The last regional final is about to begin! After this session, we will know all eight teams (and up to 20 individuals) who will qualify to nationals.
Oklahoma comes in as an overwhelming favorite to qualify as long as the Sooners compete anywhere close to their normal level. Their performance on Friday was not perfect and they will want to clean up vault and bars as the postseason continues, but it would be a major upset to see them not advance today. Auburn also qualified out of the second semifinal with a 196.950, a much improved performance compared to what happened at SECs. That number likely will not be enough to qualify to nationals today, so the Tigers will be looking to reduce landing deductions and hit 24 for 24 today in order to have a chance.
In the first semifinal we saw Missouri and Arizona advance, the latter in a dramatic upset over Georgia. Credit the Wildcats for staying focused and hitting their gymnastics when it counted. It will be an uphill climb to qualify to nationals, but this team has proven they are fighters who cannot be counted out. Missouri, on the other hand, cruised through the semifinal without a single fall; a repeat of that performance today would likely be enough to send the Tigers to nationals.
This meet can be streamed on ESPN+ and scores can be found on Virtius.
Rotation 1: Auburn VT, Oklahoma UB, Arizona BB, Missouri FX
Huff (Aub) VT: Y-1.5 with a step forward. Auburn off to a good start! 9.825
Sievers (OU) UB: Minor leg seaparation on the Maloney, none on the Pak. Great last handstand. Step forward on the FTDT. 9.800
Fears (Az) BB: BHS LOSO, solid. No wobbles on the side aerial, nor on her leap combo. Tiniest of hops forward on the 1.5 dismount. 9.825
Light (Miz) FX: Solid tumbling throughout, good landings. 9.875
Bell (Aub) VT: Beautiful Y-full, stuck! 9.900
Pederson (OU) UB: Nice Maloney to Pak, half pirouette looked good. Nice final handstand. Sticks the DLO with a slight chest lean forward. 9.900
Lenczner (Az) BB: Opens with a controlled wolf turn. BHS LOSO, perfect. Big lean after her double stag. Another big wobble later in the routine but she stuck the back 1.5 dismount. 9.675
Horton (Miz) FX: SO much amplitude on the full-in, I think her plant foot might have slid slightly but otherwise good control. I love the front tuck through to double, she controls it well. 9.900
Schumaker (Aub) VT: Tucked Y-1.5, stuck! Auburn is on fire! 9.900
Fatta (OU) UB: Nice piked Jaeger, quick pirouette on the low bar. Sticks the DLO! 9.900
Wise (Az) BB: BHS BHS LOSO, right on. Beautiful controlled full turn. Beat jump to straddle half, no issues. Sticks the 1.5 dismount, great routine! 9.775
Tanskanen (Miz) FX: FTDT, good lunge back. Possibly some precision issues on her leaps. Good combo pass. 9.875
Hubbard (Aub) VT: Y-1.5, I think it was stuck but she may have lifted her foot to bring her heels together. Regardless, Auburn is thrilled! 9.875
Torrez (OU) UB: Nice Ray to open, beautiful Pak. Good handstand positions throughout and sticks the DLO with minor leg separation. 9.900
Mueller (Az) BB: Big bend-at-the-hips wobble after her leap combo. Small hop after the 1.5 dismount. 9.650
Celestine (Miz) FX: Huge full-in, some flexed feet. Her back leg looked a little low in one of the split positions on her leaps. A little short on the double tuck and hops forward, but it could’ve been worse. 9.900
Zancan (Aub) VT: Sticks her front handspring front pike today! Big improvement from Friday. 9.950
Davis (OU) UB: Gorgeous piked Jaeger as usual. Feet staggered on the dismount landing, she did it better in warmups, but she sticks it. 9.950
Deets (Az) BB: Good acro series to open. Nice beat jump to front toss. I was watching Davis through a lot of this but didn’t see any issues. Sticks the gainer full! 9.825
Griffin (Miz) FX: Double pike had good form but she didn’t keep her front foot planted long enough on the lunge. Some likely precision issues on her leap rotation. 9.925
Zois (Aub) VT: Y-1.5, visible leg separation while twisting and she had a small foot movement on the landing but she’s happy with it. 9.775
Bowers (OU) UB: Possibly a little short on the half pirouette on the low bar but my angle isn’t great for that. Sticks the FTDT! The crowd is going wild. 10.000
Martin (Az) BB: Bent at the hips after her acro series. Stuck gainer full! 9.750
Moore (Miz) FX: Gorgeous DLO with legs together and good control in the lunge. She could’ve stuck the front tuck through to double tuck if she felt like it but she casually did a small lunge instead, what a flex. 9.950
AFTER ONE: Oklahoma 49.650, Missouri 49.550, Auburn 49.450, Arizona 48.850
What a hot start! I lost track of the number of sticks in that rotation but it seemed like there were more of them than non-sticks. Auburn will be VERY happy with that vault rotation, and with Olympic order they have ideal conditions to continue the momentum. Missouri was also lights out on floor; a few landings could’ve been slightly better than there were a couple instances of questionable leap rotation, but overall it was a great rotation for the Tigers. And of course Oklahoma did its usual amazing bars. Arizona’s beam rotation wasn’t quite what they wanted, but floor could be just the thing to get the Wildcats back on track.
