And then there were eight.
After an eventful regular season, conference championships and some ever-so-close regionals action, the field for the upcoming NCAA national gymnastics championships in Fort Worth, Texas, has been officially set.
On Saturday, LSU and Stanford advanced out of the Baton Rouge regional, and Florida and Georgia punched their tickets in Tempe. Sunday saw Oklahoma and Arkansas move on in the Lexington regional with UCLA and Minnesota closing out the weekend by clinching the final spots in Corvallis in dramatic fashion. While the specific semifinal sessions have yet to be announced for Fort Worth, the teams advancing from Baton Rouge and Tempe will square off in one semifinal, with the teams from Lexington and Corvallis in the other.
The group of teams remaining -- an elite eight, if you will -- is filled with perennial contenders, resurgent programs and even a Cinderella-esque squad or two. It also showcases the SEC's dominance, with five of the eight teams coming from that conference.
So what did we learn from the weekend and who looks poised to hoist the team trophy? Here's everything you need to know before the semifinal competition gets underway on April 16.
Before focusing on the eight teams heading to Texas, it's worth noting one team that didn't qualify.
Utah was looking for its astounding 50th consecutive appearance at nationals, but ultimately was edged out by just .125 of a point by second-place Minnesota (197.625) on Sunday in Corvallis. UCLA won the region (197.725).
It had been a challenging season for Utah, but the team arrived at regionals after winning a second straight Big 12 title, hoping it was hitting its stride. Led by a huge night by sophomore Avery Neff, Utah came up just short.
While the streak is over, it's worth acknowledging just how incredible such a mark was in the sport. And the season isn't totally over for the Red Rocks. Neff (all-around), Ana Padurariu (beam) and Ella Zirbes (floor) all qualified as individuals.
View this post on InstagramWhile Fort Worth won't see one of its traditional contenders this year, it will welcome the return of another.
Marking their first NCAA semifinal appearance in seven turbulent years and first for co-head coaches Cecile Canqueteau-Landi and Ryan Roberts, Georgia finished in second place (197.750) in the Tempe regional -- and did so without their star junior Lily Smith, who is out for the rest of the season with a broken foot. The team earned its second-highest score on bars (49.525) of the season to open the meet, led by freshman Autumn Reingold's 9.975, and three GymDogs -- Harley Tomlin, Nyla Aquino and CaMarah Williams -- earned 9.95 on floor. Williams, a freshman, has been one of the best in the country throughout the year on the event, and is currently ranked second. Can Fort Worth serve as the site of her official breakout to the college gymnastics world?
Triple the Trouble😋 Harley, Nyla, and CaMarah close the floor rotation, each posting a 9.950! 🔢 9.950 x3 🎥 https://t.co/ot1nKnM4Aq 📊 https://t.co/Q0QcsO88Jj#GoDawgs | #BeUndeniable pic.twitter.com/m93TZFy8gC
Canqueteau-Landi, who previously worked with Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles and other elite gymnasts at World Champions Centre, couldn't hide her emotions after Saturday's meet.
"People say I've done a lot in club. I have, but today I shed a couple of tears because it's been a lot. It means a lot," Canqueteau-Landi said. "I've said it before -- Georgia is that team, and we are back."
The winner of a record 10 national titles, Georgia will now look to advance past semifinals for the first time in a decade, and earn its first title since 2009.
The four regional champions -- LSU, Florida, Oklahoma and UCLA -- have been the strongest teams all season and will be the favorites to advance to Saturday's championship meet, as well as win the trophy.
Top-ranked Oklahoma is the reigning national champion and rolled through the regular season undefeated, notching impressive victories over conference rivals LSU and Florida, and even UCLA at a season-opening quad meet. The Sooners earned the highest score in regional competition (198.350) and rank in the top four in every event. Led by senior Faith Torrez, who earned a perfect 10.0 on beam on Sunday, and sophomores Addison Fatta and Lily Pederson, Oklahoma will look to capture its eighth title in 12 seasons in Fort Worth -- and further cement its dynasty status.
BEAM QUEEN 🔟 Oklahoma's Faith Torrez scored a PERFECT 10 on beam 🤩 pic.twitter.com/Rb2TdTof51
No. 3 seed Florida, however, has other plans, and seems to be peaking at exactly the right time. The Gators won the SEC championship title last month, behind a lights-out final rotation on bars and a razor-thin final 0.025 edge over Oklahoma. Florida furthered that momentum over the weekend with a 198.05 -- becoming the first program in the country to achieve a score of 198 or better for five straight meets this season. With unparalleled depth, including Selena Harris-Miranda, Skye Blakely, Kayla DiCello and eMjae Frazier, Florida could be in position to win its first team title since 2015.
As Harris-Miranda told ESPN heading into regionals, "I want to win. I know not everyone wants to say it but we have the correct people on the team to win and we have the mentality for it, we have the swag for it. It's ours. We just got to keep our heads down, keep going. That's our goal."
