2017 Women's NCAA ChampionshipsApr 15, 2017 by Justine Kelly
NCAA Semifinals Recap: LSU Leads Going Into Super Six With Record Score
NCAA Semifinals Recap: LSU Leads Going Into Super Six With Record Score
After two sessions of Semifinals today, six teams will be advancing to Super Six Finals tomorrow to vie for the NCAA Championship.
After two sessions of Semifinals today, six teams will be advancing to Super Six Finals tomorrow to vie for the NCAA Championship. LSU finished in the top spot with a 198.275, followed by Florida with a. 197.8125, Oklahoma with a 197.725, Alabama with a 197.6, UCLA with a 197.5, and Utah with a 197.050.
Six teams also ended their seasons tonight - Nebraska finished with a 197.2125, followed by Washington with a 196.5625, Denver with a 196.4750, Michigan with a 196.4625, Oregon State with a 196.3625, and Georgia with a 195.8.
The NCAA All-Around Champion was also crowned tonight - Florida's Alex McMurtry won the title with a 39.8125, the highest in NCAA history. LSU's Kennedi Edney won the vault title with a 9.9875. There was a 6-way tie for the bars title between McMurtry, Alabama's Katie Bailey, LSU's Sarah Finnegan, UCLA's Kyla Ross, and Oklahoma's Maggie Nichols and Nicole Lehrmann. Ross also captured the beam title with a 9.9625, and the floor title was tie between LSU's Ashleigh Gnat and Utah's MyKayla Skinner.
Check out our full recap of the day below.
Oklahoma, Utah and UCLA were the favorites going into session 1 and were able to secure their places in the Super Six. As expected, Oklahoma took the top spot, followed by UCLA and Utah. Washington, Denver and Oregon State finished their seasons today as they finished in the bottom three.
Both Utah and Oklahoma actually had slow starts to the competition, with Utah starting on vault in Rotation 1 and Oklahoma starting on a bye and then on floor in Rotation 2. The Red Rocks don't have the same level of difficulty as some of the other teams on vault, and lots of hops and steps on landings cost them early in the lineup. They managed to finish strong with a big Yurchenko full from Tiffani Lewis to score 9.85, and a nearly stuck Yurchenko double from Skinner to score 9.9.
On floor in Rotation 2, both Nichols and AJ Jackson scored the highest for the line-up with 9.925s, but there were some issues on landings from Chayse Capps (who went out of bounds on a double pike) and Natalie Brown, so the Sooners scored a bit lower overall than they typically do.
UCLA, meanwhile, seemed to be a on a high for the entire meet. Like Oklahoma, they also started on a bye but made a splash early with their uneven bars lineup to score a 49.3625 on the event. Ross's near-perfect routine was the highlight and she put up a 9.95. Peng Peng Lee anchored with a strong routine as well and put up a 9.8875.
In Rotation 3, Oklahoma moved on to vault. Although the team has four 10.0 start value vaults in their lineup, they posted lower than typical scores from Jade Degouveia, who had a large step on her Yurchenko 1.5, and Brenna Dowell who had a large step forward on the same vault. Jackson and Nichols once again posted the high scores for the team with a pair of 9.9s for their Yurchenko 1.5s.
UCLA moved to beam, where, despite a fall from Hallie Mossett early in the lineup and a large wobble from Lee later on, the Bruins came away with another high 49.3625 on the event. Once again, Ross was close to perfection with her routine, tying for the highest score of the first session with a 9.9625. Katelyn Ohashi also impressed, competing a modified routine due a sore ankle and scored a 9.9125.
After three rotations, UCLA led the pack with a 98.725, followed closely by Oklahoma at 98.700, a tie between Denver and Washington at 98.225, Utah with 98.175 and Oregon State at 98.0875.
The Red Rocks were able to make up some ground in Rotation 4 as they headed to balance beam. Makenna Merrell scored a career high with a 9.9, and Skinner capped off the rotation with a stuck double tuck dismount to score a 9.9125. The team improved even more as they headed into their final event in the last rotation - floor. They totaled their highest team score of the meet on this event with a 49.4875, and Skinner also secured the top spot in the all-around for this session with a 9.9625, also the highest score on the floor.
