This routine caught my eye while I was watching the 2010 Commonwealth Games. It’s India’s Dipa Karmakar on beam. Now, this is by no means the best routine ever done, but I really admire her for being so ambitious in this routine! She started off with a really great back handspring-layout, showing some good difficulty, and followed it up with a solid switch leap-back tuck combination. I was impressed! After all, some of their gymnasts don’t have the most difficulty or best execution, but you’ve gotta respect them, they went out in front of their home fans and did their best! Dipa came off the beam on her punch front tuck, but then nailed one from almost standing, which was impressive. Nice wolf full, and a gainer layout off the end to finish. This is a great foundation that I hope she will build on for future routines!
Metroplex Challenge NCAA Session
Hey everyone! I just got home from the Metroplex Challenge NCAA meet tonight, it was Alabama, LSU, Missouri, and Nebraska, and it was a really fun atmosphere! The fans for each team were grouped together into their own sections, and it was cool hearing different sections of the arena erupt into cheers at random times!
I just filmed all the floor routines, and they’re in the process of uploading right now to Gymnastike, but should be up very quickly. Don’t worry, we got the other 3 events, they too will be up shortly!
Make sure you head on over HERE to check out the meet coverage, but as with last week, I’ll feature a couple routines on here too!
A couple fun tidbits: Nebraska gymnast Maria Scaffidi had her career high on Beam tonight. Nebraska also visited the historic Fort Worth Stockyards during their trip to Fort Worth. LSU gymnast Maliah Mathis predicts that she’ll hit a 10.0 routine by the end of the season, but preferably next week!
Proof of how small a world it really is: My dad Tom Kleefisch is a travel agent specializing in cruises, and he has booked Alabama coaches Sarah and David Patterson on multiple cruises in the past! Random!! (You can see his website HERE!)
Final meet results:
1. Alabama - 196.825
2. Nebraska - 195.600
3. LSU - 195.550
4. Missouri - 193.400
Sooners Rally over Oregon State, Denver, Centenary
The Oklahoma Sooners had three falls (two counting) on the uneven bars tonight, and found themselves sitting in third place after two rotations, but mounted a spectacular comeback to win the quad meet over #6 Oregon State, #23 Denver, and Centenary in Norman tonight.
Led by Natasha Kelley, Megan Ferguson, Kayla Nowak, and freshman Taylor Spears, the usually solid Sooners showed some rare mistakes, but also some fight, coming back from about six tenths back to win by nearly seven tenths! Way to go Sooners putting up a great beam rotation after such a shaky bars rotation!
The Sooners have been hitting pretty well aside from tonights meet, but they seem to be off to a slow start in terms of getting the BIG scores. For example, tonight was the third meet of the season, and they just got their first 9.9 (on vault, from veteran Natasha Kelley. They also got 9.9 #2, on FX from Nowak tonight). Last year, it seemed to me that they were getting 9.9 pretty consistently (Flanery, Vise, especially), so hopefully the Sooners will turn it up even more and tweak their routines to eliminate any of those silly .1 deductions that plague routines across the NCAA!
OK, enough with the Sooner lovefest! You guys should just come to expect that from me, I am a Sooner graduate so…ya know, it was bound to happen sooner or later (HAH, get it….I crack myself up!). Other quick miscellaneous NCAA thoughts: Florida is doing WORK right now! Ashanee Dickerson is my pick for 2011 NCAA AA champ…I’m calling it now! Biggest (good) surprise: Utah! I thought they were looking a little weak this year but they are doing ok so far! Biggest (uh oh) surprise so far: UCLA! So many poorly timed injuries and fluke mistakes have turned the 2010 Champs into a team that looks uncertain and underprepared. C’mon Bruins, you can do it! I look forward to seeing more from Georgia, and from HOT Stanford!
From the SoonerSports press release:
“They showed huge heart, huge fight,” OU head coach K.J. Kindler said. “We’ve seen lots of teams all across the country, in all sports, get down and stay down. They didn’t do that, they felt like they could still win. That was huge, especially for such a young team, that’s huge.”
“They fought for it tonight, they fought for that win,” Kindler said of her 99th victory at OU. “It’s probably worth more than the other wins we’ve had this season.”
Andreea Raducan doing that leap she did so well! :)
Credit goes to Gymbox for the photo, obviously!
OK seriously….this routine is incredible! I dare you to find one wobble! A very nicely done routine by Canada’s Kate Richardson at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. I really love the two front aerial combination, and the backhandspring 3/4…..on par with Pavlova’s! So nice….and to cap it all off, stuck dismount!
Get ready for NCAA season to start! Here’s one of my favorite routines from last year, it’s Oklahoma’s Brie Olson on uneven bars. Hit handstands all over the place and a stuck full twisting double layout to cap it all off!
This is Tong Fei doing a High Bar routine from 1984. I really love all of todays high-flying release moves, but there’s something to be said for the smoothness and ease with which he does all of his moves. The one arm giants are incredible, especially the effortless half turn while on one arm towards the beginning, and that’s definitely one of the prettiest and highest double layouts I’ve ever seen - and stuck!
Small and powerful - these words describe Swedish Junior Emma Larsson on floor. Full in double back, 2 1/2 twist, big leaps, 1 1/2 to punch front layout, and an easy peasy double twist to finish. I can see lots of upgrades in her future!
Here’s a floor routine by Hungarian Junior Noemi Makra, from the Topgym meet. I really like her controlled landings, plus her beautiful double twist! Her D score was a 4.8, and she got a 13.433, so I’m not really sure where the judges got nearly 1.4 in deductions because personally I thought she did really well but…whatever! Nice to see Hungary producing some more good gymnasts!
Lithuania’s lovely Laura Svilpaite, who has grown into such an elegant little lady!
Photo credit goes to Stefan Wurzer.
