2018 Women's NCAA Gymnastics Championships

Recapping The Action: Field Set For NCAA Championships

Recapping The Action: Field Set For NCAA Championships

Regionals are over, and 12 teams advance. Here's a recap of the action Saturday from shoe-ins to upsets, surprises, and fights to the final rotation.

Apr 9, 2018 by Lauren Green
Recapping The Action: Field Set For NCAA Championships

Top Seeds Advance Easily

All six of the top-seeded teams moved on easily from their respective regionals. Oklahoma hit the 198 mark for the eighth time this season, and Maggie Nichols scored the only 10.0 of the weekend—her fourth of the year on balance beam, in front of a hometown crowd in Minneapolis.



LSU had a solid day in Raleigh with a 197.675 total, led by Sarah Finnegan and Myia Hambrick posting matching 39.625s in the all-around, Kennedi Edney on vault, and Lexie Priessman on uneven bars with a 9.950 each. The best event of the day came on balance beam, where the Tigers didn’t score below a 9.850. Hambrick led LSU with a 9.925 while Christina Desiderio, Edney, and Finnegan all posted 9.900s.



UCLA also had a solid day, especially on uneven bars where the Bruins struggled a bit at the Pac-12 championships. Madison Kocian made her return on uneven bars after having offseason shoulder surgery and scored a 9.875 in her first routine back on bars. The Bruins posted a 49.500 event total and did not count a score lower than a 9.875. UCLA was the only team in the top six that did not rely on a single all-around competitor during regionals and finished with a 197.650.



Utah had a huge floor rotation to open the competition with a 49.600. The Utes posted five straight scores of 9.900 or better with Kari Lee, Sydney Soloski, and Missy Reinstadtler posting 9.900s and MyKayla Skinner and MaKenna Merrell-Giles each posting a 9.950. Reinstadtler’s biggest moment of the day came on balance beam. The sophomore was up fifth and came after a fall from Lee. Reinstadtler hit a flawless routine to earn a 9.925, which tied for the regional title on beam.



Florida rebounded from a rough go on floor at the SEC championships with a 49.325 on floor at the University Park regional and finished with a 197.725. All six athletes posted a 9.825s or better with Rachel Slocum and Alicia Boren hitting the 9.900 mark. Alex McMurtry won the all-around with a 39.725, including a 9.975 on uneven bars. The Gators weren’t perfect—they had a fall each on bars and beam—but didn’t count lower than a 9.850 on either event.



Alabama was steady and consistent on all four events en route to a 197.225. The Crimson Tide used a big 49.400 to clinch the meet in their final rotation. Kiana Winston, Lexi Graber, and Kylie Dickson came up with big 9.900s while Wynter Childers and Ariana Guerra each added 9.850s. Graber, Guerra, and Nickie Guerrero also came up big on vault with Graber leading the way with a 9.950.



Saving The Best For The Postseason

The Huskers put together their best meet of the season and qualified in the second spot out of the Raleigh regional just a tenth and a half behind LSU. Nebraska was incredibly consistent, posting a 49.375 on vault, bars, and beam and a 49.400 on floor. Sienna Crouse was stellar on vault, bars, and floor and did not score lower than a 9.900. She finished with a pair of 9.925s on vault and floor. Taylor Houchin also had a great day with a 9.950 on vault and a 9.975 on uneven bars in the next rotation.



First-Timers At Nationals

After a tight battle in which the Wildcats landed on the outside looking in a year ago, Kentucky came up big in the final rotation to clinch its spot at the NCAA championships for the first time in program history. The Wildcats were in the exact same 12/13 matchup as last season and entering the final rotation were trailing Denver by 0.150. Ella Warren, Mollie Korth, and Katrina Coca paced Kentucky with 9.900s on bars while Alex Hyland (9.875), Katie Stuart (9.825), and Katie Carlisle (9.800) rounded out the scoring.



Denver had a shaky performance from the start on balance beam, which ultimately was the difference for the Pioneers. Freshman Lynnzee Brown will represent the Pioneers as an individual in St. Louis.

Mayhem In Tuscaloosa

The Tuscaloosa regional was perhaps the most dramatic of the six competitions this weekend. With one spot already going to Alabama, great programs Georgia, Michigan, and Illinois were fighting for the second slot. The Wolverines had an off-day with rotations on beam, floor, and vault not being able to crack the 9.900 range.

Georgia, which has struggled with injuries all season, had another injury to overcome after losing Lauren Johnson to a torn Achilles on Friday during practice. The Gym Dogs steadily improved through the first three rotations, including a solid rotation on bars where they were led by Marissa Oakley and Sydney Snead’s 9.925s.

Illinois finished the meet on a bye and had to wait anxiously as Georgia finished up the meet—on balance beam. Georgia posted good-but-not-great scores through the first five performance and it came down to Sabrina Vega’s routine. Vega needed at least a 9.825 to clinch a ticket to nationals—a mark she had reached 10 times this season. After a stellar routine, she clinched the meet with a 9.875 for the Gym Dogs.



Golden Bears Lock Up Final Spot To Championships

In the other regional that came down to the last competitive routine of the night, California left the door open just a little bit on uneven bars. Taylor Krippner had some uncharacteristic bobbles in her routine in the anchor spot for the Tigers and Auburn just missed returning to the NCAA championships. Cal finished with a 196.725 to Auburn’s 196.525. The Bears’ best performances came on floor exercise where Cal finished with a 49.400 and the Bears did not count a score below a 9.850. Toni-Ann Williams paced the squad with a 9.925 and Kyana George was just behind her with a 9.900. Arianna Robinson posted a 9.875 and both Sofie and Sylvie Seilnacht scored 9.850s for Cal.



Semifinals Are Set

Semifinal No. 1: Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Nebraska, UCLA, Arkansas



Semifinal No. 2: Oklahoma, Kentucky, Florida, Washington, Utah, Cal



Individual Qualifiers

All-around: Brianna Brown (Michigan), Rae Balthozer (Illinois), Morgan Lane (North Carolina), Cami Drouin-Allaire (George Washington), Shani Remme (Boise State), Jovannah East (Bowling Green), Lynnzee Brown (Denver), Lexy Ramler (Minnesota), Lauren Bridgens (Penn State), Cairo Leonard-Baker (Arizona State) and Drew Watson (Auburn), Elizabeth Price (Stanford)

Vault: Jamie Stone (Ohio State), Meaghan Sievers (VT, Iowa State)

Uneven Bars: Sam Cerio (Auburn), Shannon Hortman-Evans (BYU)

Balance Beam: Abby Milliet (Auburn)

Floor Exercise: Denelle Pedrick (Central Michigan)

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