Analyzing the Women's NCAA Preseason Rankings

Analyzing the Women's NCAA Preseason Rankings

Analyzing the Women's NCAA Preseason Rankings

Dec 4, 2012 by Anne Phillips
Analyzing the Women's NCAA Preseason Rankings
The 2013 NCAA women's gymnastics preseason coaches poll came out on Monday with the back-to-back National Champions, the University of Alabama, picked for #1 yet again. 

However, let's take a closer look at the teams who cracked the top eight and who you should keep your eye on from each of these teams. 

#1 Alabama 
2012 NCAA Championships finish: 1st place


Marissa Gutierrez, Diandra Milliner, Ashley Priess, and Geralen Stack-Eaton with their 2012 Individual trophies.

The Tide put a stop to the Gator's journey to their first National title last season, thanks to a clutch balance beam rotation in the final rotation of a heated Super Six team finals. Former elite Ashley Priess delivered a 9.95 routine to seal the deal. Lucky for the Tide, Priess will look to mimic that performance in 2013 as she has decided to return for a 5th season.  

Alabama said farewell to former Parkette Geralen Stack-Eaton who closed out her collegiate career with the 2012 NCAA Beam Title. 

They'll add two strong freshmen, former elite and 2012 J.O. National All Around runner up Lauren Beers and 2012 J.O. National vault champion Carley Sims. 


#2 UCLA
2012 NCAA Championships finish: 3rd place

The 2013 UCLA Bruins. phots: uclabruins.com

The UCLA team is intriguing each and every year with a roster highlighted by big name elites, charismatic head coach Valorie Condos Field, and unique floor choreography. This year should be no different. 

Speaking of former elites, we saw Mattie Larson really blossom towards the end of her freshman season in 2012 and hope to see her more active in the all around in 2013. When healthy, Olympian Samantha Peszek is unstoppable in the all around, and Vanessa Zamarripa, now fully healthy from her fall 2010 achilles tear, will be a serious threat for the 2013 NCAA All Around title, and reveled to Gymnastike that she plans to make an elite comeback this year. We also got the scoop on a potential double double on floor. Watch that here.  

The Bruins add an exciting crop of freshmen in British World team member Danusia Francis, former elite and competitive dancer Sophina DeJesus, former J.O. National Champion Asi Peko, and Canadian star Peng Peng Lee whose status for 2013 is questionable due to her pre-Olympic Trials ACL tear.

The Bruins will gain a home field advantage come April as they UCLA will play host to the NCAA Championship on Apr. 19-21 in Pauley Pavilion.


#3 Florida 
2012 NCAA Championships finish: 2nd place


The 2013 Florida Gators. Photo: gatorzone.com

The Florida Gators have a deep roster that other teams may well find intimidating. Looking at talent alone, the Gators should be ranked #1. They've added 2009 World All Around Champion Bridget Sloan who is happy and feeling healthy in her new home [video], and 2011 Pan American all around champion Bridgey Caquatto. They also boast the reigning Honda Award winner, and NCAA All Around and vault Champion, Kytra Hunter.

Also returning are 2011 NCAA vault champion and 2008 British Olympian Marissa King who plans to "go big" for her senior season, 2012 NCAA Regional all-around champion Ashanée Dickerson, 2012 SEC uneven bars champion Alaina Johnson and 2012 NCAA uneven bars finalist and former U.S. World team member Mackenzie Caquatto.

The Gators are still feeling the sting of a shockingly close second place finish in last year's Super Six and have used that as fuel for a strong preseason training. 


#4 Oklahoma
2012 NCAA Championships finish: 7th place


Kayla Nowak gets pep talk from head coach K.J. Kindler before mounting the beam in 2011

The Sooners had a devastating finish to their 2012 season when they were upset by Stanford during NCAA Prelims and failed to advance to the Super Six. But do not count them out in 2013. 

In past seasons, the Sooners have been a true team with no gymnasts vying for all around crowns until Kayla Nowak broke into the vault lineup and was OU's only all around competitor in 2011. Nowak absence was felt by the Sooners in the 2012 postseason after a hand injury took her out of the lineups. This allowed for Brie Olsen to step in and win the 2012 Big 12 All Around Championship with a score of 39.500 in her first ever all around competition. Now in their senior seasons, look for Nowak and Olsen to lead the squad back to the Super Six. 

The team (and gymnastics fans alike) will definitely miss the spark of 2012 NCAA Beam runner up Megan Ferguson. However, they should see an instant impact from their stellar freshman class which includes J.O. National Champions Keeley Kmieciak and Haley Scaman. Both gymnasts arrived in Norman with excellent yurchenko 1.5's and numerous E tumbling passes on floor.    

The Sooners are one of the more artistic teams in NCAA gymnastics and their beam lineup is always world class. 


#5 Utah 
2012 NCAA Championships finish: 5th place


Georgia Dabritz on beam in 2012

The Utes surprisingly sailed into the Super Six last season with a young, inexperienced team and will look to build on that in 2013. Former elite Georgia Dabritz made a big impact in her freshman season and looks to be the star of the squad once again, along with 2008 Olympic alternate Corrie Lothrop who is now in her junior season. 

The Utes graduated All Americans Stephanie McAllister and Kyndal Robarts along with Cortni Beers. Oddly enough, this year's team has no senior class.  

A surprise addition to their 2013 roster is level 10 standout Taylor Allex who signed with the Utes in May after learning she would graduate from high school a year early. Interestingly, Allex did not begin participating in gymnastics until age 10 and has made a meteoric rise in the sport in the past few years. She won the 2012 J.O. National vault title with an exceptional yurchenko 1.5 and also finished 3rd in the all around and on floor. 


