your eyes to the next galaxy while going, "I can't even..."

The Weekend Plans – February 26-29

Before we get into the schedule and weekend preview, a few notes on the development of the week, Jess's fantabulous interview with McKayla Maroney and a metric ton of pillows in which Maroney announced her don't-call-it-a-retirement, which she will be expressing by retiring. In case you've been living under a rock on Pluto, here it is.



Obviously, I'm obsessed with it. The biggest news here is her discussion of AOGC and Artur and Galina, and I love that she had the giant steel ovaries to say exactly what was wrong about their treatment of her and exactly what is wrong about the treatment of the livestock athletes through the camps and tours. Not being allowed to smile or look at people? Horrible. All the athletes feeling afraid to eat at the ranch? Horrible. Not having her injuries taken seriously? Horrible. We have a tendency to gloss over terrible treatment of gymnasts with a "the kind of stuff that happened in the 80s and 90s" nonchalance, but clearly it's still happening. Your move, USAG.

But also, getting in trouble for doing Yurchenko double backs at the ranch? Awesome.

Top 25 schedule

Friday, February 26

4:00 ET/1:00 PT – [23] West Virginia, Penn State, Temple, West Chester, S. Connecticut (@ Philadelphia, PA)

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – [7] LSU @ [2] Florida

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – [20] George Washington, NC State, William & Mary @ Towson

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – [4] Michigan @ [1] Oklahoma

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – [16] Missouri @ [8] Auburn

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – [22] Kentucky @ [9] Arkansas

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Iowa State @ [24] Illinois

8:30 ET/5:30 PT – [10] Georgia @ [3] Alabama

9:00 ET/6:00 PT – [11] Boise State @ Utah State

Saturday, February 27

4:00 ET/1:00 PT – [5] Utah @ [14] Cal

4:00 ET/1:00 PT – Arizona State @ [6] UCLA

4:00 ET/1:00 PT – [21] Eastern Michigan, Pittsburgh @ Ohio State

5:00 ET/2:00 PT – Winona State, Gustavus Adolphus, Hamline @ [19] Minnesota

6:00 ET/3:00 PT – Washington @ [25] Arizona

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Sacramento State, Bridgeport, Northern Illinois @ [14] Nebraska

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – [18] Iowa, SEMO, Illinois-Chicago @ [13] Denver 

Sunday, February 28

1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Maryland, Towson @ [20] George Washington

3:00 ET/12:00 PT – [24] Illinois @ Lindenwood 

Monday, February 29

10:00 ET/7:00 PT – [12] Stanford @ [17] Oregon State

Live blogging

Friday is one of the biggest days of the regular season, perhaps the biggest, featuring three significant top-10 match-ups, so I'll be all over it. Then, on Saturday, we have some simultaneous Pac-12 action. (Planning...) Utah/Cal is on the main Pac-12 Network and UCLA/ASU is just on the regional LA version of the network. I'll be watching both simultaneously and commenting back and forth as usual, but let me know in the comments if you guys have a preference as to which one I focus on with the live blogging. 

Rankings
Expect things at the very top to remain steady this week with many of the top teams competing at home and unable to drop their nasty road scores. Oklahoma at #1, Florida at #2, and Alabama at #3 are all guaranteed to retain those positions after this weekend. Beyond that, things get a little interesting with the next four teams, Michigan, Utah, UCLA, and LSU, who are capable of ending the weekend in really any order. With those 196.9s, Michigan has been safe at the top since the season began, but now the Wolverines are a little vulnerable to all other teams that are matching their couple mid-197s and high 196s. Pay particular attention to LSU in 7th. With a 195.825 road score to drop on this visit to Florida, the Tigers look very likely to zoom way up.

While those four may change order, the current top 7 are guaranteed to remain the top 7 for another week. Georgia has a road 195.350 to drop and can close the gap significantly, and do so even with another 4/6 beam rotation, but getting this Georgia team ranked where it should be is going to be a multi-week process. Still, with even just a 196.100, Georgia would be guaranteed to jump ahead of Arkansas for 9th.

Stanford doesn't compete until Monday night, so it's quite possible in the new rankings that we could see the Cardinal dropped by the likes of Denver, Nebraska, and Cal, making Monday's meet for Stanford all the more important to avoid a yucky ranking. There's no more margin for error. One more bad meet, and Stanford is counting a 195 for RQS. The score on Monday is similarly critical for Oregon State, the #17 team that could theoretically move as high as #12 and pass Stanford if everything falls just right.