UCLA had their best rotation in Rotation 5, where they put up a huge 49.5375 on floor exercise - the highest team score of the meet. Highlights included Ross nailing her routine to secure a solid all-around score, Madison Kocian scoring the highest for the team with a 9.9375, and Angi Cipra and Mossett putting up a pair of 9.925s. The Bruins closed out their meet on vault, normally one of their lower scoring events due to lack of difficulty. Still, the team put up one of their higher vault scores with a 49.2375, with Kocian scoring the highest with a 9.875 for her Yurchenko full.
Oklahoma emerged in the top spot following Rotation 6, thanks largely to superb performances on their last two events - bars and beam. The Sooners put up a 49.525 on bars, their highest score on any event. Both Nichols and Lehrmann tied with Ross for the highest score on bars - a 9.95. The momentum continued for the team going to beam as their last event. Capps had the highest score for the team with a big 9.95, followed by Lehrmann with a 9.925. The biggest break for the team all competition came when Nichols had an uncharacteristic fall on her front tuck, which also unfortunately cost her the all-around title.
Washington, Denver and Oregon State finished in the bottom three and thus ended their seasons today. All three teams put up impressive performances, especially Washington who scored their third highest all season with a 196.5625. Hailey Burleson, in particular, did an excellent job in the all-around, scoring a 39.400, with her high score being a 9.8875 on beam. Denver's star freshman Maddie Karr finished in the top four in the all-around for this session, scoring a 39.475. Lastly, Oregon State had impressive performances from Erika Aufiero, who scored a 9.8875 on bars, and their all-arounders Madeline Gardiner and Kaytianna McMillan. Gardiner put up the highest score for the team on beam where she notched a 9.9125.
Florida got off to a fantastic start in Rotation 1, where the put up a 49.5125 on vault, bolstered by their four 10.0 start value vaults. Kennedy Baker and Alicia Boren nearly stuck their Yurchenko 1.5s, followed by a huge stuck vault from Rachel Slocum, and capped off by a beautiful Yurchenko double from McMurtry, which scored a 9.975.
Alabama also had an excellent showing in Rotation 1 on floor, highlighted by their anchor Kiana Winston, who scored a 9.9375 for her routine. They were able to drop their low score of 9.7 and did not count anything below a 9.85. Nebraska similarly did well on uneven bars, dropping their low 9.325 and counting nothing below a 9.825. Ashley Lambert put up their high score with an impressive 9.8875.
Georgia, meanwhile, struggled in the first rotation on balance beam, where they scored sub-49.0 due to lots of wobbles from across the lineup, and they also had an unfortunate fall from Rachel Schick. Vivi Babalis headlined the lineup with a 9.825.
Heading into Rotation 2, LSU started their competition on floor and put up a historic performance, totaling a 49.7125, their highest all season. The team had three competitors go 9.95 - Myia Hambrick, Finnegan and McKenna Kelley, and the rotation ended with Gnat posting a 9.9625, tying Skinner for the highest score on floor.
Alabama also had a superb Rotation 2, scoring a 49.3625 on vault, starting off with Wynter Childers sticking her Yurchenko full. Katie Bailey and Keely McNeer both scored the highest for the lineup with 9.8875s. Michigan started off their competition on bars, where they were able to recover from mistakes by Paige Zaziski to hit their remaining routines. Brianna Brown and Nicole Artz both scored 9.9s as highs for their lineup.
LSU continued their upward momentum in Rotation 3, where they went to vault, another very strong event for them. The team put up five 10.0 start value vaults, including stuck Yurchenko 1.5s from Sydney Ewing and Edney, and a big Yurchenko double from Gnat. Florida also had a good rotation as they put up a 49.425 on bars. They were able to drop Baker's score after she suffered a fall on her dismount, and McMurtry anchored with a strong 9.95 routine.
Following Rotation 3, LSU maintained their lead with a 99.275, followed by Florida with a 98.9375, Alabama with a 98.75, Nebraska with a 98.55, Michigan with a 98.1125, and Georgia with a 97.725.
