Oklahoma posted the nation's highest score at 197.85 to easily roll past SEMO and TWU. Two tens were bagged by Oklahoma on the night, with Haley Scaman hitting the mark on VT and Brenna Dowell getting a 10 on UB. Dowell was near perfect again on Floor, posting a 9.975 for the win. Chayse Capps added a 9.95 win on beam for the Sooners.
For SEMO, Alyssa Tucker won the AA with a career-high 39.125.
Link: SEMO Release
Wisconsin-La Crosse opened up its home schedule with a win over UW Oshkosh 185.675 to 179.75. Kelsi Vomacka scored a career-high 9.7 to win the FX and lead UW-La Crosse.
Link: Release
Metroplex L10 Lizzy LeDuc has accepted an offer from Illinois. She won her state and regional meets last season and placed 2nd AA at JOs. We previously announced her comment to LSU.
Madison Dagen, L10 at San Mateo Gymnastics, has committed to Oregon State. She finished her 2014 season with a 9th place finish at JOs. So far this season she has placed 1st AA at the Golden State Classic and 3rd AA (1st beam) at the San Francisco Classic.
The second full week is in the bag (the third weekend overall) and we are already seeing the fan excitement, enthusiasm and in some cases, speculation and angst, build. It's a been a wild weekend full of standout performances and rising stars. And, unfortunately, we're seeing injury and scoring variation dominate the conversation. Here's our weekly recap...
Anne Maxim, L10 at Olympia Gymnastics in Michigan, has committed to MSU. She placed 24th AA at last year's JOs. She started this season at the Christmas Classic where she placed 4th AA.
Katelyn Ohashi, a former junior international elite national AA champion and National Team member, has committed to UCLA (per her Twitter). Ohashi recently returned to competition at L10, after battling injury. She showed excellent form at the recent Texas Prime meet, competing three events. She was originally set to graduate this spring.
The College Gymnastics Association (CGA) posted their week two rankings for the men. The rankings, unlike for the women, are based on a survey. Oklahoma leads the poll, followed by Stanford and Illinois.
UCLA's Samantha Peszek won every event she competed in, taking the vault, beam and the bars with a near-perfect 9.975. Teammate Danusia Francis won the FX with a career-high 9.925. See the winning routines at this link.
Link: UCLA Release
Denver avoided counting too many major mistakes to hold off the Gym Dogs. The Pioneers survived a shakey beam round to capitalize on UGA's struggles in the second half of the meet (three falls on BB). Once again, Nina McGee was a force for DU, winning the AA with a 39.325. She won the BB, FX and tied for the VT title with UGA's Ashlyn Broussard. UGA's Rachel Schick and Brandie Jay tied for the UB title.
Link: UGA Release
Elite gymnast Abigail Matthews has committed to Oklahoma. She trains at CGA in Ohio. She competed in the Jr. Elite division last season at the American Classic and Secret Classic.
Jenna Swartzentruber, L10 from Buckeye Gymnastics, has committed to Ohio State. This weekend she won her session of the CGA Coaches Spectacular and placed 1st on bars. She also placed 3rdAA at the recent Atlanta Crown meet. Last season she finished 10th AA at JOs.
Representatives from 65 schools in the five largest conferences (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 12, SEC) and 15 student-athlete representatives (three from each conference) met to vote on changes enabled by the NCAA's new autonomy structure, which enables the Big Five to set certain standards. They approved several important changes, including raising the limit on scholarship money to cover the "total cost of attendance". This could mean that certain schools and athletes in certain sports could see more money, to cover expenses like travel expenses and academic-related supplies. The delegates also approved a change that prevents a scholarship from being revoked for athletic reasons.
Link: NCAA Release
After the second full weekend of competition, we're seeing a shakeup in the National Rankings for Women, as published by Troester.com GymInfo. Florida and OU find themselves in a familiar position; they are tied for the top spot. LSU is in third, just ahead of Michigan and Utah (tied for fourth).
MSU overcame inclement weather and the resulting bus delays to defeat host Iowa. Lisa Burt led MSU once again, posting a 39.35 to win the AA. She also won the BB with a 9.9. Teammate Nicola Deans won the VT, while Spartan Elena Lagoski won the FX with a 9.95. Iowa's Mollie Drenth won the UB.
Link: MSU Release
Illinois State defeated visiting Centenary on Sunday afternoon. Samantha King posted a meet high 9.8 to win the UB and lead the Redbirds to victory. Teammate Kristyn Bossle won the VT while Laura Jonas won the BB. Sarah Fisher won the FX as Illinois State swept the individual events. For Centenary, Ashley White won the AA with a 38.075.
Link: Illinois State Release