Ahh, NCAA season is upon us. Meets every weekend, how glorious it is. This year, the vault code has been revised, and the infamous yurchenko full has been degraded to a 9.95 start value, instead of a 10.0 SV as in years past. The idea behind this is that it would reward the girls who do perform harder vaults like yurchenko 3/2s and other creative vaults. Additionally, it would reward those who do exceptional fulls (a la Alex McMurtry), as well as create variety amongst vaults being competed. Now, will this happen? It's only 2 weeks into the season (well 3, counting the Cancun Classic weekend), as we all try to make sense of these new rules and how they have affected teams in these first few weeks of the season, which is exactly what I'll do here. In the first week, scoring amongst the 9.95 vaults (the fulls & such) seemed very tight and strict, however the girls doing 10.0 vaults seemed to be rewarded for their difficulty. When judging these vaults, it's important to note that a 9.8 vault would have been a 9.85 vault had it started from a 10, like in previous years. This is where it gets real interesting. The "what if?" hypotheticals begin to come into play, questioning the harsher scores such as 9.75s as "would this really have scored a 9.8 last season?". Emma McLean, for example, performed a gorgeous yurchenko full, complete with a stick, but only scored a 9.75, which I definitely think would have scored 9.85+ last season and in seasons past when the full started from a 10.0 (see: somewhere around 18:)), but my replay was being weird, here, if it doesn't work, be patient and mess with it). There are exceptions to this, as some scores were definitely just, and some meets seemed particularly generous, such as Kentucky's first meet and UCLA versus Bama. In the last week, it seemed as if the judges got themselves under control. The scoring seemed just for the most part. See: See: Olivia Karas' vault from the Ohio State meet, which at the angle given in the stream seemed as if it warranted a higher score, but upon other angles it is seen that the just deduction was taken on her yurchenko 3/2.
But, judges will be judges and go crazy at some point. See: one judge giving Brandie Jay a 10 when she clearly had leg separation. Yeah there's the whole building on scores and judges trapping themselves scenario, but that definitely shouldn't have warranted a 10. There's always gonna be extremes. That's just how it's gonna be with judges. One meet, generous scoring, the other tight. And epitomizing generous is Florida home scoring in Gainesville. Ahh, the ever so famous Gainesville scoring. Those vault scores were whacked out. Some were higher than deserved, some were lower, and they definitely didn't seem to properly rank the vaults. The judges did a good job at distinguishing the different vaults, thus far seemingly sending a message that big scores will be given for properly executed 10.0 vaults, but they're not afraid to score an exceptional yurchenko full high or take deductions, though time will tell if it is actually worth it to upgrade vaults. As of now, it's hard to formulate if it will be worth it, but by season's end we should know, especially if Super Six comes down to it. Being a new rule, some girls chose to stick with fulls, especially seniors who didn't want to learn something new, if they hadn't done it before (of course there's the Sloan exception and others), and if it proves to be worth it I'm sure others will follow. But for now, we'll just have to wait it out.
Tis the season to be jolly, with NCAA gymnastics that is. Every year there's bound to be new girls rising up to the scene, whether they be returners or freshmen that are new to the scene. Oh what fun it is to speculate and predict these girls. Especially if you're playing fantasy gym, it's good to be weary of girls up and coming, like I did last year with Nicole Artz. That was a good move, if I do say so myself. So, without further adieu, I present to you gymnasts to watch for this season. 1. Sabrina Schwab, Utah Sabrina is a freshman at Utah who hails from WOGA (do I need say more?). From first glance you immediately notice her elegance, poise, and lines. Her bars are absolutely gorgeous (those lines though), and also usually pretty well executed. While her beam seemed nervy at the Red Rocks Preview, I expect her to emerge once season starts, as she's been a good beam worker in the past. She has great presence on floor. Her tumbling is solid and her dance elements are great and poised with that WOGA elegance and grace. With the senior class that Utah lost this year, I expect her as well as the other freshmen to emerge and take on roles on the team. (Note: I tried to find videos from the more recent Red Rocks Preview, but Utah, or anyone else haven't posted any of her)
2. Lizzy LeDuc, Illinois The "I'm going to LSU, wait nevermind, I'm going to Illinois" girl has arrived on the scene. Previously a highly touted LSU commit, something went wrong and there was a miscommunication, so she changed her commit to Illinois. This is wonderful for Illinois, as I (as well as many other gymnerds) see her as a star in the making, and at Illinois she should shine brighter than ever. She had a stint as a junior international elite in the US from 2009-2010, but dropped down to level 10 after an elbow injury in 2011. More recently, she trained and competed internationally for the Philippines from 2014 until she came to Illinois in 2015. That alone is the makings of a great NCAA gymnast. Lizzy has a solid skillset, hailing from WOGA, though she switched to Metroplex. She could easily contribute to the Illini on all four events, especially beam, which is beautiful. Her floor is solid as well, going back to her US elite days, and it should just improve. I'm excited to see all she can contribute to the Illini these next 4 years. It should be great!
Balance Beam - Lizzy Leduc ---- WoW! Posted by Asia Gymnastics on Tuesday, June 9, 2015
