So why do we love NCAA Gymnastics? Here are three of many many reasons:
1. The Team Atmosphere. While elite and club gymnastics are mostly individual game, NCAA gymnastics is very much all about the team. Literally. Everything that these athletes do is for the team first. Individual glory can come later.
2. The Athletes - The number of talented gymnasts in NCAA is phenomenal, and they're not all elites. They can come in the form of ninja level 10's like most of the Oklahoma team, Florida's Alex McMurtry and Alicia Boren. Then there is the top level elites like Bridget Sloan, a former world champion. Sarah Finnegan, an Olympic Alternate. The teams in the NCAA could practically produce many many many top Olympic teams just with the depth of their talent.
3. The Artistry and the Execution -Often times It's a common compliant that NCAA gymnastics is not full of the ridiculously hard difficulty that dominates the elite world and yes, that is true. But, to say it is totally void of difficulty is not true. This is a marathon, not a sprint as the season lasts from early January to April. These athletes compete every week for those 12 weeks, it's all about strategy! Why throw ten double doubles in your routine if you don't have to? Save it for when it counts! Plus, it's about execution over difficulty. It's not worth doing super difficult skills unless they can be done well! Like for example Sam Peszek's standing full on the beam, Katherine Grable's double Arabian half out. Rheagan Courville's superior standing Arabian.
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| via gymnasticsgifs |
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| via gymnasticsgifs |
This year:
The pre-season coaches poll that was released in December by Road to Nationals.com gives us a good idea of where to begin. (This is a great website for all sorts of good NCAA data if you ever decide to fall down that rabbit hole.)
| Rank | Team Name | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma | (2266 points) | (29 first place votes) |
| 2 | Florida | (2234 points) | (15 first place votes) |
| 3 | Alabama | (2174 points) | (4 first place votes) |
| 4 | Utah | (2171 points) | (14 first place votes) |
| 5 | L.S.U. | (2119 points) | (3 first place votes) |
| 6 | UCLA | (1922 points) | |
| 7 | Michigan | (1912 points) | |
| 8 | Stanford | (1863 points) | |
| 9 | Georgia | (1839 points) | |
| 10 | Auburn | (1811 points) | |
| 11 | Nebraska | (1801 points) | |
| 12 | Oregon State | (1491 points) | |
| 13 | Arkansas | (1457 points) | |
| 14 | California | (1411 points) | |
| 15 | Illinois-Champaign | (1369 points) | |
| 16 | Denver | (1368 points) | |
| 17 | Penn State | (1246 points) | |
| 18 | Arizona | (1178 points) | |
| 19 | Boise State | (1154 points) | (1 first place votes) |
| 20 | Minnesota | (1024 points) | |
| 21 | Kentucky | (876 points) | |
| 22 | Ohio State | (869 points) | |
| 23 | Missouri | (852 points) | |
| 24 | Southern Utah | (829 points) | |
| 25 | Central Michigan | (821 points) | |
| 26 | Michigan State | (669 points) | |
| 27 | North Carolina State | (616 points) | |
| 28 | Iowa State | (600 points) | |
| 29 | Iowa | (574 points) | |
| 30 | Washington | (510 points) | |
| 31 | West Virginia | (459 points) | |
| 32 | Maryland-College Park | (404 points) | |
| 33 | New Hampshire | (375 points) | |
| 34 | Utah State | (333 points) | |
| 35 | George Washington | (322 points) | |
| 36 | Arizona State | (206 points) |
I'll talk a little about the aforementioned teams, and for more information, Spencer at the Balance Beam Situation has done previews of the top 10 teams.
Florida is in the middle
of it's own dynasty, winning three consecutive national titles in the past four
years, they were the first team to break into the Gymnastics Royal Four:
Alabama, Georgia, UCLA and Utah, the only teams to ever win a national title.
They're ranked # 2
behind Oklahoma, who won the title for the first time in 2014, in a tie with
Florida. Last year, they were out Bridget Sloan early in the season, but
she came back in time for the Gators to pull off their third national title,
beating out Utah by 0.05.
The Gators lost some
pinch hitters in their graduated senior class, such as Kytra Hunter and Rachel
Spicer, and they lost Rhonda Faehn, their head coach of forever, after being
enticed by a position at USA Gymnastics. She was replaced by Jenny Rowland, (who
was an associate head coach at Auburn and she helped that team get to the Super
Six for the first time in a generation) and they have gained a powerful
freshmen class that includes: national team member, Peyton Ernst and JO
superstar Alicia Boren.
It's going to be an
interesting season to watch for Florida. In a lot of ways, this team could look
like a baby horse that's trying stand up for the first time. They're going to
be relying on their senior class, particularly Bridget Sloan.
Number one, Oklahoma.
This year, they are sans seniors Rebecca Clark and Erica Brewer and without
Brenna Dowell, who is taking the year off to pursue her Olympic glory.
Last year, the Sooners
were undefeated in the regular season, but came in third place at Super Six due
to some out of bounds by both Brenna and Ali Jackson. Considering top teams
often start slow and work their way up and are suddenly winning everything by
Super Six. But, with them already being favored to win, they're going to have
to keep the pace and make sure everybody is still in one piece by April.
They're known for their
glorious beam work, and the beam line up includes the magnificent Chayse Capps,
whose artistry inspires Shakespeare-esque prose and sonnets. The star of this
team is most likely senior Haley Scaman, who is a pinch hitter on vault, bars
and floor, capable of scoring well into the 9.9's+.
Then there is LSU.
Last year, like
Oklahoma, you looked fantastic in the regular season. But, at NCAA semi-finals,
a melt-down on the beam ensued. Everyone fell on beam, including Rheagan
Courville, Liomencia Hall, who were usually super consistent and reliable athletes.
