(GYM) ***CLOSED***Gymnastics 2023 - 2024***CLOSED

1. Never underestimate the power of out-of-control judges when you see sci-fi scores around the nation.

2. UF looked passionless, and our scores reflected it. It's not good enough to just get by, the gymnasts have to excel. UF simply had a poor meet. Hope they got their big meet nerves worked out of their system.

3. The loss is basically no harm, no foul. UF retained its #4 NQS over Utah by a slim margin so the Gators will be on the Olympics Order in the Gainesville Regional.

4. In the Gainesville Regional, UF likely drops UCLA and picks up Michigan State. I'm not certain as there has to be two hosting switches for Arkansas and Michigan and I'm not sure how the teams will be switched. I am certain it will be Michigan State or UCLA coming to Gainesville. Six of one is half a dozen of the other as both are dangerous teams headed into the regional. UF will have to be on top of its game to advance to nationals:

4 Florida
5 Utah
9 UCLA or 10 Michigan State
13 Missouri

UF, Utah, and Mizzou are hold overs from last week's projections.

EDIT: I'm expecting 20 Georgia and 30 Clemson to be sent to Gainesville. There will have to be 2 teams from out of region to travel to Gainesville. I don't have a clue how the committee decides on who travels and who stays closer to home.

The committee will assign teams ranked 17-36 geographically close to home if possible.

Must tell you that I didn't watch the second half of the meet. In my mind it was all over except the crying midway through floor. After the second rotation, I switched over to UF at LSU baseball and enjoyed the Gators 6-4 comeback win. The LSU announcers were on the call, so it was glorious to hear them in shock when LSU gave up a 4-2 lead with the Gators scoring one each in the 8th and 9th after which Cags finished the game off with a 2-run homer to right center in the 11th. It was a screaming line drive I don't think got more than 15 feet off the ground, a wonderful way to end the UF sports day.

 

UF did score lower in meets 1 & 2 of the season.

As you may have read above, CJR asked to start on the beam as UF will likely start there or on floor if UF advances to the national finals. JMO, she experimented on this meet with the purpose of making her team experience the judging that goes with the seeding as you advance. Who is to say she wasn't right. As you stated, UF already has the SEC Season Championship.

UF wasn't the only team to have an off night. California had a 197.325 in the PAC 12s finishing 3rd and they started from the 1 seed position.

 

Note to the Board:

I recorded the Big 12s which were held in Lloyd Noble Center on the OU campus. The sooners scored the highest score ever. Prior to watching the meet, I already know the judges have an agenda for high scoring OU.

A couple of weeks ago, I read an article on College Gym News in which they openly speculated that this might be the year college gymnastics has its first 199 score. This is the same CGN that openly takes shots at LSU for having an instate conference final while saying nothing about OU being at home in Norman. This is the same CGN that has promoted Cal as the best team to compete with OU when they likely know that team is LSU. This is the same CGN who regularly questions LSU scoring and never questions OU's scoring. If CGN was promoting these 199 talks 2 weeks ago, it may be the political agenda of the judges to have this fix in mind, the first 199 score if it happens will go to OU. The scores of the last two OU meets indicates this is already happening.

OU's 197.775 last week was overscored by approximately .5. It is the meet that bama scored their highest road score of the season. The sooners in fact had a more challenging meet than usual missing most of their usual sticks on vault.

It won't be today as I intend to watch UF softball and baseball, but I'm going to fast forward through the PAC 12s which I recorded to focus on the sooners and score the sooners myself. At this point, I have come to the conclusion that I score more accurately and fairly than the judges. I've also come to think of College Gym News as a good fact source, but with biased opinions that cannot be trusted. More later after I score OU.....

 

Road to Nationals Week 12 National Qualifying Scores:

Standings (roadtonationals.com)

The top 36 will be invited to Oklahoma's coronation.

The 16 seeds:

1 Oklahoma 198.500
2 LSU 198.215
3 California 198.180
4 Florida 197.905
5 Utah 197.895
6 Denver 197.825
7 Kentucky 197.810
8 Alabama 197.805
9 UCLA 197.675
10 Michigan State 197.625
11 Michigan 197.545
12 Arkansas 197.445
13 Missouri 197.420
14 Auburn 197.315
15 Minnesota 197.310
16 North Carolina State 197.120

 

JMO, the scoring will have to be more fair and balanced than the sooners are accustomed to in the Big 12. The coaches have a say in this matter so the scoring is a coaches/judges issue. The SEC coaches will not tolerate OU's Big 12 style of favoritism in the SEC. The sooners will be scored just like the rest of the SEC programs, looser at home and tighter on the road per normal.

In my eyes this season, when LSU is Dr. Jeckyl, the tiggers are every bit as good as the sooners. Unfortunately for LSU, they have consistently allowed Mr. Hyde out of the box too often.

OU is consistently the best team in the nation. They don't need the inflated scores they are getting to convince the public, well, me.

 

College Gym News - The Dismount - Week 12:

The Dismount: Week 12 - College Gym News

Just more Oklahoma suck up from CGN. Notice they continue to reference the SEC Championship location in New Orleans while refusing to mention the Big 12 was on the OU campus in Lloyd Nobles Center in Norman, Oklahoma.

Oklahoma Sets New NCAA Gymnastics Scoring Record in Final Big 12 Win
The Sooners’ 198.950 is a new all-time NCAA scoring record toppling UCLA and Stanford’s twin 198.875s from 2004. It is the Sooners’ fourth top-ten all-time number this year.

