NCAA women’s gymnastics Week 4: Top teams settling in as conference contests heat up

Week 3 brought us exciting matchups and thrilling upsets in NCAA women’s gymnastics. Week 4 is back for more. Read on for a preview of this week’s action and top storylines to follow.

SEC rivalry 

#17 Georgia @ #2 Florida

The Georgia Gymdogs come into this meet looking to build on last week’s huge season-high 197.225 performance at home. Look for Georgia’s two all-around gymnasts, Haley de Jong and Naya Howard, to lead the time once again.

As a freshman, Howard has really come into her own and is extremely balanced across all four events. Senior de Jong is performing some of the best gymnastics of her NCAA career. Combined, they should help Georgia give Florida a good meet. NCAA gym fans have been waiting for Georgia gymnastics to return to the NCAA powerhouse it once was. This road meet will be a good building block to continue their great season thus far.

The No. 2 Gators are back at home after a road victory against Alabama. While Florida did take the meet, the team wass not as sharp as they usually are. Look for them to dial in on landings across all events, but especially on vault.

With the stakes of this meet pretty low, this may be a week that Gator head coach Jenny Rowland rests fifth-year star Trinity Thomas on floor exercise. Gator freshmen Kayla DiCello has adapted quite nicely to college gymnastics, earning a 39.5 all-around score last week. Look for a big contribution from her again.

Florida could use either more stuck landings or 10.0 start values on vault to try to get into the 198 range. Getting fifth-year transfer Rachel Baumann back on vault with her 10.0 start value would be extremely beneficial for the Gators. If healthy, look for her to go all out against her former team.

B1G battle

#11 Ohio State @ #3 Michigan

The visiting Ohio State Buckeyes are performing their best gymnastics in years. Ohio State comes into a big rivalry meet against the Michigan Wolverines trying to build off their stellar 197.225 showing last week. The Buckeyes especially excel on bars and floor exercise, so outstanding performances on those events will keep this meet close.

Senior Elexis Edwards is outstanding on three events, so expect big contributions from her on vault, uneven bars, and floor exercise. Freshman Payton Harris took no time making a big splash for the Buckeyes and should make her presence known in the all-around once again. Ohio State has all the momentum needed to come into Ann Arbor and give the Wolverines a run for their money.

The hosting Michigan Wolverines are coming off a bit of an uncharacteristic meet that they dropped to Michigan State on the road. This week, the Wolverines will use their home arena in an attempt to get back to their winning ways.

As has plagued them a bit all season, beam proved problematic once again last week. Expect the Wolverines to come out strong on beam this week and put the first few weeks behind them. Look for big all-around performances from Gabby Wilson, Sierra Brooks, and Abby Heiskell, per usual. This is the top-ranked team in the nation on floor exercise. The Wolverines will likely put on a huge performance there as they try to close the meet and secure a win. 

Big 12 showdown

#1 Oklahoma @ #9 Denver

This top 10 conference meet sees Oklahoma traveling to Denver following a near-198 performance at home last week. As they have been known to do, the Sooners will try to pull away on vault and floor exercise, where they are ranked first and second in the nation, respectively. Putting up six 10.0 start value vaults will certainly give them an edge over Denver.

Sooner freshman Faith Torrez has already made a name for herself at Oklahoma, leading the team last week with a 39.525 all-around score. Torrez, along with sophomore Jordan Bowers, should pace the team once again. Junior Katherine LeVasseur has only competed on vault this season due to back issues. This could be the meet that she is cleared for more events, further increasing lineup options for head coach KJ Kindler. 

Home team Denver is coming off of a strong showing on the road last week. However, they have a higher ceiling and will look to bring that out in this meet against the top team in the country. Junior Jessica Hutchinson has been a cornerstone for the team all season and hit her first bar routine of the season last time out. Expect her to build on that all-around performance for the Pioneers this week.

Last week, Denver ended up changing up lineups a bit. Sophomore Momoko Iwai was absent without an explanation. Additionally, sixth-year standout Lynnzee Brown was slated to vault before scratching. These are certainly two storylines to watch out for as the season progresses. Look for Denver to put out their strongest lineup possible to maximize their team score against the reigning national champion Sooners.

Pac-12 matchup

#16 Oregon State @ #6 UCLA 

Oregon State visits UCLA after a season-high 197.2 performance last week in which the Beavers were able to achieve a 49+ score on bars for the first time this season. The Beavers are excellent on beam, which happens to be UCLA’s weakest event, so that is an opportunity for them to keep the meet close.

Olympic gold medalist Jade Carey has been superb across all four events thus far, and this meet should be no exception. She should be joined in the all-around by sixth-year Madi Dagen. The two will likely be the headliners for the Beavers in this road meet.

After two very strong meets to start the season, the UCLA Bruins had a bit of trouble on beam their last time out. The Bruins are going to need a strong performance on the event if they plan to win their home opener. Of note, world beam silver medalist Ana Padurariu is expected to slot into UCLA’s beam lineup this week, according to UCLA gymnastics writer Benjamin Royer. This will certainly boost the team’s scoring potential on its lowest-ranked event.

Chae Campbell, Jordan Chiles, and Selena Harris should once again make significant all-around contributions for the Bruins. Overall, expect UCLA to use their first home meet to keep building on their strong start thus far.