NCAA women’s gymnastics Week 7 recap: Cali, EAGL battles end in ties, upsets abound nationwide

Week 7 of NCAA women’s gymnastics was filled with upsets, ties, and great meets as teams made the push toward earning solid National Qualifying Scores (NQS). Read on for our recap of key meets and moments from this week.

SEC showdown

#9 Alabama @ #19 Georgia

Alabama came back to earth just a bit after its 198 in Week 6, but Week 7’s 197.525 was enough to secure the victory on the road against Georgia. Senior Luisa Blanco was instrumental to the Crimson Tide’s success, earning a huge 39.75 in the all-around with no score below a 9.9.

This was a great meet for Georgia, improving on Week 6’s score by over a point. This time out, the Bulldogs earned a season-high 197.325. 

Georgia’s season-high team score came on the back of season-high event scores on both floor (49.5) and beam (49.4). On floor, sophomore Maeve Hahn made her collegiate debut in the leadoff spot. Also of note, Georgia was able to rebound on beam in a big way after only a 48.7 on the apparatus in Week 6.

Pac-12 faceoff

#6 UCLA @ #7 California

This matchup was a meet for the ages, ending in a tie at 197.975, a season-high for both teams. 

Going into this meet, both teams were looking to improve on vault as compared to the previous week. They did just that with a 49.3 for UCLA and 49.4 for California. The teams were able to clean up the landings on their vaults which saved them crucial tenths.

The most important accomplishment for UCLA was their season-high 49.625 on balance beam. The team looked unflappable on the event, counting no score below a 9.9. Being able to hit beam on the road like this is going to bode very well in the postseason.

California also earned their own season-high on beam with a 49.525 rotation. Junior Gabby Perea got the green light to do her standing full in the anchor spot after five great hits before her. It was a truly wholesome moment.

In her first collegiate meet against her sister, eMjae Frazier led her Golden Bears and took the all-around title with a 39.7. This was a huge career-high, besting her previous mark of 39.375.

EAGL Matchup

Towson @ LIU

This conference matchup also ended in a tie with both teams earning a 195.925. This marked a new program record for the LIU Sharks.

This meet was full of firsts for LIU. Freshman Syd Morris made their all-around debut and earned a 39.275. Additionally, senior Katy Koopman became the first gymnast to perform a 10.0 start value vault for the Sharks with her tucked Yurchenko 1.5. 

LIU also received a program record 49.275 floor score. Overall, this was quite the historic meet for the Sharks.

Towson has really relied on their uneven bars rotation to push them over the 196 mark thus far this season. This time, however, their bars routines contained little mistakes which gave away tenths toward their team score. These errors combined with not receiving a single score of 9.9 or above on any event meant a sub-196 score for the Tigers for only the third time this season.

B1G Battle

#17 Minnesota @ #24 Maryland

The Minnesota Golden Gophers narrowly got the conference victory on the road with a 196.8 to Maryland’s 196.65. 

Beam remains a concern for the Golden Gophers who were unable to break 49 for the fifth time this season. Freshman Brooklyn Rowray was in the beam lineup for teammate Mya Hooten this week, but Hooten did an exhibition worthy of lineup time. The Golden Gophers are going to need to keep experimenting to find their six most consistent athletes on the event.

Maryland was able to earn a 49 or better on every event, highlighted by a season-high 49.45 on floor. The Terrapins had a few uncharacteristic mistakes on bars, which is typically a great event for the team, so they will be looking to return to form on the event next time out.

Around the country

• LSU earned its first 198 of the season, upsetting Florida at home 
• Missouri earned its first 197 of the season in a home upset over Auburn.
• Oregon State’s Jade Carey earned the highest all-around score in the country this season with a 39.875 including two perfect 10s.
• Arizona’s Malia Hargrove earned a career-high 39.550 all-around score highlighted by a 9.975 on vault
• Arizona State upset Utah with the Ute’s star all-around gymnast Grace McCallum on the sidelines.