All New! Della's Inside the MatchUp For February 14!

14 Feb All New! Della’s Inside the MatchUp For February 14!

Posted at 15:00h in 2025 NCAA Headquarters, News & Features by Della Fowler 0 Comments

By Della Fowler

Editorial Contributor

Introducing Della Fowler’s Inside the Matchup

Each week, Della will size up the competition and key matchups dominating Women’s NCAA Gymnastics in this all-new feature. Look for it each week on InsideGym.com and in a weekly video on YouTube! Here’s who we’re watching during Week 7!

Inside The Matchup, brought to you by Della Fowler & Inside Gymnastics Magazine

Meet of the Week: Oklahoma @ LSU | Friday, Feb. 14 | 9:00 p.m. ET | ESPN2

Inside Nation, for Valentine’s Day I wanted to get you a gift. And that gift is the matchup we’ve been waiting for………Oklahoma @ LSU.

In case you were confused, the Super Bowl was not on Sunday, it is in fact on Friday with #1 Oklahoma visiting the #2 LSU Tigers. I can’t tell you enough how awesome this meet is going to be, so ditch your Valentine’s Day plans because all the love you need is going to be packed into the PMAC. With #1 and #2 facing off, there is high 10 potential, especially because both teams are yet to record one this season. These teams have big names and even bigger gymnastics – -you can’t miss it!

Oklahoma enters the matchup holding steady to their #1 spot in the rankings, a place they have held since DAY 1. The #1 is fitting for the Sooners as they have the #1 beam and bars lineup in the country. Faith Torrez won three event titles last week and Audrey Davis continues to be as dependable as the sun rising in the morning. Like I said, they’re really good at being #1. Although they are ultra-dominant and have shown that they are not slowing down this season, they’ve yet to hit 198. We know you don’t need to hit 198 to win meets or be the best, but this Oklahoma team is capable of that tenfold.

LSU had an interesting meet at Alabama to say the least. Even though they got the W, it was closer than many wanted. Head Coach Jay Clark explained it best in the postgame when he said he wants his team to be like Chick-Fil-A, the same everywhere you go. There’s no better place for the Tigers to have fresh and crisp gymnastics than their beloved PMAC. Kailin Chio is a force to be reckoned with, I’m seriously considering the theory that she’s half robot because HOW DOES SHE STICK IT EVERY TIME???? Haleigh Bryant is so back it’s not even funny, with her return to the vault lineup LSU’s vault rotation somehow has gotten even stronger.

Hang this matchup in the Louvre because we may not know the next time we will see two teams this skilled. If you need me, I’ll be losing my mind on Friday with the rest of the gymternet 🙂

Must Watch Meets: Friday, Feb. 14

Arkansas at Georgia 7:00 p.m. ET| SECN
Auburn at Florida 8:30 p.m. ET| SECN
Mizzou to the Lou (Alabama, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri) 7:30 p.m. ET | SECN+
Utah at Arizona State 9:00 p.m. ET | ESPN+
Penn State at UCLA 11:00 p.m.| Big Ten Network

Arkansas at Georgia 7:00 p.m. ET| SECN

Oh yes, this is exactly what the doctor ordered. I mean, we all know about how absolutely cracked SEC gymnastics is, but these two teams have been some of my favorites to watch this season. Both teams are on the rise, trying to work their way into a postseason spot.

Led by a 49.400 floor score last week at Auburn, the Dawgs were only down by a tenth in the end However, the team performed their best gymnastics of the season. This team has been getting better every week and their season high 197.200 from last week shows that. The key to this meet is going to be stacking scores early in the rotation. Lily Smith recorded a 9.900 or better on every apparatus last week and they reached their goal, but now they’re going to have to elevate their game. If they can get numbers stacking early, then they can move past just hitting 49s and shop for every tenth they can get.

I truly believe that Arkansas is the hottest team in the country right now. They are having one of their best seasons in program history and the unfortunate fact is that only eight of the nine SEC teams make it to the SEC Championship. Right now, Arkansas would not make it, despite upsetting Florida and LSU. While this may frustrate many, I believe the Gymbacks are going to see it as a fire lit under their tails. My eye for this meet is going to be on graduate transfer Mati Waligora who hit a stunning 9.95 bar routine and 9.925 floor routine. If they can stay hot, this meet will be absolute fire.

Auburn at Florida 8:30 p.m. ET| SECN

Florida is looking to get back in the win column at home against the stellar Auburn Tigers. This matchup is going to be very fun and is all about meeting in the middle.

Auburn hit 197.300 last week after a walk-off 9.95 floor routine from Sophia Groth. They are doing great gymnastics, but if they want to keep pace with Florida they’re going to need some big scores. Auburn is great on beam and bars, so if they hit vault and floor in practice this week things could get interesting. Watch out for my girl Paige Zancan, she’s got one of my favorite vaults in collegiate gymnastics!