Georgia was able to make up some ground on floor, but unfortunately did not put up any scores in the 9.9 range, keeping them out of the top spots. Michigan also started to struggle with their performance on beam after both Lexi Funk and Talia Chiarelli suffered falls.
Nebraska continued to compete at their best as they went to floor in Rotation 4. Lambert anchored for the team with a powerful routine full of impressive tumbling to score the team's high - a 9.9125. Alabama also put up a strong performance in the fourth rotation, totaling a 49.4875 on bars. Bailey was their star performer on this event, hitting every handstand and sticking her dismount, to tie for the highest bars score at 9.95.
Perhaps the most exciting rotation came at Rotation 5, when it became clear that Alabama and Nebraska were likely battling it out for the 3rd spot to qualify to Super Six. Both teams were ending their competition in this rotation, with Alabama on beam and Nebraska on vault. Nebraska put it all out on the floor, with Megan Schweihofer and Lambert sticking their Yurchenko fulls and Sienna Crause sticking her Yurchenko 1.5. Alabama managed to edge them out with their performance on beam, though, even after an early fall from Abby Armbrecht. It came down to their last competitor, Nickie Guerrero, who had to score at least a 9.4775 to secure their spot, and she managed that easily by hitting her routine.
Going into the final rotation, LSU and Florida essentially needed to stay solid and not have any major mistakes to secure their spots to Super Six, and both teams had no problem delivering. LSU put up a 49.5875 on beam, with strong routines and stuck dismounts from almost every competitor. Florida put up an equally impressive lineup on floor, totaling a 49.4875, with the highlight being McMurtry's 9.95.
With the conclusion of the second session, LSU notched a 198.2750, which is not only their highest score all season, but the highest score achieved by any team ever at NCAA Championships. The field is now set for tomorrow's Super Six Final, which will prove to be an intense competition between the best teams in the country.
Related:
ARCHIVED UPDATES: Women's NCAAs Semifinal One
ARCHIVED UPDATES: 2017 Women's NCAA Championships Semifinal Two
Six teams also ended their seasons tonight - Nebraska finished with a 197.2125, followed by Washington with a 196.5625, Denver with a 196.4750, Michigan with a 196.4625, Oregon State with a 196.3625, and Georgia with a 195.8.
The NCAA All-Around Champion was also crowned tonight - Florida's Alex McMurtry won the title with a 39.8125, the highest in NCAA history. LSU's Kennedi Edney won the vault title with a 9.9875. There was a 6-way tie for the bars title between McMurtry, Alabama's Katie Bailey, LSU's Sarah Finnegan, UCLA's Kyla Ross, and Oklahoma's Maggie Nichols and Nicole Lehrmann. Ross also captured the beam title with a 9.9625, and the floor title was tie between LSU's Ashleigh Gnat and Utah's MyKayla Skinner.
Check out our full recap of the day below.
SESSION 1 - OKLAHOMA, UCLA, UTAH CLINCH THEIR SPOTS
Oklahoma, Utah and UCLA were the favorites going into session 1 and were able to secure their places in the Super Six. As expected, Oklahoma took the top spot, followed by UCLA and Utah. Washington, Denver and Oregon State finished their seasons today as they finished in the bottom three.
Both Utah and Oklahoma actually had slow starts to the competition, with Utah starting on vault in Rotation 1 and Oklahoma starting on a bye and then on floor in Rotation 2. The Red Rocks don't have the same level of difficulty as some of the other teams on vault, and lots of hops and steps on landings cost them early in the lineup. They managed to finish strong with a big Yurchenko full from Tiffani Lewis to score 9.85, and a nearly stuck Yurchenko double from Skinner to score 9.9.
On floor in Rotation 2, both Nichols and AJ Jackson scored the highest for the line-up with 9.925s, but there were some issues on landings from Chayse Capps (who went out of bounds on a double pike) and Natalie Brown, so the Sooners scored a bit lower overall than they typically do.
