Della's Inside the MatchUp For March 7th!

07 Mar Della’s Inside the MatchUp For March 7th!

Posted at 13:53h 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 10!

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

Haleigh Bryant - Lousiana State University

Meet of the Week: Georgia at LSU 8:30 p.m. ET | Friday, March 7 | SECN+

Ugh, don’t talk to me about it being senior night in the PMAC, I’m in denial. But in all seriousness, this meet is going to be so fun with where these teams are at in the season.

My motto for Georgia this season is ‘one step at a time’. I think they’ve been doing so well at taking things day by day and it’s paying off. Last week’s meet against Kentucky was a real test for the Gymdawgs and even though it was a 197.200 to 197.150 victory, they passed the test. A win is a win. Georgia turned in a 49.470 on beam and remains one of my favorite teams on this event. I mean, Lily Smith is just captivating! Momentum is a powerful thing in this sport and the Gymdawgs certainly have it.

Yet, the defending champs have a lot going for them. In their meet against George Washington, they hit a season-high and marked the highest score by any team in the country this season, matching Florida’s 198.125 against Georgia. They hit season highs on beam and bars. Every single week I think this is going to be when Kailin Chio gets the 10, but nevertheless she is consistently one of LSU’s most powerful weapons. Sierra Ballard has been stellar this season and takes her role as the fire starter very seriously! Konnor McClain is also looking to be at full strength scoring a 9.95 and 9.925 last week AND teasing an exciting video of her double twisting Yurchenko on vault!!!

There are so many ways this meet can go and I know I will need to soak in every second. Let me know who you think will take this one!

Must-Watch Meets

Arkansas at Kentucky | Friday, March 7| 7:00 p.m. ET | SEC Network +
Florida at Alabama 8:00 p.m. ET | Friday, March 7 | SEC Network +
Auburn at Missouri 1:00 p.m. ET| Sunday, March 9 | SECN
Stanford at UCLA 8:30 p.m. ET | Sunday, March 9 | Big Ten Network
Elevate the Stage Huntsville (Alabama, California, Michigan State, North Carolina) 5:00 p.m. ET| Sunday, March 9 | ACCN

Makenzie Wilson - University of Kentucky

Arkansas at Kentucky | Friday, March 7 | 7:00 p.m. ET | SEC Network +

These teams are so much fun to watch! The Wildcats recently posted their fifth consecutive score above 197 in a close meet against No. 9 Georgia and although they lost —they are a team to watch this season. With tight meets like this, usually beam is the event to worry about, but with the works of Isabella Magnelli and Creslyn Brose, I’ve got confidence in the cats. However, I am going to have a close eye on their weakest event bars. Hailey Davis got a 9.925 last week, but I’d like to see another 9.9 or two in that lineup.

The same can be said with the Razorbacks. Maddie Jones has been unstoppable on bars, but I think if either of these teams want to make moves in April, they’re going to need at least two or three 9.9+ scores on each event. The Gymbacks are totally capable of this, too. Mati Waligora is a beast on bars and on her other events, she’s a key part of this team. If Arkansas can put together the scores on their weaker events AND shine on floor, this meet could be anybody’s game!

Florida at Alabama 8:00 p.m. ET | Friday, March 7 | SEC Network +

Giddy Up because this meet will be a Dixieland Delight! Alabama is coming off of a big win against a very skilled Arkansas team. They hit a season high 197.650 team score and also notched season highs on the uneven bars (49.475) and the floor exercise (49.675). My girls Shania Adams and Chloe LaCoursiere both posted a 9.950 on bars, opening this bar squad up a bit. I am excited to see them build on this momentum at home, but with the way Florida is looking, it will not be an easy task.

Florida gymnastics matched the national high of 198.125 last week, sealed by a perfect 10 on vault by Selena Harris-Miranda. When I say things are clicking right now, trust me. Victoria Nguyen notched a 9.975 in her 2025 vault debut. And listen to this stat, Leanne Wong equaled her uneven bars high of 9.975 for the second time in the last three meets! Finally, Harris-Miranda was a quarter of a tenth away from another perfect score, matching her collegiate floor best of 9.975. The Gators are much stronger at home so this road trip will be a big test for them.

Auburn at Missouri 1:00 p.m. ET | Sunday, March 9 | SECN

If anyone told you that Auburn’s season is over because of Katelyn Jong’s injury, they’re spreading fake news because this Auburn team is strong. If you’re a baseball fan, you remember the nickname ‘gritty tigs’ for the 2024 Detroit Tigers. After having very low playoff odds for most of the season, the Tigers clinched a wild card spot and advanced to the ALDS. These Auburn tigers are just as gritty. Their ability to push through the tough injuries and still put up 49.2s on vault and bars, a 49.275 on beam and a 49.225 on floor really shows how they find a way to find a way. Freshman Sophia Bell stepped up in the anchor position with a 9.9. Gabby McLaughlin anchored the beam lineup with a 9.925 after Groth earned a 9.9. Although Mizzou is a tough opponent, Auburn has shown that they are always going to be in the fight.

