I’m more convinced than ever that UCLA will win Championships in 2wks. They scored 197.825. (Don’t tell me it’s because they were overscored at home.)
They’ve got the “momentum“. The “intangibles“. They’re giving it “110%”. … Whatever …
Coach Chris Waller has said all year that this team has something. He’s the same coach from the past 3 years when I always felt something would go wrong with UCLA. And it usually did.
Giving the UCLA coaches all the credit for the 2010 season is like blaming Jay Clark’s coaching team for everything that went wrong with Georgia this season.
In the end, it’s the gymnasts who must perform.
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Results:
Gymnasts are all dancing on the Floor to a live performance of Jackson 5 song.
They announced the results of the other Regional Championships, but didn’t explain that Georgia lost the tie break to Oregon State. Organization of this meet could have been better.
1. UCLA 197.825
2. Arkansas
3. Arizona Wildcats
4. Iowa State
All-around:
1. Vanessa Zamarripa
2. Anna Li
3. Casey Jo Magee
3. Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs
Winners:
Vault – Anna Li
Bars – Anna Li
Beam – Casey Jo Magee (… I didn’t see that routine.)
Floor – Brittani McCullough
A 6-way tie for 2nd on Floor. That’s one problem with NCAA judging.
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Sixth rotation:
UCLA finished on Beam. Tagged as “inconsistent” all year, would they fall apart?
No way. That line-up is amazing. Did they put up Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs second?
Sheesh!
Beautiful, if careful, routines. Especially Vanessa. … I thought the judges were slightly (for once) stingy. Aisha Joy Gerber looked terrific.
Fifth rotation:
Only in College gymnastics will I hear my favourite song of 1975, Radar Love, used as Floor music.
Hey Gymnastike. Check out EHH on Bars for “stick of the week”. That was a dart. Swing BIG. Let the double layout go a bit long. Be ready with the knees.
The crowd wanted a 10.0 for Vanessa. Ah … NO. Buy that dissenting judge a glass of wine.
Compare her routine with the next, Anna LI. Now that’s a “perfect 10” College routine. Wow!
Still, UCLA can be beaten on Bars. It’s their weakest apparatus as a team. Arkansas was just as strong tonight.
Coaches, though some disagree, I’m quite convinced that Pak is the way to go for high to low transfer for girls that want to compete University. It’s less consistent than shoot 1/2, but far less deductible.
Even Straddle back is better than shoot 1/2.
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Fourth rotation:
Kudos Arkansas. Very clean, very smart Bar routines. Looks like great coaching, to me.
Who does the 1/2-in, double front dismount? Perfectly! Now that’s cool.
Certainly the NCAA is not the place to seek out new skills, nor innovative combinations. Any Level 10 meet is better. Safety and consistency is the goal in College. Beam is particularly predictable, though it’s still my favourite apparatus. So nice to watch solid routine after routine with only rarely a wobble.
Back twisting dismounts are a risk in College beam. The landing is difficult to stick. And many girls still cross their legs. Gainers are the best dismount.
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Third rotation:
Brittani has so much power on vault. Her warm-ups are scary.
I was cheering the UCLA Vault coach after 3 of his first 4 girls “stuck”. But Brittani and Vanessa both had landing deductions.
Triple twist on Floor is great, but deductible. Great College tumbling lines include Rudi to layout step-out. And Double twist to layout step-out.
Each rotation has had more errors from the other teams. …
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Second rotation:
UCLA starts on Floor. Brittani McCullough had the loudest audience reaction during march-in, I reckon. They have a lot of girls on this team!
I could hardly watch any of the other apparatus. UCLA was riveting on FX. What a “team” commitment to choreography, leaps and jumps. The routines have some similar movements, rhythm breaks, …
This is UCLA Gymnastics 2010, a huge improvement over the past few years.
The smart pundits will be picking UCLA to win Championships 2010.
Brittani McCullough had the best routine and the top score, 9.925. Her tumbling has been more effortless. But having now seen this routine live, I’d say Brittani is the routine to beat at Championships. It’s electrifying. (Something like McCool’s the year she won.)
UCLA put up EHH last on Floor, a great and very “clean” routine too. 9.90.
Arkansas had some weak vault. Arizona a lot of breaks and falls on Bars.
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First rotation:
I love College gymnastics live. It’s such a positive atmosphere. Arkansas and fans loud and enthusiastic, bringing some of that SEC rah rah. They showed some great Floor … how many 1/1-ins on that team?
I love how few falls you see in College gymnastics. It actually speeds up the meet. Only one in first rotation, I believe. On vault. … She warmed it up perfectly, too.
There was a Handspring Handspring Front Pike on Vault. Nice!
Where is powerhouse Thomasina Wallace from San Jose? Injured?
Screw-up. The announcer called rotation before the last Beam competitor had gone.
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I seem to have a WiFi connection here at Pauley Pavilion. This is the Regional Championships, qualifying teams and individuals to NCAA National Championships in Florida.
UCLA Hall of Fame gymnast Kim Hamilton Anthony was outside the arena promoting her memoir, Unfavorable Odds.
Tickets only $10, a great value. Still, there’s surprisingly low attendance. Too many alternative activities in L.A. on a Saturday night, I assume. Traffic was light getting here, however.
Live streaming seems to be working. I’ll update this post with highlights as the night progresses.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 