Saturday Live Blog – Oklahoma @ Georgia; Utah @ Stanford

Saturday, February 20

4:00 ET/1:00 PT – Oklahoma @ Georgia - SCORES - SECN

4:00 ET/1:00 PT – Alabama, Denver, Cornell @ Penn State - SCORES - Stream(free)

5:00 ET/2:00 PT – Utah @ Stanford - SCORES - Pac-12

5:00 ET/2:00 PT – Cal @ Oregon State - SCORES - Pac-12 Oregon

5:00 ET/2:00 PT – Towson @ Iowa - SCORES - Stream($)

6:00 ET/3:00 PT – Pennsylvania, Temple, Ursinus @ Rutgers - SCORES 

10:15 ET/7:15 PT – Winter Cuppity Cup Cup Cup – SCORES/STREAM

Joyful times to be had by all! Until we get to Georgia on beam. Then...we'll see. The main focus of the day will be everything, but mostly Oklahoma and Georgia because I'm fascinated to see those two up against each other. I don't think it's going to be the cakewalk for Oklahoma it might seem based on most previous scores, so that's obviously the kiss of death. Enjoy reading that sentence after Oklahoma wins by three points.

First eye goes on that meet. Second eye on Utah and Stanford because that's now an urgent scoring assignment for Stanford. Remaining eyes on Iowa's scores and the "who's fourth-best in this conference" showdown between OSU and Cal. Oh, and Alabama! Too much!

Also, why you should be a fan of Kaytianna McMillan.

"That was a good sentence. We have like maybe two."

And then tonight, the elite boys get their Winter Cup on, which is always a treat. It's like gymnastics, but where everyone falls on everything. It's really fun. You'll like it a lot.

Friday Live Blog – Alabama @ Auburn; Oklahoma, Florida, Arkansas, AND SO MUCH MORE

Friday, February 12

6:00 ET/3:00 PT – Southern Connecticut @ Bridgeport
6:30 ET/3:30 PT – Air Force @ Cortland State - Stream

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Arkansas @ Florida - SCORES - SECN

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Missouri @ Kentucky - SCORES - SECN

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – NC State, William & Mary @ North Carolina - SCORES
7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Pittsburgh, Ursinus, Penn @ Towson- SCORES - Stream

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – UW-Eau Claire @ UW-Stout - SCORES - Stream

7:30 ET/4:30 PT – Gustavus Adolphus @ UW-La Crosse - Stream

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Perfect 10 Challenge (Oklahoma, Denver, George Washington, Utah State) - SCORES - TV: Fox Sports Whatever

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Winona State @ Illinois State
8:00 ET/5:30 PT – IGI Chicago Style (Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, Temple, Alaska) - FLOG

8:30 ET/5:30 PT – Alabama @ Auburn - SCORES - SECN

9:00 ET/6:00 PT – BYU, Sacramento State @ Southern Utah - SCORES - Stream

9:00 ET/6:00 PT – Minnesota @ Nebraska - SCORES

10:00 ET/7:00 PT – Boise State @ San Jose State - SCORES - Stream
10:00 ET/7:00 PT – UC Davis @ Seattle Pacific - SCORES - Stream  

 Week 5 rankings

 

Florida returns home. Place your bets for the number of 10s now.

The Weekend Plans – February 12-15

Saturday night meets? What, do they think we all have no lives? Oh wait, that is correct.

Top 25 schedule

Friday, February 12

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – [9] Arkansas @ [2] Florida

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – [15] Missouri @ [25] Kentucky

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Perfect 10 Challenge - [1] Oklahoma, [12] Denver, [17] George Washington, Utah State

8:30 ET/5:30 PT – [4] Alabama @ [8] Auburn

9:00 ET/6:00 PT – BYU, Sacramento State @ [21] Southern Utah

9:00 ET/6:00 PT – [18] Minnesota @ [14] Nebraska

10:00 ET/7:00 PT – [10] Boise State @ San Jose State

Saturday, February 13

4:00 ET/1:00 PT – [5] LSU @ [11] Georgia

4:00 ET/1:00 PT – Penn State @ [23] Ohio State

5:00 ET/2:00 PT – Iowa @ [20] Illinois

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Southern Connecticut @ [22] New Hampshire

9:00 ET/6:00 PT – Washington @ [6] Utah

9:00 ET/6:00 PT – [13] Stanford @ Arizona

11:00 ET/8:00 PT – [16] Oregon State @ [7] UCLA

Sunday, February 14

1:00 ET/10:00 PT – [25] Kentucky, Lindenwood, Kent State @ Ball State

2:00 ET/11:00 PT – Michigan State @ [3] Michigan

4:00 ET/1:00 PT – [24] West Virginia @ [4] Alabama

Monday, February 15

9:00 ET/6:00 PT – [19] Cal @ Arizona State

Live blogging
Friday as usual, probably with special attention to the Perfect 10 Challenge since I've seen so much of the SEC this year and less of Denver and GW. Saturday is also sort of making Friday look like an idiot this week, so I'll be all over that with LSU/Georgia and then again later for the glut of Pac-12 action. It'll get crazy. Sit back and let the insanity wash over you like a fine breeze or the knowledge of your own insignificance.

