I'm someone who pops in once in a while to watch gymnastics, and this time it was getting ESPN+ and finding the earlier rounds on the schedule. I can't say exactly why, but I really liked California's gymnastics the best. Florida has the talent to go far. I don't know if there's something like a sophomore slump like there is often in skating. But the Freshmen on Florida were really impressive, and I hope there's not. I could watch Anya Pilgrim all day long.
I think the Howells are the best NCAA coaches over the past decade. They share a lot of what Kindler and Co managed to do at Oklahoma, and they of course didn’t manage to win 6 championships. But the big difference, IMO, is the starting point. OU was hovering around 8th when Kindler was hired.
My reasoning is based on:
1) The climb. The 4 seasons before the Howells took over, Cal finished 57th, 55th, 50th, 49th. They were an irrelevant team at that point.
By the Howells’ 4th season in, Cal already climbed to 7th- from 49th! And now in their 12th season, Cal finished 2nd.
2) Consistency amongst all the up-and-coming teams. For the up-and-coming programs like Missouri, Minnesota, Michigan St., etc, there are breakthrough spikes in ranking followed by solid finishes but not near the National semifinals.
Cal finished in the top 10 six out of the last nine seasons.
3) Identity. Once the Howells took over, Cal began to take on this distinct look. It’s a style that a lot of neutral fans appreciate. Bars were and continue to be precise with amplitude. And this season, the beam sets are just a step above in the balance of difficulty, rhythm, and choreography.
By the way, what was the “permission” for Perea to throw the back full on beam, even as she struggled with her series? I think it must have just been needing 5 hit sets preceding her turn.
I haven't been able to watch the entire meet yet due to being out most of the day but I am SO happy for LSU! I honestly would have been happy for any of these four teams to win the title, but I've watched a lot of LSU this year thanks to the SEC network and really enjoy their gymnastics. I'm so thrilled that they were able to put everything together when it counted at Nationals and their reactions at the end were so sweet. Congrats to the whole team and a special thanks to DD Breaux who was the catalyst to put that program on such solid ground for all those years!
Congratulations to LSU!
To Oklahoma, you're still great! Don't listen to all the haters or replay the mistakes you made in your head for the rest of your life!
The LSU gymnastics coaching staff will remain intact after Georgia targeted Jay Clark and his assistants to return to his former school after the Tigers’ first national championship, according to
ATHENS, Ga. --- Hall of Fame USA Gymnastics coach Cecile Canqueteau-Landi and Ryan Roberts – who has spent the past six seasons as an assistant coach a...
Does this mean Lori Strong-Ballard/Sierra Ballard achieved a rare feat of mother and daughter as NCAA Team Champions? (I think it's been done only one other time in recent memory)
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