Now, Florida is going to come out of the swamp chomping. They had a rough beam rotation last week so I expect them to be rock solid this week. Let me make it very clear, you should not be worried about Florida on beam. Last week was actually UF’s first counted beam miss since the 2021 NCAA Team Final. It’s gonna be fine!!!! This week, I’ve got my eye on Leanne Wong, I think she’s due for a monster all-around score and at home in the Think Pink meet is the perfect opportunity. I also loved seeing Ly Bui in the bars lineup, I think she’s really going to be a difference maker this meet and beyond.

Mizzou to the Lou (Alabama, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri) 7:30 p.m. ET | SECN+

It’s about time I had a quad meet to watch! Confession, I love quad meets because there’s always something to watch and you learn about a lot of athletes! Illinois enters the matchup with freshman Chloe Cho leading the way, last week she scored a beautiful 9.95 on floor! Iowa has been rolling, they’re vaulting really well and have a lot of athletes with international experience.

Mizzou is going to be fired up to be back on home turf and host a meet they look forward to all year. Don’t sleep on senior Amari Celestine, she just posted a career-best 39.500 in the all-around last week and continues to shine on bars and floor. Mara Titarsolej has scored 9.925s in her past two meets and Jocelyn Moore put up a 9.95 last week. Mizzou’s got the star power to win this whole meet!

I watched Alabama vs LSU last week and I literally couldn’t change the channel to check other meets because they were so captivating! Alabama enters the matchup looking to keep the momentum rolling from their season-high 197.075 last week. I’m convinced Gabby Gladieux can do no wrong on floor, the entire team was hitting season highs left and right. If they can stack scores and grab a couple of big ones each rotation Alabama could pull off the upset and continue their push back to the top 10.

Utah at Arizona State 9:00 p.m. ET| ESPN+

I absolutely love this matchup! It is my personal opinion that people are not talking about the Utah Utes enough. They have an absolutely stacked squad, but Arizona State is fun and energetic!

The Sun Devils are also on the season high train, posting a 196.600 last week. They’re strongest on bars and floor so if they want to keep pace with the Red Rocks they’re going to have to put some work in on their lower scoring events. However, the upset is within reach. This team is really good at posting solid score after solid score, but to take the next step I want to see more 9.9s. If these athletes can turn 9.85s into 9.9s that will make a huge difference, especially in a matchup like this.

I’m serious about the season high train because it also ran through Salt Lake City for the Utes 50th birthday meet! A whopping 197.675 is what we saw from the squad last week, and with the dynamic duo of Grace McCallum and Makenna Smith they could totally do it again. McCallum and Smith accounted for 79.275 points out of the team total, now I’ve got a journalism degree but my math says they account for a whole lot. The Utes also have freshman Avery Neff, who just made the most efficient recovery ever and is a very great person to return to the bars lineup. If the Utes do Utes things, it should be smooth sailing to a solid road score.

Brooklyn Moors - University of California - Los Angeles

Penn State at UCLA 11:00 p.m.| Big Ten Network

Confession: I love late night gymnastics. There’s something awesome about sitting alone on my couch screaming at the television while my whole home is sound asleep. But, maybe that’s just me … Now if you’re on the west coast this meet is normal timed gymnastics, but with this matchup it’ll be just as fun!

Penn State has had three straight conference wins and they will hope to take that energy out west! They are going to be looking for 49s on every event, for the past few meets they’ve been circling around 49 and a goal for them should be hitting 49s each rotation. With strong performers like sophomore standouts Alyssa Kramer and Kalea McElligott, they can totally hit this mark. This season has shown that you don’t have to score a 198 to upset a higher ranked team, but I’d say you should be close to 197. So, if the Nittany Lions can string some routines and grab 49s they could create pandemonium in Pauley!

If donating my kidney would get Brooklyn Moors a 10, surgeons please hit me up because she deserves it. This UCLA squad is so much fun and packed with 10 potential gymnasts. They had the beam rotation of the century last week with all Bruins scoring a 9.900+ AND were 0.05th of a point away from hitting 198! Last week they had a 9.95 in three out of four events, absolute insanity! If there’s more parties in LA, we know the Bruins will be there!

Team Rankings Week 6

Look for Nate’s NCAA Notes each week and stay tuned to InsideGym.com and Inside Gymnastics magazine for spotlight features and interviews throughout the 2025 season!

Nate Salsman, Della Fowler, Megan Roth and Christy Sandmaier provide NCAA coverage for Inside Gymnastics.

Photos by Lloyd Smith for Inside Gymnastics magazine.