ChompTalk.com

Today’s the day! Whether they’re ready or not, the athletes will take the floor in two sessions today to determine who will make Four on the Floor to compete for the national championship on Saturday.

The first session will feature some familiar faces to Gator fans in conference rival LSU and frequent opponent Arkansas, as well as some teams that we don’t cover very often here – Cal, who the Gators faced last at Regionals last year, and Stanford, who faced Florida last in 2016 at the Cardinal’s last appearance at Nationals.

If you’ve read other liveblogs or the SEC preview this year, you’ll know about LSU – the Tigers are contenders, as much this year as any year previously. Senior Haleigh Bryant just won the AAI Award, one of the most prestigious awards in the sport given to the top senior athlete, and she’s backed by a duo of fellow all-arounders to be reckoned with – Kiya Johnson and Aleah Finnegan – and some stellar specialists who can flex into three-eventers when needed, like freshman phenom Konnor McClain and former Gator Savannah Schoenherr. They’re commentator John Roethlisberger’s pick to upset Oklahoma, if anyone is even capable of such a feat.

Cal, too, will be a formidable force in Fort Worth, led by all-arounders Ella Cesario, Mya Lauzon, eMjae Frazier, and Madelyn Williams. The four core Bears have been supported this season by some stellar two-eventers, like Andi Li and Gabby Perea on bars and beam, as well as Kyen Mayhew on vault and floor. They have the highest non-OU score of the season – a 198.55 – so they could also be strong contenders. But which Cal will show up – the team who won their regional with a dominant performance or the one that choked at conference championships to finish third behind a team that didn’t qualify to regional finals? If they’re able to pull off qualifying, as seems likely, it will be their first National Final appearance in program history!

Arkansas has been many fans’ dark-horse pick for a few seasons now, with a strong coaching shift in the hiring of Jordyn Wieber and her decorated coaching staff in 2020. Finally, with a home regional and a little luck, the Razorbacks have made their return to the Nationals stage for the first time since 2018. With no real all-arounders to speak of, Arkansas instead uses three-eventers like Lauren Williams (VT/BB/FX), Leah Smith (VT/UB/FX), Hailey Klein (VT/BB/FX), and Maddie Jones (UB/BB/FX) to bolster their lineups and supplements with some strong specialists, like transfer Sirena Linton on beam, fifth-year Jensen Scalzo on bars, and superstar Frankie Price on vault and floor. They’d need a lot of help to make it to finals, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility – Arkansas last made finals in 2012.

To quote Kathy Johnson Clarke, we all love a good “Stanford pulling a Stanford” moment. The Cardinal somehow edged out Denver and Arizona State to make it to Nationals for the first time in eight years by doing what it is known for – sneaking up behind its competitors and pulling out a great meet when it counts after being underestimated by everyone. If they can do that here, it might just get them to finals. They’re led by fifth-year all-arounder Chloe Widner, who has qualified to Nationals as an individual before, as well as a host of former international elites – Anapaula Gutierrez, Ira Alexeeva, and Brenna Neault, just to name a few. Claire Dean, Sienna Robinson, and Anna Roberts are also strong underclassmen for the Cardinal who you won’t want to overlook. But can Stanford pull a second consecutive Stanford and somehow make its way to finals? We’re about to find out!

Action begins at 4:30 on ESPN+ or ESPN2, but we’ll have all the routines here for you play by play in case you can’t make it to your TV or miss something along the way.

4:37pm: Let’s go, rotation 1!

Gutierrez, Stan UB: Blind change is sharp. Jaeger to overshoot, good amplitude. Sticks her dismount cold!

KJ Johnson, LSU VT: Yfull, hop back – honestly pretty unusual for her.

Gamiao, Ark BB: Standing loso loso, that’s fun, very steady. Side somi, super clean. Switch leap to split jump, great 180 positions. Full turn is fine. Roundoff 1.5 twist, little hop forward. A good start.