Friday
-The most competitive meets on Friday will probably end up being Missouri/Kentucky and Minnesota/Nebraska. The higher-ranked team will be favored in both, but upset potential exists. I'm particularly curious to see how Missouri fares away from home after that unexpectedly huge score last weekend. The next away meet is always the best test of how realistic home scores are.

-Among the big girls, Alabama against Auburn is the showcase on Friday. Apparently, this is kind of a rivalry or something, but in spite of meeting three times last season and this already being the second meeting of 2016, Auburn is still yet to record a victory against Alabama since turning good. At home and coming off a season-high, this is the best chance they'll have. That said, Alabama should win the meet and is the better team on every event, but that doesn't mean it will be a blowout. The Tide has displayed inconsistency this season, and while there haven't been any implosions since the loss to Arkansas, counting medium mistakes or weak landings has become commonplace, including on two of the four events in the last meet. Relying on those mistakes will be Auburn's hope.

Alabama has two meets this weekend, so I wouldn't necessarily expect to get any answers about postseason lineups quite yet. Dana has been jumbling people all over the place and will likely do the same this time in order to keep everyone relatively rested and avoid over-pressing the fragile ones. I would bet on more depth exploration for the time being.

We should also be on Beers Watch 2016, not just because it's important to start drinking during beam but because even though Lauren Beers has competed a remarkable amount for someone who spent the preseason in several pieces in a shoebox, she has been very up-and-down, occasionally starting to look like herself and then immediately falling a bunch of times. How much will they push her in a double-meet weekend, and will we see GoodBeers or DarthBeers?

Friday Live Blog – [5] Alabama @ [1] Florida; Auburn, Arkansas, Georgia's Crazy Beam

Friday, January 29

6:00 ET/3:00 PT – Temple, Ursinus, Centenary @ West Chester

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Alabama @ Florida - SCORES - SECN

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Michigan @ Nebraska - SCORES - BTN2Go($)

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Georgia @ Kentucky - SCORES - SECN

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Illinois @ Penn State - SCORES - Stream(free)

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Hamline @ UW-Eau Claire

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Gustavus Adolphus @ UW-Stout - SCORES - Stream

7:30 ET/4:30 PT – NC State, Lindenwood @ Iowa State - SCORES

7:30 ET/4:30 PT – UW-Whitewater @ SEMO - SCORES

7:30 ET/4:30 PT – Winona State @ UW-La Crosse

8:30 ET/5:30 PT – Auburn @ Arkansas- SCORES - SECN

9:00 ET/6:00 PT – BYU @ Boise State

9:00 ET/6:00 PT – Southern Utah @ Utah State - SCORES - Stream

10:00 ET/7:00 PT – Texas Woman’s, William & Mary, Seattle Pacific @ San Jose State - SCORES

10:00 ET/7:00 PT – UC Davis @ Sacramento State

 Week 3 rankings

Alabama and Florida. We're not goin' for no city championships.

The Weekend Plans – January 29-February 1

The top 25 schedule looks like a rather paltry affair this week, but that's mostly because it's heavily incestuous with most of the top teams competing against each other. So, what we lose in quantity we should make up for in quality with a few legitimate marquee 50/50 meets. It's worth getting excited about.

Top 25 schedule

Friday, January 29

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – [5] Alabama @ [1] Florida

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – [3] Michigan @ [17] Nebraska

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – [13] Georgia @ [23] Kentucky

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – [19] Illinois @ Penn State

8:30 ET/5:30 PT – [9] Auburn @ [8] Arkansas

9:00 ET/6:00 PT – BYU @ [10] Boise State

9:00 ET/6:00 PT – [24] Southern Utah @ Utah State

Saturday, January 30

1:00 ET/10:00 PT – [11] George Washington @ North Carolina

4:00 ET/1:00 PT – [18] Minnesota @ Ohio State

4:00 ET/1:00 PT – [14] Denver @ Bowling Green

4:00 ET/1:00 PT – Northern Illinois @ [24] Eastern Michigan

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Arizona State @ [15] Oregon State

