Hello everyone, and welcome to Gymnastics Insider!
The highlight of this past week was the American Cup, which China (!!!) won. If you missed it, here’s a replay of the Peacock broadcast, and here are the results.
I still don’t like the mixed gender team format, but I have to admit that this was a fun watch. It was also kind of a splatfest, which is fine, it’s still early in the season.
After three rounds of competition, China took the win, followed by Team USA and Japan. If you don’t want to learn the rules of this thing, it’s fine; just know that two women competed in each of three rounds, and the scores were dropped after each round.
China
The athletes competing for China in round one did well, putting them in first at the end of the first round. Zhang Qingying earned a 13.850 for a hit bar routine; the only big error here was a very late pirouette going into her full-in dismount.
In the second round, Peacock skipped Ke Qinqin on beam — a crime against humanity — but we were told she got a 13.100 with a fall. It was an incredible routine aside from the fall and a couple of minor wobbles. You know you’re seeing greatness when even when it sucks, it’s awesome.
Tian Zhuofan’s incredible bar routine — featuring two one-armed pirouettes straight into a laid out jaeger — was a highlight in the third round, earning her a 14.450, the highest score of the night for the women.
Zhang to take the win finished on beam. She fell on her layout to two feet, but still got a 13.550. The boys did well this round, giving China the undisputed win (57.250).
USA
Claire Pease started off with a hit floor for a 13.000, though she struggled with bouncy landings. Charleigh Bullock started on beam with a routine that was going pretty well until she fell on her side somi, getting an 11.750. The men had a fall on floor as well, so they finished the first round in third.
In the second round, Hezly Rivera was a bit jittery on beam but hit for a 13.400. Bullock had a redemption bar routine. She hit a gorgeous set for a 14.100, the second-highest score of the night for women.
Mistakes from the dudes almost kept the U.S. from advancing, but they ended up in third.
Rivera led the third round with a gorgeous floor, including clean landings on her first three passes for a 13.600. Pease finished the day with a 13.850 on bars for a pretty routine that just had a hop on the underrotated dismount. The boys had a fall, and China’s performance in this round couldn’t be beat (54.700).
Japan
In the first round, Nakamura Haruka looked super nervous going into floor. She balked her first pass, giving her an 11.600. But everyone else on Team Japan did well, putting them in second.
Peacock didn’t show the women in the second round — another crime against humanity — even though the team ended up on top there.
Nakamura had a very, very nervous beam in the third round, with several big wobbles, putting her chest down on a simple switch leap. But she stayed on for a 12.700.
Kishi Rina finished on floor, but flew out of bounds on her first pass and stumbled out in the second, earning a 12.050. The boys did well in this round, but the women’s performances held Japan back for third (54.100).
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Stray thoughts
- Other highlights included a hit bar routine for Ruby Stacey (13.200). Otherwise, Great Britain had a rough day, with Abi Martin falling twice on beam in the second round; the team was eliminated there.
- The U.S. leos were gorgeous. I don’t normally like a collar, but it works here. Bravo.
- Tim Daggett, who normally just announces for the men’s side these days, was there. Honestly, I can’t remember why I was mad at him, so welcome back, Tim!
- I was curious to see how they would attempt to explain this format to the laypeople, and NBC didn’t disappoint, relying on AI to do it for them.
NCAA news
After week 10 (NQS):
Oklahoma 197.967
LSU 197.897
Florida 197.593
Alabama 197.508
UCLA 197.431
Oklahoma and LSU are neck and neck here, though somehow Florida has the high score of the season, earning a 198.4500 at home against LSU over the weekend.
It’s going to be tight (Florida won by just 0.125). Though I’m loath to root for the overdog, my bet is on Oklahoma. They had another double header this weekend, but managed to eke out a 198.1750 at home.
The individual all-around will be thrilling too — Jordan Chiles, Kailin Chio, Anna Roberts and Addison Fatta are all on top of their game this year. The first three are tied for the highest all-around score of the season, a 39.875. Time will tell if Chiles can complete her gym slam (she needs a 10 on beam) before she graduates.
