thought about this over night. athens paper says to watch are coaches at arkansas, cal, and lsu. the uk hc would be my #1 target. tim garrison is an outstanding coach so glad ugaly isn't looking at him.
I suppose Wieber can make the move but Arkansas has the resources to make it hard. Howell is a NoCal lifer who built that program. Why take over another rebuild across the country when you are this close and your name is on it? Cannot imagine Jay Clark ever going back. Ever.
I agree completely with your comment on Ellie. Coming into the season if you told me we'd have to depend on Ellie as an all-arounder for the NCAA tournament, I never would have expected making it to the finals. It is so awesome that she stepped up into that difficult role. But, like you said, we should be FAR deeper next year, especially if Victoria returns. Some of the gymnasts can concentrate on being specialists and not have to spread themselves so thin. Same can be said for Victoria. I think I remember some saying that she could give us nice routines in a couple of events when she transferred in. In two short seasons, she's turned into a very solid all-arounder. Can't credit Jenny enough for the coaching job she and her staff have done with this group!
Danie Ferris is going to be a star. She only completed on two events by adding floor to vault closer to the end of the season. Her scores coming into UF look like a 3-event performer, scores on beam not as good. However, keep in mind that Ferris came early to UF and otherwise would be graduating high school next month, the youngest gymnast on UF's roster. My point for saying all of this about Danie is that if she has beam in her as well, CJR will bring it out of her. Danie may develop into an outstanding all-arounder.
I am hopeful that DiCello and Blakely (Skye) can give us the back end of the lineup 9.95s that you need to win it all. I think this would unlock Wong's greatness because she seems to excel as the fourth athlete up (except for maybe bars) rather than the last. I sadly don't think Hurd will ever contribute in a meaningful way. She seems better suited to elite where harder skills are rewarded and sticks are not all that important. I love Nguyen on vault and floor. She is a bit nervy on the beam when the pressure is on, and her bars are consistently good but not great. Ellie is such a joy to watch when she hits -- precise and detailed. But she is prone to not hit at unexpected moments. I hope McCusker can regain her form on bars and beam, so beautiful. And can we give it up for Sloane Blakely? After a rough vault rotations she hit her bars set and rocked her beam. On FX, she needs a harder first pass, too much power if you ask me. Still don't know why she wasn't vaulting. And how do you keep Skyler Draser out of lineups? Best surprise of 2024. My dream lineups for 2025 with top score capabilities based on skill/past performance/reputation: Vault: Draser (9.9) Lazzari (9.925) Wong (9.925) Ferris (9.95) DiCello (9.95) Pilgrim (9.95) Bars: Draser (9.9) McCusker (9.9) Pilgrim (9.925) Wong (9.95) DiCello (9.95) Blakeley (Skye) (9.95) Beam: Draser (get the theme?) (9.9) Lazzari (9.95) McCusker/Blakeley (Sloane) (9.95) Wong (9.95) DiCello (9.95) Blakeley (Skye) (9.95) Floor: Pilgrim (9.875) Ferris (9.925) (hopefully recovery will allow former height on passes) Blakely (Sloane) (with an E pass please) (9.925) Wong (9.95) DiCello (9.95) Blakeley (Skye) (9.95)
Lots to unpack, will take time and consideration, but I will mention Sloane's first Double Arabian is an E element pass.
But she no longer performs it. I am not a fan of the punch front to double tuck although I do love Pilgrim's 1 1/2 to double tuck.
I had not noticed. When did Sloane quit doing the Double? Went to SECs, didn't do it there. That is as far back as I could go on ESPN.
Why would CJR and Sloane do away with an E pass and not do anything to compensate for it? Surely a gymnast of Sloane's ability isn't doing a floor routine with less than a 10-starting value. Do you know how many starting values we have less than 10 and who is doing them? There is no reason not to be doing all performances with 10-starting values. Just me, but if a gymnast can't do a 10-start value with UF, they shouldn't be in the lineup.
I believe the punch front to double tuck allows the to score a 10. E pass is not required. Heck Meghan Skaggs did a Rudi for her first pass and scored a 9.95 at NCAAs. We just like to watch E passes better!!!
Leanne is in the top 4 for the gymnastics Honda Award. Leanne Wong is 2024 Honda Award Nominee - Florida Gators
[can't rule out jordan bowers on a sympathy vote----------QUOTE="ocalaman, post: 16421969, member: 28881"]Good for her, but Hailey Bryant is going to win it.[/QUOTE]
Road to National Final Rankings 2024: Standings (roadtonationals.com) 1 LSU 2 California 3 Utah 4 Florida 5 Stanford 6 Oklahoma 7 Arkansas 8 Alabama 9 Kentucky 10 Denver Five SEC teams in the top 10 in 2024 would be six SEC teams in 2025. Oklahoma at #6 behind Stanford = LOL!