NCAA: Women’s gymnastics power rankings: National qualifying scores lead to changes in Week 7

The switch from ranking by average to that of national qualifying score is always a fun time of the season. NQS is determined by taking the top six scores, three of which must be away, dropping the highest and averaging the remaining five. Every performance from here on out—from both teams and gymnasts—will be about replacing low numbers to improve NQS. Gymnasts with one or two bad scores holding their placement down shoot up the standings while those that may not perform as well on the road move down.

But as we know, rankings don’t tell the whole story—thanks to some gymnasts not having enough scores for an NQS quite yet—which is where these power rankings come in. They’ll take a look at how things stand now based not necessarily on the scores themselves but on how the actual routines look in comparison to each other at this point in the season. Read More