Gym Runs Into Tough Judges in the Metroplex

With the benefit of hindsight, the LSU gym team is still ticked off.

Myia Hambrick had an excellent routine in the floor exercise in Fort Worth this weeknd, only to have the judges ding her down to a 9.975. DD Breax did not approve, “I think Myia had a 10, without a shadow of a doubt.”

The rest of her teammates rallied to her defense as well. They wanted her perfect routine to be rewarded with the perfect score. Alas, there will be no appeal (judge’s discretion isn’t appeal-able anyway), and Hambrick’s score will remain below that perfect 10.

I guess she will have to settle for winning the individual title on the floor exercise this weekend, and a number 1 ranking on the floor in the nation.

And it’s not like the score cost LSU a victory. Even with a perfect 10, LSU would not have had enough to catch UCLA in the Metroplex Challenge this weekend. UCLA scored a monster 197.650, while LSU scored a solid 197.375.

This is where I come clean and tell y’all I didn’t watch the meet this weekend. It was thirty bucks on pay per view, and it was just a regular season exhibition meet. In the grand scheme of things, this meet doesn’t mean a whole lot, though it was a chance for LSU to show off its skills on the road.

It’s good that the team cares about getting hosed by the judges. It’s good that they are standing up for one another, showing some team unity. But ultimately, it doesn’t matter if Myia score a 9.975 or a 10, nor does it matter that LSU threw up a monster.

LSU held on to its #2 ranking, behind Oklahoma of course. And if you remember, the rankings in college gym are not subjective, it is based on the national scoring average and the regional qualifying score. LSU only needs to worry about LSU right now, and continually scoring right around 197.40 is going to do the trick.

The important thing for LSU is that the team is showing remarkable consistency. This is a team that has not pulled the throttle just yet. They are still working on elements before trying to put it together for the big scores. Check it out by rotation.

On vault, LSU’s low score was a 9.80 and its high score was a 9.875. On beam, the qualifying scores ranged from 9.825 to 9.925, with only two gymnasts at 9.90 or above. Beam? 9.825 to 9.90, with only one gymnast at 9.90. The floor was a little rough, with two scores below 9.80, one of which getting tossed, and aside from Myia’s imperfect 10, no LSU gymnast higher than a 9.875.

Looking at the scores, this is a team still playing within itself. Its rotational scores ranged from 49.325 to 49.375. LSU had three gymnasts qualify for the all-around, and their scores were 39.500, 39.525, and 39.550. That’s eerie consistency. The reason the team so badly wanted that 10 for Myia is that it is the first time the team is really going for the big scores, and it hurts to fall just short.

But those big scores are coming. This team has nowhere near peaked yet.