|
Season Preview Capsules All through the off season, the teams have been training and preparing for their shot at a trip to Georgia for the NCAA Nationals. Here's a quick look at the teams, as we head into the final preperations before the start of the season. Last season Bama entered the campaign needing to replace 10 routines from some key veteran champion athletes. But, bouyed by one of the top recruiting classes in the country, Bama finished the season on top, winning yet another National Championship. Could they repeat? They certainly have the firepower. They lose just four routines from last year (from star Kayla Hoffman) but have a strong incoming class that features three elites, including one former World Champion Kayla Williams. However, a host of old and new challengers for the title are back and ready to take on the Tide. Last year's runnerup UCLA is back and potentially stronger, with the return of star Vanessa Zamarripa and a standout frosh class that includes National Team members Mattie Larson and Cassie Whitcomb. NCAA BB champ Samantha Peszek and Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs lead a strong and deep veteran core. Only a select few teams have ever won a National Title: Bama, UCLA, UGA and Utah. Could another team join that club? Florida boasts another strong class of frosh, and will use the added strength while seeking to bolster their consistency. Beam was a problem area last year and they'll look to build a strong lineup on the event. OU's well-coached crew maximizes their potential on each event. The experienced core is looking strong, led by Megan Ferguson, Natasha Kelley and Kayla Nowak, but they may need to boost their dynamics on VT and FX to maximize their chances. This could come from their frosh, especially Erica Brewer and elite Rebecca Clark. Utah has a large incoming class of L10s and former elites, let by potential standout Georgia Dabritz. The Utes will also get back the services of Kyndal Robarts. These additions should give an "end of the lineup" boost and added difficulty on VT and FX, while providing for a very deep lineup. A number of other teams will be making a run for the Super Six this season, but first, all the teams will have to try to earn one of 12 spots at Nationals. Overall, the frosh have a huge potential to boost various teams into National meet contention. We'll see teams that finished outside the Top 18 last season being now able to push the returning teams for a spot at Nationals. In all likelihood, at the end of the season we may have at least 20 programs in contention for the 12 spots at the National meet. We'll have our ranking of incoming classes published later this month. The final ranking will be a tough decision, with many excellent and impactful recruiting classse in the mix. A full list of the newcomers is posted here. . This season is unusual in the number of high level US and foreign elites entering school this season. This bumper crop of talent is usually seen in a post-Olympic year. Other elite standouts (on other squads) include National Team members Ivana Hong and Samantha Shapiro at Stanford, Chelsea Davis at UGA and Jessie DeZiel at Nebraska. The class also includes former VISA Championships senior international elite qualifiers Rheagan Courville at LSU, Annette Miele at Michigan, Jackie McCartin at Washington, and Morgan Steigerwalt at ASU. Foreign elites (like Emma Willis at Iowa), former junior international elites (like Randi Lau at LSU) and top L10s (like '11 Sr D co-champ Allison Flores at Arizona) should also make a big impact. Add to this rising talents in the L10 ranks and improvements among the returning veterans and most teams will feature improved squads this season. Last season, we saw a number of nail-biting finishes at Regionals. Traditional powers like Florida and Utah saw strong challenges in their Regions, and the Tuscaloosa Regional saw just 0.65 separate 2nd from last. The increasing parity is partially due to a rising pool of talent, a higher level of coaching talent, and a relatively static NCAA code (by which routines are evaluated). This combination creates the potential that at least one of the preseason Top 12, and possibly a traditional top qualifier, will once again not be qualifying to Nationals. Last season, Stanford went from Super Six to the sidelines, and in prior seasons, both UGA and UCLA missed the National meet. The tables below are as complete as we know at this point in the season. The tables will be updated as the season gets closer and new information becomes available. Also, check out the Key to the Tables at the right to interpret the codes we use in the capsules. |
Key to the Tables: Ranking: By 2012 Preseason Coaches' Poll Coaches: Only regular, paid coaches are listed. Starting Routines: Defined by starting lineup in last meet of the post season. Fr = Freshman Status Codes for Returners: I = major season ending injury in 2011 S = Under suspension |
|
|
|