2016 NCAA Gymnastics

[Erin]

LSU is one team that looks so classy & put together - not a messy head of hair in the bunch, lol.

Not that that's the most important thing but I would have said that more about Florida than LSU. There are a few LSUers whose hair drives me crazy (Jessica Savona and McKenna Kelley, I'm looking at you!)

I'm just watching it now after PVRing it so I can't comment on the gymnastics much yet.

 

[Lucy25]

Not that that's the most important thing but I would have said that more about Florida than LSU. There are a few LSUers whose hair drives me crazy (Jessica Savona and McKenna Kelley, I'm looking at you!)

I'm just watching it now after PVRing it so I can't comment on the gymnastics much yet.

The hair thing is kind of a joke w/me. Agree w/Savona & Kelly tonight. Last week they all had neat, smooth backed ponytails. Love those two teams regardless. They're probably my two favs.

 

[Erin]

Oklahoma's my fave, but I like LSU and Florida too. I was a little surprised by the result, I thought the judging was a bit generous for LSU who had a lot of small mistakes but maybe I am being fussy. Florida had more big mistakes, but I thought their routines that counted were cleaner than LSU. Great to see Alex McMurtry get the chance to compete on floor for the first time. I'm amazed she can compete with so little training.

 

[galaxygirl]

This is my first season following NCAA gymnastics because the SEC network is now free with my cable.

Maybe I am just not used to the scoring yet but I thought both LSU and Florida were over scored.

 

[poths]

This is my first season following NCAA gymnastics because the SEC network is now free with my cable.

Maybe I am just not used to the scoring yet but I thought both LSU and Florida were over scored.

Crazy over scores. I can't believe how good LSU are this year given that they lost such a strong senior group last year, but Hambrick and Gnat have stepped up so much and then Finnegan is super classy, Wyrick has improved a ton and Macadeg/Savona/Zamardi are all capable of 9'9's elsewhere. Great team, this is the first time I genuinely believe they have a shot.

Florida are so limited. As we saw last night, their fate is dependent on Sloan's performances. They had two falls and a botched floor last night, whilst neither fall counted - they didn't deserve the win given that stat, IMHO. Nice to so Caquatto back to full strength (although I hate that she anchors floor with her Amish-Girl dance moves) & great to see McMurtry on floor, she'd be superb if she could practice - and compete more regularly. The Gators are seriously looking at using 4 All arounders with Caquatto the 5th scorer on 3, Fassbender, Bianca and Peyton also contributing. That's thin on the ground and their athletes will be tired. I think that lack of depth will find them out this year.

I really like UCLA this year, particularly on floor. I'm hoping Ohashi gets back and that we see them in Super 6.

Alabama, Oklahoma (not a fan, blah...) and Stanford would be my other choices but realistically, Stanford need a miracle as their floor and Vault is useless (minus Ebee). Utah/Michigan/Georgia are all more likely prospects of super six.

 

[Lucy25]

I'm glad you thought the scores were generous, too. As much as I like LSU, they had little mistakes, especially on beam, but their scores still had them tied & then winning. Bridget Sloan has got to be so frustrated by her beam mistakes. Caquatto has improved so much this year! McMurtry scares me. I didn't see it yesterday, but every other meet they've shown on tv showed her with a huge ice pack belted to her back inbetween rotations. I love watching Gnat! What a powerhouse and just so darned cute. That voice, though! Too bad Finnigan was under the weather last night.

