College Gymnastics List (1 of 4): The Seniors

This week we are posting lists for college gymnastics; the other sport where March Madness is underway as conference meets begin this upcoming weekend.

Here are ten seniors who are completing their college careers soon:

1) Shona Morgan, Stanford (pictured top; she's from Australia)

2) Mary Beth Lofgren, Utah (pictured center)

3) Olivia Courtney, UCLA (pictured bottom)

4) Audrey Harrison, Kentucky

5) Kristen Aloi, UNC

6) Hannah Fallanca, North Carolina State (Aloi and her both went to Mount Tabor High School in Winston-Salem, NC).

7) Mackenzie Caquatto, Florida (The Gators are the defending NCAA champions; we didn't spell her first name right in the tags section)

8) Lindsey Fowler, Alabama

9) Sarie Morrison, LSU

10) Katie O'Rourke, Pitt

http://www.collegegymfans.com

Women's College Gymnastics News and Rankings: Oklahoma is Numero Uno

Greetings to our blog readers in South Korea, India and Chile.

Erica Brewer (pictured above) was named Big 12 Gymnast of the Week, and her Sooners teammate Lara Albright was named the conference specialist of the week following Oklahoma U's win over Big 12 rival Iowa State. The Sooners, a team which has never won a NCAA title in women's gymnastics but come close on several occasions, is also ranked number one nationally.

Here are the other major conference Gymnasts of the Week:

1) SEC: Bridget Sloan (Florida)

2) Big 10: Joanna Sampson (Michigan)

3) Pac 12: Olivia Courtney (UCLA)

Other gymnasts to look for on top ten teams include Rheagan Courville and Jessie Jordan of LSU, Kytra Hunter of Florida, Danuisca Francis of UCLA and Georgia Dabrist (Utah).

Here is the current top ten in the sport, with a look at their respective weekend meets, (all times given are eastern time):

1. Oklahoma 197.188 (@ Ariz. #17 on Sat. at 6:00 p.m.)

2. LSU 197.038 (Hosts Arkansas #14 on Fri at 8:00 p.m.

3. Florida 196.863 (Hosts Georgia #6 on Friday at 7:00 p.m.; last week's meet with Auburn will be televised on ESPN-U on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.)

4. Utah 196. 763 (Hosts UCLA #8 on Sat. @ 9:30 p.m.)

5. Michigan 196.663 (Hosts Ohio State #23 on Sat. @ 4:00 p.m.)

6. Georgia 196.608 (see Florida)

7. Alabama 196.600 (Hosts #10 Arkansas on Fri @ 8:30 p.m.)

8. UCLA 196.525 (see Utah)

9. Nebraska 196.438 (@ Iowa Fri, 8:00 p.m.)

10. Arkansas (see Alabama)

http://www.collegegymfans.com

Sports Desk: Florida Edges UCLA in Road Meet

Greetings to our blog-readers in Russia, India and Brazil.

In the City of Angels (Los Angeles, Calif.), the top-ranked, defending NCAA champion Florida Gators met the fourth-ranked UCLA Bruins in a very significant early season meet before both teams face their respective conference rivals.

In the end, Florida won by a very narrow 196.625-196.650, with the Gators prevailing by a margin of .025.

The Gators team had won the 2013 NCAA title at UCLA, but Marissa King, on the team leaders for the Gators, had finished her last year of eligibility. But, the team still includes former Team USA Olympian Bridget Sloan (pictured top), who was the 2013 AA champ at the NCAAs, Kytra Hunter, and sisters Bridgette and Mackenzie Caquatto.

For the Bruins, the 2014 team features stand-out Samantha Peszek, Danusia Francis (pictured bottom), Sydney Sawa and Olivia Courtney.

The Gators swept the all-around with Kytra Hunter (39.375), Bridget Sloan (38.875) and Mackenzie Caquatto (37.300) taking the top three slots.

But, the Bruins featured many outstanding performances in their own right. Olivia Courtney scored a career-best on vault with 9.975 and on bars with a 9.900; on that event, Courtney tied for first with Bridgette Coquatto.

Courtney edged out Sloan, who scored a 9.925 on vault, while her teammate Sawa tied Hunter of Florida with a 9.9 on that same event.

Hunter won floor for Florida with a 9.925; Peszek won balance beam for UCLA with a 9.925.

But, the WOW moment of the meet came from Peszek's teammate Francis, one of two British gymnasts for the Bruins, a team which also features three Canadians, on the beam.

For that event, Francis, who finished with 9.900 on the beam, performed a sideways aerial into a full-twisting dismount.

We imagine it will get lots of hits on Youtube.

UPDATE: This is the corrected version of this story. A blog reader pointed out several errors we made, but like most people who criticize, he/she did not give me credit for spelling Mackenzie Caquatto's name correctly, so we will give ourselves a standing ovation!