The state of Utah is well-represented when it comes to college gymnastics.
No. 4 Utah, No. 21 BYU, No. 25 Utah State and Southern Utah will all compete in an NCAA women’s gymnastics regional this week, making up over 10% of the 36-team postseason field.
The 2022 national collegiate women’s gymnastics championships bracket. Utah and BYU will compete in the Washington regional, Utah State in the Oklahoma regional and Southern Utah in the Alabama regional.
NCAA
Here is the upcoming schedule for the Utes, Cougars, Aggies and Thunderbirds.
No. 4 Utah Utes
Utah’s Jaylene Gilstrap performs her floor routine during the Pac-12 women’s gymnastics championship at the Maverik Center in West Valley City on Saturday, March 19, 2022.
Spenser Heaps, Deseret News
Seattle Regional
- Round 2, Session 2
When: Thursday, 8 p.m. MDT
Venue: Alaska Airlines Arena (10,000 capacity)
TV: ESPN+
Livestream: WatchESPN
The competition
- No. 13 Oregon State
- No. 19 Illinois
- Stanford or San Jose State
The stakes
Only the top two teams from each regional session advance to the regional final. Utah is far and away the favorite to advance out of its regional semifinal — College Gym News’ postseason simulator gives the Red Rocks a 98.68% chance to advance — with expectations being that Oregon State and Illinois will battle for the second spot.
The Red Rocks have already defeated Oregon State and Stanford twice this season, and while Illinois has proven itself capable at times, anything less than a runaway Utah victory would be a major surprise.
The gymnasts
- Grace McCallum (Utah)
- Jade Carey (Oregon State)
- Mia Takekawa (Illinois)
- Kyla Bryant (Stanford)
- Jada Mazury (San Jose State)
No. 21 BYU Cougars
BYU senior Haley Pitou competes on balance beam during BYU’s meet against Utah State at the Smith Fieldhouse in Provo, Utah. on Jan. 28, 2022.
Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo
Seattle Regional
- Round 2, Session 1
When: Thursday, 2 p.m. MDT
Venue: Alaska Airlines Arena (10,000 capacity)
TV: ESPN+
Livestream: WatchESPN
The competition
- No. 5 Alabama
- No. 12 Michigan State
- No. 25 Washington
The stakes
BYU is not one of the favorites to make it out of its regional session with No. 5 Alabama and No. 12 Michigan State in the same competition.
The Cougars are, however, a trendy upset pick, with a 22.49% chance to advance to the regional final, the fourth-best odds of any nonseeded team (the top 16 ranked teams are seeded) behind only Ohio State, Arkansas and Illinois.
BYU does have to be wary of Washington. As hosts, the Huskies have the benefit of homecourt advantage — in the case of gymnastics, that mostly means familiarity with the equipment — and have a higher season-high score than the Cougars do.
The gymnasts
- Luisa Blanco (Alabama)
- Skyla Schulte (Michigan State)
- Sadie Miner-Van Tassell (BYU)
- Skylar Killough-Wilhelm (Washington)
No. 25 Utah State Aggies
Utah State University competes against the University of Utah, Brigham Young University and Southern Utah University in the Rio Tinto Best of Utah NCAA gymnastics meet at the Maverik Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022.
Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Norman Regional
- Round 2, Session 1
When: Thursday, noon MDT
Venue: Lloyd Noble Center (11,528 capacity)
TV: ESPN+
Livestream: WatchESPN
The competition
- No. 8 Minnesota
- No. 9 California
- No. 24 Boise State
The stakes
Utah State is riding high after winning its first ever Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference (MRGC) championship, but the Aggies have a tall task ahead of them if they hope to prolong their season.
Utah State has the lowest odds (8.06%) of the four teams in its regional semifinal to advance, with Minnesota (89.82%) and Cal (92.32%) standing as the prohibitive favorites to move on.
The Aggies will have to match their excellence from the conference championships — USU scored a season-best 197.025 — and hope one of Minnesota and Cal has an off meet.
Utah State will also have to fend off a Boise State team that has already defeated the Aggies once this season.
The gymnasts
- Lexy Ramler (Minnesota)
- Andi Li (California)
- Emily Muhlenhaupt (Boise State)
- Brie Clark (Utah State)
Southern Utah Thunderbirds
Southern Utah senior Karley McClain competes on floor exercise in Cedar City, Utah, during a meet against BYU.
SUU Photo
Auburn Regional
- Round 2, Session 1
When: Thursday, 1 p.m MDT
Venue: Neville Arena (9,121 capacity)
TV: ESPN+
Livestream: WatchESPN
The competition
- No. 7 Auburn
- No. 10 Kentucky
- No. 23 Georgia
The stakes
Traditionally one of the better programs from a smaller school, Southern Utah had an up-and-down regular season and finished in third place at the MRGC championships.
The Thunderbirds, or Flippin’ Birds as they are affectionally known, will compete in one of the more difficult regional semifinals, against host Auburn, a nationals threat in Kentucky and one-time gymnastics powerhouse Georgia.
SUU has the lowest odds (8.72%) to advance of any team in its regional semifinal and will not only need to have one of its best performances of the season, but will need two of the other three teams to make significant mistakes.
The gymnasts
- Sunisa Lee (Auburn)
- Raena Worley (Kentucky)
- Rachel Baumann (Georgia)
- Shylen Murakami (Southern Utah)
Next up
All advancing teams will have a day off on Friday before competing in their respective regional finals on Saturday.
The Auburn and Norman regional finals are slated for 4 p.m. MDT, while the Seattle regional final will be held at 6 p.m.
The top two teams in each regional final will then advance to the NCAA gymnastics championships — known as nationals.
The national championships will take place at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, from April 14 through April 16.