Williams, Cal FX: Front lay to Rudi, super clean twisting, very tight. Landing is fine. Dance series is clean, good positions in the air, doesn’t travel much. 1.5 to front lay, well controlled as she dances out of it. Also a good start.

Brock, VT: Y1.5, great distance but a big lunge forward on the landing.

Sorrento, UB: Good low bar handstand. Maloney, misses her hand and falls! Oh god, that’s such a scary fall because your momentum is so high. Terrifying, what great air awareness to get to her back midair like that and fall safely. Remounts to low bar, repeats the skill, gets it. Pak is also clean. Went for the low bar pirouette but comes off again – oof. DLO as she remounts, very squatty but it hardly matters at this point.

Jones, BB: Front aerial to bhs loso, gorgeous triple series there. Split to stag jump, strong positions on those. Sticks her dismount!!

Drayton, VT: Y1.5, a little short, step back, though she did good to keep it small.

Kane, FX: First pass is clean, the twisting form on this team is fabulous. Switch side to wolf half I think, a little awkward in the wolf jump but masks it well. 1.5 to front lay, very floaty, well controlled.

Swaney, BB: Cat leap to front aerial, very clean. Bhs loso, looked like she wanted to wobble but locked it down. Dance series is lovely, nice toe point. Just a little scoot back on her 1.5 dismount.

Neault, UB: Maloney, some leg sep, to pak, again leg separation. Low bar half pirouette is strong. Double tuck dismount to finish is stuck! A good reset for the Cardinal.

4:45pm: Schoenherr, VT: Y1.5, great amplitude, swims for it a little, just a little shift with one foot. That’s a great vault though, their best one so far.

Cesario, FX: 1.5 to front full, well controlled. Gorgeous extension in her dance series. Double tuck to finish, a little slide back on her front foot.

Weaver, BB: Bhs loso, breaks at the hips but somehow stays on?? Split to stag, much better. Full turn is clean. Sticks her dismount! Arkansas bringing the heat on beam.

Alexeeva, UB: Piked Jaeger, lovely! Pak, both just gorgeous, switch kip is weird though. Sticks her dismount!

Kiya Johnson, VT: Yurchenko double, just a hop back. Some piking in the hips in the slow-mo.

Mayhew, FX: Punch double full to front lay, wow! Big difficulty there. Switch ring to switch half, lovely split positions and toe point. Final pass is clean too – well done.

Klein, BB: Side aerial loso, another break at the hips but did not touch. Dance series was clean. Stuck dismount – she fought for it.

Bryant, VT: Handspring pike half, opens so high but the distance is not good compared to some of her teammates and some of her past outings.

Roberts, UB: Pak to van Leeuwen, both had some leg sep. DLO is stuck though!!

Linton, BB: They need a good one here. Double wolf, lovely. Bhs bhs loso, little wobble but keeps it smaller than her teammates. Leap series – has to touch the beam to stay on! That’s at least a 3-tenth deduction, I think Arkansas might be out of this right off the bat. Sticks her dismount but what’s done is done.

Lauzon, FX: Double full to punch front, love the difficulty. Dance series is excellent, good amplitude. 1.5 to front layout, really well controlled. Another clean, excellent routine from Cal!

Smith, UGA indiv: Yfull, a little lock-legged and piked on the landing.

Widner, UB: Gets such great air on her release, wow. Bail is dead on in handstand. DLO, tries to swim for it but ends up taking a step.

Herring, PSU indiv: Front toss to bhs, very steady, well connected. Side somi, also very steady. Beat to straddle 3/4, that’s challenging, good for her. Just a little hop on her 1.5 dismount, well done.

Frazier, FX: This should be excellent, y’all. DLO, absolutely gorgeous. The extension on her leap series!! Wow. Casual ring jump in the corner giving us welllll above a 180 split and a great head position. Punch front through to double tuck, maybe a little front foot movement but that’s maybe the only deduction I saw. Should be a fabulous score.