I'm glad you feel that way about Michigan & Utah, Poths. They compete against each other next week. On the Big 10 Network. I have only gotten to see Michigan twice and I've never seen Utah, so I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Fridge_Break]

Mr. Fridge and I went to Mizzou when the Gators were in town. Very good gymnastics all around, but lots of overscoring going on. Seems that we talk about this every year (because we do ) but it seems most of the judges forgive most of the slight errors in the routine and just judge the dismount. I don't know how many routines I've seen where a routine with a hop on the landing goes 9.9 or 9.95 from individual judges, with no regard to composition, dynamics, line/extension, etc, throughout the rest of the routine. While Alicia Boren is an incredible freshman for Florida, at the meet I was at she lost her balance after her first pass, was off on her leap sequence and took a large step to the side, and had a larger step on her double tuck that should be allowed for the "controlled no-deduction" landing, and went 9.9 from both judges. I could point out plenty of other examples. But as awful as some of the overscoring is, there are far more routines that are scored accurately and really do deserve the 9.9s, 9.95s, and 10s. It's the routines that have flaws and are overscored that diminish the accomplishments of the wonderful routines.


Some nice surprises we are seeing this season:
Boise State -- been in the top 10 pretty much all season!
California -- I think it's safe to say the days and ill-effects of that awful former coach are gone
Eastern Michigan -- this is a team that I don't *think* has ever made it to regionals (top 36)... and right now they are sitting in 21st!
Missouri -- Shannon Welker has really brought this program together. I'm amazed that well over half of their routines are coming from freshmen!


We're going to get on the road in an hour or so to Illinois State to watch the quad meet there this afternoon. Still contemplating making the trip to Ohio State to watch the Big Five meet in a couple of weeks...

 

[Coco]

I wish they would have judges for the dismount and judges for the interior of the routine. Because there really needs to be more accurate scoring and better separation amongst the teams.

 

[Lucy25]

It seems like every meet I watch, they repeatedly say that it's all about the dismount. I think, "oh really?".

 

[Fridge_Break]

It seems like every meet I watch, they repeatedly say that it's all about the dismount. I think, "oh really?".

Agreed, almost every routine the entire focus is about stick vs. no stick -- yes it is obviously a deduction if you don't stick, but there's way more to a routine!

Went to the quad meet at Illinois State today -- lots of good stuff from the teams (first experience seeing one of the D3 Wisconsin schools in action -- I know they are much lower ranked but they had a few standout routines in their lineups). Unfortunately the scoring just seemed a bit lower than what it should have been, particularly on beam. I was sitting next to the parents of one of the gymnasts who got a 9.8 and we re-watched the routine that she recorded and I couldn't help but think it would have gone over 9.9 if she was from an SEC school. Zero wobbles, nice flow, complete 180 split on the leaps. Everything was very controlled, and lots of difficulty in the routine, just a slight shuffle on the dismount. FX and UB hovered between "slightly underscored" and "accurate," but there were numerous routines where there was a gap of a tenth or more from each of the judges on both events. I kept an eye on the UB judge closest to us, he gave the same score (9.7) for two routines, and the other judge went 9.65 for one and 9.85 for the other. Just kind of makes you wonder.

ETA: I looked at the score sheet for this meet. The judge I was watching close(r) actually gave three routines a 9.7. The scores from the other judge for those same routines was 9.55, 9.65, and 9.85.

 

[barbk]

http://www.latimes.com/local/educat...ideo-danusia-francis-beam-snap-htmlstory.html

Nice article and a bunch of videos.

 

[Fridge_Break]

Big day for the Big Ten conference. Two quint meets today to determine who gets into the evening session of the conference championship next weekend.

Penn State hosting Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Rutgers @ 1pm EST (live on Big Ten Network)
Ohio State hosting Illinois, Maryland, Michigan State, and Nebraska @ 4pm EST (airing tape-delayed tomorrow on Big Ten Network)

The top 3 teams in each meet qualify for the evening session of the Big Ten Championships, the remaining 4 teams compete in the afternoon session.

Iowa's improvement this season will make the Penn State meet very exciting and competitive. At the other meet, I think the big battle will be Ohio State vs. Michigan State. These two teams tied for 3rd at this meet last year and it was Ohio State that won the tiebreaker and got to compete in the evening session.