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Metroplex Challenge ([2] Oklahoma, [6] LSU, [12] Stanford, [16] Missouri, Washington)

Monday, February 1

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – [20] Arizona @ [7] Utah

10:00 ET/7:00 PT – [4] UCLA @ [21] Cal

Live blogging
Friday will be the usual, with special focus on Alabama/Florida since that's kind of a massive meet. It doesn't look like there will be live streaming of the Michigan/Nebraska meet, which is a shame, so we'll just have to keep ourselves warm with SEC action and the cozy glow of Kathy Johnson's sigh of dismay. I'll then be back on Saturday to get sloppy with Metroplex, which should be the amazing, competitive, crack-smokingly-scored meet we've come to know and love.

Friday
-We've got some serious showdowns headlining Friday in which the results are actually up in the air (!), so let's get into it. Alabama and Florida is always a worthwhile experience, but with both teams at a point in the season where they're still showing flashes of brilliance mixed with flashes of vulnerability, the outcome will probably be determined by which team can minimize those pesky January errors we've been seeing rather than which team is the most brilliantly, spectacularly amazing.

If both teams do end up hitting to their capabilities, give to edge to Florida for having shown higher scoring potential so far this year and (primarily) for being at home. Still, these teams are both at a level when even counting a 9.700 would change the outcome, let alone counting a fall, so there's no margin for the Gators.
 

Florida's clear advantage event is bars. The Gators devlier a much stronger lineup with several more 9.900-9.950s, while Alabama is more a 9.850 team because of scoring vulnerabilities like those double fronts. It's unlikely that Alabama can keep pace with hit Sloan/Caquatto routines, so Florida will need and expect a lead at the halfway point. That's especially especially true because I also give Florida the edge on vault, with bigger 1.5s (though Alabama should have more 1.5s—Beers, Brannan, Guerrero vs. Baker, Boren—which could mitigate that) and two of the best fulls in NCAA in Sloan and McMurtry, fulls that Alabama cannot match with its own. That advantage, however, is so dependent on the landings, and Florida is definitely not on stick patrol yet and giving up quite a bit there right now. If Alabama can land and minimize the two-event deficit to something around two tenths, we've got a real meet.

All eyes will be on Alabama's beam after the catastrophe last weekend to see if it becomes a Georgia or not. Theoretically, I do think Alabama's beam is stronger than Florida's 1-6 with more pristine form and potential 9.9s, but of course, hitting. Florida has been better at hitting beam than any other team so far this year. If Alabama is to take the meet, winning beam is absolutely essential, especially because Florida ends on floor at home, a scoring situation that may counteract any lineup advantage Alabama may have on the event.

While Florida boasts the two strongest floor routines from either team in Baker and Sloan (especially in the absence of Carley Sims), Alabama has many, many more options for realistic 9.850-9.875 routines than Florida does and can use those early spots in the lineup to gain a floor edge. Much as Florida needs comparatively stronger bars scores 4-6, Alabama needs comparatively stronger floor scores 1-3.

Week 3 Rankings + Notes

It sure was a cap-popping blizzard of a weekend.

The champion of the week was Ashleigh Gnat, who recorded the first vault 10 of the new vault era by sticking her DTY. Because that's what happens when you stick DTYs. You get 10s. Do I hear an Amanar? Sorry. I'll stop. OMG YOU GUYS, my aunt's cousin's best enemy's roommate totally saw Ashleigh Gnat training an Amanar. I SWEAR.



"Oh snap, she stuck it!" Oh Sac, never leave us ever. What if KJC said "Oh snap" when someone landed a vault? I'll let you go enjoy your made life.  

Week 3 rankings

1. Florida – 197.192
Week 3: 197.075
Week 3 leaders: AA - Sloan 39.575; VT - McMurtry 9.900; UB - Sloan 9.925; BB - McMurtry 9.900; FX - Baker 9.950

2. Oklahoma – 197.094
Week 3: 197.475
Week 3 leaders: AA - Capps, Kmieciak 39.500; VT - Scaman, Jackson, Capps 9.875; UB - Wofford, Kmieciak 9.925; BB - Brown 9.925; FX - Scaman 9.925

3. Michigan – 196.938
Week 3: 196.900
Week 3 leaders: AA - Karas 39.550; VT - Karas 9.950; UB - Artz 9.900; BB - Artz, Marinez 9.900; FX - Karas 9.900