Blackson, Boise indiv: Bail is dead on. A Markelov release! Wow, you don’t see those anymore, last one we saw was Brandie Jay at Georgia almost ten years ago. She gets great amplitude on it too, love that. And she sticks the dismount! That’ll be a great score.

Killough-Wilhelm, UW indiv: Front double full, dances right out of it, riiiight to the line but does not go over. Switch leap to switch ring, head position maybe leaves something to be desired. Really showcasing her flexibility in this choreography section, has the arena to herself right now, love this for her. 1.5 to front lay to finish, good control coming out of it. What a great moment for her!

AFTER ONE: CAL 49.4125, LSU 49.325, STAN 49.25, ARK 48.8125

So vault is tight, but LSU was also missing their landings more than usual. Stanford came up big on bars to keep things close, and beam is clearly quite bobbly – all teams moving forward will need to be more cognizant of the extra bounce. Cal was outstanding on floor, but can they keep it up?

5:08pm: Williams, Cal VT: Yfull is stuck! What an opening!

Jeffrey, LSU UB: Releases looked fine. Opens her double arabian quite high, just shifts a little bit.

Dean, Stan BB: Side aerial loso, breaks at the hips. Dance series is clean. 1.5 dismount, little adjustment it looked like.

Gamiao, Ark FX: Double pike to start, looked well controlled but the angle made it hard to tell. 1.5 through to back double full, very clean twisting form. Not the biggest amplitude on her dance series but hits 180 fine. Double tuck to finish, controlled lunge. Trying to restart the momentum here.

Mayhew, VT: Y1.5, just a small little hop in place. Excellent start for Cal.

Cowan, UB: Huge Ray to overshoot, great amplitude. DLO, little bounce in place.

Robinson, BB: Bhs loso, super steady, good for her. Switch to split, solid 180 positions there. Hitchkick to side aerial to beat jump, love a good mixed series. Roundoff 1.5, just a little hop. A good reset.

Klein, FX: Layout through to double back, managed to stay in bounds somehow. Double pike, a little slide of that front foot. Not much to this routine, but decently clean.

Frazier, VT: Yurchenko double, big lunge back but great amplitude.

Kiya Johnson, UB: Maloney to bail, a little floppy but does hit handstand. High bar handstands are alright, maybe some hip angle? DLO is stuck!

Neault, BB: Bhs bhs loso, very patient with it. Dance series is excellent, strong positions in the air. Full turn is clean. Roundoff 1.5, little hop forward.

5:15pm: Jones, FX: Front double full, well controlled single step as she finishes. Dance series is gorgeous, excellent extension throughout. 1.5 to front lay, also quite clean. Double back to finish – lots of three pass routines here from the Razorbacks.

Lauzon, VT: Y1.5, just a little hop. Another good one for Cal.

Alexeeva, BB: Double wolf turn to start, very even-keeled. Bhs loso, so solid, locks those arms down. Switch half, little check with an arm swing. Switch to split, gorgeous. Sticks her dismount!

McClain, UB: Gorgeous piked Tkachev to pak, fantastic amplitude, toes pointed throughout. Little hop on her dismount. Another great one for LSU!

Silver, VT: Y1.5, oh no! She stumbles back and has to sit it down. First sign of weakness.

Smith, FX: Immediately OOB on first pass, very bouncy as she lands it. Dance pass is fine. Crunchy landing on the double pike, perhaps overcorrecting from her double tuck earlier.

Widner, BB: Gorgeous leap series, so far over split. Bhs loso, very steady. Wobbles on a mixed connection but somehow keeps moving through, I agree with Raisman, I think she’ll get it. Sticks her gainer full!

Schoenherr, UB: Huge Jaeger, great handstand work after. Bail is dead on. Great final handstand and blind change, little step on her double front half out.

Cesario, VT: Just a Yfull, clean leg form, just a little hop in place. They needed that in order to drop Silvers’s fall.

Roberts, BB: 1.5 wolf turn, that’s different. Switch to split, may have broken that connection, wouldn’t be surprised to see a backup series come out just in case. Series is steady enough. Side aerial to split jump, excellent. Sticks her dismount – will they give her the connection? She may be missing her compositional requirement otherwise!

