The stage is set at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, for the first of two semifinals at the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships. In this all-SEC afternoon session, Oklahoma, Florida, Missouri and Alabama will face off for two spots in Saturday’s team final.Oklahoma enters as a favorite after a dominant showing at the Seattle Regional, where Jordan Bowers notched three perfect 10s. This moment marks the culmination of head coach K.J. Kindler’s season-long strategy of competing four to five all-arounders. The question now: Will that consistency pay off, or will fatigue—and memories of last year’s stumble—creep in?Florida, seeking its first team title in a decade, has battled injuries but hasn’t missed a beat. With Leanne Wong and Selena Harris-Miranda leading the way, the Gators remain a strong contender. They’ll open on beam but finish on bars—an event where they set a new NCAA record at the SEC Championships.Missouri is making its fourth appearance at nationals and is chasing its first-ever berth in the team final. The Tigers start strong on floor, where they’ve posted as high as 49.725, but will need a steady performance on beam—an event that has required late-lineup heroics to overcome early mistakes.Alabama pulled off a comeback at its home regional to secure a second straight nationals appearance. As the lowest remaining seed, the Crimson Tide will need to lean into their underdog status. They’re the only team in this semifinal that hasn’t broken the 198 mark this season—a score that could be necessary to advance.In addition to the team race, individual event titles are on the line today. Wong will aim to defend her uneven bars title, but several athletes in this session are capable of breaking through. While winning an event title from the earlier semifinal is statistically tougher, chaos is the name of the game—and anything can happen in Fort Worth.
Here are the individuals we will see in this semifinal:
- Vault: Ady Wahl – Georgia (R1), Rosie Casali – Denver (R2), Mary McDonough – Washington (R3), Madison Ulrich – Denver (R4)
- Bars: Ulrich (R1), Olivia Greaves – Auburn (R2), Rylie Mundell – Denver (R3), McDonough (R4)
- Beam: McDonough (R1), Ulrich (R2), Gabby McLaughlin – Auburn (R3), Brynlee Andersen – BYU (R4)
- Floor: Mya Hooten – Minnesota (R1), McDonough (R2), Ulrich (R3), Lily Smith – Georgia (R4)
Rotation 1: Alabama VT, Oklahoma UB, Florida BB, Missouri FX
Alabama (VT)
Paradise: Y 1.5, some bent elbows on the table, good height and distance. Hop forward on the landing. 9.8125
German: Y 1.5, little bit less of a bend off the table, sizable hop forward on the landing. 9.7875
Bunagan: Missed this bc someone was trying to steal my seat. 9.8500
Kvamme: Y 1.5, underrotated and had to take the step back on the landing. 9.7375
Gladieux: Y 1.5, prettiest form of all so far, the tiniest step forward on the landing. 9.8500
Hudson: Y 1.5, hop forward on the landing. 9.8250
Wahl (UGA): Y 1.5, tiniest movement on the landing, lacked a little bit of height, but not bad. 9.8750
Oklahoma (UB)
Sievers: Maloney to Pak combo was good, beautiful final handstand, FTDT with a stick! 9.8250
Pederson: Maloney to Pak, no leg separation on the Pak in the air. Hits her final handstand, DLO dismount with a stick! 9.9125
Fatta: Missed the opening because people tried to steal my media seat. Rude. Anyways, Pak salto to the low bar was a little whippy in the air. No movement on the dismount. 9.8375
Torrez: Really nice height on her release! Pak salto was good, DLO with a stick. 9.8875
Davis: Blind to piked Jaeger, her usual, Pak salto to low was good, Double front half dismount, not quite all the way around with a step forward on the landing. 9.8250
Bowers: pretty first handstand, blind to Jaeger, nice straight arms. Pak salto to another beautiful handstand, FTDT with a stick. Sooners should easily have the lead after one. 9.9375
Ulrich (DU): Maloney to Pak, really pretty form in the air. Slightly short on her final handstand, DLO with a stick. 9.8875
Florida (BB)
Draser: BHS LOSO series, right down the center. Pretty turns throughout, RO 1.5 with a small step forward on the landing. 9.8250
Pilgrim: The toe point on her mount is excellent and I’m obsessed. BHS LOSO, small balance check after the layout, but adjusts quickly. Cat leap front aerial, much cleaner. Good extension on her leaps. BHS gainer full with a stick. 9.8500
Nguyen: Switch leap split jump, good. BHS 1.5, little bit of loose legs in the twist, hop forward on the landing. 9.8500
Wong: Switch leap sissone, front aerial split jump, BHS LOSO, solid. Gainer pike dismount, big lean forward to try to keep the stick, ends up taking a step. 9.8000
Harris-Miranda: triple series nailed it. Switch side straddle quarter, good height over the beam. The tiniest adjustment out of the full turn. RO 1.5 with a stick. 9.9500
Arana: BHS LOSO, really floaty in the air. Switch leap switch half, slightly below 180 on the switch half. Gainer full, slight foot adjustment on the landing. 9.8250
McDonough (UW): BHS LOSO, leg lift after the layout and fights to stay on. Side aerial was pretty, getting back into the rhythm. Balance check on the full turn, step on the dismount. 9.6000
Missouri (FX)
Light: Back 1.5 to FLO pass to open. Missouri’s fans are really getting into this routine! Double pike to close, good opening routine for the Tigers! 9.7875
Horton: Really nice opening pass! Leaps were nice and extended, double tuck to close. Good start for Missouri! 9.8250
Tanskanen: Good rotation on the leap series. Back 1.5 to front full, good rise on the second skill! 9.8250
Celestine: Now why would you play music over her? Not cool. Tucked full in to open, small movement of the front foot. Great leap series, hits her final pass. 9.8250
Griffin: Double pike to open, rises that front foot on the lunge back. Front through to double tuck, much more control on the landing. 9.8750
Moore: DLO to open, didn’t get quite as much rise out of it. Nice extension and height on her leap series, double tuck to close. Really solid floor rotation for Missouri! 9.8750
Hooten (MN): A moment of silence here before her final floor routine. FTDT with a solid stick! Goes right back with her second pass to another stick. Double tuck to close it out, great control on that landing as well. The crowd just went absolutely insane for that routine. 9.8875
After 1: Oklahoma 49.4000, Florida 49.3000, Missouri 49.2250, Alabama 49.1250
You can definitely tell there’s some nerves as there were only three scores above a 9.900 handed out. I expect as everyone loosens up, the scores will really start to increase. Overall, it’s about what most expected, but the margins are still within reach for all four teams.
