At the end of week 2, Florida has taken their place at the top of the rankings with a home win against UCLA. LSU started the week in Las Vegas at the Lady Luck Invitational against North Carolina State with a win. However, it wasn’t without problems.
LSU scored an uncharacteristic 195.825, having to count falls from Ashleigh Gnat and Myia Hambrick on beam with 9.4 and 9.3 respectively. Sophomore Erin Macadaeg stole the show with her collegiate floor debut, scoring a 9.9, the highest floor score of the meet. Macadaeg also provided much needed consistency on beam, putting up a 9.875 for the Tigers. Freshman Sarah Finnegan put up solid scores on bars and beam with a 9.95 and a 9.85 respectively.
Michigan has stayed consistent, with their 196.950 in a home meet against Ohio State and is now in third in the rankings behind Oklahoma. Michigan has incorporated 3 10.00 value Yurchenko one and a halfs from Briley Casanova, Talia Chiarelli and Olivia Karas. Karas beat her teammate, Nicole Artz for the all-around with a 39.425 to Artz’s 39.375. Ohio State’s Taylor Harrison posted her team’s top score on the beam with a 9.9. Doing a series of back handspring to two layout step outs.
Florida usurped Michigan with a home meet against UCLA, scoring 197.675 to UCLA’s 196.925. Freshman Alicia Boren posted 9.9’s on vault with a Yurchenko one and a half and on floor, opening with a tucked full twisting double back opening pass. Sophomore Alex McMurtry had 9.9 and above on all three events she competed. The Gators had huge numbers on all their events. UCLA put up a good fight, but they weren’t able to compete with Florida’s home scoring advantage. However, the Bruins topped the Gators on floor with a 49.375. Angie Cipra and Sadiqua Bynum put up 9.9’s and the Bruins dropped a 9.8 from Napualani Hall. No tens this week, but Bridget Sloan had a 9.975 on bars. Sloan and Boren are currently tied for first in the rankings with an average of 39.575. Sophomore Kennedy Baker continues to be a key figure in Florida’s line ups, showing a Yurchenko one and a half on vault and opening her floor routine with her huge pike double Arabian.
Utah notched another mark for their first away win of the season against Southern Utah University with a 196.725. Georgia redeemed themselves from last week’s loss against Michigan with a 196.775 away win against Arkansas. Stanford turned around and beat the Gym-Dogs on their home turf on Monday, winning by .125. Sophomore Elizabeth “Ebee” Price won the all-around for the second week in a row with a 39.425. Stanford simply did what they were supposed to do, staying consistent and improving on the week before. Senior Taylor Rice brought back her famous “make it rain” choreography on floor and beam and senior Ivana Hong was back to her usual self, putting up a 9.9 on beam with an Onodi to back handspring step out and back handspring step out to layout step out series. Georgia’s downfall came on the beam where the Gym-Dogs had to count three falls from Brittany Rogers, Mary Beth Box and Rachel Schick, only receiving a 47.600 beam score.
Georgia is a team to watch on the bars, specifically seniors Brittany Rogers and Brandie Jay, who both have huge skills in their repertoire. Rogers opens with a Stalder to Ricna combination and connects it to Pak salto to Van Leeuwen (of course Rogers is concurrently training for the Canadian Olympic team). Jay has a Shushunova release and dismounts with a full twisting double layout, a skill rarely seen in elite let alone NCAA.
Alabama finished out their weekend with two wins. The first win came at home against Missouri, with a 197.175. The second against Auburn at the Elevate the Stage Meet, with a 196.875. Alabama regrouped themselves after last week’s loss at UCLA, adjusting some of their line-ups, choosing not to put any one in the all-around during Friday’s home meet. Junior Amanda Jetter scored a 9.95 on floor with a double Arabian opening pass. For Missouri, Britney Ward provided huge scores for her team on vault and beam. Performing a half on pike front off on vault, earning a 9.925 and the meet vault title. Ward earned a 9.9 on beam for her solid performance.
In Tempe, Arizona, Arizona State suffered a 2.2-point loss in their home meet against Washington. ASU senior Taylor Allex posted 9.9’s on both vault and floor but suffered a fall on beam, leading Arizona to count a fall after Allex and fellow senior Allie Salas both fell. It was Washington senior Allison Northey who stole the show, winning the all-around with a 39.175, she showed consistency on every event, including solid scores of 9.850 and 9.8 on beam and floor respectively.
George Washington University is enjoying the second week in a row in the top 15, currently ranked number 12, behind Georgia and Oregon State after a 195.425 win at the Lindsay Ferris Invitational against North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Temple.