JJ Coleman scored a 10 on floor for Ohio State, the program’s first 10 since before many of these ladies were born.
Georgia’s Lily Smith is out for the rest of the season with a broken foot.
Chiles and Ana Bărbosu are friendly in spite of, well, everything.
More upsetting stories keep coming out of Iowa State in the wake of the program’s downfall. Alum Meaghan Sievers told Planet of Gymnastics that at one point there was no heat in the gym when it was freezing outside. She also says that she hurt her ankle when she vaulted into a too-shallow pit and landed on concrete. The injury required two surgeries.
Yesterday featured Florida at Kentucky, Eastern Michigan and Oklahoma at Michigan, Georgia at Alabama, Missouri at Auburn, and Arkansas at LSU. Tonight we’ll see Utah at UCLA.
Full standings and schedule at Road to Nationals, and CollegeGymNews has a recap.
NCAA postseason guide
Can you believe the NCAA season is nearly over? This is our last week of regular meets before conference championships next Friday through Saturday.
Then, we have regionals, featuring the top 36 teams based on NQS. Teams ranked 1-16 will be seeded, while the remaining 20 teams will be placed in four regionals based on geography. The NCAA will announce the bracket on Monday, March 23.
Then, there’s the backbreaking regionals weekend, with nine teams competing at each of four regionals sites.
The first round is a wildcard round, with two teams competing for a shot at regional semifinals. The regional semifinal features the wildcard winner plus the remaining seven teams. The top four from the semifinal go to regional finals, and the top two from the regional final go to nationals.
That leaves us with eight teams total. They will compete over two semifinals, with the top two teams from each going to Four on the Floor for the trophy.
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Elite comp news
Baku Apparatus World Cup
Russia built on their success at Cottbus with another successful apparatus world cup in Baku last weekend. Anna Kalmykova won the vault final with a 13.716 average, repeating her Cottbus win, and also took silver on floor. Laila Vasileva took silver on bars with a gorgeous routine that earned a 14.033.
Kaylia Nemour walked away with bars gold, earning a 15.233 — over a point ahead of Vasileva — in the final with a 7.0 D score. She also nabbed beam silver.
But the real story from Baku is Japan’s Okamura Mana, who won beam and floor. She earned a 13.533 on floor. Her difficulty there is nothing to write home about, but her landings were so clean and the 8.033 in execution was well deserved.
On beam, she got a 14.133 with a 6.0 D score. She didn’t make the split position on her switch full, but otherwise, this was a well-executed routine.
Mar 12-15 Antalya Apparatus World Cup
(Results, h/t Reddit hero)
Qualifications are complete at the Antalya Apparatus World Cup. Liudmila Roshchina is in the lead on vault, Milana Kaiumova and Roshchina are leading bars and beam, and Roshchina is ahead on floor. Vault and bars finals are tonight, and floor and beam medals will be awarded tomorrow.
Reading material
A Fraction of a Point: A Gymnastics Dynasty on the Line is available wherever books are sold! Here’s the publisher’s summary:
When the Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School gymnastics team competes in the Ohio High School Athletic Association state gymnastics meet, they’re expected to win. That’s because they’ve won each year-since 2004. And as the streak builds, there’s more pressure each year on the public school’s team to continue that tradition. No year was more tense than the year that they were hoping to take home their 20th straight title.
A Fraction of a Point follows the Bees throughout the intense 2022-2023 season as the team works toward the state meet. During one of their most competitive seasons in recent years, sports journalist Nina Mandell explores the gymnasts’ backstories and traces the legacy of the Ganim family, the team’s longtime coaches.
Five at the IX
Hezly Rivera spoke to Gymcastic following podium training at the American Cup:
Mondays: Soccer
By: Annie Peterson, @AnnieMPeterson, AP Women’s Soccer
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By: Joey Dillon, @JoeyDillon, Freelance Tennis Writer
Wednesdays: Basketball
By: Howard Megdal, @HowardMegdal, The IX Sports
Thursdays: Golf
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Saturdays: Gymnastics
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