Gymnastics Power Rankings

1. No. 8 Utah
OK, if someone gets a perfect 10 in a meet, her team needs to automatically be No. 1 on the list. Lia Del Priore scored a 10.0 on her floor exercise to lead Utah to its highest total of the year, 197.300.

After a disappointing tie with Washington the week before, the Utes showed the nation why they’re always a perennial threat to win the national championship.  
We’ll see what the Utes are made of soon. They take on No. 7 Georgia in Athens, Ga., on March 9, and then host No. 2 Florida the following week.

Last week: vs. No. 12 Stanford (W, 197.300)
This week (prediction): at Brigham Young with North Carolina State (1st)
2. No. 9 Oregon State
The Beavers jump UCLA because of their head-to-head win on Feb. 16 in Gill Coliseum. Oregon State gave the Bruins their first loss of the season, and their worst score of the season as well.

Makayla Stambaugh is having a tremendous season, and has led the Beavers back into the top-10 for the first time since their preseason poll ranking of No. 9. Stambaugh is tied for third in the nation in uneven bars, tied for sixth in floor exercise and sixth in all-around.

Since finishing third in the Metroplex Challenge on Jan. 26 (keep in mind, No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 5 LSU were the top two), the Beavers have won their last four meets.

Last week: vs. No. 15 Arizona and Seattle Pacific (1st, 196.925)
This week (prediction): @ No. 12 Stanford with California (1st)
3. No. 6 UCLA
The Bruins lost their second consecutive meet, but it wasn’t as bad as it seems. In fact, UCLA scored its second-best team total of the year. Problem was, the Bruins were facing off against Oklahoma, the top team in the nation. Oklahoma’s score of 198.375 against UCLA was the highest score in the nation this season.

UCLA features Vanessa Zamarripa, the nation’s top all-arounder.

Last week: @ No. 1 Oklahoma (L, 197.200)
This week (prediction): @ No. 4 Alabama (L)
4. No. 12 Stanford
Although they lost to Utah in Salt Lake City, the Cardinal are rolling. For the second time in a row, they cleared the 197 threshold on their team score.

Stanford really hadn’t been anything special for the first five meets of the season, never scoring more than 196.500.

The Cardinal set season-high team scores in vault and balance beam in the meet against Utah. They have nothing flashy or special (aside from Amanda Spinner being No. 4 in the nation on beam), they’re just a solid team.

Last week: @ No. 8 Utah (L, 197.075)
This week (prediction): vs. No. 9 Oregon State and California (2nd)
5. No. 17 Washington
Washington went in to Tempe, Ariz., and came away with its highest road score of the season, a 196.000. Lauren Rogers won the all-around title for the fourth time this year, and she currently ranks 22nd in the country in the category.

The Huskies also have a tie with Utah under their belt too, from Feb. 15.

Last week: @ Arizona State (W, 196.000)
This week (prediction): Bye
6. No. 15 Arizona
The Wildcats have been a team on the rise in the Pac-12, and their appearance in Corvallis was highly anticipated, especially after OSU knocked off UCLA the week before. Arizona did not live up to those expectations.

The Wildcats finished in 2nd place in the three-team meet, and scored their lowest team total since the first meet of the season. A score below 195.000 this late in the season is never a good indicator of a team that can compete in the Pac-12.

Last week: @ Oregon State with Seattle Pacific (2nd, 194.900)
This week (prediction): vs. Arizona State (W)
7. Arizona State
The Sun Devils were the first team out of the national top-25 this week after scoring a 195.600 against Washington. ASU hasn’t cleared a score of 196 yet this season, which keeps this team out of the upper echelon of the conference.

Last week: vs. Washington (L, 195.500)
This week (prediction): @ No. 15 Arizona (L)
8. California
The Golden Bears actually had looked pretty decent all year until a complete collapse in Salt Lake City on Feb. 9. On that day, Cal scored a 192.750. I guess the 13,000-plus crowds the Utes bring to gymnastics meets were too much to handle. Cal still would hold its own in another conference, but in the stacked Pac-12, it’s clear the Golden Bears are at the bottom right now.

Last week: vs. Brown and San Jose State (1st, 195.925)
This week (prediction): Bye

Warner Strausbaugh, managing editor

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