4. UCLA – 196.758
Week 3: 196.800
Week 3 leaders: AA - Ohashi 39.375; VT - Hall 9.900; UB - Ohashi 9.925; BB - Francis, Meraz 9.850; FX - Bynum 9.925

5. Alabama – 196.688
Week 3: 196.400
Week 3 leaders: AA - Beers 38.950; VT - Guerrero 9.900; UB - Winston 9.900; BB - A Sims 9.950; FX - Jetter 9.925

6. LSU – 196.450
Week 3: 196.575
Week 3 leaders: AA - Hambrick 39.325; VT - Gnat 10.000; UB - Priessman 9.925; BB - Finnegan 9.900; FX - Gnat 9.950

7. Utah – 196.342
Week 3: 196.125
Week 3 leaders: AA - Lee 39.100; VT - Hughes 9.900; UB - Rowe 9.950; BB - Stover 9.925; FX - Schwab 9.925

8. Arkansas – 196.113
Week 3: 196.700
Week 3 leaders: AA - Wellick 38.950; VT - Wellick 9.900; UB - Zaziski, Freier, Glover 9.775; BB - Wellick 9.900; FX - Canizaro, McGlone, Nelson 9.900

9. Auburn – 196.106
Week 3: 195.900
Week 3 leaders: AA - Atkinson 39.275; VT - Atkinson 9.825; UB - Atkinson 9.875; BB - Krippner, Hlawek 9.775; FX - Demers 9.925

10. Boise State – 196.063
Week 3: 196.425
Week 3 leaders: AA - Remme 39.250; VT - Stockwell 9.925; UB - Stockwell 9.875; BB - Means, Remme 9.800; FX - Collantes 9.925

11. George Washington – 195.800
Week 3: Cancelled

12. Stanford – 195.783
Week 3: 196.675
Week 3 leaders: AA - Price 39.500; VT - Price 9.925; UB - Price 9.925; BB - Hong 9.925; FX - Price 9.875

13. Georgia – 195.769
Week 3: 195.350
Week 3 leaders: AA - Jay 39.475; VT - Jay, Rogers, Snead 9.875; UB - Vaculik 9.875; BB - Box 9.875; FX - Jay, Box 9.900

14. Denver – 195.642
Week 3: 195.650
Week 3 leaders: AA - McGee 39.500; VT - McGee 9.900; UB - McGee 9.875; BB - Ross 9.800; FX - McGee 9.975

15. Oregon State – 195.633
Week 3: 195.125
Week 3 leaders: AA - Gardiner 39.150; VT - Gardiner 9.850; UB - Singley 9.875; BB - McMillan 9.850; FX - Gardiner 9.875

16. Missouri – 195.600
Week 3: 195.800
Week 3 leaders: AA - None; VT - Ward 9.875; UB - Kelly 9.850; BB - Ward 9.900; FX - Harris 9.925

17. Nebraska – 195.342
Week 3: 195.825
Week 3 leaders: AA - Blanske 39.500; VT - Schweihofer 9.900; UB - Williams 9.875; BB - Williams 9.900; FX - Blanske 9.950

18. Minnesota – 195.267
Week 3: 195.675
Week 3 leaders: AA - Gardner 39.100; VT - Haines 9.825; UB - Holst 9.850; BB - Nordquist 9.950; FX - Mable 9.900

19. Illinois – 195.242
Week 3: 195.150
Week 3 leaders: AA - Horth 39.275; VT - O'Connor 9.850; UB - Horth 9.900; BB - Kato 9.875; FX - O'Connor 9.925

20. Arizona – 195.217
Week 3: 196.475
Week 3 leaders: AA - None; VT - Cindric 9.825; UB - Laub 9.875; BB - Cindric 9.875; FX - Sisler Scheider 9.900

21. Cal – 195.150
Week 3: 195.650
Week 3 leaders: AA - Williams 38.800; VT - Williams 9.875; UB - Williams 9.850; BB - Owens 9.850; FX - Williams 9.925

22. West Virginia – 195.083
Week 3: 195.800
Week 3 leaders: AA - Muhammad 39.325; VT - Koshinski 9.900; UB - Goldberg 9.875; BB - Galpin 9.875; FX - Muhammad 9.950

23. Kentucky – 195.033
Week 3: 195.100
Week 3 leaders: AA - Dukes 39.200; VT - Dukes, Stuart 9.800; UB - Stuart 9.800; BB - Dukes 9.900; FX - Stuart, Roemmele 9.775

24. Eastern Michigan – 194.992
Week 3: 195.050
Week 3 leaders: AA - Valentin 39.025; VT - Slocum 9.900; UB - Conrad 9.800; BB - Rubin 9.875; FX - Slocum 9.850