The disaster is now
behind them and the question is: could LSU finally break in and make head
Coach, DD Breaux's dreams of an NCAA title come true this year? After last
year's NCAA, disaster, they want it even more. The team is guaranteed to put up
a good fight.
This year, they have an
impressive group of freshmen to fill the shoes left by Rheagan Courville,
Liomencia Hall and Jessie Jordan. Brought in to fill those shoes are Sarah
Finnegan, Lexie Priessman and McKenna Kelly.
Priessman has been
recovering from injury forever, and so has Finnegan for that matter... so it’s
not clear how either of them will contribute to the team this early. During a
televised intersquad, Finnegan showed off her glorious triple wolf turn on
beam, showing her beautiful GAGE lines, extension and toe point. All eyes will
likely be on, McKenna Kelly, the daughter of 1984 Olympic Champion Mary Lou
Retton. Kelly, like her mother, is known for her ability on leg events, vault,
beam and floor. Kelly has been a standout on the JO scene, tying for the Nastia
Liukin Cup all-around title in 2014.
But perhaps, the biggest
one to watch will be Ashleigh Gnat. Gnat was pulling out Yurchenko double fulls
when most of her teammates were performing plain old fulls. Now that the full
has been downgraded, Gnat will be a huge asset to LSU’s vault line-up.
Who else wants that NCAA
title? There is past winners, UCLA, Alabama and Utah. UCLA has underperformed
in the past couple of years, failing to make Super Six two years in a row.
They've been plagued by injuries and haven't always been competing with a full
roster. With the exit of their golden girl, Samantha Peszek, they now have 2013
American Cup winner Katelyn Ohashi, whom I'm sure, head coach Valorie
Kondos-Field is going to be using. Despite her coming back from several
injuries, Ohashi is already throwing big tricks, like a flip flop flip flop
layout on beam. Word on the street is she's wanting to add back her layout
full.
Then there is Utah. You
can never count Utah out. They finished second to Florida at last year's
Super Six by only 0.05. Despite the retirement of longtime head coach Greg
Marsden, it's really going to be business as usual. Marsden's wife and co-head
coach, Megan has taken over as co-head coach with Tom Farden, and reports say,
Megan Marsden was the one doing the heavy coaching the past year, with Greg
Marsden cheerleading from the sidelines.
Alabama, like Florida
and Utah, lost longtime head coach, Sarah Patterson in 2014 after NCAAs and
Dana Duckworth was named as her successor. They're the shining example of how
to transition with a new head coach. They managed to stay in the Super Six
final, placing fifth overall and they won the SEC championship for the million
and oneth time in a row. They did it how they always did it. They remained
consistent. The gymnasts to watch on this team: Katie Bailey, junior all-around
gymnast, Lauren Beers, senior all-arounder and Kiana Winston - Sophomore
all-arounder. Bailey is a good bar worker, Beers is a talented beamer. Both
very consistent. Kiana Winston was recruited as an anchor, but due to
injuries, she was out of the limelight.
Last weekend, Michigan
#7, won at the Cancun Classic with a 196.975, beating out # 13, Arkansas by
1.825 points. A very easy win for them. And now, there is already a top score
to beat. Michigan junior, Nicole Artz won the all-around with a 39.525, that's
an average of 9.88 per event. This is her first competition of the season.
Samantha Peszek and Kytra Hunter tied for the NCAA all-around title with a
39.600. Freshman Olivia Karas took second and won beam and vault titles.
Karas is definitely a
name to watch. She was the 2014 JO all-around champion and she took third at
the 2015 Nastia Liukin Cup. She's a strong vaulter, and she provided a chance
for Michigan to flex their muscles first meet out, intimidating some of their
competitors.
Keep an eye out for these individuals:
Nina McGee of Denver - Mile High Super Star
Lindsay Mable of Minnesota - The Form and Consistency Goddess
Ivana Hong of Stanford - Beam Routine and Toe Point to Die for
Taylor Rice of Stanford - Makin' It Rain all over the place
Here is the schedule for the upcoming weekend:
Friday, January 8
7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Ball State @ Kentucky
7:00 ET/4:00 PT – Central Michigan, UW-Whitewater, Winona State @ UW-Eau Claire
7:00 ET/4:00 PT – UW-La Crosse @ UW-Stout
7:30 ET/4:30 PT – Lindenwood @ SEMO
8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Florida @ Texas Woman’s
8:00 ET/5:00 PT – BYU @ Utah
8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Michigan State @ Arizona
8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Illinois @ Missouri
9:00 ET/6:00 PT – Centenary @ Utah State
9:00 ET/6:00 PT – Nebraska, Bowling Green @ Arizona State
Saturday, January 9
2:00 ET/11:00 PT – UW-Oshkosh @ Gustavus Adolphus
4:00 ET/1:00 PT – Georgia @ Michigan
4:00 ET/1:00 PT – NC State @ Penn State
4:00 ET/1:00 PT – Illinois-Chicago @ Western Michigan
4:00 ET/1:00 PT – Rhode Island @ Springfield
5:00 ET/2:00 PT – Oklahoma @ LSU
5:00 ET/2:00 PT – Northern Illinois @ Iowa
7:30 ET/4:30 PT – New Hampshire, George Washington, Rutgers (Boston, MA)
7:30 ET/4:30 PT – Iowa State @ Minnesota
8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Southern Utah, West Virginia @ Denver
8:00 ET/5:00 PT – Illinois State, Seattle Pacific @ Air Force
9:00 ET/6:00 PT – Ohio State @ Washington
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
5:00 ET/2:00 PT – Alabama @ UCLA
5:00 ET/2:00 PT – Nor Cal Classic (Stanford, Cal, UC Davis. Sacramento State @ San Jose State)
5:00 ET/2:00 PT – Auburn @ Oregon State
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