Tag: college gymnastics

sports

Oklahoma Sooners Win D1 Regionals!

LEWA EVANS

The No. 1 women’s gymnastics team, the Oklahoma sooners, claimed its ninth straight regional title on Saturday. The Sooners finished in first place at the NCAA Minneapolis Regional with a score of 198.000 inside the Maturi Pavilion.

The Sooners posted the highest team total on each event and earned a share of for individual titles. On bars Nicole Lehrman claimed the top spot with a 9.950. Nichols claimed the beam title with a perfect 10, the floor title with a 9.975, and the all-around title with a 39.775. Additionally, Nichols was named the South-Central Region Gymnast of the Year for the second consecutive season.

The Sooners began on floor for the second straight competition. Freshman, Anastasia Webb, tied her career high score with a 9.950 on one of her best routines of the season. AJ Jackson, senior, also was a strong competitor in the floor line up, earning a 9.925.  Nichols anchored with a huge 9.975.

The Sooners carried their strong start over to vault. Nichols and Jackson both earned 9.9s. Brenna Dowell, junior, and Webb added to the team’s performance, earning 9.875s. The team scored a total of a 49.400 as a final score on the event.

Next, onto the bar rotation, the Sooners continued their strong performances. Nicole Lehrman, a junior, score a 9.950. Stephanie Catour, a senior, and Nichols, both put up 9.9s, and Bre Showers, a sophomore put up a 9.875. They ended bars with a total score of a 49.475.

Finally, onto the beam rotation, the Sooners hit six for six in routines. Nichols anchored with a perfect 10.0. The total score for the Sooners on beam was a 49.525, which allowed them to earn their eighth score of a 198 or higher this season.

Overall, since I was present at this meet, it was great to watch the Sooners compete. They truly are a very talented and diverse team. It was awesome to see them live and see how they operate. Additionally, I thought DI regionals was a wonderful experience because you got to see a lot of different gymnastics from across the nation. There was a lot of talent in the arena and it was great to see everyone go head to head and not hold back. Were any of you guys at the meet? If so, who was your favorite team to watch and why?

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

LSU gymnast out for the season

LEWA EVANS

Image result for mckenna kelleyUnfortunately, there has been some sad news that was announced from the LUS gymnastics team. One of the team’s juniors, McKenna Kelley, ruptured her achilles tendon during one of the team’s practices.

Kelley shared her news on her Instagram account, writing a touching message out to her family, friends, and fans. By the looks of what she wrote she seems to be confident in her comeback…” Tiger fans, I promise you I will work my tail off to be the best person, student, and athlete for this school”. The amount of confidence Kelley has with her right now is exactly what she needs to help get her back to her full capabilities.

Kelley earned first team-All American and All-SEC honors last season, helping LSU accomplish a record breaking season. This year she was predicted to continue helping her team by being apart of the floor line-up as well as the vault line-up. Due to the circumstances now, she is likely to redshirt this year and return as a red shirt junior next year.

I think it will be interesting to see how the team handles this big loss. Kelley played a very important role in the team’s floor line up, always being able to perform well enough so that her score contributed to the teams over all score. It will be interesting to see who steps up to the plate and takes Kelley’s spot. I personally believe the team will be able to come up with someone that can replace Kelley due to the fact that the team looks very strong this year.

As for Kelley as an individual, I personally believe she will be able to come back from her injury in no time. It was said that she got her surgery almost immediately after she hurt herself. This is good news to hear because the faster you get surgery for a major injury, the faster it can heal. What do you guys think of Kelley’s injury? Do you think she’ll be able to bounce back from her injury as well?