NCAA Championships 2015

2015 NCAAs Sure To Deliver An Exciting Competition

2015 NCAAs Sure To Deliver An Exciting Competition

Apr 9, 2015 by Becca Reed
2015 NCAAs Sure To Deliver An Exciting Competition
As the 2015 NCAA Championships quickly approach, 12 teams from across the nation are making final preparations and putting finishing touches on their routines. In just one week these teams will travel to Fort Worth, Texas to vie for the 2015 NCAA title. The teams competing are Oklahoma, Florida, Alabama, LSU, UCLA, Michigan, Utah, Auburn, Nebraska, Georgia, Stanford, and Oregon State.
 
The qualifying schools include a good mix of historically dominant teams and fresh-faced teams eager who are eager to win their first title or even just to qualify for their first Super Six. Utah gymnastics will be making the trip to NCAAs for the 40th consecutive time. Auburn, on the other hand, qualified for NCAAs for the fourth time in school history. However, all teams are equally excited to be in this elite group that has earned their spot on the competition floor. 

Jessie Jordan, Texas native and senior from LSU
 
Texas: the hotbed for gymnastics
 
The competition will be held at the Fort Worth Convention center in Fort Worth, Texas. In an NCAA Conference call, many coaches expressed their excitement to have this prestigious meet in Texas, the "hotbed for gymnastics." The location is also unique in that there are no Division I gymnastics teams in all of Texas, shocking considering the talent and level of gymnastics in Texas. 
 
Coaches agreed that Texas universities would really benefit from adding gymnastics as a varsity sport. The NCAA coaches committee has put together a reception that will take place prior to the Super Six and has invited all of the Athletic Directors in the state of Texas to learn more about gymnastics and see what it’s all about. 
 
“We’re hoping that some of those ADs really dig deep and want to learn more about gymnastics and take advantage of seeing this great championships." Oklahoma Head Coach K.J. Kindler said. "We’re certainly promoting [gymnastics] in the state of Texas and we’re certainly recruiting in the state of Texas, and when I say 'we' I mean all of us... There is such a great wealth of talent there, wonderful coaching, amazing clubs, and then just people who are interested in the sport period.”

Having a Division I gymnastics team in the state of Texas would provide more opportunities for some of the impressive talent in the area to remain in their home state to compete in college. Georgia Head Coach Danna Durante said that while it would make their jobs tougher recruiting-wise, the coaches have all agreed that "any DI team that adds a program in the state of Texas would be vying for a National Championship in a very short amount of time."

 
Reigning NCAA Champions look to repeat
 
For reigning NCAA Champions Oklahoma and Florida there may be extra pressure from the outside to defend their title, but the teams sure aren’t letting it get to them. Florida has the opportunity to win three NCAA titles in a row at the Championships but Head Coach Rhonda Faehn said they “definitely aren’t going in with that mindset. We’re not going to be adding that extra pressure on to this team.” The Gators will be taking it one day at a time and first up is prelims. “Instead of focusing on the end result we’re just taking it step by step and focusing on our journey.”
 
Kindler talked about the Sooners’ team distribution. “Our team is actually very well balanced. We have an exact 25% contribution from every single class on our squad so it’s very event for us. We’ve had a great season so it’s very exciting.” Oklahoma has maintained their No. 1 ranking this entire season and has not lost a single competition all year. They’ve also competed eight of their 13 meets on the road so the short three hour drive to Fort Worth should not phase the team in the slightest. 


 
Conference strength and representation
 
There will be strong representation from the SEC next week as Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Florida and Georgia will all be competing. Auburn Head Coach Jeff Graba weighed in on the strength of the conference, “the SEC ended up with all of our members in the top 25, which I think is a statement to how tough the league is. I think it prepares us really well because you don’t really get a week off… it helps prepare us for these top-end Championship meets…. I think the SEC is in a really good spot right now and it’s only getting better.”
 
The Pac 12 will also be strongly represented next week with four teams: Utah, Stanford, UCLA, and Oregon State. However, at last year's NCAAs, the Pac 12 did not have a representative in the Super Six. Utah coach Megan Marsden said the teams are certainly “anxious to address that and to try to have a strong presence in the Super Six.” Utah was one of the teams who failed qualify for the Super Six last year.
 
The Big Ten has two teams at NCAAs: Michigan and Nebraska, and Oklahoma will be representing the Big 12. 

 
NCAA gymnastics continues to impress
 
The coaches also spoke to the level of gymnastics in the NCAA that has increased tremendously over the past few years. It’s apparent that teams really aren’t guaranteed a spot in the Super Six, they need to hit at prelims to earn their place. 
 
“The field just continues to get stronger and stronger and that is no different this year with 12 amazing teams full of talented athletes and great coaches so it’s certainly an exciting thing to be a part of.” Durante said. 
 
UCLA Head Coach Valorie Kondos Field said “The level of gymnastics out there is absolutely amazing. When we got to regionals, I was just bananas! It’s an exciting time to be a part of this.” 



The NCAA Championships will take place April 17-19 and below is the schedule:
Thursday, April 16: Podium Training
Friday, April 17: Preliminary Competitions
Saturday, April 18: Super Six
Sunday, April 19: Event Finals


Related:
Rotations for Prelims
Battle In Prelim Session #1
10 Vaults to Watch for at NCAAs