ESPN Events’ first gymnastics meet kicks off today with the opening session of the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad! We get four different conferences represented here in the Maverik Center tonight, as the Big Ten’s Nebraska, Mountain West’s Boise State, ACC’s North Carolina, and Pac-12’s Arizona will battle in what could be a very competitive session—even if the rankings don’t indicate it.
The Huskers got off to the best start of the season among these four, as a strong season debut on floor pushed them over the 196 mark and into the top 20 in the rankings. Utah transfer Lucy Stanhope made her mark immediately, competing on three events (plus a bars exhibition) after being primarily a vault specialist for the Utes, and Emma Spence led per usual with three scores over 9.8.
The mid-194 the Broncos put up in their opener at Utah isn’t indicative of how good this roster actually is. Courtney Blackson is the reigning NCAA vault runner-up and has a perfect 10 career-high (although she only vaulted a Yurchenko full instead of a one and a half in her 2024 debut), and Emily Lopez is also a nationals qualifier with a perfect 10 to her name—hers came on bars. The Tar Heels underperformed in their opener as well, as Lali Dekanoidze, Julia Knower and company…
