LSU Head Coach DD Breaux was named Head Coach of the Yeanr and Jay Clarke and Bob Moore shared National Assistant Coach of the Year honors, according to an LSU release.
Link: LSU Release
BGSU has announced the addition of Jordan Rae to its 2014-15 incoming class. Jordan has competed interenationally for New Zealand.
Tia Allbritten will sign with Missouri and join the team next year. We had previously announced her commitment to Michigan. Tia trains at Zenith in Texas
Arkansas' Katherine Grable won the FX (9.9625) and tied for the vault title with LSU's Rheagan Courville to lead all competitors in Sunday's Event Finals at the 2014 NCAAas. Florida's Bridget Sloan won bars while OU's Taylor Spears won the beam.
Madison Howell, L10 at CGA in Ohio, has committed to Ball State. The second year L10 pulled off a 3rd place finish at her state meet this season and recently qualified to the NIT.
In a thrilling finale, UF and OU tied for the 2014 NCAA Team Title.
Heading into the final rotation, UF trailed both OU and leader Bama, with 0.15 points separating the squads. But in the final rotation, Bama led off with a fall and ended up counting one. Meanwhile, on vault, OU drilled a series of big Yurchenko Layout fulls to set up a meet high 49.55. Over on the floor, Florida opened up strongly and Bridgette Caquatto's 9.95 sealed the tie with a 49.625 team total.
Link: Results
On Saturday night at 6 pm Central in Birmingham, six squads will fight for a chance at the title, Just 0.55 points separate the qualifiers, making it anyone's meet. Host Bama will have the support of the home crowd, while defending champ Florida will look to take them down to the wire. First session winner OU is nearly dead even with the pair, and will provide a strong challenge. UGA is peaking at the right time, while LSU will look for redemption after a third place finish in the morning session. NU will also look to surprise them all, and win their first title.
Here's the qualfiers to the Event Finals, based on the top four finishers from each session:
Vault
Brandie Jay, UGA
Lindsay Mable, Minn
Lindsey Cheek, UGA
Ashleigh Gnat, LSU
Rheagan Courville, LSU
Sachi Sugiyama, Michigan
Maile'ana Kanewa, OU
Haley Scaman, OU
Katherine Grable, Arkansas
Olivia Courtney, UCLA
Bridget Sloan, UF
Georgia Dabritz, Utah
Uneven Bars
Lindsey Cheek, UGA
Kristina Vaculik, Stanford
Rheagan Courville, LSU
Joanna Sampson, Michigan
Taylor Spears, OU
Shona Morgan, Stanford
Samantha Shapiro, Stanford
Bridget Sloan, Florida
Kim Jacob, Bama
Mackenzie Caquatto, UF
Alaina Johnson, UF
Samantha Peszek, UCLA
Beam
Taylor Spears, OU
Hanna Nordquist, Minnesota
Madeline Gardiner, Oregon State
Mary Beth Box, UGA
Lindsey Cheek, UGA
Sydney Ewing, LSU
Chayse Capps, OU
Kristina Vaculik, Stanford
Kim Jacob, Bama
Sarah DeMeo, Bama
Alaina Johnson, UF
Mackenzie Caquatto, UF
Hollie Blanske, NU
Jamie Schleppenbach, NU
Jessie DeZiel, NU
Emily Wong, NU
Floor
Joanna Sampson, Michigan
Maile'ana Kanewa, OU
Haley Scaman, OU
Brandie Jay, UGA
Jessica Savona, LSU
Lara Albright, OU
Katherine Grable, Arkansas
Kim Jacob, Bama
Emily Wong, NU
Lauren Beers, Bama
Diandra Milliner, Bama
Becky Tutka, Utah
Nansy Damianova, Utah
Link: Recap Video
Bama's Kim Jacob rode the home crowd momentum to become Bama's sixth NCAA AA Champion in history. UF's Alaina Johnson and Arkansas' Katherine Grable were second at 39.6, just 0.025 behind Jacob's 39.625.
Defending champ Bridget Sloan had a fall and numerous balance issues on BB.
Final results are still pending.
Florida and Bama tied for the 2nd session title and advanced to the Super Six to face OU, UGA and LSU. Both squads wavered but never counted a fall. Florida blasted to a 49.55 on UB while Bama tumbled to a 49.575 on FX. Neither squad finished below a 49.3.
NU capitalized on shakiness from UCLA and Utah on BB to advance. NU did so by absolutely nailing beam with the highest team total of the day, and advanced four Huskers to the finals. Beam wins Championships, or in this case, Super Six slots.
| 1 | Alabama | 197.650 |
| 1 | Florida | 197.650 |
| 3 | Nebraska | 197.100 |
| 4 | Utah | 197.025 |
| 5 | UCLA | 197.000 |
| 6 | Penn State | 194.825 |
Note: UF wins the tie-breaker.
OU won the first session of the NCAAs, posting a 197.5 to outpace UGA's 197.3 and LSU's 197.1. Stanford was fourth with a 196.6, while Michigan was back with a 196.425 (issues on BB). Illinois was sixth at 195.8.
Michigan's Joanna Sampson was the AA leader in Session 1 with a 39.55.
| 1 | 1 | Oklahoma | 197.500 |
| 1 | 2 | Georgia | 197.300 |
| 1 | 3 | LSU | 197.100 |
| 1 | 4 | Stanford | 196.600 |
| 1 | 5 | Michigan | 196.425 |
| 1 | 6 | Illinois-Champaign | 195.800 |
Paris and Alexa Phillips have announced their commitment to North Carolina State. Alexa is a first year L10 who recently placed 4th AA at her state meet and 9th AA at her regional meet. Paris qualified to L10 regionals last season. This season she won her state meet and placed 1st on FX. She placed 16th AA at regionals. Alexa and Paris compete for Georgia Elite Gymnastics.
Florida seeks to defend its National Championships this weekend. However, the Gators will have to contend with the likes of host Bama and upstarts LSU and OU, along with eight other squads, including former champions UCLA, UGA and Utah.
To contend for the Super Six, the teams will first have to qualify. This is not a guarantee for any squad, especially in the tough evening session. Teams that have struggled during the season always seem to peak for the Big Dance, and the added pressure of the National spotlight can cause others to falter.
Defending AA champ Bridget Sloan of Florida will seek to defend her title against a host of challengers. How does the race stack up?
NU's Emily Wong has been named as the winner of the 2014 AAI Award. The Award honors the nation's top senior on the basis of athleticism, academic excellence and civic responsibility. It is voted on by the coaches.
Link: NU Release
Georgia has announced the Spring signing of Natalie Vaculik. Vaculik is a Canadian National Team member who finished 2nd AA at the 2013 Canadian Championships. Her sister Kristina is a star at Stanford. Her commit was reported previously. Her year of initial competition was undetermined and the release is vague on timing.
Link: Release
Michaela Nelson, a L10 at Hill's Gymnastics, has committed to Washington 2016-2017. This past weekend, she won UB, BB, FX and the AA (38.55) at the Region 7 L10 Regionals, Jr. D. She placed 2nd on vault. In 2012, she accomplished a rare sweep of the 2012 L9 Eastern Nationals, winning every event in her age group.
Link: Video Channel
Sophia Bochenek, L10 at Splitz in Michigan, has committed to Missouri. Sophis place 1st AA at the 2013 L9 Eastern Championships. This season she placed 11th AA at her state meet and won the vault title at regionals.