NCAA Gymnastics

[barbk]

I think it's a false equivalency. A coach and skater having an emotional moment after a final practice isn't remotely like what went on between Kori and Jason in the Kiss 'n Cry on a regular basis.

ETA though I never complained about Jason's behavior anyway.

Actually, you can find dozens of pictures of Ohashi hugging Miss Val after competing throughout both this and last season. It is not just this once, or just this event.

I like Ohashi a lot, and Jason, too -- but it seems that Ohashi gets the "oh, how sweet" and Jason gets criticized. (Though not by you -- or me. )

 

[barbk]

Really lovely story on Kyla Ross in the LA Times: https://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-kyla-ross-ucla-gymnastics-20190417-story.html

Note the chart with the 10's this year.

 

[HeatherC]

I love that article about Kyla! She's always been a favorite of mine and I love getting to watch her compete for the Bruins. She's amazing and I would LOVE to see her win the AA title this year!

 

[Aceon6]

Semis session 1 is on ESPN2 now.

 

[A.H.Black]

Watching and cheering for Utah. Good floor set. My niece is sitting in the stands, rooting for Oklahoma (I think)

 

[Lucy25]

Cheering for LSU! What is up w/Christina Desidario?? Fabulous that the team has been able to make up dor her two mistakes. Must be an awful feeling - she was so good all year. One more rotation!

 

[HeatherC]

Thrilled that UCLA and LSU made it out of their semifinal!

 

[skatfan]

Thrilled that UCLA and LSU made it out of their semifinal!

Indeed. I imagine UCLA wanted to win by a larger margin, but at least they didn’t peak today

 

[Lucy25]

Phew! For a minute there, I thought I’d jinxed LSU. Those silly mistakes better be gone tomorrow. I have no horse in race tonight, so I can enjoy some strss-free gymnastics.

Unpopular opinion - I hate the goofy themed floor routines from UCLA. “She’s a 1920s” mermaid”.

 

[Erin]

Phew! For a minute there, I thought I’d jinxed LSU. Those silly mistakes better be gone tomorrow. I have no horse in race tonight, so I can enjoy some strss-free gymnastics.

Unpopular opinion - I hate the goofy themed floor routines from UCLA. “She’s a 1920s” mermaid”.

I was pleased LSU made it too, I was nervous after the first rotation but they really pulled it together after that.

And I hear you on the themes for UCLA. The routines have good choreography that I can enjoy in and of themselves but hearing the story of it sometimes ruins it for me.

 

[skipaway]

And I hear you on the themes for UCLA. The routines have good choreography that I can enjoy in and of themselves but hearing the story of it sometimes ruins it for me.

Wasn’t there a routine last year from a gymnast representing a Syrian refugee’s struggles?

Glad UCLA and LSU are through!

 

[Erin]

Wasn’t there a routine last year from a gymnast representing a Syrian refugee’s struggles?

I believe two years ago, Natalie Brown from Oklahoma. I felt similarly about that routine too - good choreography, could have done without the backstory. Oklahoma has their share of weird storylines too...that same year Maggie Nichols had one where she was an orphan looking for her birth mom or something along that line.

Looking forward to seeing what happens with tonight’s session in the AA battle. Kyla Ross managed to hang on to the lead after she didn’t have her best bar routine - the score is beatable by Maggie Nichols but who knows what to expect from Maggie given that she hasn’t competed AA since week 2. Most of the other major AA contenders went in the first session like Skinner and Finnegan so if Maggie doesn’t pull it off, we’re looking at Kyla hanging on or maybe a surprise winner. Potential contenders would include: Lynnzee Brown and Maddie Karr from Denver, Lexy Ramler from Minnesota, Sydney Snead from Georgia, Alicia Boren (who I almost forgot about in the mess of Florida not qualifying) or another Oklahoman like Brenna Dowell or Anastasia Webb. Everyone on this list has scored at least 39.6 before and most have gone over 39.7, so Kyla’s 39.6625 can be surpassed although the judging is tighter at Nationals, not to mention people make mistakes due to nerves.

 

[Lucy25]

Tonight’s competition should be so good, not only because of the four teams, but also because of the individual athletes competing. All of Florida’s athletes, especially.

 

[Aceon6]

I think that LSU overcoming the pressure of coming from behind may give them an edge tomorrow. They must be feeling pretty good about their chances.

