Month: March 2018

sports

Bruins win Master Classic!

LEWA EVANS

The UCLA Bruins won the Masters Classic with a score of 197.500, against Nebraska who score a 197.175, Iowa State who scored a 195.575, and Kent State who scored a 194.700.

The Bruins had a strong meet which resulted in them becoming the first team in 25 years outside of Nebraska to win the master’s Classic.

They started the meet with a 49.4 on balance beam. Four scores of 9.9 or better helped rid the pair of 9.75s to start the rotation. Gleen, Ohashi, and Ross each scored 9.9 before Lee closed with a 9.95. The host, Nebraska took the early lead after scoring 49.475 on vault.

UCLA counted five scores of 9.875 or better on floor exercise to claim the lead in rotation two, scoring 49.575. Kocian and Ross started with scores of 9.875, followed by a 9.85 by Dennis. Tratz returned to the lineup after a week off and tied her career-best with a 9.925, and Hano and Ohashi finished out the lineup, both receiving 9.95’s.

Leading Nebraska 98.975-98.800 at the halfway mark, UCLA stalled out a little with a 49.050 on vault Anna Glenn led the Bruins on vault with a career-high leadoff score of 9.875, while Ross and Hano added 9.85s. However, the Huskers scored the same total on balance beam to keep UCLA’s .175 lead intact.

UCLA clinched the victory with a strong 49.475 on uneven bars. The Bruins started out with 9.875s from Dennis and JaNay Honest and closed with a 9.85 from Ohashi, a 9.925 from Lee and a meet-winning 9.95 from Ross.

I always enjoy watching the UCLA team because each year they always show a tremendous amount of talent. I also think UCLA is an underrated team. A lot of attention goes to teams like Oklahoma, LSU, or Florida. It is going to be interesting to see how UCLA does at nationals and what they place.

sports

Nastia Liukin Cup competition!

LEWA EVANS

Image result for nastia cup Haleigh Bryant of Huntersville, NC/ Everest gymnastics, and Tory Vetter of Columbus, OH/ Universal gymnastics won the senior and junior all-around titles at the 2018 Nastia Liukin Cup.

The Nastia Liukin Cup came officially came to be on Aug. 11, 2009. USA gymnastics and Nastia Liukin announced a partnership to create the cup which would provide a competitive opportunity for the country’s top Junior Olympic gymnasts. Gymnasts are chosen to participate in the Cup from a series of invitationals known as the Nastia Liukin Cup Series. The series is promoted throughout the competitive season with individual meets, each selecting a small handful of athletes to compete in the Cup from their areas of the nation.

In the senior competition, Bryant won with a total score of 38.700. On vault she competed a front-handspring, front pike half out and scored a 9.875. On the uneven bars, she competed a double front dismount and scored a 9.650. Following her bars performance, on beam she performed a solid routine and scored a 9.525. Finally, on floor, she opened with a double front and closed with a double twist, which earned her a 9.650. Overall, her performance was excellent.

After the meet, Bryant was asked how she felt about her performance… “It feels amazing to win the Cup, and I’ve had a blast. I’ve been training hard for this, and all my hard work finally paid off. Winning this has boosted my confidence for state, regionals and nationals.”

Onto the junior all around, Vetter won with a 38.175. She started on vault with a Yurchenko full and earned a 9.500. On the uneven bars, she competed a giant full to Tkatchev and dismounted with a full-in to score a 9.350. During her beam rotation, she performed her cartwheel to back handspring series on beam, and dismounted with a double twist, earning a 9.750(achieved first place with this score). On floor exercise, Vetter opened her floor routine with a double pike and finished the set to score a 9.575.

Vetter was also asked how she felt she did after the competition was over… “I don’t think I could have won without the support of my teammates and coaches. This was my first time to compete at the Nastia Liukin Cup, and Nastia made it so fun for us. This meet was such a wonderful experience.”

I think both gymnasts did an amazing job at this competition. I especially thought Vetter did an amazing job because she is young, and this was her first Nastia Cup competition. Usually, with bigger competitions, a lot of the gymnasts are nervous, so they don’t perform as well as they could if they were competing in a smaller competition. Its amazing that Vetter was able to compete to her best abilities. She has a lot of hard skills so its even more impressive to see her at the age she is competing these skills successfully. I think it will be interesting to see what else she does in the future with her gymnastics career. Did any of you out there watch the Nastia Cup this past weekend? If so, what are your thoughts on the overall competition?

sports

The LSU Tigers claim the SEC title!

LEWA EVANS

Image result for LSU gymnastics sec championships 2018 The LSU Tigers marked their second straight team win at the Southeastern Conference meet and earned their second- straight SEC regular season title this past Sunday afternoon in the Maravich Center.

The Tigers opened the meet with a 49.325 on vault. JuniorsFinnegan and Cannamela posted 9.825’s, and sophomore Harold earned a 9.875. Concluding their vault rotation, senior Hambrick and sophomore Edney, both earning 9.90s.

The Tigers then went onto bars, where they continued their outstanding performances. Freshman, Durante, led the bar group off with a 9.850, and Hambrick followed her with a solid 9.950. Edney also posted a career high of 9.975, and the tigers closed the rotation with 9.850 from junior Priessman, and a 9.925 from Finnegan in the anchor spot.

Onto the beam rotation, the girls performances tied for a season best of 49.525. Senior, Macadaeg, started off the rotation with a 9.950, and Finnegan and Hambrick both earned 9.850s. Freshman, Desiderio, and  sophomore Edney each got 9.925s to end out the rotation.

Lastly, for the floor rotation, LSU finished the meet off on a high note. Freshman Desiderio, achieved a season best 9.875 and Cannamela received a 9.850. Additionally, Edney got a 9.975, and Hambrick and Finnegan got perfect 10s.

This meet was a wonderful experience for LSU. They proved that they once again could rise to the occasion and became the SEC champs for the second year in a row. This shows that even though LSU has had some setbacks (Mckenna Kelly’s Achilles injury), they can overcome those set backs and handle the adversity head on. I personally had no doubt that LSU would not be setback by Kelley’s injury since they’re a well-balanced team. I hope they continue to achieve major accomplishments this season and I hope that they can take home the national title this year because they deserve it. What do you guys think? Do you think LSU deserves to win the national title this year?