Last weekend we watched the season-opener for most NCAA gymnastics teams, witnessing beautiful gymnastics from the time-tested veterans to the breakout stars in this year’s freshman class. Each week, I will be breaking down some of the most controversial scores, starting with Denver’s Jessica Hutchison’s Yurchenkoone and a half.
HELLO Jessica Hutchinson! She sticks her Y1.5 her first time competing it!
Score: 9.850#GoPios | #NCAAGym pic.twitter.com/fqZcTZ73xd
— Denver Gymnastics (@DU_Gymnastics) January 8, 2023
Start Value: 10.0 | Judging Panel Score: 9.8/9.9 | Average: 9.85 | My Score: 9.8 to 9.9
High Points
Hutchinson had great height, distance, control and of course the stuck landing. She absolutely made a strong statement with this vault. From the televised wide angle shot, it looks like a perfect vault with a stuck landing, and I know many of you were outraged at the 9.850 score she received. But most of her deductions were more easily viewed by the judging panel than the view from our couches.
Deductions
Leg Form/Body Position
As Hutchison starts to twist, her legs are apart and slightly bent, and she has a slight pike in the hips. In real time it’s unlikely the judges caught all three of these, but they likely took half a tenth to…