Rotation 2: Missouri VT, Auburn UB, Oklahoma BB, Arizona FX
Griffin (Miz) VT: Nice Y-full, chest a little low and she hops back. 9.800
Neal (Aub) UB: Leg separation on the backswing of the Maloney. Late on the full turn but sticks the double tuck. 9.750
Davis (OU) BB: BHS LOSO, solid. Gorgeous leap combo. Sticks the dismount! Great start for OU. 9.925
LaRusso (Az) FX: Front double twist is landed well. Questionable precision on the leap rotation. Nice Rudi to finish. 9.800
Tanskanen (Miz) VT: Tsuk full, stuck! She didn’t get a ton of distance but otherwise it looked good to me. 9.850
Leonard (Aub) UB: Tkachev, bail, cast handstand all good. Slides back on the dismount but otherwise a good routine. Replay showed she piked down the DLO a bit. 9.850
Fatta (OU) BB: BHS LOSO, I love how floaty the LOSO is. Side aerial is solid. Hitch kick to split straddle quarter, no wobbles. Gainer full stuck! 9.900
Fears (Az) FX: Beautiful 2.5 to start! Back 1.5 to front full is also great. Really great routine! 9.875
Tisler (Miz) VT: Really nice Y-full, I love her clean form in the air. Small hop back. 9.800
Boyd (Aub) UB: Really clean form on the Maloney to Pak, also a great half pirouette on the low bar. Stalder to double tuck, she lands with her feet staggered a la Audrey Davis but she sticks it. 9.825
Pederson (OU) BB: BHS LOSO is right on. Hitch kick to split straddle quarter, nice. Good side somi. No wobbles in this routine so far. Takes a step on the double twist, some minor form issues in the air. 9.850
Derr (Az) FX: Front double twist, I’m not sure she got it fully around. Again possible precision issues on her leap rotation. Front lay to front full, she’s low on the front full and has to bend her legs to land it. 9.725
Horton (Miz) VT: Y-1.5, stuck! Fantastic vault. I’d like to see her get slightly more amplitude but that could be my angle from the opposite side of the arena. 9.950
Groth (Aub) UB: Nice Ray, gorgeous Maloney, good half turn on the low bar. Last handstand is right on top of the bar! Sticks the dismount! Really great routine. 9.900
Bowers (OU) BB: BHS LOSO no wobbles, OU is really on today. Great dance series as well, fully extended in her split positions. Tiny scoot back on the double twist. 9.900
Martin (Az) FX: She doesn’t keep her front foot planted on the lunge of her double pike but it was otherwise nice. Front lay to front full, very clean and landed well. Double tuck is good. I love how many of these Arizona routines have three passes. 9.825
Moore (Miz) VT: Y-1.5, gorgeous in the air! Small hop forward on the landing. 9.825
Irvine (Aub) UB: Nice piked Jaeger to bail. Slightly arched in her last handstand. Visible leg separation on the FTDT dismount and she lands it a little squatty with her feet staggered, but stuck. 9.850
Wells (OU) BB: I love a good switch split jump. Nice BHS LOSO! Tiny hop forward on the 1.5 dismount. 9.850
Strom (Az) FX: Rudi to LOSO, really nice. Good twisting form on her combo pass. 9.900
Celestine (Miz) VT: Y-1.5, tries to stick it by leaning forward but ends up shuffling her feet a little bit. 9.875
O. Greaves (Aub) UB: Nice piked Jaeger, very tiny leg separation on her Pak. Slides back on her dismount slightly. 9.850
Torrez (OU) BB: Very small lean after her BHS LOSO. Great height on her gainer full, and she sticks it. 9.950
Mueller (Az) FX: Really nice double pike with a well controlled landing. I really appreciate her tumbling form, she’s able to keep her legs together while twisting on her combo pass. Good double tuck to finish. Great way to end the rotation for Arizona! 9.900
AFTER TWO: Oklahoma 99.175, Missouri 98.850, Auburn 98.725, Arizona 98.150
Oklahoma is putting on a clinic on how to do good gymnastics and is well beyond 198 pace at this point. In press on Friday KJ Kindler said that the “bookends” the meet were great but they fell a little flat in the middle rotations, so it’s good to see two strong rotations to start today. Missouri and Auburn look to be in a tight battle for the second qualifier, but both still have beam to come so we may be in for some drama. Arizona will be much happier with that 49.300 floor rotation but will need some help from the other teams if they are to qualify to nationals.
