A Flip Around the NCAA: Conferences Recap and What Comes Next

Courtesy of Oregon Live

The NCAA postseason is officially here! This is a quiet week in between the whirlwind conference and regional competitions. Teams get to use this time to touch up and polish routines before regionals, the final stop before nationals.

Conferences are the last step before the postseason. Every team gets to add one more score to their NQS (which takes the top six scores, including at least three away scores, drops the highest score, and averages the remaining five scores), which determines their seeding and placements between the four sites for regional competition. The top 36 teams, as well as the top 12 all-arounders and top 16 individual event specialists on each event from a team outside the top 28, advance to regionals.

Before going over what regionals will look like, let’s take a look at how last weekend’s meets played out.

ACC

Stanford won their first ACC title with a season-high 197.775, upsetting Cal by 0.125. The ACC Championship saw career first perfect 10s from Stanford freshman Ui Soma and UNC senior Lali Dekanoidze who set a new program record. Mya Lauzon (Cal) was named Gymnast of the Year, Lali Dekanoidze (UNC) was named Specialist of the Year, JoJo Valahovic (UNC) was named Newcomer of the Year, Danna Durante and co-coaches Justin Howell and Elisabeth Crandall-Howell (Cal) shared the title of Coach of the Year.

Big 12

Utah also put up a 197.775, which won them their first Big 12 title. Grace McCallum (Utah) was named Gymnast of the Year, Elena Deets (Arizona) and Brynlee Andersen (BYU) shared the title of Specialist of the Year, Avery Neff (Utah) was named Newcomer of the Year, and John Court (Arizona) was named Coach of the Year.

Big Ten

UCLA and Michigan State put up a battle through the Big Ten Championship. Michigan State put up their highest road score in program history, and second highest score in program history, with a 198.150. The Bruins won their first Big Ten title with a 198.450, the highest score in Big Ten Championship history and fourth highest in program history. Gabi Stephen scored a perfect 10 on beam, the first of her career and the first on the event in program history for Michigan State. UCLA saw perfect 10s as well, with Ciena Alipio and Brooklyn Moors scoring the first of their careers on beam and floor respectively, and Jordan Chiles closing out the competition with her second floor 10 of the season (which was surreal to see in person!). Nikki Smith (MSU) was named Gymnast of the Year, Sage Kellerman (MSU) was named Specialist of the Year, Chloe Cho (Illinois) was named Freshman of the Year, and Janelle McDonald (UCLA) was named Coach of the Year.

EAGL

The EAGL Championship was a tight competition, with less than three tenths separating first and fourth. George Washington came out on top to win their fourth conference title with a 195.950. Delaney DeHaan (GW) was named Gymnast of the Year, Brooke Donabedian (Temple) was named Specialist of the Year, Lola Montevago (GW) was named Rookie of the Year, Ava Harper (Towson) was named Rookie Specialist of the Year, Kendall Whitman (GW) was named Senior Gymnast of the Year, and Stephanie Worrell (GW) was named Head Coach of the Year.

GEC

Penn won their fourth consecutive GEC Championship title with a 195.700. Junior Skyelar Kerico put up a 39.425 in the all-around, setting a new record both for Penn and the conference. Kerico was named Gymnast of the Year, Maya Davis (Brown) was named Specialist of the Year, Hailey Kriz (Yale) was named Newcomer of the Year, and Kirsten Becker (Penn) was named Head Coach of the Year.

MAC

Central Michigan won the MAC title with a 195.725; they now have a conference-best 19 titles. Luciana Alvarado-Reid (CMU) was named Gymnast of the Year, Ashley Szymanski (Ball State) was named Specialist of the Year, Reilan Garvey (Western Michigan) was named Freshman of the Year, Raisa Boris (Eastern Michigan) was named Senior of the Year, and Brice Biggin (Kent State) was named Coach of the Year.

MIC

Illinois State put up a 196.025, their second-best of the season and fifth-best all time, to win their fourth MIC Championship title. Taylor Ingle (Southeast Missouri) and Jaye Mack (Illinois State) shared the title of Athlete of the Year, Bailey Upton (Texas Woman’s) was named Newcomer of the Year, Alana Laster (Illinois State) was named Senior of the Year, and Bob Conkling (Illinois State) was named Coach of the Year.

MPSF

Southern Utah won their third straight MPSF Championship title, matching their 2024 meet-record score of 196.625. UC Davis finished behind them with a season-best 196.400, giving them a #35 national ranking and sending them to regionals for the first time in 11 years. Niya Randolph (SUU) was named Gymnast of the Year, Ellie Cacciola (SUU) was named Specialist of the Year, Mia Hampton (SUU) was named Freshman of the Year, and Scotty Bauman (SUU) was named Head Coach of the Year.

Mountain West

Utah State came out on top in the Mountain West with a score of 196.100. The entire competition was separated by less than a point, making it the closest conference championship this weekend. Maggie Slife (Air Force) was named Gymnast of the Year and Floor Specialist of the Year, Alyssa Vulaj (Boise State) was named Vault Specialist of the Year, Emily Lopez (Boise State) was named Bars Specialist of the Year, Brianna Brooks (USU) was named Beam Specialist of the Year, Alyssa Bigler (Air Force) and Kristina Shchennikova (Boise State) were named Co-Freshman of the Year, and Tina Bird (Boise State) was named Coach of the Year. 