MY OH MY MISS SELENA she matches her collegiate best for the 4th time: 9.975!!! pic.twitter.com/yJfllm8ThT
No. 2 seed LSU finished in third place at the SEC championships and won the NCAA title in 2024. The Tigers got to compete at home one last time over the weekend -- and gave fans something to remember. Buoyed by perfect 10.0 scores from sophomores Kailin Chio (vault) and Kaliya Lincoln (floor), and earning at least a share of all the night's event titles, the Tigers earned a final score of 197.825 -- 0.6 better than second-place Stanford. While star junior Konnor McClain injured her arm on bars on Saturday, and her status for the semifinals has not yet been confirmed, Chio is the top-ranked all-arounder in the nation (and the favorite to win the individual title) and has shown she will do whatever it takes to help carry the team.
Superhuman. That's all. Kailin Ch10 gets her fourth 10 on vault and 12th perfect score this season 🤯 📺 ESPN+ | @kailin_chio pic.twitter.com/Agv26WEohB
And UCLA, the Big Ten champions, will look to build on their 2025 runner-up finish. The No. 4 seeded Bruins held off Minnesota and Utah on Sunday in a nail-biter. As she's done so often this season, senior Jordan Chiles anchored on floor, in the team's final rotation, and earned a perfect score to capture the victory and punch the team's ticket to Fort Worth. Competing just moments after the school's women's basketball team won its first-ever NCAA title, and even dropping some basketball-themed celebrations on the night, UCLA will now try to bring yet another trophy back to Westwood, and earn the first for the program since 2018. Chiles, who has earned two individual event titles on bars and one on floor during her career, will look to close out her storied collegiate career with more hardware, for herself and the team.
JORDAN CHILES STAYS PERFECT 🌟 Chiles was overcome with emotion after scoring her EIGHTH perfect 10 on the season 👏 pic.twitter.com/1ov3H4hEic
Stanford, Arkansas and Minnesota all finished in second place in their respective regions. While none of them are considered a title favorite, each squad has what it takes to play spoiler and advance to Saturday's finals.
Stanford, the No. 7 seed, was in fourth place at the halfway mark of the regional final in Baton Rouge before a strong rotation on floor and a clutch final rotation on vault surged them ahead. Freshman Ana Barbosu, the 2024 Olympic bronze medalist, earned her second 9.95 on floor in three days, and senior Taralyn Nguyen earned the same score on vault to give the Cardinal a .075 edge over third-place Clemson.
Arkansas, the No. 9 seed, took control of second place after the first rotation on floor in Lexington -- and managed to hold on the rest of the competition. With just 0.025 of a point separating the Gymbacks from third-place Missouri entering the final event, Morgan Price and Joscelyn Roberson -- two of the team's most consistent members all season long -- came up big yet again with 9.90 and 9.95, respectively, to close it out and clinch their berth. It marks Arkansas' 10th-ever trip to nationals and second under head coach Jordyn Wieber. The Gymbacks finished in seventh place in their last appearance in 2024 but certainly could do even better this time.
And No. 13 seed Minnesota, having already spoiled Utah's historic run, has proven it can step up when it matters most. Like Arkansas, the Gophers ended the night on beam and needed a strong showing to advance. Competing last, junior Jordyn Lyden tied her career high on the event with a 9.95 to seal the second-place finish and bring the team back to nationals for the first time since 2022.
"It's so awesome, I can't even put it into words," Lyden said after the meet.
One of unique aspects of the NCAA semifinals is the inclusion of individual gymnasts rotating with teams. Often the teams will incorporate the gymnasts as one of their own and cheer loudly for them, and sometimes even learn their choreography on floor and beam.
This year will see a talented group representing their schools, all looking to end the season on a high note. In addition to Utah's Neff, Michigan State's Nikki Smith and Ohio State's Tory Vetter will be competing in the all-around, as will Air Force's Maggie Slife. Slife, the Mountain West Gymnast of the Year and the No. 7-ranked all-arounder in the nation, is the school's first gymnast to ever qualify for the event.
Maggie Mae leaving it all on floor!#FlyFightWin⚡️ pic.twitter.com/ueN94GeQPG
Gwen Fink (North Carolina), Sage Kellerman (Michigan State), Cameron Smith (Ohio State) and Shyla Bhatia (Denver) qualified on vault. Kellerman, Sophia Diaz (Michigan), Hannah Horton (Missouri) and Aurelie Tran (Iowa) will compete on bars. Utah's Padurariu is joined by Carly Bauman (Michigan), Abigayle Martin (Arizona) and Delaynee Rodriguez (Kentucky) on beam, and Utah's Zirbes, Brie Clark (Clemson), Gabi Ortiz (Michigan State) and Creslyn Brose (Kentucky) qualified on floor. With Clemson having just completed its third competitive season, Clark will be the first gymnast in school history to compete at nationals.