Oklahoma swept Big 12 titles in its last conference championship in the conference before heading to the SEC next year. Jordan Bowers (vault, bars, floor), Ragan Smith (beam), and Faith Torrez (floor) all scored perfect 10s. The Sooners’ quest for a third-consecutive national title is looking more secure than ever.

LSU Wins First SEC Title Under Clark
The Tigers’ first win under head coach Jay Clark came in front of a friendly New Orleans crowd, topping Alabama by 0.325. Kentucky’s third-place finish was its highest SEC championship placement in program history. Konnor McClain’s 10 on beam was the only perfect number of the championship. Fellow Tiger Haleigh Bryant took the all-around title.

 

Kathy Johnson's farewell to gymnastics broadcasting:

Amanda Brooks on X: "A beautiful tribute to @kathyjohnsongym Thank you for everything you’ve given to gymnastics, KJC. The sport is better for it @bartconner @jordyn_wieber @Janel2001 @dannadurante @LSUgym @OU_WGymnastics @Gym_Trin @uclagymnastics @sportsiren @samanthapeszek @taylorbethdavis https://t.co/71FhBsYaaw" / X (twitter.com)

Good luck to Kathy. She will be missed.

 

Average Home Attendance Top 15 of 2024:

Charts (roadtonationals.com)

1. LSU 12,590
2. Utah 12,162
3. Alabama 10,595
4. Georgia 9,123
5. Auburn 9,121
6. Florida 8,702
7. Oklahoma 8,604
8. Clemson 8,508
9. Kentucky 7,432
10. Arkansas 7,073
11. UCLA 5,977
12. Michigan 5,409
13. Denver 4,712
14. Oregon State 4,678
15. Missouri 4,644

All 8 SEC programs are in the top 15.

If counting Oklahoma as SEC, the SEC would have 9 of the top 15 in average home attendance. It Just Means More in the SEC.

Clemson is the program that impresses me most in the top 15. They are 30th in the nation in NQS in a conference that just had its first ever conference championship. At 12:00 PM ET on ncaa.com, Clemson should be announced as one of the teams invited to the Gainesville Regional.

 

NCAA Regionals Released:

Florida is 2024 NCAA Gymnastics Championships Fourth Seed - Florida Gators

The nine-team field for the NCAA Gainesville Gymnastics Regional. I've added team NQS rank & changes due to hosting shifts:

• No. 4 Florida
• No. 5 Utah
• No. 10 *Michigan State
• No. 13 Missouri
• No. 20 Georgia
• No. 21 Towson
• No. 26 Maryland
• No. 30 Clemson
• No. 36 Iowa State

*Michigan State moved from 10 to 12 to accommodate host shifts. If not hosting, 12 Arkansas would have been in this slot. The piggies were moved up 2 slots due to hosting. The Gainesville Regional will be a cat fight as there are 3 nationals worthy teams in Gainesville.

Gainesville Regional Sessions:

5 Utah
10 Michigan State
21 Towson
26 Maryland

4 Florida
13 Missouri
20 Georgia
XX ??????? 30 Clemson vs. 36 Iowa State (Play-In Meet)

The top two from each session will move to the regional finals. I like Missouri, but I think the two advancing will come from Florida, Utah, and Michigan State. The Gators cannot afford an SEC Championship type of performance in either the session or the final. They will likely be watching nationals on TV like the rest of us if they do.

Other changes to regionals required by hosting:

Michigan from 11 to 9 at Ann Arbor.
Arkansas from 12 to 10 at Fayetteville.
UCLA from 9 to 11 at Berkeley.

The regionals will be televised on ESPN+ from April 3 to April 8. The meets are staggered this year to allow all of the regionals to be televised without overlap as in the past.

Release from College Gym New thankfully without opinions:

2024 Regionals Draw, Individual Qualifiers Announced - College Gym News

UF welcomes the teams to the Gainesville Regional:

Gators Gymnastics on X: " field is set! #Gators open competition: Friday, April 5 7pmET @OConnellCenter https://t.co/sJSWoHhcU5 ️ https://t.co/CnY7nBRDYz #GoGators | ‍♀️ https://t.co/0sKu0aBPew" / X (twitter.com)

 

Yep, it sure looks that way:

April 7 – Final at 5 p.m. ET
Vault Team NQS 3
Bars Team NQS 2
Beam Team NQS 1
Floor Team NQS 4

I'm surprised CJR didn't think ahead to import an elevated/platform floor to get more practice on a floor like what is used in Dallas at nationals.

 

Ellie Lazzari is coming back for her 5th year:

Alyssa Van Auker on X: "Ellie Lazzari when asked if she was taking her 5th year: "Yes I am, I'm not going to hide it. I do have another year, and I will take advantage of that opportunity because it doesn't come very often, and having the gift of doing the sport I love for another year, why not?"" / X (twitter.com)

Ellie Lazzari when asked if she was taking her 5th year: "Yes I am, I'm not going to hide it. I do have another year, and I will take advantage of that opportunity because it doesn't come very often, and having the gift of doing the sport I love for another year, why not?"

9:12 AM · Mar 13, 2024

With whom UF has coming back and coming in, she'll likely have to concentrate on beam. UF will be loaded in the 2025 season.