Williams, FX: Double pike to start, well controlled. 1.5 to front lay, lovely. Double tuck to finish, really well controlled to finish. That’s a great 5-spot routine.

Killough-Wilhelm, UW indiv VT: Yfull, just a little hop.

Bryant, UB: Big Jaeger, doesn’t quite get the straddle position I’d like but the amplitude is great. Transition is clean, handstands fine. Double front half out, little shuffle back.

Nikki Smith, MSU indiv BB: Big bobble on her series off the top. Dance series is lovely, her toe point is fabulous. Roundoff double tuck dismount, STUCK COLD! You love to see it. The individuals have such a challenging job here and it’s so hard for any of them to make a mark –

Price, FX: DLO to start was basically stuck, incredible. Great amplitude and positions throughout all three straddle elements in her dance series. Nails her final pass, front full to front lay – that’s an excellent score.

Smith, UGA indiv UB: Maloney to bail, legs just pasted together, like they’re sewn together practically. Gorgeous handstand positions. Sticks her dismount!

Campbell, UCLA indiv FX: Huge full in to open, sooo high. Really giving the performance of her life out here, showing why UCLA choreo is unmatched in the NCAA. Incredible height on her dance series, great positions in the air too. Front lay to front full, clean leg form, well controlled as she finishes. Double tuck to close, textbook lunge. I’d put money on that being the best routine we see all session, if not all weekend. Wow.

AFTER TWO: LSU 98.8, CAL 98.775, STAN 98.5625, ARK 97.95

Beam proving to continue to be a problem – LSU will need to be careful, and the second session teams had better be paying attention. Floor scoring continues to confuse me, as Chae Campbell somehow is not tied for the leading score right now! Vault also has stayed focused on the landings, so Arkansas will need to find those, and fast. Bars feels like the loosest scoring so far, but not by very much?

5:39pm: Rotation 3!

Weaver, Ark VT: Yfull, STUCK! Wow!

Lauzon, Cal UB: Maloney to pak, lovely swing, legs together. Catlike on that dismount, finds the stick. Well done.

Ballard, LSU BB: Bhs loso, strong. Sissone to switch half, split position is fine. Front toss, little arm swing but doesn’t move her feet. Roundoff 1.5 dismount, stuck! A great start, and she knows it – running off the podium screaming and beating her chest.

Dean, Stan FX: Rudi to open, clean. 1.5 to front lay, strong. Dance series to finish is solid.

Smith, VT: Yfull, another stick! No way! She’s so straight in the air too, slow mo shows no flaws.

Cesario, UB: Jaeger to overshoot, great amplitude on both. DLO is stuck! Another excellent hit for Cal.

Schoenherr, BB: Front aerial to start, just lays it in, very nice. Bhs loso, super steady. Beat to split 3/4, good connection, challenging too. Roundoff double full, finds the stick! She’s had herself a day.

Zeng, FX: Front lay to Rudi, very strong. Double back, nice and high. A little wild in her straight jump full to finish her dance series at the end? But overall a good routine.

Price, VT: Yfull, great amplitude, just a little shift back.

Li, UB: Suuper high straddle Jaeger. Pak is nice, switch kip is… fine. Stuck dismount!

McClain, BB: Switch to switch half, absolutely gorgeous. Front aerial to bhs, gorgeous. Wolf jump is sheer perfection. Full turn is clean. Side aerial, little arm swing. Gainer full to finish, looked like she stuck it from here. That’ll be another great score.

Cluck, FX: DLO, very short, has to crunch it and step forward. Combo pass is clean. Double back is much better, but the damage may be done.

Essenpries, VT: Y1.5, way overpowers it, big crossover step. With Y1.5s like that, they might as well put up a clean full instead.

Kiya Johnson, BB: Series is nice and steady. Switch leap to another switch leap, maybe shy of 180 on the second? Front toss is dead on. Roundoff double full is stuck – LSU having no problems with this beam.