Rotation 3: Arizona VT, Missouri UB, Auburn BB, Oklahoma FX
LaRusso (Az) VT: Good Y-full, a little low in amplitude, small hop back. 9.775
Burns (Miz) UB: She may have been slightly short on her first cast handstand but it’s hard to tell from my angle. Nice straddled Jaeger. Small hop back on the dismount. 9.825
Ahern (Aub) BB: BHS LOSO, nice. Back 1.5, deep squat but stuck. 9.725
Davis (OU) FX: Nice front double full to open. Back 1.5 to front full, great form and good landing. 9.900
Mueller (Az) VT: Y-full, tiny hop in place. 9.800
Horton (Miz) UB: True Shaposh, love to see it. Slightly loose on the half turn. DLO with a small hop, I think she might have piked it down a little but it’s hard to tell from my angle. 9.750
Zois (Aub) BB: BHS BHS LOSO, right on. Really good leap combo. Very low chest on the double twist landing but she manages to stick it. 9.775
Sievers (OU) FX: Double pike, landed well. Front tuck through to double tuck is also good. 9.925
Martin (Az) VT: Y-full, slightly piked and she takes a small hop back. 9.775
Moore (Miz) UB: She gets so much amplitude on her Tkachev. Good handstand positions throughout. Sticks the FTDT! Great routine. 9.825
Zancan (Aub) BB: I love her press handstand mount. Leans to the side after her leap combo. Some leg separation on the 1.5 dismount but she sticks it. 9.850
Mueller (OU) FX: Front tuck through to double tuck, gorgeous. Front layout to Rudi, also great. This routine is so mesmerizing. Loudest cheer yet! 9.950
Strom (Az) VT: Another piked down Y-full with a hop back. 9.750
Kelly (Miz) UB: Piked Jaeger to bail, good. Stalder to double tuck, small step back. 9.850
Neal (Aub) BB: BHS LOSO LOSO with a tiny lean. Side aerial good. I missed the dismount (couldn’t tear my eyes away from Elle Mueller on floor) but there were some VERY loud cheers so I assume she stuck it. 9.850
Fatta (OU) FX: Front double twist, gets it fully rotated and lands it well. Same with the 2.5. 9.925
Fears (Az) VT: Good Y-full, not piked down. Small hop back. 9.800
Celestine (Miz) UB: Maloney to Pak, a little low/archy as usual. Good Van Leeuwen. Sticks the stalder front pike half dismount. 9.850
Groth (Aub) BB: Nice triple series to start, followed by an excellent dance combo. Gainer full is lacking a little amplitude and she takes a tiny hop back on the landing. 9.900
Bowers (OU) FX: Incredible performance, tumbling, dance elements throughout. Apologies for the lack of detail but how can I type while she’s competing? It feels wrong. And she gets the 10!
Janicke (Az) VT: Lands the Y-full low and ends up putting her knees down. 9.075
Titarsolej (Miz) UB: Perfect handstands, excellent execution on all her elements, stuck the dismount, what more could you ask for? I’d go 10 for that but I’m not a judge. 9.950 booooo (one of the only times I’ll complain about a non-10)
McLaughlin (Aub) BB: BHS LOSO beautiful, good toepoint. Beat jump to solid aerial is right on. It looked like she might’ve had a wobble on some choreo. Sticks the dismount! 9.850
Torrez (OU) FX: DLO with her usual perfect form in the air, I couldn’t tell if her front foot slid or not but if it did it was a very tiny movement. Front tuck through to double tuck, perfect landing. Another 10!
AFTER THREE: Oklahoma 148.975, Missouri 148.150, Auburn 147.950, Arizona 147.050
What a rotation for Oklahoma, a 49.800 on floor! After not sticking any vaults on Friday I’m curious to see how the final rotation goes with how amazing this meet is so far for them. It feels like they’re putting the other top teams on notice. For the second qualifying spot we have a tight all-Tigers race between Missouri and Auburn, with the former having a two tenth advantage but going to beam. Auburn will be on floor so it feels like anything can happen in this final rotation. This is exciting!!
