#NCAAMGym Week 5 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 Cardinal (-)
If you take a look at Stanford’s 406.6 score at the Pac-12 Invitational, it may look as though they regressed from their 420.05 a week earlier. While they scored quite a bit lower, a closer look reveals just how impressive this team really is. Brody Malone, Brandon Briones, Riley Loos and Ian Gunther were all out of the lineup resting. The Cardinal went 405+ without the reigning NCAA champion and four other great talents in the picture; this team is downright scary.
2. Oklahoma Sooners (-)
Oklahoma was off last weekend. The week before, they suffered a big loss to Stanford in Palo Alto. Still, the Sooners look to be in control of the No. 2 spot, which puts them in a secure position as the Big Ten teams jostle for the spots in the top-five. OU takes on Iowa at home Saturday.
3. Illinois Fighting Illini (+3)
The Fighting Illini jumped three spots in the ranking after taking care of business at home against Nebraska. Where are they getting the edge? Rings. On an event that has seen a drastic decline in talent over the past couple years, Illinois is taking advantage. They are now ranked No. 2 in the country and led by Danny Graham who is No. 1 in the NCAA with a 14.188 season average.
4. Michigan Wolverines (-)
Michigan snuck by Ohio State to get a W in Columbus last Saturday, but the Wolverines’ margin of victory was more narrow than expected. That’s a big reason why Michigan isn’t No. 1 in the Big Ten this week. The Wolverines take on UIC and Northern Illinois at home this weekend.
5. Nebraska Cornhuskers (-2)
After storming out of the gate, the Cornhuskers cooled down a bit in Champaign where they suffered a loss to Illinois. It was their first score of the year below the 400 mark. Nebraska struggled their way to a 63.4 on pommel horse, an event they have been great on. It would be wise to consider this performance an outlier for a strong team.
6. Penn State Nittany Lions (+1)
The Nittany Lions had a middling performance in their win over Air Force and Rocky Mountain last week. They didn’t face too much competition, though, so it’s tough to read too much into it — they seemed much more poised against Ohio State the week before. Penn State is off this weekend.
7. Ohio State Buckeyes (+1)
The Buckeyes seem to be a tough team to place, receiving as high as a No. 4 ranking and as low as No. 10 from our analysts. It is best to assume that they will likely be moving up in the future as Max Andryushchenko returns to full strength. The junior competed on rings this past weekend after missing the first two meets of the year.
8. Minnesota Golden Gophers (-3)
Minnesota faced a big setback in losing to Iowa last weekend. The loss came a week after their big upset of Illinois, so Minnesota will look to use this weekend’s home meet against Washington to gain back some momentum.
9. Iowa Hawkeyes (+1)
Taking down Minnesota is never an easy task, even with Shane Wiskus competing in a limited capacity. Iowa did just that over the weekend, putting the rest of the conference on watch. The Hawkeyes shocked everyone last year when they took a share of the Big Ten regular season title so it will be interesting to see if they’ll be in the picture again.
10. Navy Midshipmen (-1)
Navy blazed forward again last weekend, notching a 400+ score and continuing to put the rest of the country on watch. What will be interesting to see is how well their scores hold up this weekend without a home advantage. They travel to San Antonio for the All-Academy Championships.
11. California Golden Bears (-)
The Golden Bears took second behind the Cardinal powerhouse at the Pac-12 Invitational over the weekend. They were not quite able to score back-to-back 400s, but still posted an impressive 397.65. Cal will head south to Arizona State this weekend, looking to continue on the right track.
12. Arizona State Sun Devils (-)
Arizona State had a solid showing at the Pac-12 Championship last weekend, improving about nine points from their team score the week prior. However, they weren’t able to seriously challenge Cal, who was about eight points ahead. The Sun Devils take on Cal, Stanford and Ohio State at home this weekend.
13. Army Black Knights (-)
Army suffered a loss to their rival, Navy, by a sizable margin on Saturday. It was a rare struggle for them on floor, an event they have been great on this year. They will look to get back on track at the All-Academy Championships this weekend.
14. William & Mary Tribe (-)
William & Mary didn’t compete last weekend, and they’re off this weekend too.
15. Air Force Falcons (-)
Air Force has regressed quite a bit this year and drop to No. 15 after coming in at No. 12 in our preseason release. They face a tall test this coming weekend at the All-Academy Championships where they should be looking to take down Army.
16. Washington Huskies (-)
Washington took fourth place at the Pac-12 Invite with a score of 366.4, which was a nearly 10 point drop from that of their previous meet. Washington has been trending down since their first meet of the season where they scored a 382.05, so they’ll look to get back above 375 this weekend against Minnesota.
17. Springfield Pride (-)
Springfield was off this past weekend but will be back in action on Sunday against Illinois.
