Courtney McCool won Floor. And deserved it.
Her wild techno music and wonderful choreography is a crowd pleaser. And there is no one else in the NCAA with better leg form on tumbling.
I’m very happy for Courtney, winning this event in Athens, GA. She’s had some tough times making the the transition from the “best gymnast in the world” in Athens, Greece in 2004 (my opinion) to they grown student athlete she is today.
1. Courtney McCool, Georgia
2. Tasha Schwikert, UCLA
3. Nicola Wills, Florida
full results and photos
Click PLAY to see Courtney’s routine earlier this season on YouTube.
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Is this the same Courtney McCool that went to the 2004 Olympics for the US team?? Or is the name just a huge coincidence
TheGymPress
http://www.thegympress.net
That’s her.
Quite the transformation, wouldn’t you say.
Good for Courtney.
“That’s her.
Quite the transformation, wouldn’t you say.”
No. Courtney had wonderful form and great choreography in elite too. Hell, a little bit of that choreography is still the same as what she had in elite! She also only did twisting back then as well.
1. She lacks ANY double salto skills. Shame.
2. She looks heavy. Could she do harder tricks if she were lean?
College is full of heavy gymnasts doing “harder” tricks. Since she also stuck to twisting as a lean elite, I doubt it’s her weight that is limiting the type of tricks she does.
I know college is full of heavy gymnasts. And maybe they could do better tricks if leaner. I have seen male gymnasts cut fat and be able to do toucher tricks. Saw it on a top NCAA team.
And btw, are we agreeing that the mass we are seeing is not all muscle with McCool? Whether right or wrong, just want agreement that those thighs are not squat rack quadriceps, but some spare poundage.
Heck I remember the Women’s college coach taking their deserts away from their team tables and giving them to the football team.
“And btw, are we agreeing that the mass we are seeing is not all muscle with McCool? ” I never meant to imply that I didn’t think McCool was fat. Your question was could she do harder tricks if she were leaner, not whether she was fat. I do think she looks fatter than she really is due to her blocky body type.
I don’t know if she could still do the rest of her Olympic difficulty (triple twist instead of a double and front layout after her handspring front double full) if she were leaner. Certainly seems like she doesn’t need to.
She does (have to do harder tricks) if she wants to get to the Olympics. And she does have to do that if she wants to get me to say how greagt she is. And isn’t gymnastics supposed to be about progressing? About learning harder new skill after harder new skill? I guess maybe I’m just having it driven into me that mature women are not physically as suited for gymnastics as younger girls.
TCO you kind of have it wrong. NCAA women’s gymnastics is a different system than elite. The point of it is to do less difficult gymnastics, but promote perfection on the easier elements. It makes it fun for the girls post-elite career to compete skills they are comfortable with and it makes it great for the audience to see amazing performances with little error. The NCAA women are progressing, just in a different sense. I think McCool looks awesome in this!
I was there. She was fantastic. She nailed her routine, and so did several others who competed including: Ashley Postell, Tasha Schwikert, Ashley Reed, Nicola Willis, Morgan Dennis, Susan Jackson — all with difficult tumbling and stuck landings. It must have been very hard to determine who won that competition. I think McCool’s form is flawless, but I agree that it would be nice to see some variety in her tumbling. She does 3 twisting passes and no double saltos. Morgan Dennis is a tumbling powerhouse, but does 3 back salto types of passes with no front tumbling. I thought the person that had the best form and the most variety was Postell. Her passes were double arabian, r/o 3/2 to immediate front tuck, and triple full.
Rick, I have a video of her winning routine at the NCAAs on GymMeet. http://www.gymmeet.com .
Here’s the direct link http://www.gymmeet.com/index.php?page=videos§ion=view&vid_id=100036
I also have floor routines of Cassidy McComb, and Tiffany Tolnay. And video of the bar routines for Grace Taylor, Courtney McCool, Nikki Childs, and Katie Heenan. You might want to turn the sound down. It was really loud at Stegeman. I also have lots of pics as well. You need to be a member of GymMeet to view the videos, but it is free to join. Rick, it was really great to meet you in Athens. You are a super guy. Keep up the great work. I love this site!
Randy (gymdad1 on GymMeet)
http://www.gymmeet.com
There was some great tumbling at NCAA Championships. Superb double layouts.
But a BIG tumbling trick only gains you about 0.05.
Far more important is the choreography. And how much people get INTO your routine.
Courtney includes the “jerky wave” thing. People LOVE it.
Rick, I agree that it only gains you 0.05, but remember the GymDogs won the SECs by .025. Maybe it’s different for individuals, but every 0.05 counts.
Randy
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