I was hoping to be able to make it to Columbus today, but plans popped up for the next few weekends where I'll be traveling a lot and I figured it was best to stay home and follow along online

 

[Jem X]

Ugh looks like Gianna O'Connor blew out her knee on the last pass of her floor routine. She finished the routine anyway, then couldn't stand up. She's a senior who finished 6th at NCAA last year. B1G meet is on BTN2go. Whole arena went silent.

 

[Fridge_Break]

I felt soooo bad for Giana That looked so painful, and she looked so sad when she returned to the competition floor on crutches I wish her a speedy recovery, it always sucks to see seniors go down at the end of their final season like that

My Spartans finished in 2nd in the meet and FINALLY hit 24-for-24 like they are capable of! Beam has been a disaster all season in almost every meet, and they finally put it all together! I hope they are fired up for Big Tens next week, they certainly earned their right to compete in the night session today!

 

[Lucy25]

Ugh looks like Gianna O'Connor blew out her knee on the last pass of her floor routine. She finished the routine anyway, then couldn't stand up. She's a senior who finished 6th at NCAA last year. B1G meet is on BTN2go. Whole arena went silent.

What team is she from? I watched the meet w/Michigan - did I miss this? I hate stories like that. I was a bit disappointed in Michigan today. Seems like every time I watch they don't perform their best.

@Fridge_Break - Did you go to MSU? I did.

Bridget Sloan was phenomenal last night against Kentucky. Two 10's - could have been three. So happy for her on senior night. I am so excited for the SEC Championships next week. I love LSU, but Auburn & Florida are special, too. It's been so great that so many of the best teams are in the SEC. God bless the SEC Network. The only team in the NCAA rankings I haven't seen at all is Oaklahoma. Maybe they have videos posted.

 

[Fridge_Break]

What team is she from? I watched the meet w/Michigan - did I miss this? I hate stories like that. I was a bit disappointed in Michigan today. Seems like every time I watch they don't perform their best.

@Fridge_Break - Did you go to MSU? I did.

O'Connor is from Illinois. The second Big Five meet was aired on B1G2Go, so I streamed the meet on my computer. The network broadcast of the meet will be tomorrow afternoon.

Yes, I did go to MSU! Love running into fellow Spartans everywhere, even online! Go Green!

 

[Jem X]

@Fridge_Break they showed a replay coming back from break on her crying while being carried off the floor. I'm really surprised that she composed herself enough to come back out on crutches. It's too bad for her as she's a senior, and it's too bad for Illinois because she's their best gymnast, and their second best gymnast, Mary Jane Horth, is already injured. Well it gives their freshmen a chance to step it up. Lizzy LeDuc has faded a bit the last couple of meets. She may have hit the freshman "wall".

 

[Lucy25]

O'Connor is from Illinois. The second Big Five meet was aired on B1G2Go, so I streamed the meet on my computer. The network broadcast of the meet will be tomorrow afternoon.

Yes, I did go to MSU! Love running into fellow Spartans everywhere, even online! Go Green!

Thanks for the heads up - will definitely watch tomorrow. Go White!

 

[Lucy25]

Big 10 & SEC Championships this weekend! So excited!!!

 

[Fridge_Break]

Both sessions of Big 10 Championships, and the second session of SEC Championships will all be aired live on their respective networks!

 

[petro]

Both sessions of Pac-12's will be aired live as well on their network,

 

[BigB08822]

Actually both sessions of SECs will be aired live and not only that but both sessions are airing on SEC Network + which you can access on your computer or other device (Apple TV for example) and you can choose which event to watch so you can follow your favorite team and there will be another channel that is split into 4 quadrants that show all events at once. Pretty amazing coverage!!!

 

[Lucy25]

Comcast has the 1st SEC session on ESPNU at 2:00 & the 2nd session at 6:00 on the SEC Network. I want to check out the 4 quadrant viewing, too!

 

[HeatherC]

Unfortunately I'm busy all day tomorrow so I won't get to watch everything live but it's going to be exciting to have so many things to look forward to catching up with once I get home!