Despite the loss at Florida last week, Missouri posted their second highest team score in program history! More importantly, in my opinion, they posted it on the road! Not only is that huge for NQS calculations, but it shows me that this team has not hit their ceiling yet. They are getting better and more consistent every meet. Last week sophomores Hannah Horton and Kennedy Griffin each earned 9.925 for their routines. What’s even more impressive is that they earned three-straight scores of 9.900 on their lowest scoring event, vault. Having strong performances on lower scoring events will always get me fired up and it’s really a testament to how hard this team is working. See you at the TigerBrawl!

Stanford at UCLA 8:30 p.m. ET | Sunday, March 9 | Big Ten Network

We’ve got a brawl in the Golden State between Stanford and UCLA and I am so here for it! Despite not having their best meet at the Columbus Big 4 quad, the Bruins won their first ever Big 10 regular season championship! A friend of mine loves using the phrase ‘great teams always find ways to win’ and that is exactly how I look at UCLA. So they had some wobbles and didn’t go 9.9 every routine? You and I both know they can. The experience of performing in a “hostile” (not home) environment is going to be a huge plus for UCLA later on. Furthermore, with two 9.95s from Jordan Chiles and a 9.95 from Brooklyn Moors, their “off” week was still able to deliver.

Stanford and UCLA are going to meet for the first time since the Pac-12 breakup. A little history for you, last season the Bruins topped the Cardinal 197.175-196. Stanford’s last dual-meet win over UCLA came in the 2022 season, as the Cardinal sealed the 0.05 point win with one of their best floor rotations in program history. They’re going to need a monster score on floor to keep up with UCLA’s squad and fittingly in their meet last week the Cardinal scored a season-best total of 49.400! When battling a super giant like UCLA, I want Stanford to take it event by event and focus on their gymnastics. They have the weapons in Anna Roberts, Ui Soma, Claire Dean and more, all they have to do is their gymnastics!

Gabrielle Stephen - Michigan State University

Elevate the Stage Huntsville (Alabama, California, Michigan State, North Carolina) 5:00 p.m. ET | Sunday, March 9 | ACCN

Is it really an episode of Inside the Matchup without a quad meet? Alabama is having a double meet week, which is always interesting for a team. Because it’s a double week and they have a very tough opponent in Florida on Friday. It’s often a strategy to save/rest your heavy hitters by giving them a rest day or only having them compete in one event. Things like this really expose the depth or lack thereof on a team so I’m keeping an eye on Karis German she represented Alabama’s vault lineup at the first four meets and recorded 9.9s for the Tide last season! Jamison Sears is also a huge player who can bring home big scores on floor and vault.

I HECKING LOVE MSU!!! It is my opinion that the Spartans have been slept on because of UCLA’s dominance in the Big 10, but let me tell you MSU is legit. I solemnly stand with the gymternet saying that Sage Kellerman was so underscored in her vault last week, she is so rock solid on this event. They also posted a 49.475 bars score, with 9.925s from Kellerman and Gabi Stephen. AAI Award nominee Skyla Schulte is so fierce and ready to lead the charge in this meet!

The Cal Golden Bears are the queens of the ACC for a reason, they posted a 197.675 (their second-highest team score of the year) for the dub at the Stanford Quad last week. I need to get on the Mya Lauzon workout plan immediately because she is built different. Lauzon was named Gymnast of the Week for the fifth time this year counting a 9.9 or better on every apparatus she faced. In total the Bears posted 10 routines with a score of 9.90 higher with seniors Lauzon and Maddie Williams accounting for six of them. I’m so impressed with the skill of this team. They also broke its season-high team score with a 49.525 last week and teased a video of Ondine Achampong earlier this week. I didn’t think they could get stronger!!

Don’t count out the TarHeels either! They won all but one event and set a season-high team score of 196.675 to win the UNC Quad Meet! UNC is really strong on bars and beam so I expect them to be working hard on floor and vault this week. Lali Dekanoidze’s 9.95 bar routine was one of the best last week and the duo of Gwen Fink and JoJo Valahovic on beam is really powerful. I think if they really hone in on surpassing the 49 mark each event, that’ll help them keep pace with the competition. So that means, sticks, pointed toes and confidence!

Team Rankings Week 9

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.