NCAA women’s gymnastics: Week 8 Power Rankings & meets to watch

Each week, Gymnastics Now’s NCAA women’s gymnastics writers – Patricia Duffy and Hannah Johnson – will share their “Power Rankings“ for the top 10 women’s teams, providing insight into why certain teams are trending up and others trending down.

These rankings are purely subjective. A (+) or (-) next to each team will signify how far the team rose or fell compared to the previous week.

Hannah Johnson

Intern, NCAA Women

1. Oklahoma (-)

I feel like I sound like a broken record at this point, but Oklahoma looks unbeatable. Their execution and consistency is unmatched.

2. Utah (+7)

While the home scoring sometimes gets a little out of hand at the Huntsman Center, Utah looked like a different team this week. They seem to be adjusting to lineups without Grace McCallum. Most importantly, the Utes went 49.525 on vault after not breaking 49 the previous two weeks. They have huge momentum coming off this meet. 

3. LSU (+7)

I am extremely impressed with how LSU responded to having to replace five routines from their typical lineups. Newcomers really stepped up when needed. Winning on the road in the SEC is always a challenge, but it is even more impressive considering injuries to key contributors.

4. Florida (-1)

The Gators broke 198 and were excellent on bars, beam, and floor. As has been the case this season, their vault scores really are not at the level of the other three events. I would like to see them elevate the vault scores a bit, but going 49.8 on bars is nothing to scoff at.

5. Oregon State (unranked)

The Beavers received their first ever 198+ score in Week 8 at Stanford. This is a huge accomplishment that deserves some recognition. Oregon State earned a season high on every event en route to this new program record. The Beavers are in a good spot as they hit the road again for another conference matchup in Week 9.

6. Michigan (-4)

I had a hard time trying to rank Michigan because they had two meets this weekend with rather different results (197.1 vs 198.275). I think the second score more accurately depicts the state of this team, but a smaller scoring differential would have led me to rank them higher for power rankings purposes.

7. UCLA (-3)

Things are clicking on all cylinders for the Bruins. They were able to match their season high of 49.4 on vault, which is very impressive with limited 10.0 start value vaults. Getting sophomore Emma Malabuyo back on the event is huge for them. Beam was steady on the road for the second week in a row. The Bruins should be really happy with the way they are performing at this point in the season.

8. Alabama (-)

The Crimson Tide nearly went 198, but it was not without a few gifts. Beam was a strong rotation, but it was not an accurate 49.7. After narrowly dropping their meet to LSU at home, Alabama should be anxious to get the win against Missouri on the road.

9. Auburn (unranked)

I ended up choosing Auburn for this spot over California because the Tigers had a more balanced performance across all four events. California continues to be hit-or-miss on vault and relies heavily on bars and beam to boost its team scores. Auburn also got Aria Brusch back on bars, who went 9.9 on the event and will be an important contributor there for the postseason.

10. Michigan State (unranked)

The Spartans looked excellent at the Big 5 meet, earning a program record 197.675 – good for the highest score across both sessions. They nearly put on an identical performance at Illinois on Monday, but the judging was rather tight on vault, which led to a 197.45. Still, both performances indicate that Michigan State appears to be peaking at the right time to go far in the postseason.

Patricia Duffy

Founder, Gymnastics Now

1. Oklahoma (-)

Oklahoma is Oklahoma-ing. I’m just ready for Friday night to see how Florida fares against the Sooners. They can still gain some tenths on vault, but if this team can keep this trend going, literally unstoppable.

2. Utah (+6)

I’m not a Utah fan, but when I saw that 198.550 while sitting on press row at Winter Cup, my jaw dropped. I turned to my collegeaues also covering the meet, and we proceeded to be baffled for a good five minuutes while talking about what was happening in the NCAA. I don’t think the Red Rocks will be putting up this type of score, especially on the road, every meet moving forward, but it sure does seem like they’ve rebounded after the loss of Grace McCallum.

3. Florida (-)

Florida went 198+ for the second time this season, including a mind-boggling 49.8 on bars. All that without a 10 from Trinity Thomas? Impressivo.

4. UCLA (-)

I’m feeling very comfortable with putting UCLA in my top 4 this week. The Bruins’ early season beam woes seem to be a think of the past, vault looked impressive despite a lack of difficulty, and the almost went 198.

5. LSU (+4)

LSU has it worse, injury-wise, than Utah and basically the entirety of NCAA gymnastics this season, but the Tigers still find ways to win. It’s not luck; it’s clearly sheer hardwork and determination, and I think it could carry this team far in the postseason.

6. Michigan (-4)

I’m on the same page with Hannah; I don’t know what to make of the wide range of scores from Michigan’s two meets this weekend. Though the 198.275 came three days after the 197.100, so who knows. As far as power rankings go, I’ll put the Wolverines here until we see how they fare against Oklahoma on Monday.

7. California (-1)

Team scores in the 197.500 range seem to be the average for Cal, which means they’ve been performing consistently for over a month now. But the Golden Bears will need above average in the postseason. A preview of that comes this weekend, when they’ll face LSU as part of the P&G Podium Challenge.

8. Alabama (-3)

I don’t know what to make of Alabama after that scoring mess against LSU on Friday night. The 197.925 was generous to say the least, and they still didn’t come away with the W despite being the home team.

9. Auburn (-2)

I think NQS is showing its accuracy with these last four spots, because they’re identical to the actual rankings, and I didn’t even look at those until now. Going off pure vibes. Auburn pulled out a 197.550 to best rival Georgia at home, but they need to find some more time to rest their key performers – time that is dwindling with the postseason fast approaching.

10. Denver (-)

Denver is really averaging more on the low end of the 197 range, so I’ll keep the Pioneers right on the edge of the top 10 this week. I think they’re capable of performing consistently in the upper 197 range, but if they can get to that level and stay there before the season over is just that – an if.

Meets to Watch

Here are some of the exciting matchups we’ll be watching this weekend. All times are ET.

Friday, March 3

7 p.m. – #8 Alabama @ #14 Missouri – Video (SEC+)

7 p.m. – #9 Auburn @ #12 Kentucky – Live Stats | Video (SECN+)

7 p.m. – #6 LSU, #7 California, #23 Washington, and George Washington (P&G Podium Challenge)

9 p.m. – #2 Florida @ #1 Oklahoma – Live Stats | Video (ESPN2)

9 p.m. – #28 Arizona @ #3 Utah – Live Stats | Video (P12)

Saturday, March 4

5 p.m. – #11 Oregon State @ #15 Arizona State – Live Stats | Video (P12)

Sunday, March 5

2 p.m. – #24 Illinois, Kent State @ #16 Ohio State – Video (BTN+)

7 p.m. – #17 Arkansas @ #18 Georgia – Live Stats

3 p.m. – #21 Stanford @ #5 UCLA – Live Stats | Video (pac12)

Monday, March 6

5:30 p.m. – #1 Oklahoma @ #4 Michigan – Live Stats | Video (ESPNU)