UCLA, meanwhile, seemed to be a on a high for the entire meet. Like Oklahoma, they also started on a bye but made a splash early with their uneven bars lineup to score a 49.3625 on the event. Ross's near-perfect routine was the highlight and she put up a 9.95. Peng Peng Lee anchored with a strong routine as well and put up a 9.8875.
In Rotation 3, Oklahoma moved on to vault. Although the team has four 10.0 start value vaults in their lineup, they posted lower than typical scores from Jade Degouveia, who had a large step on her Yurchenko 1.5, and Brenna Dowell who had a large step forward on the same vault. Jackson and Nichols once again posted the high scores for the team with a pair of 9.9s for their Yurchenko 1.5s.
UCLA moved to beam, where, despite a fall from Hallie Mossett early in the lineup and a large wobble from Lee later on, the Bruins came away with another high 49.3625 on the event. Once again, Ross was close to perfection with her routine, tying for the highest score of the first session with a 9.9625. Katelyn Ohashi also impressed, competing a modified routine due a sore ankle and scored a 9.9125.
UCLA IN THE LEAD AT THE HALFWAY POINT
After three rotations, UCLA led the pack with a 98.725, followed closely by Oklahoma at 98.700, a tie between Denver and Washington at 98.225, Utah with 98.175 and Oregon State at 98.0875.
The Red Rocks were able to make up some ground in Rotation 4 as they headed to balance beam. Makenna Merrell scored a career high with a 9.9, and Skinner capped off the rotation with a stuck double tuck dismount to score a 9.9125. The team improved even more as they headed into their final event in the last rotation - floor. They totaled their highest team score of the meet on this event with a 49.4875, and Skinner also secured the top spot in the all-around for this session with a 9.9625, also the highest score on the floor.
UCLA had their best rotation in Rotation 5, where they put up a huge 49.5375 on floor exercise - the highest team score of the meet. Highlights included Ross nailing her routine to secure a solid all-around score, Madison Kocian scoring the highest for the team with a 9.9375, and Angi Cipra and Mossett putting up a pair of 9.925s. The Bruins closed out their meet on vault, normally one of their lower scoring events due to lack of difficulty. Still, the team put up one of their higher vault scores with a 49.2375, with Kocian scoring the highest with a 9.875 for her Yurchenko full.
SUPERB PERFORMANCES ON BARS & BEAM LEADS OKLAHOMA TO TOP SPOT
Oklahoma emerged in the top spot following Rotation 6, thanks largely to superb performances on their last two events - bars and beam. The Sooners put up a 49.525 on bars, their highest score on any event. Both Nichols and Lehrmann tied with Ross for the highest score on bars - a 9.95. The momentum continued for the team going to beam as their last event. Capps had the highest score for the team with a big 9.95, followed by Lehrmann with a 9.925. The biggest break for the team all competition came when Nichols had an uncharacteristic fall on her front tuck, which also unfortunately cost her the all-around title.
Washington, Denver and Oregon State finished in the bottom three and thus ended their seasons today. All three teams put up impressive performances, especially Washington who scored their third highest all season with a 196.5625. Hailey Burleson, in particular, did an excellent job in the all-around, scoring a 39.400, with her high score being a 9.8875 on beam. Denver's star freshman Maddie Karr finished in the top four in the all-around for this session, scoring a 39.475. Lastly, Oregon State had impressive performances from Erika Aufiero, who scored a 9.8875 on bars, and their all-arounders Madeline Gardiner and Kaytianna McMillan. Gardiner put up the highest score for the team on beam where she notched a 9.9125.
SESSION 2 - LSU, FLORIDA, ALABAMA MOVE AHEAD
Florida got off to a fantastic start in Rotation 1, where the put up a 49.5125 on vault, bolstered by their four 10.0 start value vaults. Kennedy Baker and Alicia Boren nearly stuck their Yurchenko 1.5s, followed by a huge stuck vault from Rachel Slocum, and capped off by a beautiful Yurchenko double from McMurtry, which scored a 9.975.