Frazier, UB: Maloney to pak, pretty clean. Good handstand work. DLO is stuck!

Klein, VT: Y1.5, just a small step – much better!

Neault, FX: Double pike to open, well controlled lunge. Rudi is clean, excellent twisting form. 1.5 to front lay to finish – that’ll be another good score, but I’m not sure Stanford is going to get high enough to compete.

Bryant, BB: Front aerial to bhs, very steady. Dance series excellent, very calm. Standing punch front, dead on. Punch front 1.5 dismount is stuck – that’s a huge score for sure.

Perea, UB: Pak salto is lovely, van Leeuwen clean. DLO, little bounce back.

Williams, VT: Y1.5, just the smallest step forward. Some knees in the air.

Finnegan, BB: Bhs loso loso, fabulous series, very steady. Dance series is excellent, gorgeous split positions. Full turn is lovely. Front aerial, little bobble, arm swing. Sticks her gainer full!

Roberts, FX: Front lay to Rudi, excellent control. Combination pass is very clean, lovely. Finishes out with kind of a wolf turn up to standing? Not sure if that’s meant to be an element or choreo.

Anaya Smith, ASU indiv VT: Y1.5, stuck! Wow!

Williams, UB: Maloney to pak, very clean. Little bounce back on the dismount – this will be an excellent event score overall for Cal.

Lily Smith, UGA indiv BB: Front aerial to bhs bhs, very patient with it, nice and steady. Pike front toss, so solid. Sticks but couldn’t hold it?

Widner, FX: I’m obsessed with this routine. Front double full to open, lovely. Really elegant throughout this choreo section. Gorgeous tour jete half. Double pike, well controlled. Dance series to finish, excellent amplitude – that’s a fabulous score that Stanford really needed.

Killough-Wilhelm, UW indiv UB: Good opening handstand work. Piked Jaeger is gorgeous. Transition to low is clean. Sticks her dismount!! Fabulous.

Schulte, MSU indiv FX: This will also be a stunning routine, just wait. Full in to open, well controlled lunge, very clean in the air. Headspring in her choreo section here, that’s SO hard. Dance series is fabulous, very precise in both positions and rotation. Punch through to double tuck, two foot stick! That may take the lead for the floor title away from Cal’s Frazier. Aww, and Stanford gave her their stick stick, that’s so cute.

AFTER THREE: LSU 148.375, CAL 148.3, STAN 147.85, ARK 147.275

6:10pm: Last one! Let’s go!

Zeng, Stan VT: Yfull, just a little bounce back.

Swaney, Ark UB: Looked like she had to recast at one point maybe? It was a long routine. But the DLO was stuck!

Li, Cal BB: Front aerial loso, that’s fun. Split to ring jump, good position. Sticks her dismount!

McClain, LSU FX: DLO, gorgeous to start things off. Little Beyonce mix going on here, fun. Gorgeous split positions throughout her dance passage, just textbook. 1.5 to front full to finish, super clean. That’s a great leadoff.

Dean, VT: Another Yfull, another little hop.

Pratt, UB: Good release to start. Pak is clean. Bounce back on the dismount.

Williams, BB: Wolf turn, steady. Front aerial to split, good connection. Bhs loso, solid. Switch leap to split, good extension. Bhs gainer full off the side, swims for it but does not move her feet!

Drayton, FX: DLO to open, just lets it flyyyy. Punch front through to double back, just the smallest of shuffles. Dance series is excellent – another good one for the Tigs.

Neault, VT: Yfull-on, back pike off I think? That’s something you don’t typically see at this level, very cool. Not great amplitude, small step on the landing.

6:15pm: Cesario, BB: Full turn is fine. Bhs loso and she’s off! John jinxed her! Switch to switch half as she remounts, very floaty. Roundoff 1.5, stuck, but they’ll want to drop that one.

Drotar, UB: Great opening handstand work. Maloney to bail, legs glued together. Sticks her dismount! Well done!