 

[Lucy25]

As much as I love LSU, I don’t think anyone is going to beat Oklahoma. The second session was pretty boring. Georgia pretty much fell apart.

 

[HeatherC]

I wasn't home to watch the second semifinal tonight but I'm pleasantly surprised that Denver made it to the finals tomorrow!

 

[Erin]

As much as I love LSU, I don’t think anyone is going to beat Oklahoma. The second session was pretty boring. Georgia pretty much fell apart.

I feel like UCLA left a lot on the table today and my gut is it’s going to be them tomorrow.

I’m out of the country and have only been able to watch scores and not routines but thrilled for Lexy Ramler to pull off a tie with Kyla Ross for second place. Of the people I listed with a shot at beating Kyla’s score, she was one of the few who had not pulled off a score that high before so she needed a PB to get to that position and she got it. And it’s impressive that Maggie was able to pull off the AA without competing floor all season although sounds like it was not the most amazing performance from her either with beam a little sloppy and a very simple floor (although still a 10.0 start which is something that should be fixed in the rules).

 

[Aceon6]

Yup. I think the rules should require 3 passes in D1 and change the start values so that only the routines with 3 passes and 2 D+ skills are eligible for a 10.0.

 

[Erin]

Yup. I think the rules should require 3 passes in D1 and change the start values so that only the routines with 3 passes and 2 D+ skills are eligible for a 10.0.

I think a two pass routine is fine - even in elite, you can do a two pass routine (some of the Dutch gymnasts do it) but they need to revise the difficulty requirements, so that one pass has to have an E-skill or both have to have D+ skills or something (which combined with the rule requiring a combination pass would make the second pass pretty difficult). The current requirement that one has to have a D skill and the other 0.2 in bonus isn’t cutting it. Most three pass routines already have that anyway plus another pass.

There have always been two pass routines that have started from a 10 but I don’t think we have seen them score the 9.9+ that we have been seeing Jordan Draper get this year or clinch a national title like Maggie Nichols. We’ll see if there is enough backlash to cause a rule change. I haven’t been in favour of things like requiring an E pass or the routine starts at 9.95 because I think we have seen enough Achilles injuries in college gymnastics already and don’t need to add to it. But I am fine with fixing the two pass rule.

 

[nickp]

I do wanna see ucla gymnastics send Miss Val off with a national championship

 

[Lucy25]

Congrats to Oklahoma. It was well deserved. I am super proud of LSU! They did the best they possibly could; a very deserving 2nd place

 

[skatfan]

The finals was pretty great and the teams were rewarded for what they did. OU was super consistent and powerful. Now can we get them some leotards deserving of their amazing skills. They were worst dressed.

 

[mattiecat13]

The finals was pretty great and the teams were rewarded for what they did. OU was super consistent and powerful. Now can we get them some leotards deserving of their amazing skills. They were worst dressed.

Also leotards that cover the young womens’ backsides. I’ve seen bathing suits at the beach that have more coverage than the UCLA leos.

 

[Lucy25]

This! It has bugged me all season. Kentucky’s were bad, too. Especially for Molly Korth.

 

[Rob]

I cannot believe Maggie Nichols won AA and a share of the VT title when she barely did VT or FX all season. She’s amazing.

 

[Skittl1321]

Also leotards that cover the young womens’ backsides. I’ve seen bathing suits at the beach that have more coverage than the UCLA leos.

I wonder if the athletes feel the same, or if they prefer the less restricted movement?

 

[bardtoob]

I am glad OU won. Maggie Nichol deserved to win.

However ... Maggie Nichol ... I don't like her form, hair, and the overdone salute.

Kyla, of course, would destroy Maggie under the elite scoring system ... But its not Nellie Kim's scoring system but more like Nellie Kim's gymnastics.

https://youtu.be/EzqNEGe1KPU

 

[ilovepaydays]

The finals was pretty great and the teams were rewarded for what they did. OU was super consistent and powerful. Now can we get them some leotards deserving of their amazing skills. They were worst dressed.

I wondered if I was the only one who noticed that. Ugliest leotards EVER.

 

[Lara]

Jordyn Weiber will be Arkansas’s new head coach. Wow and congrats!!!

 

[centerstage01]

All the gymnastics fans at Arkansas are PUMPED right now. The news is going over great on campus, too.