Pac-12

Jade Carey became the first Pac-12 gymnast to win the beam and all-around titles in every meet in a season. She also scored her 15th career perfect 10 with her final floor routine at Oregon State.

SEC

The SEC Championship featured the top three teams in the nation: Oklahoma, LSU, and Florida. Reigning national champions LSU won their second SEC title in a row, their 198.200 pushing them ahead of Oklahoma to become the top ranked team in the nation. The SECs saw five perfect 10s. Florida’s Selena Harris-Miranda landed her second perfect 10 on vault, and her teammates Leanne Wong and Riley McCusker (I’m still crying tears of joy over this one) put up 10s on bars to lead the Gators to a 49.850, the highest bars score in NCAA history. Missouri’s Mara Titarsolej had a 10 of her own on bars, her first this season. And Oklahoma’s Faith Torrez concluded the competition with her second 10 on floor this season. Jordan Bowers (Oklahoma) was named Gymnast of the Year, Helen Hu (Missouri) was named Specialist of the Year, Selena Harris-Miranda (Florida) was named Newcomer of the Year, Kailin Chio (LSU) was named Freshman of the Year, and Shannon Welker (Missouri) was named Coach of the Year.

NCGA National Championship

UW-La Crosse upset UW-Oshkosh and UW-Whitewater with a 194.925 to win their record 18th NCGA title. UW-La Crosse shattered their previous school record of 193.650. Grace Kehr (UW-La Crosse) won the vault title; Ashlie Leage (Greenville) and Jamie Beatty (UW-Stout) won the bars title; Lienna Kay (Brockport), Raina Christenson (UW-La Crosse), Claire Robbins (UW-La Crosse), Kyla Dickson (UW-La Crosse), Paige Magel (UW-Whitewater), and Tegan Haberstock (UW-Whitewater) all won a share of the beam title; Jessica Taylor (UW-La Crosse) won the floor title; and UW-Stout’s Beatty won the all-around title.

Courtesy of NCAA

Now that conferences and the regular season are over, let’s talk about regionals and how they work. The NCAA gymnastics postseason is set up in a bracket style, beginning with the top 36 teams across four regional sites. The placements for the teams were announced on ESPN’s first ever gymnastics selection show. On April 2/3, the teams ranked 29-36 will compete in play-in meets to earn a spot in the regional semi-finals. The semi-finals take place April 3/4, with the top two teams from each semi-final advancing to the finals on April 5/6. The top two teams from each regional final will advance to the national championship semi-finals on April 17 in Fort Worth, Texas.

This is my March Madness. Or, as I’m calling it, April Angst. And here’s how it will shape out this season.

Pennsylvania Regional

The first regional meet takes place at Penn State at 2PM on Wednesday, April 2. This will be a play-in meet between Maryland (NQS: 196.030) and West Virginia (195.855). The first Penn State semi-final features #8 Michigan State (197.360), #9 Kentucky (197.315), Ohio State (196.395), and host Penn State (196.230) at 1PM on Thursday, April 3. The second semi-final features #1 LSU (198.115), #16 Arkansas (197.055), Michigan (196.945), and the winner of Maryland vs. West Virginia at 7PM. The top two teams from the semi-finals will compete in the Pennsylvania regional final on Saturday April 5 at 5PM.

Utah Regional

The second regional site is hosted by the University of Utah, and will feature all four teams from Utah. BYU (196.025) and Utah State (196.025) will face off on April 2 at 5PM. The first semi-final features #5 UCLA (197.680), #12 Minnesota (197.210), Southern Utah (196.415), and Boise State (196.115) at 4PM on April 3. The second-semi final features host #4 Utah (197.780), #13 Stanford (197.190), Denver (196.735), and the winner of BYU vs. Utah State at 10PM. The Utah regional final will be on April 5 at 8PM.

Alabama Regional

The first meet in Tuscaloosa will be between Clemson (196.255) and Rutgers (195.890) on April 3 at 3PM. The first semi-final will feature #6 Cal (197.605), host #11 Alabama (197.205), UNC (196.470), and Iowa (196.430) at 2PM on Friday, April 4. The second semi-final features #3 Florida (197.935), #14 Oregon State (197.185), NC State (196.680), and the winner of Clemson vs. Rutgers at 8PM. The Alabama regional final will be on Sunday, April 6 at 6PM.

Washington Regional

Illinois (196.205) and UC Davis (195.870) will compete in the Seattle play-in at 5PM on April 3. The first semi-final will feature #7 Mizzou (197.510), #10 Georgia (197.210), Arizona (196.525), and Arizona State (196.310) at 4PM on April 4. The second semi-final features #2 Oklahoma (198.040), #15 Auburn (197.170), Nebraska (196.535) and the winner of Illinois vs. UC Davis at 10PM. The Washington regional final will be on April 6 at 8PM.

All meets will be available to watch on ESPN+. Tune in!

Edited by Giana Robertaccio