Going into the third week, we can expect to see more improvement and building line-ups and consistency from the teams, with nine more weeks to go in a 12 week season, it is a marathon not a sprint. This week, Arkansas will go to Alabama. Florida will no doubt expect to etch another win on their belt when they go to Auburn. Stanford will have a rematch with California at their home opener, along with San Jose State on Sunday, January 24th.
Week 3 complete schedule: Tuesday, January 19 7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Winona State @ Gustavus Adolphus Wednesday, January 20 4:00 ET/1:00 PT – Brockport State @ Ithaca College Friday, January 22 7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Arkansas @ Alabama 7:30 ET/4:30 PT – UW-La Crosse @ Hamline 7:45 ET/4:45 PT – Arizona State, Iowa State @ Oklahoma 8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Ball State, Lindenwood @ Illinois State 8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Central Michigan @ Northern Illinois 8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Georgia @ Missouri (Pink Out) 8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Michigan @ Illinois-Champaign 8:30 ET/5:30 PT – Florida @ Auburn 8:30 ET/5:30 PT – Kentucky @ LSU 9:00 ET/6:00 PT – Boise State, UC Davis @ BYU 9:00 ET/6:00 PT – Utah State @ Southern Utah 10:00 ET/7:00 PT – Sacramento State @ Seattle Pacific Saturday, January 23 1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Cornell @ Cortland State 1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Pennsylvania @ Yale 3:00 ET/12:00 PT – UCLA @ Arizona 5:00 ET/2:00 PT – Oregon State @ Utah 5:00 ET/2:00 PT – UW-Eau Claire, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Stout @ UW-Whitewater 6:00 ET/3:00 PT – Alaska @ Bowling Green 6:00 ET/3:00 PT – George Washington, New Hampshire, Temple @ Pittsburgh 7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Rutgers @ Nebraska 7:30 ET/4:30 PT – Michigan State @ Minnesota 8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Washington @ Denver 8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Ohio State @ Iowa Sunday, January 24 1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Eastern Michigan, Illinois State @ Ball State 1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Bridgeport, Rhode Island College @ Brown 1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Brockport State @ Springfield College 1:00 ET/10:00 PT – Ithaca College @ Ursinus College 2:00 ET/11:00 PT – North Carolina, Southern Conn., West Chester @ Towson 2:00 ET/11:00 PT – Western Michigan, William & Mary @ West Virginia 2:00 ET/11:00 PT – Air Force, Centenary College, S.E. Missouri @ Texas Woman’s 3:00 ET/12:00 PT – North Carolina State @ UIC 4:00 ET/1:00 PT – Penn State @ Maryland-College Park 10:00 ET/7:00 PT – California, San Jose State @ Stanford
Top 36 Rankings after week 2
Rank Team Name Conference Division Average 1 Florida SEC Div I 197.250 2 Oklahoma Big 12 Div I 196.967 3 Michigan Big Ten Div I 196.950 4 Alabama SEC Div I 196.783 5 UCLA PAC-12 Div I 196.738 6 Utah PAC-12 Div I 196.450 7 LSU SEC Div I 196.388 8 Auburn SEC Div I 196.175 9 Arkansas SEC Div I 195.917 10 Georgia SEC Div I 195.908 11 Oregon State PAC-12 Div I 195.888 12 George Washington EAGL Div I 195.800 13 Boise State MRGC Div I 195.700 14 Denver Big 12 Div I 195.638 15 Missouri SEC Div I 195.533 16 New Hampshire EAGL Div I 195.467 17 Stanford PAC-12 Div I 195.338 18 Illinois-Champaign Big Ten Div I 195.288 19 Nebraska Big Ten Div I 195.100 20 Minnesota Big Ten Div I 195.063 21 Kentucky SEC Div I 195.000 22 Eastern Michigan MAC Div I 194.963 23 California PAC-12 Div I 194.900 24 Southern Utah MRGC Div I 194.850 25 Ohio State Big Ten Div I 194.775 26 West Virginia Big 12 Div I 194.725 27 Western Michigan MAC Div I 194.650 28 Sacramento State MPSF Div I 194.613 29 Arizona PAC-12 Div I 194.588 30 Penn State Big Ten Div I 194.350 31 Kent State MAC Div I 194.325 32 Utah State MRGC Div I 194.238 33 Washington PAC-12 Div I 194.188 34 North Carolina State EAGL Div I 194.163 35(t) Bridgeport ECAC-2 Div II 194.150 35(t) Iowa Big Ten Div I 194.150
Results via roadtonationals.com
Article by: Maria Layton
Photo cover: Kennedy Baker via gainesville.com