NCAA women’s gymnastics Week 3 recap: Michigan State pulls off upset, Florida and OU remain top teams

NCAA women’s gymnastics season is in full swing and has not disappointed thus far. Below we recap the top meets and key notes from Week 3 of competition.

Florida rises to the challenge in road test

#2 Florida @ #11 Alabama

Overall, the Florida Gators and Alabama Crimson Tide turned in team scores that were lower than what they have become accustomed to. Both teams used this meet as an opportunity to test depth. As one of the meet’s commentators Kathy Johnson-Clark noted, “It’s not depth if you don’t use it.” This point in the season marks a good time for teams to see who can step up, should they need to fill lineup spots in the back half of the season.

The Gators were victorious in this meet winning 197.325 to Alabama’s 196.45. While the Gators did take the meet, they were a bit off on their floor exercise landings and did not stick any vaults. These missed tenths led to a score in the low-197s instead of the high-197s that the team produced in its first two meets.

Florida’s three all-around gymnasts in the meet, Trinity Thomas, Kayla DiCello, and Leanne Wong, led the team by scoring a 39.65, 39.5, and 39.45, respectively. Gator fans were able to breathe a sigh of relief as fifth-year student Rachel Baumann performed a floor routine (9.825) after sitting out last week with an elbow tweak. She was yet to make her return to the vault lineup, but when she is good to go, her 10.0 start value will be greatly welcomed. Junior Chloi Clark filled in for Baumann on vault (9.775) once again. Still toying with its beam lineup, Florida gave junior transfer student Victoria Nguyen the opportunity to make her beam debut (9.825).

The Crimson Tide heavily evaluated their depth this meet. With senior Makarri Doggette and fifth-year Shallon Olsen sitting out with minor injuries, three athletes made their season debuts. Junior Shania Adams, freshman Lauren Little, and fifth-year Sania Mitchell all stepped up for the Crimson Tide for the first time this year. Despite counting a fall on bars and producing an average vault rotation, Alabama shined on floor with four of their five counting scores coming in at 9.9 or better. Sophomore Lilly Hudson was the only all-around gymnast for Alabama this time out and scored a very respectable 39.425.

Battle of the Tigers

#12 Missouri @ #13 LSU

In their home arena, the LSU Tigers won the meet with a 197.15. Despite the team scores being close going into the final rotation, Missouri was unable to catch LSU and ended with a 196.525 team score.

For LSU, junior Haleigh Bryant was once again the leader with a 39.75 all-around score, capped by a perfect 10 on vault. LSU seems to have mostly settle into the lineups it will use going forward without injured senior Kiya Johnson (Achilles). The only change from last week was that senior Alyona Shchennikova was in the beam lineup in favor of sophomore KJ Johnson. Beam did give the LSU Tigers some trouble this meet, having to count 3 sub-9.75 scores after a fall in the leadoff spot. LSU’s highlight of the meet was without a doubt their vault rotation, where they earned a 49.475 on the back of Bryant’s 10.

The Missouri Tigers gave LSU a battle, but they were not able to steal the meet on beam. While beam is typically Missouri’s best event, the team could not break a 49 on the event. The Tigers had scored a 49 or above on beam in their previous 22 meets. Senior Sienna Schreiber was Missouri’s only all-arounder and paced the team with her 39.3. NCAA gymnastics fans rejoiced when another key contributor, Amari Celestine, made her season debut, competing on vault, bars, and floor after missing the first two meets. 

Rivalry Meet

#3 Michigan @ #14 Michigan State

This meet was everything and more.

The Michigan State Spartans pulled off the upset at home, winning 197.2 to Michigan’s 196.975. This was the first rivalry win for the Spartans since 2007.

Spartan freshman Nikki Smith and sophomore Gabrielle Stephen were the leaders of the victorious Spartans, scoring a 39.525 and 39.425 in the all-around, respectively. Smith stuck her Yurchenko 1.5 for the first time this season and was rewarded with a 9.95. Stephen stood out on beam with a team-high 9.9 for her difficult, yet well-executed, set. Michigan State went into the meet trying to rejuvenate its bars lineup after some struggles in its previous meets. Sophomore Skyla Schulte had an uncharacteristic fall in the leadoff spot for the Spartans, putting extra pressure on the final five athletes to hit. Showing what they were made of, MSU’s final five all hit their routines, leading to a team total of 49.25. This should bode well for their confidence moving forward. The Spartans’ 197.2 was a season high, and there is still room to improve with more stuck landings.

The 2021 national champion Michigan Wolverines were a bit off all night.

Starting on bars, the majority of their lineup was underrotated on their dismounts, something atypical of the team. They were not able to find their trademark sticks on vault either. The Wolverines were outstanding on floor, the only event in which they outscored Michigan State, earning a 49.550. Seniors Sierra Brooks and Nicoletta Koulos, as well as junior Naomi Morrison, all went 9.925+. As it was in their first meet of the season, beam proved troublesome for the Wolverines, and the team earned only a 48.925 after big bobbles. Look for the team to rebound significantly on the event their next time out. Senior Gabby Wilson was the team leader with a 39.45 all-around score. Of note to fans with questions about Michigan’s depth, freshman Kaylen Morgan competed lineup-worthy exhibition sets on vault and bars.

Top 5 faceoff

#5 Utah @ #1 Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Sooners showed why they are the defending national champions with a 197.925-197.275 win over the Utah Utes.

Oklahoma started strong on vault, as they have been known to do. Numerous stuck vaults and four 9.925+ scores led to an outstanding 49.65 team score on the event. Freshman Faith Torrez was the meet’s all-around winner and contributed a 39.525 to Oklahoma’s total score. Right behind her was Sooner sophomore Jordan Bowers, who earned a 39.5 for her performance. Despite a few bouncy landings, the Sooners were still able to notch a 49.5 on floor to close out the meet and secure the victory.

On the whole, the Utah Utes seemed a bit nervous in their first true away meet of the season. After getting in a bit of a hole with an uncharacteristic 49.15 uneven bars rotation, the Utes were never able to catch the Sooners. The Utes’ best rotation was vault, where they earned a 49.525 team score, highlighted by 2022 national vault champion Jaedyn Rucker’s 9.975. Like Oklahoma, Utah had a bit of trouble finding landings on their floor exercise passes. The Utes ended the meet on their signature event, beam, and managed to score a 49.4 despite a fall from beam star Abby Paulson and 9.775 from sophomore and Olympic silver medalist Grace McCallum. The Utes will file this away as a learning opportunity and regroup at home this Saturday.