NCAA women’s gymnastics Week 5: Fireworks expected from sold out Iron Bowl, UCLA-Utah

February is upon us as NCAA women’s gymnastics teams across the country eye high team scores at home and away ahead of the the first National Qualifying Score (NQS) rankings later this month.

Here are four matchups to watch this weekend.

SEC showdowns

#6 Auburn @ #11 Alabama

The gymnastics version of the Iron Bowl is upon us. This is sure to be a great meet as both teams are very evenly matched.

The Auburn Tigers will look for big all-around contributions from their stars Suni Lee and Cassie Stevens. Teammate Derrian Gobourne should also shine and has the capability to go 9.9 on any of her three events.

In order to take this meet, Auburn is going to need others to step up and get into the 9.9 scoring range. Sophia Groth and Olivia Hollingsworth can make big all-around contributions for the Tigers when they are on. Expect great nights from them after they were stuck in the 9.8 range last time out. 

The Alabama Crimson Tide will attempt to ride the energy of their home crowd to a win over their in-state rival. Senior Makarri Doggette was huge for the Tide last week with a 10 on bars and a 9.925 on vault. Look for big contributions from her on those two events once again. All-around gymnasts Luisa Blanco and Lilly Hudson can score big, and they will have to if Alabama wants to secure this win at home.

One thing to keep an eye on is Alabama’s beam lineup. The Crimson Tide have been switching it up so far this season, and there appears to be one spot that’s truly up for grabs. Look to see who gets the call this week and what implications that may have for future meets. Additionally, fifth-year Shallon Olsen was absent from lineups for the second-consecutive week. If she is healthy and able to go, Alabama would have the opportunity to put up six 10.0 vaults, something Auburn has not done this season.

#2 Florida @ #18 Arkansas

The Florida Gators travel to Fayetteville after nearly scoring a 198 at home. Host Arkansas is coming off a big upset win over LSU and looks poised to keep rolling.

The Gators seem to be trying to get sophomore Sloane Blakely going in the all around again. She had some stumbles on vault and floor last week, so keep an eye out to see if the Gators keep her in those two lineups to gain confidence.

This may be another week in which fifth-year Trinity Thomas does not compete in the all-around. The Gators are treading carefully with her early in the season to ensure she will be completely healthy for a national championship run. Sophomore Leanne Wong has competed in the all-around the last three weeks and may be rested as well. The Gators have plenty of depth if they choose to rest either gymnast on a few events.

The Gators will be looking to put together a strong team score on the road that they can use toward their NQS.

Arkansas is hosting its second home meet in a row and should be able to build on last week’s outstanding performance. Fifth-year Norah Flatley didn’t compete in the all-around last year, but expect Arkansas to have her ready to go on all four this time out to give Florida a run for its money.

The Razorbacks do not have the same level of difficulty on vault as the Gators. Therefore, the Arkansas vault lineup is going to want to heavily focus on their landings in order to keep the meet close. 

If the Razorbacks are able to put up six strong beam routines, they can make this meet interesting.

Pac-12 faceoff

#5 UCLA @ #4 Utah

This meet is sure to be entertaining. With the teams ranked as close as possible, it’s really anyone’s meet to win.

For the visiting Bruins, the focus will be on beam – their weakest event this season. UCLA can’t afford to count a fall in this high-stakes matchup. After an exhibition last week, we’ll likely see world beam silver medalist Ana Padurariu on the event.

UCLA should get big contributions from all-arounders Jordan Chiles and Selena Harris. It’s the routines that fill in the rest of the lineups that will be crucial if UCLA wants to steal this one from the home team.

These two teams really have opposite strengths. While Utah is exquisite on beam, UCLA shines on floor. The Utes will need to capitalize on their strong beam rotation and minimize deductions on floor exercise to get the win. 

Utah has not shown its full potential on bars yet this year, so watch for that to be top notch this time out. After a bit of an uncharacteristic start, sophomore bars specialist Sage Thompson was absent from the lineup last time out. If she returns to her typical form, Utah gets a big boost to its scoring potential.

Big 12 matchup

Iowa State @ #1 Oklahoma

Both the Cyclones and Sooners put up their best scores of the season last week, and this week is all about building on that momentum.

After a slow start, Iowa State currently sits outside of the regionals cut off, an unfamiliar position for the team. The Cyclones are going to want to put up a clean performance on all four events to get a usable road score for their NQS. 

Bars is the event that is holding Iowa State back from achieving that elusive 196 score. With a season-high only 48.325 so far, putting together a rotation that can score 49 should be the team’s goal this time out and for the rest of season. Improving on bars is likely going to be enough to get this team the regionals birth that it has become accustomed to.

Oklahoma has easily been the best team in the nation so far this year. The Sooners may use this meet to test their depth across all four events.

Sophomore Jordan Bowers has been in the all-around for four-straight meets, so the Sooners might opt to rest her on some events this week. Classmate Danae Fletcher exhibitioned on vault and bars last week, so there is a chance she slides into one of those lineups this time out. 

Beam is another place that would be good for the Sooners to test their depth. Freshman Ava Siegfeldt was in the lineup to start the season but was absent last weekend. She may get another go this time out. Classmate Faith Torrez is most known for her beam work. She could also return to the lineup this week if other contributors are resting.

Overall, Oklahoma looks ready to compete for a title today, and we are only in Week 5. The Sooners have the opportunity to play with lineups and allow new gymnasts to get competition experience since they are by and far favored to win this matchup. When the postseason comes, everyone has to be ready to go at any given moment.