24. Southern Utah – 194.992
Week 3: 195.275
Week 3 leaders: AA - Ramirez 38.725; VT - Webb 9.850; UB - Shettles 9.850; BB - Trejo, Webb 9.875; FX - Webb 9.825


-Florida retains the #1 ranking after a fine-not-great showing at Auburn, a score brought down by some discomfort/Bridget Sloan improvisation on beam that had not been a factor in earlier performances, along with the continued half-a-floor-lineup situation. Oklahoma gained ground in the rankings after putting up a much more Oklahoma-January type performance, still having to endure one beam fall but without the total number of mistakes that kept the first couple meets in more pedestrian territory.

-The emergence of Natalie Von Lovelyton has been a pleasant develop in the reconstruction of Oklahoma's lineups this season, with her pretty, twisty routines characteristic of the early-KJ Oklahoma era. Brown has a front 2/1 on floor, an E pass but not a double salto E pass, though I've noticed that overall the Sooners are going much simpler than their capability on floor, aside from Scaman. Jackson, Jones, and Capps sometimes are all more than capable of big double-salto E passes, but they haven't been bringing the big. At least not yet. That's even more true for UCLA's lineup, which is a march of the double pikes until Bynum in the anchor spot. It will be interesting to watch when or if the in-your-face difficulty is reintroduced to some of these routines, or if these coaches just decide to say, "Hey, this is what we can do cleanly, and we don't need to do more. Over the last two or three years, clean, amplitudinous double pike routines have received 9.950s and even 10.000s in anchor spots, so.....deal with it."

Friday Live Blog – Every Team Ever

Friday, January 22

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Arkansas @ Alabama - SCORES - SECN

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – SEMO @ Centenary - SCORES

7:30 ET/4:30 PT – UW-La Crosse @ Hamline

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Iowa State, Arizona State @ Oklahoma - SCORES - TV: Various Fox Sports outlets

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Georgia @ Missouri - SCORES - SECN+

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Michigan @ Illinois - SCORES - BTN2Go

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Central Michigan @ Northern Illinois - Stream($)

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Lindenwood, Ball State @ Illinois State - Stream($)

8:30 ET/5:30 PT – Florida @ Auburn - SCORES - SECN

8:30 ET/5:30 PT – Kentucky @ LSU - SCORES - SECN+

9:00 ET/6:00 PT – Utah State @ Southern Utah - SCORES

9:00 ET/6:00 PT – Boise State, UC Davis @ BYU - Stream

10:00 ET/7:00 PT – Sacramento State @ Seattle Pacific - SCORES? - Stream

Week 2 ranking

With all the SEC meets and an Oklahoma home meet that's actually televised for human people to watch, we'll have quite a bit to get through today. There will be a period when I'm trying to watch Georgia/Missouri, ISU/ASU/Oklahoma, Auburn/Florida, and Kentucky/LSU, and blog about it all at the same time. It's going to be freaky and monstrous. Get ready. I'm going for the land-speed record for mistyping tkatchev in a single blog post.

The Weekend Plans – January 22-24

Apparently, the east coast broke, so some of these teams will not be competing this weekend because they're being preserved in ice for future archaeologists to find. George Washington is out of Saturday's meet, but as of now, the meet is still expected to go ahead. Penn State was supposed to travel to Maryland, but that meet has been postponed because of "as if."

Top 25 schedule + other notables

Friday, January 22

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – [10] Arkansas @ [4] Alabama

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Iowa State, Arizona State @ [2] Oklahoma

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – [9] Georgia @ [14] Missouri

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – [3] Michigan @ [17] Illinois

8:30 ET/5:30 PT – [1] Florida @ [8] Auburn

8:30 ET/5:30 PT – [20] Kentucky @ [7] LSU

9:00 ET/6:00 PT – Utah State @ [23] Southern Utah

9:00 ET/6:00 PT – [13] Boise State, UC Davis @ BYU

Saturday, January 23

3:00 ET/12:00 PT – [5] UCLA @ Arizona

5:00 ET/2:00 PT – [11] Oregon State @ [6] Utah

6:00 ET/3:00 PT – *[12] George Washington, [15] New Hampshire, Temple @ Pittsburgh

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Rutgers @ [18] Nebraska

7:30 ET/4:30 PT – Michigan State @ [19] Minnesota

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Washington @ [16] Denver

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – [25] Ohio State @ Iowa

Sunday, January 24

1:00 ET/10:00 PT – [21] Eastern Michigan, Illinois State @ Ball State

5:00 ET/2:00 PT – [22] Cal, San Jose State @ [24] Stanford

Live blogging
I'll be here live blogging all the Friday slop as usual—get all your devices and alternate monitors and time machines ready because there will be periods when you want to watch three meets at the same time—as well as UCLA/Arizona on Saturday (but not Oregon State/Utah, just a heads up).  