Go Bucks, UCLA, and Oklahoma!!

 

[Fridge_Break]

I'm helping my parents move this weekend, so I won't be able to watch anything, either. I'm going to be on pins and needles
checking updates for Big Tens.. Michigan State is sitting in 36th and the top 36 after this weekend go to regionls... eek.

 

[Lucy25]

I have a ton of essays to grade by Monday morning, so I won't be able to watch the gymnastics for a few days. Will have to avoid this thread for sure until then.

 

[BigB08822]

Congratulations to Florida on being gifted yet another title. Ugh!! I am happy for the girls on the team but the judging always gets so out of control for Florida in the last rotation. Baker didn't deserve a 9.925 for taking a giant step forward and nearly OOB on her first pass and Caquatto had no business getting a 9.875 for a front tuck with no amplitude and a double pike that had a very awkward landing. Just outrageous!! Bama, as much as I hate to say it, deserved the win. They always show up with their best come post-season. LSU gave it away again with silly errors. They were still solid with a mid 197 but they need to compete like Bama, nailing everything. If they can find a way to do that at Nationals they can compete with anyone but they clearly are going to have to beat Florida AND the judges to win plus Oklahoma is steam rolling their way to a title at the moment.

 

[Lucy25]

Finally got through the 2 SEC sessions, the last Big 10 session & the Big 12 session. Phew! Finally got to see Oklahoma. Not impressed w/their incredibly annoying floor music! I was so happy that Georgia did well in the first session. They & LSU are my favorites for some reason. I wish LSU would not have made so many little mistakes, but they will be so good next year with that young team. Both SEC sessions were so exciting to watch. The way they made Alabama and Florida wait at the very end for the final score was completely ridiculous. I have no idea if Alabama should have won or not, but it was kind of mean to make them wait like that. Why is it I find the college floor routines so much more entertaining and fun to watch then the elite? Michigan and NebraskA were both really good for the Big 10. Can anyone explain regionals to me? Is this an event that they now have to go to in order to qualify for nationals?

I think Bart Conner and Kathy Johnson or two of the best gymnastics commentators I have ever heard. They are so knowledgeable and explain things so well to the audience. I love them! On the other hand, Shawn Johnson needs a lot more experience. Her commentating for the Big Ten network is really annoying. She kept repeating herself. Like after every vaulter, she would tell us that the only thing the judges could take off on that was the landing. She must've said that 20 times last night. And the guy they have with her was obviously not an actual gymnast. I am hoping that Bart and Kathy do the NCAA Champs.

 

[Fridge_Break]

The top 36 teams are now going to be split into 6 groups of 6. The top 18 are considered seeded teams and 3 of them will be assigned to each regional site. Teams 19-36 will be placed based on geography and a few other factors (not sure what they are). Competition is April 2nd.

The top 2 teams from each meet advance to nationals. The top 2 AA finishers at each meet that are not on an already-advancing team get to go to nationals as individuals. Additionally event winners that are not on an advancing team get to go to nationals as an event specialist, however these are very rare as the top teams usually get the highest scores in the meet.

 

[Fridge_Break]

Regional pairings:

Oklahoma
Nebraska
Arkansas
Iowa (host)
Kent State
Central Michigan

Utah (host)
UCLA
Washington
Southern Utah
Illinois
Utah State

Alabama (host)
California
Boise State
Kentucky
West Virginia
Bowling Green

The advancing teams from the above 3 meets will all compete against one another in the same semi final at nationals (where the top 3 teams will advance to the Super Six). Same situation for the below 3 meets.

Florida
Denver
Minnesota (host)
Missouri
Ohio State
BYU

Auburn
Michigan (host)
Stanford
Eastern Michigan
Penn State
New Hampshire
(okay, that regional is completely brutal )

LSU
Georgia (host)
Oregon State
Arizona
George Washington
Michigan State