NCAA women’s gymnastics championships
Semifinal 1
When: Thursday, 11 a.m. MDT.
Venue: Dickies Arena (14,000 capacity), Fort Worth, Texas.
TV: ESPN2.
Livestream: WatchESPN.
The teams
- No. 1 Oklahoma.
- No. 4 Utah.
- No. 5 Alabama.
- No. 7 Minnesota.
The stakes
The penultimate competition of the season, the national semifinals operate in the same way the NCAA regional semifinals and finals did, i.e., the top two teams at the end of the meet will advance to the national championship.
Oklahoma is largely viewed as one of favorites to advance, given the Sooners’ overall excellence throughout the season, coupled with their showing at regionals, which included two scores above 198.
Utah and Alabama, meanwhile, battled in a pair of thrilling meets at the Seattle regional, with the Red Rocks coming out on top both times.
Separation between the two teams was minute, though, and the battle between the Utes and Crimson Tide — for a spot in the national championship — is seen by many as the most compelling story from either semifinal.
Minnesota finished second behind Oklahoma at the Norman regional and while the Golden Gophers are the clear underdog in the semifinal, they have scored above a 198 this season and are the second-best team in the country on floor.
The All-Americans
Oklahoma
- Jordan Bowers: First team (vault), second team (bars).
- Audrey Davis: First team (bars), second team (all-around).
- Ragan Smith: First team (beam), second team (floor).
- Katherine LeVasseur: First team (vault).
- Carly Woodard: First team (beam).
Utah
- Grace McCallum: First team (all-around and bars), second team (floor).
- Cristal Isa: First team (beam).
- Maile O’Keefe: First team (beam).
- Sydney Soloski: First team (floor).
- Abby Paulson: Second team (beam).
Alabama
- Luisa Blanco: First team (bars), second team (beam)
- Lexi Graber: Second team (floor).
- Makarri Doggette: Second team (bars).
Minnesota
- Lexy Ramler: First team (all-around and beam), second team (bars).
- Ona Loper: First team (all-around and vault).
- Mya Hooten: First team (floor), second team (vault).
Semifinal 2
When: Thursday, 4 p.m. MDT.
Venue: Dickies Arena.
TV: ESPN2.
Livestream: WatchESPN.
The teams
- No. 2 Florida.
- No. 2 Michigan.
- No. 6 Auburn.
- No. 8 Missouri.
The stakes
Just like the other semifinal, the top two finishing teams will advance to the national championship. After scoring a 198.775 in the Auburn regional final, Florida is considered a favorite to not only advance but to ultimately win the national title.
Michigan is the reigning NCAA champion and was the best team in the country for the majority of the regular season, but the Wolverines have slowed a bit — hampered by a few injuries — and were outscored by Florida, Oklahoma, Utah and Alabama at regionals.
Auburn finished second behind Florida at the Auburn regional, and the Tigers have already made program history with the scores recorded to advance this far. Auburn as the potential for high scores, but hasn’t consistently had the type of meets to make it a favorite.
Missouri is the Cinderella of the postseason, after upsetting LSU and UCLA at the Raleigh regional. Missouri has yet to break the 198 barrier this season — the Tigers are the only team at nationals that hasn’t — but has proven adept at capitalizing on mistakes made by more talented teams.
The All-Americans
Florida
- Trinity Thomas: First team (bars, beam. floor, and vault).
- Leanne Wong: First team (bars), second team (all-around, beam, floor).
- Nya Reed: First team (floor), second team (vault).
- Megan Skaggs: First team (all-around).
Michigan
- Sierra Brooks: First team (all-around, floor and vault).
- Natalie Wojcik: First team (bars and beam), second team (all-around and vault).
- Abby Heiskell: Second team (all-around and vault).
- Gabby Wilson: First team (floor), second team (vault).
- Naomi Morrison: First team (vault).
Auburn
- Sunisa Lee: First team (all-around, bars and beam), second team (floor).
- Derrian Gobourne: First team (floor).
- Sophia Groth: First team (beam).
Missouri
- Jocelyn Moore: First team (vault).
- Sienna Schreiber: Second team (beam and the all-around).
Next up
The top two teams from each national semifinal will advance to the national championship, which is slated for Saturday at noon. The championship will televised on ABC, with apparatus feeds available on WatchESPN.
The last five national champions are:
- Michigan (2021).
- Oklahoma (2019).
- UCLA (2018).
- Oklahoma (2017).
- Oklahoma (2016)