March Madness may be behind us, but NCAA championship season is still going. Just under two weeks after UConn won the women’s basketball national title, eight teams will vie to decide who is the best team in Division I women’s gymnastics. If you’ve never watched college gymnastics before, you’re in for a treat. The team nature of the competition amps up the spirit of each routine. While a gymnast is on the floor, vault, beam or bars, her teammates are never too far, loudly cheering her on.
Starting with a 36-team bracket, the eight teams who qualified for the competition placed in the top two of their regional finals. The best individuals, both in the all-around and in additional events, will also compete. The semifinals begin Thursday, with Oklahoma, Florida, Missouri and Alabama — an all-SEC competition — in the first semifinal, and LSU, Michigan State, UCLA and Utah in the second semifinal. The top two teams from each semifinal will advance to the finals on Saturday.
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College gymnastics still uses the perfect 10 scoring method, and team scores come from simply adding up all the scores earned by a team’s gymnasts, and dropping the lowest score for each event.
Here’s what you need to know about the eight teams that will compete in Fort Worth for the national title:
Coming into the semifinal with the highest score from the regional, Oklahoma is hoping it can post another 198.450 in Fort Worth. Jordan Bowers is a big reason why Oklahoma put up that big number, as she scored perfect 10s at the regional on the vault, bars and floor, and will also contend for the individual all-around title. Faith Torrez and Addison Fatta’s performances will also be key for the Sooners to return to the top of the podium. They won national titles in 2022 and 2023.
The defending national champions, LSU knows it has a target on its back. The Tigers also know that they are stacked with stars, as they scored a 198.050 at the regional. The team is anchored by Haleigh Bryant, the defending national all-around champ, and she is joined by Aleah Finnegan, a 2024 Olympian for the Philippines and the 2024 NCAA floor champ, and sophomore Konnor McClain.
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As the third team to hit 198 in the regional, the Spartans have the juice to make a run for the title, but they need everything to go right. The event they can really make a run is on the vault. At regionals, every gymnast scored a 9.90 or better. Nikki Smith anchors the team, and can knock out big scores.
The Crimson Tide showed their grit in how they earned their spot in the national semifinal. They came from behind to edge out California thanks to huge rotations on the balance beam and floor in their regional on April 6. Gabby Gladieux and Lilly Hudson stick out as two to watch as Alabama tries to make it to the national final.
It’s been 10 years since the Gators won it all in gymnastics, and they are hungry to grab a trophy again. Leanne Wong is a senior and can consistently put up huge scores for her team. Skye Blakely and Serena Harris-Miranda help make the difference as the Gators look to add to the school’s success after the men’s basketball team won it all last week.
This will be the Tigers’ first time at the national championship, and they beat out Auburn for their spot by one-tenth of a point thanks to a strong beam from Helen Hu. She will have to be at her best again, and will need help from Jocelyn Moore and Amari Celestine to pull the upset over Oklahoma, Florida and Alabama.
The Red Rocks are going to the nationals for the 49th consecutive time, an impressive feat regardless of the sport. Olympic silver medalist Grace McCallum is not to be missed in the all-around, and Avery Neff is also a strong performer for Utah.
Look, if you have to cancel plans to make sure you catch Olympic gold medalist Jordan Chiles’ Prince-themed floor on Thursday, so be it. You don’t want to miss it. You also don’t want to miss what Emma Malabuyo and Katelyn Rosen can do.
At the same time as the team competition, individuals who qualified for the national championship in all-around or individual events will compete for titles, as well. Two-time Olympic gold medalist Jade Carey, in her senior season at Oregon State, will hope to improve on the all-around silver she won in 2024. Joscelyn Roberson, a member of the 2023 world championship team and a freshman at Arkansas, will look to capture her first all-around NCAA medal.
Semifinals
Date: Thursday, April 17
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Time: 4:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN 2
Final
Date: Saturday, April 19
Time: 4 p.m. ET
Channel: ABC
