#NCAAMGym Week 4 Power Rankings
Every week we’ll release a “Power Rankings,” aiming 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’s name relates to how far they rose or fell from last week’s rankings.
This year’s power rankings are an average based off of the individual rankings of five individuals:
Logan Bradley (former Illinois gymnast)
Ben Cooperman (former Penn State gymnast)
Alex Wittenberg (former Minnesota gymnast)
Andrew Misiolek (former Stanford gymnast)
Jessica Frankl (CGA gymnastics expert/photographer)
To see a list of each individual’s rankings, scroll all the way to the bottom of this page.
1. Oklahoma Sooners (-)
It took until Feb. 24 last year for Oklahoma to break the 420-mark. This season it happened on Jan. 26, nearly a month earlier. Yul Moldauer has yet to compete more than four events in a single meet. Translation: they're probably only going to get better. -- Logan Bradley
2. Stanford Cardinal (-)
Stanford’s 417.8 was a 10+ point improvement from the week prior, and it put the team in spitting distance of the coveted 420. Still, it's a stretch to say that Stanford is anything but second-best, and the fact that they don’t face an opponent who can legitimately challenge them until March 2 makes assessing the team’s potential particularly difficult. That said, these no-pressure meets are great for a team’s confidence. Perhaps Stanford can use another relatively easy meet this weekend to make a bigger statement. Now would be the time, too; defeating Illinois will be no walk in the park for OU. -- Alex Wittenberg
3. Illinois Fighting Illini (-)
The good news from last weekend: Hamish Carter made his collegiate debut and looks to be ready to make a positive impact on a number of events for the Illinois. The bad news from last weekend: Danny Graham suffered a season-ending injury in warm-ups. The junior ring-man looked significantly improved from last year, making it a serious blow to the Illini SR lineup. -- Logan Bradley
4. Michigan Wolverines (-)
The “MGymDynasty” hashtag has been used desperately out of place over the past few years. With OU taking the last four NCAA Championships and a win streak of over 100 and counting, I don’t think there's any doubt whose world we are living in. But maybe Cameron Bock and the 2019 Michigan Wolverines are here to bring the program back into the light. Their statement win on Saturday certainly showed they are capable. -- Ben Cooperman
5. Penn State Nittany Lions (+1)
Penn State put up another impressive performance in their defeat of Nebraska last weekend — their 409.7 kept them in the cohort of the top teams in the Big Ten. But the Nittany Lions are off this weekend, and they don’t face another Big Ten rival until March 2. So we’ll have to wait a bit to see how PSU handles tougher competition. -- Alex Wittenberg
6. Minnesota Golden Gophers (+1)
The Gophers have been solid this year, but they kicked it up a notch with their latest showing. Minnesota posted a season-high 408.300 behind Shaun Herzog’selectric vault. Shane Wiskus quietly put up an 82.900 this weekend that got lost in some of the other big all-around scores. If Wiskus can continue to get closer to his potential, this team will go as far as he takes them. -- Ben Cooperman
7. Nebraska Cornhuskers (-2)
Nebraska's 395.0 at Penn State was the lowest team score for the Huskers over the last three seasons. We don't need to make any knee-jerk assumptions based off a single meet, but usually a team will go one of two directions following a disappointing weekend. We'll see just how mentally tough this team is with Oklahoma and Illinois coming to town on Saturday. -- Logan Bradley
8. Iowa Hawkeyes (+2)
The Hawkeyes had a lot of doubters coming into this season, but they have outperformed expectations thus far. Iowa took on Illinois this weekend in a tough competitive environment and still managed to best their previous performance by five points. Evan Davis and Bennet Huang will be a powerful duo for the rest of the season and beyond. -- Ben Cooperman
9. Ohio State Buckeyes (-1)
Ohio State had another disappointing showing in their meet against OU last weekend. Competing in Norman is no easy task, but the Buckeyes’ 395.4 was far behind the top Big Ten teams’ weekend scores. OSU will need to conjure up some strength they haven’t yet possessed to put up a fight against a Michigan team rallying from a huge win against Minnesota. OSU needs to prove this weekend that they’re still a serious contender. -- Alex Wittenberg
10. California Golden Bears (-1)
It was another solid one for Cal last Sunday against Stanford. The Golden Bears scored a 395.4 to keep consistent with where they’ve been so far this season. However, Cal is a team who can hit 400. Bump up pommels and high bar a couple points each, and that benchmark is tangible. Cal will go against Stanford, Arizona State and Washington in the Pac-12 Invitational this weekend. Let’s see if they can further channel the team's electricity into a season-high performance. -- Alex Wittenberg
11. Navy Midshipmen (-)
FX/PH/SR/VT average: 67.4
PB/HB average: 62.325
Those averages are from Navy's meet against William & Mary last weekend. It's no secret you're going to get higher scores on events like FX, SR and VT, but those averages need to even out a bit more for Navy to be competitive with team's consistently ranked No. 1-10. -- Logan Bradley
12. Army Black Knights (-)
A 395 with just one event from their second-best all-arounder (Matt Davis) is a great sign for an Army team that seems to be making strides in 2019. The area of concern remains parallel bars for the Black Knights -- their 63.633 average ranks No. 14 in the NCAA. -- Logan Bradley
13. Air Force Falcons (-)
It was a bye weekend for the Falcons who will remain dark until the always-important All-Academy Championships on February 9. -- Logan Bradley
14. Arizona State Sun Devils (-)
Arizona State didn’t compete last weekend, but they face off against Cal, Stanford and Washington in the Pac-12 Invitational this weekend. The Sun Devils could put some legitimate pressure on Cal; they’ve only been about three points behind the Bears in their last two meets. A tussle between those two would be mutually beneficial: Cal needs a real opponent because they can’t touch Stanford, and ASU needs an underdog story. -- Alex Wittenberg
15. William & Mary Tribe (-)
A lot of awesome news has been popping up for William & Mary lately. David Watkins has been quite the storyline this year with his No. 3 ranking in the country on rings. Jacopo Gliozzi had a tremendous performance this past weekend and it was announced he will receive the Thomas Jefferson Prize in Natural Philosophy. Advancements in theoretical physics will have to wait as Gliozzi and the Tribe continue to impress on the competition floor. -- Ben Cooperman
16. Springfield Pride (-)
It was a nice weekend for Springfield who was forced to count only three scores below a 12.0. With the exception of floor, they really hung with Army, even defeating the Black Knights on PH, SR and PB. If they can follow up this performance with something similar on Feb. 10 in Chicago, a top-three ECAC finish will be well within sight. -- Logan Bradley
17. Washington Huskies (-)
Washington didn’t compete last weekend. They’re going against Stanford, Cal and Arizona State this weekend at the Pac-12 Invitational. Washington is looking to improve on their somewhat disappointing performance at the Windy City Invitational -- their 370.15 was about six points less than what they put up in their season opener. -- Alex Wittenberg
18. UIC Flames (-)
The Flames did not compete this weekend and will take on Iowa and Minnesota in their next matchup. -- Ben Cooperman
