Nebraska beats Michigan, Washington and Southern Utah with a 196.55
Nebaska hosted a quad meet featuring Michigan, Southern Utah, and Washington on Saturday night. Nebraska had a great competition, despite unfortunately struggling on beam. They competed with a team of six All Arounders, which was interesting to watch, though you could see them kind of losing steam in the end. They had a slight battle with Michigan stay in the lead in the final rotation, but had a fantastic finish on floor, taking the top spot with a 196.55 to Michigan’s 195.825 (Washington scored a 194.15 and Southern Utah had a 191.9). Michigan looked like a brand new team compared to the past few weeks, and actually posted their season high score tonight. They had tiny struggles here and there but counted no falls. Now that they have the routines back, they’ll need to focus on polishing and perfecting.
ROTATION 1: Nebraska started on vault in the first rotation, posting a huge 49.45 after nonstop hit routines, capped off by top scores (and vault titles) for Jessie DeZiel and Janelle Giblin, who each earned a 9.925 for their perfect sticks. Southern Utah had some trouble on bars, counting a fall and mostly 9.6-9.7 scores with Caitlin Kennedy’s 9.725 their highest. Washington, who made waves after beating UCLA a couple of weeks ago, also had to count a fall; Lauren Rogers had several falls and errors and then team star Ruby Engrietz had an uncharacteristic fall which counted in their 48.45 total. Paige Bixler’s 9.825 was their top score. Finally, Michigan started relatively nicely on floor, on which the team earned a 48.8; they did have a fall early on, but didn’t need to count it. Joanna Sampson and Reema Zakharia had the top two routines, each earning a 9.85.
ROTATION 2: As Nebraska moved to bars they weren’t quite as successful as they were in the first rotation, but still came out with a 49.275. Their lowest to count was a 9.8, and both Giblin and Lora Evenstad earned 9.9s. Southern Utah had one trouble on beam, counting a fall for a 47.25 total; Brooke Cersosimo came in with a 9.7 for the team’s highest. Washington recovered slightly on floor, earning an even 49 after some solid routines throughout. McKenzie Fechter’s 9.85 was the highest. Michigan’s vault wasn’t super strong, but they each hit…they just need to perfect form and landings. They came out with a 49.05 total, with Sampson again taking a top score with her 9.875.
ROTATION 3: Nebraska saw some trouble right away on beam, with Giblin falling twice, earning an 8.5 and leaving a lot of pressure for the rest of the team on this event. Unfortunately, they kind of fell to this pressure, making several other mistakes throughout the rotation, counting some scores in the 9.5 range. DeZiel’s 9.85 was their highest, but their total was only a 48.45. Southern Utah looked good throughout floor, but surprisingly saw their two falls in their anchor routines, ending with a 47.9 including Brittney Jensen’s high of 9.75. Washington had some stumbles on vault, with nothing looking as clean as they need it to be at this stage in the game; their total was a 48.6, with Megan Whitney’s 9.8 the highest. Michigan started out well on bars, and didn’t let Katie Zurales’ fall get to them, as they managed to come out with a 49. Brittnee Martinez had an especially superb routine, posting a nice 9.875.
ROTATION 4: Despite starting with a strong lead in the first rotation, Nebraska had a lead of only about three tenths over Michigan going into the final. They came out strong on floor with each athlete hitting. Emily Wong was especially fierce, sticking her landings for a 9.925 and the floor title. Their total was a 49.375. Southern Utah nailed vault after vault with no super high scores but they were mostly steady…and I think several of their vaults don’t come with a 10.0 difficulty. They finished with a 48.65, Rochelle Bernier’s 9.8 the highest. Washington started out rough on bars, with a fall from Aliza Vaccher and two falls from Phoebe Tham. The rest of the team scored in the 9.7 range, with Engreitz coming back from her earlier beam fall with a 9.85, the team’s high. Michigan clearly wanted the win over Nebraska, and they really fought for it on beam. Annette Miele, who was competing her routine in exhibition only two weeks ago, fell, but everyone else managed pretty good scores; Zurales, who had some unfortunate mistakes earlier in the meet, came out on top with a 9.9 and the team’s total was a 49 even.
Vault
1T. Janelle Giblin (Nebraska) - 9.925
1T. Jessie DeZiel (Nebraska) - 9.925
3. Brittany Skinner (Nebraska) - 9.9
Bars
1T. Janelle Giblin (Nebraska) - 9.9
1T. Lora Evenstad (Nebraska) - 9.9
3. Brittnee Martinez (Michigan) - 9.875
Beam
1. Katie Zurales (Michigan) - 9.9
2. Jessie DeZiel (Nebraska) - 9.85
3. Paige Bixler (Washington) - 9.825
Floor
1. Emily Wong (Nebraska) - 9.925
2. Lora Evenstad (Nebraska) - 9.9
3. Brittany Skinner (Nebraska) - 9.875
All Around
1. Jessie DeZiel (Nebraska) - 39.45
2. Emily Wong (Nebraska) - 39.375
3. Brittany Skinner (Nebraska) - 39.35