Alabama also had an excellent showing in Rotation 1 on floor, highlighted by their anchor Kiana Winston, who scored a 9.9375 for her routine. They were able to drop their low score of 9.7 and did not count anything below a 9.85. Nebraska similarly did well on uneven bars, dropping their low 9.325 and counting nothing below a 9.825. Ashley Lambert put up their high score with an impressive 9.8875.
Georgia, meanwhile, struggled in the first rotation on balance beam, where they scored sub-49.0 due to lots of wobbles from across the lineup, and they also had an unfortunate fall from Rachel Schick. Vivi Babalis headlined the lineup with a 9.825.
Heading into Rotation 2, LSU started their competition on floor and put up a historic performance, totaling a 49.7125, their highest all season. The team had three competitors go 9.95 - Myia Hambrick, Finnegan and McKenna Kelley, and the rotation ended with Gnat posting a 9.9625, tying Skinner for the highest score on floor.
Alabama also had a superb Rotation 2, scoring a 49.3625 on vault, starting off with Wynter Childers sticking her Yurchenko full. Katie Bailey and Keely McNeer both scored the highest for the lineup with 9.8875s. Michigan started off their competition on bars, where they were able to recover from mistakes by Paige Zaziski to hit their remaining routines. Brianna Brown and Nicole Artz both scored 9.9s as highs for their lineup.
LSU continued their upward momentum in Rotation 3, where they went to vault, another very strong event for them. The team put up five 10.0 start value vaults, including stuck Yurchenko 1.5s from Sydney Ewing and Edney, and a big Yurchenko double from Gnat. Florida also had a good rotation as they put up a 49.425 on bars. They were able to drop Baker's score after she suffered a fall on her dismount, and McMurtry anchored with a strong 9.95 routine.
LSU IN THE LEAD AT THE HALFWAY POINT
Following Rotation 3, LSU maintained their lead with a 99.275, followed by Florida with a 98.9375, Alabama with a 98.75, Nebraska with a 98.55, Michigan with a 98.1125, and Georgia with a 97.725.
Georgia was able to make up some ground on floor, but unfortunately did not put up any scores in the 9.9 range, keeping them out of the top spots. Michigan also started to struggle with their performance on beam after both Lexi Funk and Talia Chiarelli suffered falls.
Nebraska continued to compete at their best as they went to floor in Rotation 4. Lambert anchored for the team with a powerful routine full of impressive tumbling to score the team's high - a 9.9125. Alabama also put up a strong performance in the fourth rotation, totaling a 49.4875 on bars. Bailey was their star performer on this event, hitting every handstand and sticking her dismount, to tie for the highest bars score at 9.95.
Perhaps the most exciting rotation came at Rotation 5, when it became clear that Alabama and Nebraska were likely battling it out for the 3rd spot to qualify to Super Six. Both teams were ending their competition in this rotation, with Alabama on beam and Nebraska on vault. Nebraska put it all out on the floor, with Megan Schweihofer and Lambert sticking their Yurchenko fulls and Sienna Crause sticking her Yurchenko 1.5. Alabama managed to edge them out with their performance on beam, though, even after an early fall from Abby Armbrecht. It came down to their last competitor, Nickie Guerrero, who had to score at least a 9.4775 to secure their spot, and she managed that easily by hitting her routine.
LSU SECURES LEAD WITH HIGHEST SCORE IN CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Going into the final rotation, LSU and Florida essentially needed to stay solid and not have any major mistakes to secure their spots to Super Six, and both teams had no problem delivering. LSU put up a 49.5875 on beam, with strong routines and stuck dismounts from almost every competitor. Florida put up an equally impressive lineup on floor, totaling a 49.4875, with the highlight being McMurtry's 9.95.
With the conclusion of the second session, LSU notched a 198.2750, which is not only their highest score all season, but the highest score achieved by any team ever at NCAA Championships. The field is now set for tomorrow's Super Six Final, which will prove to be an intense competition between the best teams in the country.
Related:
ARCHIVED UPDATES: Women's NCAAs Semifinal One
ARCHIVED UPDATES: 2017 Women's NCAA Championships Semifinal Two