Rotation 4: Oklahoma VT, Arizona UB, Missouri BB, Auburn FX
Pederson (OU) VT: Y-1.5, almost stuck but takes a small step back. She could’ve used a little more distance in my opinion. 9.850
Mueller (Az) UB: Straddled Jaeger, maybe a flexed foot in the air but otherwise nice. Leg separation on the DLO but she sticks it with some chest lean. 9.775
Wier (Miz) BB: Front aerial, wobbles, pauses. BHS LOSO, I assume all of that was supposed to be connected. Splits the beam on her leap series. Not the start Mizzou wants. 8.925
Ahern (Aub) FX: A bit of a strange landing on her combo pass, it looked like she was a little short of rotation and she stumbled to the side slightly. 9.800
Torrez (OU) VT: Big Y-1.5 with a large hop forward. 9.850
Krohnfeldt (Az) UB: Leg separation on the Maloney, some leg form on the bail handstand. Sticks the DLO! 9.800
Celestine (Miz) BB: BHS to side aerial, very good. Front tuck is right on. Split jump to split 3/4, good. Sticks the gainer full! Just what Mizzou needed after that leadoff fall. 9.825
Zancan (Aub) FX: Double pike, landed well. Double tuck a little short, steps forward out of it. 9.850
Wells (OU) VT: Y-1.5, big step forward. 9.875
Derr (Az) UB: Big Tkachev, small leg separation on the Maloney, good half pirouette. Last handstand looked good. FTDT with a small hop back, she’s happy with it. 9.825
Jackson (Miz) BB: I missed a lot of this while watching Derr but the Mizzou section was cheering loudly so I assume it went well. Sticks the dismount! 9.850
Bell (Aub) FX: Great stick on the punch front out of her first pass. Slightly uncontrolled in the lunge on the double pike. 9.925
Fatta (OU) VT: Y-1.5, at first I thought she was going to stick it but she ended up leaning her chest to the side and lifting her left foot up in the air. 9.850
Martin (Az) UB: Nice Maloney to Pak, I love her toepoint throughout the routine. DLO stuck! 9.850
Lawrence (Miz) BB: Side aerial BHS, really nice. Split jump to split 3/4, no issues. Back 1.5 dismount with a small step forward. 9.850
O. Greaves (Aub) FX: Front tuck through to double tuck, solid landing. Double pike, plant foot moved a little on the lunge. 9.875
Mueller (OU) VT: Y-1.5, knees bent slightly in the air then she took a step forward. OU still not getting those landings. 9.900
Deets (Az) UB: Giant half to Tkachev, nice. Good bail handstand. Last handstand may have been a little short. Beautiful DLO, I think stuck but there may have been a small foot shift. 9.825
Kelly (Miz) BB: Front aerial to BHS, solid. Good leap combo. Side aerial, slightly off balance but she covers it well. Back 1.5 dismount, sticks it with a chest lean forward. 9.825
McLaughlin (Aub) FX: Back 1.5 to front lay, a little low in amplitude on the front layout. Not sure if she got the Wolf 1.5 all the way around but it was close. Good double pike to finish. 9.875
Bowers (OU) VT: Y-1.5, slightly soft knees but STUCK. Finally! 10.000
Fears (Az) UB: Nice routine, maybe a small foot movement on the dismount. 9.900
Hu (Miz) BB: Beautiful flexibility and execution throughout, 10/10 no notes. 9.925
Groth (Aub) FX: Front double full, I would’ve liked to have seen a little more amplitude in the air but that’s being picky. Deep squat on the front layout, looked like she mistimed her punch. Clean Rudi to finish. 9.850
FINAL: Oklahoma 198.450, Missouri 197.425, Auburn 197.325, Arizona 196.250
WOW, what an incredible meet! What a number by Oklahoma, and there’s more left in the tank since there was only one vault stick tonight. The second qualifying spot came down to the final routine and Helen Hu pulled it out, giving Missouri the ticket to nationals by only a single tenth of a point over Auburn. I personally can’t wait to see what Missouri will do at nationals.
INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIERS:
VT: Ady Wahl (UGA)
UB: Olivia Greaves (Auburn)
BB: Gabby McLaughlin (Auburn)
FX: Lily Smith (UGA)
AA: Mary McDonough (UW)
READ THIS NEXT: Projected Individual Qualifiers for the 2025 National Championships
Live blog by Jenna King
