Washington junior Hailey Burleson was the final competitor on balance beam at regionals. The Huskies were locked in a battle with Kentucky for the second slot to advance as a team to the NCAA Championships.

Burleson hit her routine to score a 9.900 and seal Washington's place in St. Louis this week. It is the first time since 1998 that Washington will compete as a team at nationals. Burleson has been a rock on balance beam for the Huskies this season. She's posted a 9.850 or better in 10 of 11 routines this season. She has posted a 9.900 or better in six of her past seven routines.

WOOF! Hailey Burleson has a great beam routine and receives a 9.925, which ties her career high. #GoDawgs https://t.co/ADPpwZIYYE

— UW Gymnastics (@UWGymnastics) March 12, 2017

Burleson has also been a solid competitor on floor exercise, where she has nine scores of 9.850 or better. She posted a season-best 39.575 in the all-around on Feb. 19 against Arizona.

The Huskies will compete against Pac-12 foes Utah, UCLA, and Oregon State as well as Denver and reigning national champion Oklahoma in Friday's first semifinal session. Washington tied UCLA for third back at the Pac-12 Championships on March 18.

FloGymnastics: What is your favorite event to perform on and why?
Hailey Burleson: Probably now beam because I hated beam for the longest time, and now that I've learned how to control my nerves, I just embrace beam. It's become my favorite one to compete.

What is your favorite skill to perform on any event?
I would say probably my Tkachev on bars.

What is the most challenging skill that you've learned and what made it challenging for you?
Honestly, just any skill on bars in general, because when I grew, I grew a lot. I grew four inches, so it took me forever to learn my swing.

What was the biggest thing that you took away from regionals that you'll use heading into nationals?
Not every meet is going to be perfect. If you have a fall or a routine that isn't perfect, not letting that affect you. Being like "OK, it's fine, other people have my back." We didn't have a perfect regionals meet. We had a fall and an injury. So I think it's just remembering that it's not the end of the world.

How do you bounce back from a fall?
If I had a fall, I usually just high-five my teammates, and then I go into the bathroom or just remove myself into the hallway and reset. Then I try to come in and pretend nothing happened and leave it on that event.

Regionals were pretty close and came down to the wire. What was it like to advance to nationals for the first time since 1998?
I was the last one on beam, and I don't really like to know what goes on in front of me so I had no idea what happened. I was kind of oblivious to the scores, oblivious to everything, so I just went out there and did my routine. After I hit it, we happened to glance up at the scoreboard and someone was like "Guys, we made it" and I was like "Wait, are you sure?" I wanted to make sure it was real before we got excited. It was such an amazing moment to see, because that was our big goal this year was to make nationals and we all knew that we were capable of it. Having it actually happen was so cool.

Being last up with a chance to clinch it, how do you handle that pressure?
Like I said, I didn't really know what was going on so I didn't realize how much pressure was actually on me until after. I didn't realize Janae [Janik] had fallen. So I think it was good for me because I already put a lot of pressure on myself. So just having it feel like a normal meet and I wasn't really thinking "Oh, I have to hit to make it to nationals" was really helpful for me.

How would you describe yourself in three words?
Goofy, positive, and passionate.

What is the best piece of advice you've been given during your gymnastics career?
I think just believing in yourself and believing that you're a good gymnast. When I came to college, I think it was (now-head coach) Elise (Ray) who said, "You're in lineups for a reason. I believe in you; the girls believe in you. You just need to believe in yourself." I think that was a really big [moment] like "Oh, I made it here. My teammates trust me; the coaches trust me. I should just trust myself." I think that was really good, because one of the things I've worked on in college has been owning my gymnastics and believing that I'm capable of great things.

What are you most looking forward to about competing at nationals?
It'll obviously be really fun, because it's on podium. This will be our last meet with our seniors and with this group of girls that we have. Just enjoying it and doing it for them. We have such a great team chemistry and just having lots of fun because our team does best when we have fun.


Related:
2017 NCAA Championships Rotation Order For Semifinals & Super Six
2017 NCAA Championships Field Set