Friday
-Most of the top teams are getting their meets out of the way on Friday, with only the major Pac-12 sides holding out until the weekend. Though the result is in doubt for very few of these meets, many of these teams are coming off nasties of varying severity in their most recent showings, so there are a couple key rotations to watch. Yeah, I'm talking about Georgia's beam. The SEC Network should definitely cut in to Florida/Auburn when Georgia is going on beam with a breaking news update because we all need to see that thing.

-The premier meet of the week is Florida's visit to Auburn because it features the highest-ranked underdog and because I haven't seen a full Auburn meet yet this season. My needs make things important. Florida is the heavy favorite in this one, with a fuller contingent of both starring 9.9s and supporting 9.8s that would have to thrown up a relative splatfest for Auburn to come out on top. The Gators turned in the strongest and most complete performance in the country so far this season in their last meet, though the scoring was crazy-pie, so part of the interest in this meet will be how similarly hit routines are scored away from home. It should be a better indicator of where Florida is at this point in the season.

Perhaps surprisingly, or not, the floor rotation is the biggest question for Florida so far this year, once again last weekend featuring three great routines and three weak routines. Bridgey will chug along and get into form eventually, but that is a lineup that looks a step behind where it could be given the quality of Baker, Sloan, and Boren. Right now, they're just missing that DLO from Wang or piked full-in from Spicer, or even the 9.850 that Boyce could bring in the first spot to make this a complete and dominant lineup 1-6. For a championship side, everyone in the floor lineup should be a possible 9.900. We've seen Florida, Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma, etc. do that recently, but that's not the case for Florida right now. That wouldn't be a real problem until Super Six, because this floor lineup is still great, but it's something to keep in mind.

For Auburn, the first couple meets have been fine but not ideal. At this point, the team is still expecting to count some 9.7s and will need more time to develop routines from Krippner and Engler into 9.825-9.850 early-lineup options, rendering a 9.750 a drop-score rather than a phew-score. It will take more than a single January to get to that place, but those are the freshmen I'm watching with the biggest vulture-eyes in this meet. It has been encouraging to see Abby Milliet develop into a true and viable second-in-command to Atkinson on bars and beam (she even did floor last week). The question about Auburn this season is whether this will be a complete contending team or just the Caitlin Atkinson show, especially on bars and beam in the absence of Megan Walker. Milliet has already stepped up the quality from last year to fill that role.

Friday Live Blog: [5] UCLA @ [3] Florida; Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas

Friday, January 15

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – UCLA @ Florida - SCORES - SECN

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Missouri @ Alabama - SCORES - SECN

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Oregon State, Bridgeport, Illinois State, Wisconsin-Eau Claire @ Lindenwood - SCORES - FLO PRO

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – BYU @ Central Michigan - SCORES - ESPN3

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Iowa @ Michigan State - SCORES - Stream($)

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Temple @ William & Mary

7:30 ET/4:30 PT – UW-Whitewater, UW-Stout, Gustavus Adolphus @ Winona State - SCORES - Stream

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Cal, Texas Woman’s @ Oklahoma - SCORES

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Kentucky @ Auburn - SCORES - SECN

8:30 ET/5:30 PT – Georgia @ Arkansas - SCORES - SECN

9:00 ET/6:00 PT – Utah @ Southern Utah - SCORES - FLO PRO
9:00 ET/6:00 PT – Kent State @ Utah State - SCORES

10:00 ET/7:00 PT – Sacramento State @ San Jose State - SCORES - Stream
10:00 ET/7:00 PT – Boise State, Seattle Pacific @ UC Davis - SCORES

Week 1 ranking


Here we go, yet again. Some big meets will get underway right at 7:00/4:00, so remember to be a Punctual Percy otherwise you're going to miss things. Important things like Bridget Sloan's vault or covering your eyes while UCLA is on bars.

