The Weekly All-Around

Week 2, 2025

Just like that, we’re back with a week two summary! This was a loaded week of contests, one of the rare occurrences where all 15 teams found themselves on the competition floor! We (gymnastics fans) do need to zoom out and realize it is still very early in the season, and we should all expect scores and standings to look very different come postseason time. With that said, here are the current top 5 teams in the nation:

1. Stanford

2. Oklahoma

3. Nebraska

4. Illinois

5. Ohio State

Cardinal Command

The Stanford Cardinal took two victories this week, as they defeated Air Force on Monday in the Cal Benefit Cup, and also took home the Rocky Mountain Open with a monstrous 328.850! The perennial national title favorites proved to be back this week, mainly from the likes of Asher Hong, Colt Walker, and Taylor Burkhardt. All three athletes competed four events, and took home at least one event title on the week. As a reminder, last week’s highest score was Oklahoma’s 318.200, the Cardinal just upped that by 10+ entire points. Oh yeah, and that was without key members of their program - 2024 NCAA All-Around winner and three-time world medalist Khoi Young for example. 

Nebraska, Illinois Debuts

Week two was the first we’ve seen the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Illinois Fighting Illini this season. Illinois had a comfortable win over Michigan in the Windy City Classic after posting a 321.700. This number may seem low compared to Stanford’s, but let’s not mistake ourselves -  an average score of over 13.4 is certainly one to be happy with. Graduate transfer Samuel Phillips totalled over an 80 in the all-around en route to a qualifying berth to the Winter Cup competition. Phillips will provide consistent scores for the Illini all season, and it will be interesting to see if they continue to trust their multitude of freshmen in the lineups. 

As for Nebraska, they placed 3rd at the RMO, but one could argue they were defeated by the two top teams in the country (Stanford and Oklahoma). The Cornhuskers rallied to a solid 320.450, yet another score that would’ve been praised just a week ago. These team scores rising is a trend we can expect to see as the season progresses along. As it stands now though, Nebraska would be your B1G regular-season champion! With a few mistakes to clean up, and a Winter Cup qualifier in Alex Nitache, this team has many reasons to look forward to a great season ahead.

Early Season Surprises

Through two weeks of competition, there have already been some unexpected treasures. As discussed last week, Ohio State looks super strong, and we have fantastic pommel horse routines from all around the country. These stories continued to be the case. Along with that, week two gave us additional information to break down, especially in the ECAC conference! Greenville and Simpson both achieved their highest score of the season by around 4 points, Springfield improved over 5 points, and William & Mary improved over 6 points! Additionally, William & Mary were victors in the Navy Open, as Navy struggled in their home-meet by only putting up a 303.150. The Navy suffered a few-too-many mistakes, notably on pommel horse and rings. For a team that has won their conference each of the last six seasons, they’ll look to get back on track next week as they travel to Simpson College this Friday night. Other competitions ahead this week include the Stanford Open (Stanford vs. Ohio State vs. Cal), and a huge matchup between Oklahoma and Illinois! 

For a full look at the week three schedule, go to: https://roadtonationals.com/results/scheduleM/

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Written by Aiden Whitehead

Principal Staff Writer for TURN

About Aiden

Hello gymnastics fans! I’m Aiden and I’m super excited to join the team at TURN as the 'Principal Staff Writer'. I began competing gymnastics at the age of six and immediately fell in love with the sport. I am currently in the midst of my senior season as a competitor, serving my third year as a team captain for the Georgia United GymACT team. Last December, I graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Management, with Sports Media Certification as well. I've already acquired a few years of media experience, working a variety of roles with GymACT, Virtius, and Neutral Deductions. In addition to competing, I am an active women’s team coach at Oconee Gymnastics Center, as well as the Technical Director of the Georgia Men’s Gymnastics Judging Association. Evidently — even though I am competing, coaching, and judging — I can never get enough of this sport, so I’m excited to take this new role as well!