Shaking up the SEC: 5 memorable moments from Week 7 of NCAA gymnastics
We’re rewinding the tape and reminiscing on five of the most memorable moments from Week 7 of NCAA gymnastics season!
Full recaps:
- NCAA men’s gymnastics Week 7: Oklahoma ekes out win over Nebraska; Falcons prevail at All-Academy
- NCAA women’s gymnastics Week 7 recap: Cali, EAGL battles end in ties, upsets abound nationwide
1. No. 8 LSU takes down the undefeated No. 2 ranked Florida Gators
In a huge Friday night upset, the LSU Tigers took down Florida by scoring a 198.100 over the Gator’s 197.975. LSU had a heck of a night, with junior Haleigh Bryant scoring nothing below a 9.925 and earning a 39.775 all-around for a career high. Sophomore Aleah Finnegan earned the third perfect 10 of her career and it was her first perfect score on balance beam.
Despite falling to LSU, the Florida Gators still took home a perfect 10 on beam and a first place all-around title for Trinity Thomas. Unfortunately, Florida’s scores fell short on bars and vault, resulting in LSU being able to take the lead.
2. The NCAA’s first matchup of two Black female head coaches
Kelsey Hinton, head coach for William & Mary, and Fisk University’s Head Coach Corrinne Tarver made history by being the first Black female head coaches to compete against each other in NCAA gymnastics. The W&M Tribe led Fisk 190.025 to 189.550 in this historic match in Kaplan Arena on Sunday.
Despite the road loss, a highlight from the meet was Fisk freshman Morgan Price scoring big on vault with a stuck Yurchenko full, earning a 9.925.
3. UCLA and Cal tie things up in Haas
The much-anticipated Pac-12 matchup of the week, No.6 UCLA took on No. 7 Cal on the Golden Bears’ home turf. A legendary in-state rivalry, the Frazier sisters going head-to-head, and first-year UCLA Head Coach Janelle McDonald going toe-to-toe with her mentors from Cal… what more could you possibly ask for? How about a tie? I know, we can’t believe it either.
The night ended with both teams scoring a 197.975, which is the highest away score UCLA has recorded in four years. The team also recorded a season high on balance beam, earning a 49.625. Cal clearly had a great night as well; this was the school’s second-highest score in program history and highest beam score.
And don’t you DARE forget about the Frazier sisters, who had themselves a NIGHT with both scoring big on floor. Margzetta Frazier scored a 9.925 for the Bruins and eMjae Frazier scored a 9.975 for the Golden Bears.
The best part of the outstanding Saturday night matchup was watching big sister Margzetta and Jordan Chiles cheer on eMjae as she performed her floor routine, something eMjae told Gymnastics Now she was looking forward to in a pre-meet interview last Wednesday.
4. Air Force takes down Army and Navy in the All-Academy Championship
Air Force edged out Army and Navy on several events, including floor, vault, and rings. However, the Falcons absolutely dominated on pommel horse, earning a huge 66.85 compared to Army’s 63.70 and Navy’s 62.65. This big score helped the team remain in the lead despite having the lowest score on high bar, earning a 62.10 while Army scored a 62.95 and Navy took home the highest score on the event with a 63.85.
Air Force walked away with the best team score of 396.55 – a 3.55 point lead over Navy’s 393.00 and a 7.40 lead over Army’s 389.15.
5. No. 16 Missouri takes down No. 5 Auburn
As they stated on their entertaining Twitter account, the Mizzou upset queens are back. The Missouri Tigers took down the Auburn Tigers in the Hearnes Center on Sunday night. Auburn fell to Mizzou, 196.550 to 197.450, after a rough night for the Auburn that saw the Tigers rest key all-around gymnasts Cassie Stevens and Suni Lee on multiple events, while also having some tough falls on balance beam, resulting in counting a low score.
On the other hand, the Mizzou Tigers had themselves a night with a huge home crowd to hype them up! The crowd cheered on the team, who had a solid performance overall, including two 9.950s on floor from Amari Celestine and Alisa Sheremeta. Oh and by the way, Mizzou’s Jocelyn Moore FINALLY earned a much-deserved perfect 10 on vault for her beautiful Yurchenko 1.5.
P.S. It wasn’t all bad for Auburn. A notable mention for the Tigers, Sophia Groth won the all-around, earning a 39.275.
Honorable mentions
It’s hard to pick just five memorable moments when this season and its athletes are just too dang good, so here’s this weeks honorable mentions section, where we highlight some more moments from the weekend that we couldn’t let go unnoticed…
Let’s talk about those LIU Sharks. This is the second competition in a row the Long Island University gymnastics team broke its school record. This week, the team earned a new program-best of 195.925 to tie with the visiting Towson Tigers. Besides recording a program-best score, the Sharks also had some new tricks up their sleeve: Katy Koopman debuted a tucked Yurchenko 1.5, making her the first LIU Shark to perform a vault that has a start value of 10.0.