Sunday Live Blog: [3] Alabama @ [6] UCLA

Sunday, January 10 

1:00 ET/10:00 PT – William & Mary @ North Carolina
1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Temple @ Kent State

2:00 ET/11:00 PT – Maryland, Eastern Michigan, Towson @ Pittsburgh
2:00 ET/11:00 PT – UW-Whitewater @ Hamline

4:00 ET/1:00 PT – Missouri @ Lindenwood - SCORES - FLO PRO($)

5:00 ET/2:00 PT – Alabama @ UCLA - SCORES - TV: Pac-12 Net

5:00 ET/2:00 PT – Nor Cal Classic (Stanford, Cal, UC Davis. Sacramento State @ San Jose State) - SCORES - FLO PRO($)

5:00 ET/2:00 PT – Auburn @ Oregon State - SCORES - TV: Pac-12 Net (Oregon)

Third live blog of the weekend! I know. 

After I abandoned you in the cold yesterday, two things happened. One was George Washington breaking 196. The....Fightin' Wooden Teeth (?) are currently tied for 5th in the country. So that's a thing.

Also, Nina McGee.


She happened.

The Weekend Plans – January 8-10

It's here! Wait, how do we do this again?

Top 25 Schedule

Friday, January 8

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Ball State @ [21] Kentucky

7:00 ET/4:00 PT – [25] Central Michigan, UW-Whitewater, Winona State @ UW-Eau Claire

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – [2] Florida @ Texas Woman’s

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – BYU @ [4] Utah

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Michigan State @ [18] Arizona

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – [15] Illinois @ [23] Missouri

9:00 ET/6:00 PT – [11]Nebraska, Bowling Green @ Arizona State

Saturday, January 9

4:00 ET/1:00 PT – [9] Georgia @ [7] Michigan

4:00 ET/1:00 PT – NC State @ [17] Penn State

5:00 ET/2:00 PT – [1] Oklahoma @ [5] LSU

7:30 ET/4:30 PT – Iowa State @ [20] Minnesota

8:00 ET/5:00 PT – [24] Southern Utah, West Virginia @ [16] Denver

9:00 ET/6:00 PT – [22] Ohio State @ Washington

Sunday, January 10

4:00 ET/1:00 PT – [23] Missouri @ Lindenwood
5:00 ET/2:00 PT – [3] Alabama @ [6] UCLA

5:00 ET/2:00 PT – Nor Cal Classic ([8] Stanford, [14] Cal, UC Davis. Sacramento State @ San Jose State)

5:00 ET/2:00 PT – [10] Auburn @ [12] Oregon State

As always, the full schedule is available at the link at the top. Note that Arkansas and Boise State will not be competing this weekend. 

FRIDAY

-Let the live blogging begin! I'll be here from the start, though there aren't any really enticing matchups on Friday (you're not even trying...), so I'll probably bop around from meet to meet, missing everything important. I do want to make sure to watch a fair chunk of Nebraska since we rarely get to see Nebraska during the season. Florida against TWU will be broadcast on Aunt Flogymnastics, so those of you watching it are required to provide updates of honesty in the comments. You have your mission.

-For Florida, this will be a very comfortable win, but as I mentioned in the preview, I'm looking forward to seeing the lineup strategy. I'll also be interested to find out where Peyton Ernst is at this point, how Alicia Boren does in her debut given how important she is to the team this year, and how many 10s Bridget Sloan gets. Over/under?

-There's a little less mystery about Utah because we saw them at the RRP and they diligently release their lineups a million days in advance. This too will be an easy-peasy meet, but we've got a lot of event debuts (Lee and Schwab on bars, Merrell and Partyka on beam and floor), which is always reason for a keen eye. Bars and floor are the most depleted since last season, so watch for stuck-at-9.825-itis, though that may be expected to some degree this early in the season. But, is there potential to go much higher?

-Speaking of depleted, Nebraska has a bunch of empty spots in these lineups, and depth will be a major storyline this season. I'm hoping to see as many different freshmen as possible competing to give the team more options than I currently think there are. Let's not make this not a six-AAers kind of season since that is the most nerve-wracking thing in the world. Someone find the bubble wrap. I'm also interested to see how Arizona State fills out these lineups, as in, can they? There are almost four people on the roster this season, but might it be a little less depressing than last year? A little?

 SATURDAY

 -Now that's more like it. We've got two fairly huge meets on Saturday, which overlap because, once again, pull it together everyone. 

-Georgia travels to Michigan to open the season, and this will be the first meet of the year that actually has an uncertain outcome. Michigan does enter as the favorite, however, competing at home and coming off an impressive first meet for a team that was in so many pieces so recently, but it's not open and shut. As we know, the Wolverines are still not a deep team and will need the exact competitors they showed in Cancun to be competitive with the best teams in the country this year. But now, after the Cancun success, it's 197 or bust. Anything less is a regression.