#NCAAMGym Week 2 Power Rankings
Every week we’ll be releasing a “Power Rankings” that aims to provide a fluid picture of how each team across the NCAA is doing at the moment. The idea is to try not to focus too much on scores and look more at the current state of the team. The (+) or (-) next to each team relates to how far they rose or fell from last week’s Power Rankings.
This year’s Power Rankings are an average based on the individual rankings of five individuals:
Yordan Aleksandrov (former Cal gymnast)
Logan Bradley (former Illinois gymnast)
Ben Cooperman (former Penn State gymnast)
Jess Frankl (photographer/CGA expert)
Alex Wittenberg (former Minnesota gymnast)
1. Stanford (-)
Stanford’s 407.3 was the second-best team score in the country over the weekend, but that doesn’t tell the story. The Cardinal looked self-assured and eager to prove that the country’s consensus about their No. 1 status was no mistake. Their vault rotation was a case in point: Brody Malone and Brandon Briones, who has probably the best pre-flight in the country, stuck their Kas 1.5s, and Bryan Perla very nearly stuck his. Stanford heads to Windy City this weekend to face some of the Big Ten’s best.
2. Oklahoma (+1)
Oklahoma exceeded expectations at Rocky Mountain Open by putting up a 409.9 for the best score in the country, shunning this season’s naysayers and further proving Mark Williams’ ability to ready a team for season. The Sooners weren’t perfect, but they exuded a confidence long associated with OU that some had thought would be missing given the graduations of so many seniors. But OU looked like OU. They face Ohio State this weekend in Columbus.
3. Michigan (-1)
We will get to see the Wolverines in action for the first time in 2020 this coming weekend at the Windy City Invitational. The late start to the season has many people forgetting about this Michigan team. Do not be surprised if we see them in impressive form and possibly come home with an outright win.
4. Nebraska (-)
Nebraska’s is coming off of an impressive performance at the Rocky Mountain Open where they posted a 403.55 to open the season, good enough for the third-highest score in the country. This team looked great on every event except one: rings. They will have to show some improvement here or it will be tough for them to catch the top two teams. The Cornhuskers are off this week before their home opener against Iowa on Jan. 26.
5. Illinois (-)
The Fighting Illini scored a solid 403.45 in a dual meet against UIC with standout performances on rings and vault. Illinois has won Windy City five years in a row. Can they do it again Saturday? They’ll need to beat Stanford this time, and if they do, it would alter the rankings at the top of the country. Illinois will need another big showing on rings and better performances on horse, parallel bars and high bar to challenge the country’s top team.
6. Penn State (+1)
Penn State won the West Point Open last weekend for the seventh-straight time, and they did so without Sam Zakutney, their top gymnast. The Nittany Lions won’t be at Windy City, so we’ll have to wait until Jan. 25, when they face Ohio State, to see how well they fare against a Big Ten rival.
7. Minnesota (-1)
The Golden Gophers had a rough debut at the Rocky Mountain Open this past weekend where they scored a 391.25, almost five points lower than their worst mark from a season ago (396.059). The good news is that Minnesota was forced to compete at RMO without their World Team member, Shane Wiskus, as well as their talented freshman, Crew Bold. As soon as these two are back in the lineup we could be seeing a whole different team. Minnesota faces another tough test at the Windy City Invitational this weekend.
8. Iowa (-)
Our first glimpse of Iowa will come this weekend at the Windy City Invitational. 2019 was a tale of two stories for the Hawkeyes: a tremendous regular season and a disappointing postseason. It will be interesting to see whether or not they can keep the momentum going all the way through the end in 2020.
9. Ohio State (-)
Ohio State was also off last weekend. We’ll get our first glimpse at the 2020 Buckeyes this Saturday, when they take on OU and Arizona State at home. The team will need young talent like Justin Ah Chow, Jesse Tyndall and Angel Leon to step up if they want to seriously compete with the Sooners.
10. Navy (-)
A third place finish at the West Point Open is sure to motivate this young Navy team. After struggling on parallel bars this past weekend with a score of 60.35, look for this group to make the necessary improvements there to jump the 400 hurdle. They will kick things off at home this weekend at the Navy Open.
11. ASU (+2)
Arizona State turned heads and took second at West Point Open last weekend, improving on their Week 1 performance by over 10 points to edge past Navy. The Sun Devils were led by Kiwan Watts, who scored 83.15 to easily take the all-around crown. ASU faces a challenge against Ohio State and OU in Columbus this Saturday. They’ll need to be even closer to 400 to seriously challenge.
12. Army (+1)
Army finished in fourth place this past weekend at the West Point Open, their first meet without Cole Casanova, who graduated. Mathew Davis stepped up but the Black Knights will have to look for others to help carry the workload. They will take on Penn State in State College this Saturday.
13. Air Force (-1)
Air Force finished fourth at Rocky Mountain Open with a disappointing 381.9. It was evident that the Falcons were investing in difficulty score, and that strategy could pay off if consistency improves throughout the season. Air Force will face Cal in Berkeley this Saturday in what should be a close competition: The Bears finished their first meet of 2020 with a 382.85.
14. Cal (-3)
Cal opened the season with a 382.85, certainly a score they would like to forget. They are without Aaron Mah, who graduated in 2019, resulting in many new faces in the lineup. The good news is that the young guys will have time to get acclimated and the scoring at the Cal Benefit Cup was rather harsh. The Golden Bears will take on Air Force at home this weekend and will likely see an improvement from their previous performance.
15. Washington (+2)
Washington’s Week 2 score of 375.35 was a near seven-point drop from Week 1, a slide that was largely caused by a poor vault and high bar performances. The Huskies will need to be back in 66 range on vault and 62 range on high bar to compete with Arizona State at Feb. 2’s Pac-12 Invitational, Washington’s next meet.
16. W&M (-)
The Tribe opened up 2020 at the West Point Open where they totaled a 377.55, good enough for a fifth place finish. Aidan Cuy and Andrew Lyubovsky performed very well and look to be the duo to shoulder the brunt of the workload throughout this season. William & Mary head to Annapolis this weekend for the Navy Open.
17. Springfield (-)
Springfield finished sixth at West Point Open with 376.9, less than a point back from William & Mary. They had a strong showing on vault, but pommel horse and parallel bars held them back. They were below 60 on each of those. Springfield will face Navy, William & Mary and Temple at this Saturday’s Navy Open.
