OU gymnastic NC and follow up info.

[Plainosooner]

OU will likely be fine in the team standings, because they get to drop that if everybody else stays on. But this is why assuming an NC just isn't a certainty. And it almost certainly knocks her out of a chance for the All Around title.

OU did advance to the finals along with UCLA and Utah in the first semifinal. In spite of the fall, OU still had the top score of the six in the first semifinal. It was interesting. The whole first group was four Pac 12 teams and two Big XII teams, OU and Denver. Washington and Oregon State also both failed to advance.

The second session has the four SEC schools that made the semi's. Bama, LSU, Georgia and Florida. LSU and the Gators are two, three nationally. Michigan and Nebraska from the Big Ten are the other two.

 

[iasooner1]

OH NO ! I hope she wasn't injured in any way

 

[Plainosooner]

OH NO ! I hope she wasn't injured in any way

No, she just lost her balance and then stepped off. But it dropped her down a bunch in the individual all around standings. Her score got dropped, but she's usually at the top.

OU's overall score was 197.725. which was the lowest scored they've had this season, when Maggie was in all four events. They're usually over 198. But they trailed UCLA heading into the final rotation. OU had two girls step out of bounds during the floor exercise, which was in their first event.

Coach Kindler said before the first event that her team seem "nervie." It showed. Being on a platform for only the third time this season was a factor. The SEC teams perform on a platform in their conference championships. OU doesn't. Nor in the regional. It's a pretty big disadvantage.

But these scores don't count in the championship round Saturday night. It all starts over. But the Sooner women had a hard time "rising to the occasion."

 

[Plainosooner]

OU's team scored in the round of 12, was only the third best of the day. Both LSU and Florida were higher.

I really dislike this platform gymnastics in the national championships, after most teams haven't competed on that bouncy situation most of the year. When you watched on tv, when anyone landed on the beam, it was moving. Those with power were penalized. The more power they had, the more the beam shook. It's why Maggie fell off the beam.

Same thing with the floor. There were irregular places in the floor that bounced the gymnasts more than others. OU wasn't the only team dealing with the inconsistency. But when you're the best team, having the uncertainty evens things for the others.

SEC teams have a big advantage, because both their last two events were on a platform. Neither of OU's were. It's akin to football teams playing on the same sized field all year, and then playing with 15 yard deep end zones in the playoffs. But a shaking beam in unacceptable. I taped both the morning and evening session. The more I watched, the madder I got.

Mack Brown would love the change.

 

[Medic007]

I guess I missed this. What were you saying?

 

[Medic007]

There's more that goes into a gymnastics competition than meets the eye. The "platform" isn't one of them. Nerves were a small part of the semi finals. Time of the last workout and competition times were a much larger factor. As usual, KJ had the ladies ready when it counted the most. Just like clockwork, really. Hence my prediction.

 

[Plainosooner]

If the platform was no factor, wht did they change Maggie's routine on the fly, for the finals? And why did the coaches from several schools talk about the importance of having meets on a platform before heading to St Louis?

I thought we got a nice break getting to start on bars, which is consistently OUr best event. It built momentum.

 

[Medic007]

If the platform was no factor, wht did they change Maggie's routine on the fly, for the finals? And why did the coaches from several schools talk about the importance of having meets on a platform before heading to St Louis?

I thought we got a nice break getting to start on bars, which is consistently OUr best event. It built momentum.

They made the change to Maggie's beam routine because of her knee injury. Re: the platform, I don't know why coaches, announcers, etc talked about it. It wasn't a factor for OU in either performance.

 

[Plainosooner]

Just curious. When an athlete is on the beam, not on a platform, does the beam shake when they land hard?

 

[Medic007]

Just curious. When an athlete is on the beam, not on a platform, does the beam shake when they land hard?

The beams do flex regardless what they sit on. They have a springiness to them.

Maggie has competed on podiums for quite some time. One of the biggest things they have to get used to on a podium is the visual cues they use. On the floor of an arena, such as at LNC, they use the arena wall for quite a bit of their cues. Once elevated, it puts the same cue into the crowd which doesn't serve as a good cue.

Gymnasts are very good at adapting to unfamiliar equipment. There are many slight variations in equipment, and through practice and warmups, they make adjustments. One thing you'll see on a podium is an adjustment to their vault run. A podium vault is usually a little faster than a floor vault, so they'll actually back up a few steps from their usual starting distance to account for it, otherwise they'll end up too close to the table on their entrance.

On Maggie's fall, she didn't have good execution. She didn't have good power on the takeoff which she tried to correct in air but didn't get her right foot in place for the landing. I'm just glad she got to compete. That knee is going to need attention this summer.

 

[Plainosooner]

Do you know anything about girls gym recruiting?

 

[Medic007]

Do you know anything about girls gym recruiting?

For OU? Yes.

 

[Plainosooner]

Could you share?

I'm asking about those arriving this fall.

 

[Medic007]

Coming in August 2017:

Abigail Matthews - former Elite gymnast, competed L10 this year

Evy Schoepfer - L10 gymnast, previous JO national qualifier

Ellie Wylie - L10 gymnast

Anastasia Webb - former Elite gymnast, competed L10 this year

Solid group.

 

[Plainosooner]

Dumb question, but what is L10? The other OU sports have recruiting lists on Soonersports.com, but I couldn't find any information about w gymnastics recruiting

 

[Medic007]

Dumb question, but what is L10? The other OU sports have recruiting lists on Soonersports.com, but I couldn't find any information about w gymnastics recruiting

Level 10. It's the highest level of USAG Junior Olympics competition. Above that is the Elite level which are the ladies that compete for the national team. Junior Olympic scoring is like collegiate scoring on a 10 start value. Elite scoring is based on difficulty etc like the Olympics. You'll see ladies who have competed at the Elite level who move back to Junior Olympic competition prior to college to get back into the 10 point scoring as a transition to collegiate gymnastics.

 

[Plainosooner]

Thanks. I googled all four and saw highlight video of each. Several impressive floor and bars. One terrific vault. Didn't see any beam. Just thought it curious.

 

[Medic007]

Thanks. I googled all four and saw highlight video of each. Several impressive floor and bars. One terrific vault. Didn't see any beam. Just thought it curious.

I think they are picking up a walkon from Mizzou as well for 2017.

 

[Plainosooner]

If you find a story about gymnastics recruiting, please post it. I wish there were some details on SS.com

 

[RightFieldHomie]

Jordan draper.

 

[littleton tiger]

Conrats from the LSU Nation. Sorry I'm late.