Widner, VT: Yfull, just a little bounce back.

KJ Johnson, FX: Full in to open, big amplitude, just a small lunge so she doesn’t go over the line. 1.5 to front lay, well controlled. Switch side to Popa, great straddle positions. Double back, basically a two-foot stick, just steps into the lunge because she can. Another excellent score for LSU.

Park, UB: Good opening handstand work. Ray is niiice and high. Lovely pak, great amplitude. Little bounce on her landing, but another good one.

Frazier, BB: Full turn to open, clean. Front aerial to loso, a little arm swing but stays tight. Split to ring, good extension. Cartwheel 1.5 dismount, single step forward. A good reset for the Bears, they’ll need that.

Gutierrez, VT: Y1.5, sticks it! That’ll put some pressure on Cal.

Finnegan, FX: Double arabian, suuuper high, to immediate stag, keeps it in bounds. Really giving this choreo everything she’s got. 2.5 to punch front to finish, fabulous amplitude, great form.

Lauzon, BB: Fun tick-tock mount sequence, that’s great. Wolf turn to open, lovely and steady. Bhs bhs loso, just lays it in, so patient with it. Switch to split, hits 180 fine but a little tighter than we’re used to seeing her. Roundoff double full like a dart into the mat! Wow!

Scalzo, UB: Jaeger to overshoot, barely caught that but found a way! Sticks her dismount too – Razorbacks fighting for every tenth here.

Roberts, VT: Y1.5, STUCK COLD! What a great way for Stanford to finish!

Bryant, FX: Double front is sooo high, pretty clean. Dance series is strong, good amplitude Front lay to Rudi, well controlled. That should be plenty to qualify, even before Johnson goes.

Perea, BB: Wolf turn to open, pretty steady. Front toss to back tuck, little arm swing. Side somi to back tuck 1.5 off the side – Cal is going to finals!

Jones, UB: Gorgeous releases, great amplitude. DLO, deep knee bend and had to hop forward.

Silberman UMD indiv VT: Yfull-on, back pike off, little step back. Great to see her here!

Kiya Johnson, FX: Full in is soooo high, but she still controls it quite well when she lands. Combo pass is very clean, almost floaty. Double pike, fabulous amplitude, well controlled. A great performance for them going into Saturday.

Killough-Wilhelm, UW indiv BB: Front aerial to bhs bhs, gorgeous. Switch to split, lovely extension and toe point. Bhs 1.5, single step forward. She has so much to be proud of – one of her best AA performances in my opinion.

Mangahas, ASU indiv UB: Gorgeous opening handstand work. Piked Jaeger to overshoot, great amplitude, quick connection. Full in, stuck cold. Man, the ASU individuals really did their jobs, competing really strongly for their individual events.

Lily Smith, UGA indiv FX: Front double full, some crossed feet but clean leg form. 1.5 to front lay, she’s almost like a pencil twisting in the air. Dance series is kinda wonky, the wolf element gets no rise and she’s off axis. Rudi to straddle jump to finish, very clean. A lovely routine, but pretty blah in my opinion. She’ll have a really great AA score for today though.

FINAL: LSU 198.1125, CAL 197.7125, STAN 197.075, ARK 196.475

LSU and Cal will qualify to Saturday, likely to face Oklahoma and one more team from tonight’s second session.

Leading the individual titles right now are Haleigh Bryant of LSU (AA – 39.7125), Anna Roberts of Stanford (VT – 9.95), a five way tie for bars at 9.925 (Bryant, Boise State’s Blackson, UGA’s Smith, UW’s Killough-Wilhelm, and Arkansas’s Drotar), a tie for beam at 9.95 (Bryant and Cal’s Lauzon), and Aleah Finnegan of LSU (FX – 9.9625).

This meet ends here, but don’t go far! We’ll be back at 9pm with another liveblog of Session II where the Gators will face their toughest challenge yet this season – a full meet of opponents who are also all former or reigning national champions. Can they make it through? We’ll see you back here to find out!