#6 Stanford
2012 NCAA Championships finish: 4th place


Stanford gymnasts during 2012 NCAA Championships podium training.

Stanford shocked the collegiate world last April, peaking at the perfect time for an unexpected 4th place finish at Nationals. This team brings international flavor, former elites coupled with strong level 10's, and apparent team chemistry to the competition floor. 
 
Kristina Vaculik is back on campus with loads of international experience after deferring last season to help Team Canada to a historic 5th place finish at the 2012 Olympic Games. Assuming she is healthy, she should step right back into the lineups. 

Former U.S. National team members Sami Shapiro and Ivana Hong both overcame early season injuries to excel in the postseason as freshmen in 2012 with Hong making a few appearances in the all around. 

Senior Ashley Morgan has been a staple in the top 10 floor exercise rankings throughout her career and won her second straight Pac-12 conference title on the event. Could she finally win the NCAA floor crown in 2013? 

They've graduated team leader Alyssa Brown and 2012 Team MVP Nicole Pechanec who you may have spotted in the NFL stands lately, supporting quarterback boyfriend Andrew Luck.


#7 Nebraska
2012 NCAA Championships finish: 8th place 


Jessie DeZiel in 2012. photo: huskers.com

The Huskers took the Big 10 Team title in their first year of the conference and gained a few more fans last season thanks to the addition of U.S. National team member and former J.O. National Champion Jessie DeZiel who delivered a remarkable freshman season. 

Like last year, the team will carry numerous all around gymnasts. Expect to see sophomore DeZiel, senior Janelle Giblin, and junior Emily Wong to trade off all around titles week to week. And in their most recent team intrasquad, freshmen Jordyn Beck and Ariel Martin were ready on all four events. 

This season will also mark the return to competition for senior and All-American Kassandra Nathe, who has battled back from two seasons of injuries to position herself as one of Nebraska's top performers on bars and beam this season. 

This will be the second season with new assistant coaches Dan Miller, former standout club coach, and Heather Brink, an 11-time All-American as a Nebraska gymnast. Expect big things from the Huskers this season. 


#8 LSU
2012 NCAA Championships finish: 9th place 



There are some exciting additions to the LSU squad this season in Oregon State transfer Britney Ranzy, spunky Canadian World Team member Jessica Savona, J.O. National Champion Randii Wyrick, and of course former Georgia coach Jay Clark. 

Historically, the Tigers weakest event has been uneven bars which is Clark's specialty. 

Former elite Rheagan Courville commanded attention for her team as a freshman in 2012 with high level performances and being the only collegiate gymnast in to throw a difficult standing arabian on beam. 

LSU has not advanced to the Super Six since 2009 and finished as low as 20th nationally in 2011 after graduating 2010 NCAA Champion Susan Jackson. The Tigers looks to be on their way back up. 


Rounding out the top 10 are Oregon State and Michigan. 


Big names left out of the Top 8:

#11 Georgia
2012 NCAA Championships finish: 11th place 


The Gym Dogs at the 2012 NCAA Championships. L to R: Sarah Persinger, Chelsea Davis, Noel Couch

After another underwhelming finish at the NCAA Championships, the Gym Dogs have a new leader in former Nebraska and Cal coach Danna Durante. All eyes will be on Durante and the Gym Dogs in 2013 with high expectations to return to the days of Suzanne Yoculan and Courntey Kupets, winning titles left and right.  

Georgia will have a big gap to fill after graduating National uneven bars and floor champion Kat Ding, but we suspect the poll underestimated the talent of the Georgia freshmen class which includes 2011 Pan American vault champion Brandie Jay and Canadian National Team member Brittany Rogers. 

Reliable All-American Noel Couch is now in her senior year and will likely lead the team as along with former elites Shayla Worley and Christa Tanella in their final seasons of gymnastics. 

Durante told georgiadogs.com, “I'm not surprised we are ranked 11th. Typically the preseason poll puts teams fairly consistent with their finish the previous year. Those of us close to this team know the work we have put in, the hurdles we've overcome, and most importantly the heart and desire of this team.

“We are a tremendously talented team, however we will not depend only on our talent, but the hard work we put in each day both in and out of the gym. This team loves to compete and their confidence continues to grow. We are look forward to kicking off our season in just a few weeks."

 

#12 Arkansas
2012 NCAA Championships finish: 6th place 


Katherine Grable training floor in 2012

The obvious reason for their big drop in the rankings is due to the graduation of 2012 SEC Gymnast of the Year Jaime Pisani who closed out her career with a program record 13 All-American honors. 

The team will lack depth this year and will rely heavily on junior all arounder Katherine Grable who earned a #1 national ranking in the all around during the 2012 season. 
 
Regardless of the rankings, it all comes down to who happens to put it all together the day of the Super Six. Last year we were thrilled with the tightest meet in the 31-year history of the NCAA Championship with just a tenth of a point separating No. 1 from No. 3 in the team finals. The 2013 NCAA season is shaping up to be another exciting one with intriguing freshmen and the legitimate chance for a fifth team to finally break into "the big 4", the exclusive circle of NCAA Team Champions. 

As we anxiously await the start of the 2013 NCAA gymnastics season on January 4th, take a look back at our behind the scenes highlights of podium training at the 2012 NCAA Championships: 


Watch more video of 2012 NCAA Championships (Women) on gymnastike.org

Related Content