Rotation 2: Missouri VT, Alabama UB, Oklahoma BB, Florida FX
Missouri (VT)
Griffin: Y full, slight bent elbows on the block, tiny hop back on the landing.
Tanskanen: Tsuk full off the table, good form in the block, lacked a little bit of height.
Tisler: Y full, nice striaght block off the table, solid stick.
Horton: Y 1.5, underrotated and has to sit it down. Tigers now in danger of counting a fall.
Moore: Y 1.5, took the hop to make sure it stayed on her feet. Pretty pretty block off the table. Still feels like there’s a lot of nerves in this arena.
Celestine: Y 1.5, another overrotated vault, but it drops Horton’s fall.
Casali (DU): Y 1.5, underrotated but keeps it on her feet.
Alabama (UB)
Gladieux: Solid height on the release, Pak to low bar, full turn to double tuck dismount, with a small step on the landing.
Hudson: Maloney to bail to handstand, nice tight position on the handstand, FTDT, finishes the skill above the bar, fights to hold the stick, ends up with a hop.
Walker: Holds that first handstand right at 180, good transition to low bar, FTDT dismount with a small hop in place
LaCoursiere: Maloney to Pak, nice position on the Pak. Van Leeuwen back up to high bar, little short on the final handstand, FTDT with a stick!
Fuller: Pak salto to low bar, good form, back up to high bar with a Van Leeuwen, NAILS her dismount!
Paradise: I missed a solid chunk of this routine, but her final handstand into her dismount was beautiful! Alabama’s fans loved it for sure.
Greaves (AUB): That combination throughout? Genius. Little whippy on that Pak salto, Stick on the dismount.
Oklahoma (BB)
Davis: BHS LOSO was good, front aerial right into choreography, doesn’t miss a beat. RO double twist dismount, some looseness in the legs with a hop. Doesn’t look like Davis will repeat her individual titles here.
Fatta: BHS LOSO, some bent knees in the air, adjustment on the landing. Side aerial, another small adjustment. Hitch kick switch side was good. Another adjustment after the full turn. BHS gainer full, really fought through that routine!
Pederson: BHS LOSO series was good to start, takes a fall on her next skill. Fights back with the solid landing on the dismount.
Bowers: BHS LOSO series solid. Sissone switch half, nice 180 position. RO double twist dismount with a solid stick. Two more to drop Pederson’s fall.
Wells: Uh oh, Wells is struggling on this routine. Lots of wobbles from the start, loses her connection value in her leaps, another lean after her series. Fights through to get the landing on her 1.5, but that will definitely count.
Torrez: The toe point on that jump geez. Side aerial LOSO, nailed. BHS gainer full, HIGH rise on that gainer with a stick. Drops Pederson’s fall but will count Wells’ 9.775
Ulrich (DU): BHS LOSO series was spot on, gets good position on her leaps. Front aerial to beat jump was really pretty, gainer pike off end with a slight slide on the landing.
Florida (FX)
Nguyen: front double full to immediate jump, really nice. 2.5 twist to front layout, had some looseness in her twist as well. Good routine overall!
Disidore: The height on her leaps HELLO?? Back 1.5 to front layout final pass, she hit her first one solidly, I just had people sitting in front of me so I didn’t quite see all of it.
Ferris: Hits her first pass with loud cheers from the Gator faithful. Back 1.5 FLO second pass with a hit. Gators cruising while others are struggling.
Wong: Double layout to open, hops out of bounds. Pretty extension on the straddles in her leap series. Much more control on the landing of her final pass.
Harris-Miranda: Front through to double tuck, slide of the front foot on the landing. Second pass was good, had nice rise on each of the elements in her combo pass.
Clark: DLO to open, beautiful job. Her being in the back of this lineup is giving Caquatto vibes and I don’t mind it. Little out of control on the rotation of her leaps but not too bad. Front through to double tuck, slightly off to the side with a hop in place.
McDonough (UW): FHS Rudi LOSO pass to open, lacked a little bit of form in that pass. Some issues on the positioning in her leaps. FHS front full, I could tell she didn’t quite get the punch out of it that she needed as she sits it down.
After 2: Oklahoma 98.7500, Florida 98.6500, Missouri 98.3500, Alabama 98.2875
The jitters have officially transitioned into falls as Oklahoma and Missouri both had stumbles in that rotation that both were able to drop. Unfortunately, it means that both also had to count scores in the 9.700s, and with the way scoring is this afternoon, you can’t count too many of those.
Rotation 3: Florida VT, Missouri UB, Alabama BB, Oklahoma FX
Florida (VT)
Pilgrim: Y 1.5, didn’t quite get the block she needed, landed with a deep knee bend.
Bui: Y 1.5, overrotated, takes a large hop forward. Great block off the table.
Nguyen: Y 1.5, nice high block off the table, sizable hop forward on the landing. No one has found their landings hardly today on this event.
Ferris: Y 1.5, solid form in the air, great block with a stick. Gators needed that BAD.
Wong: Podko, usual form in the air, small hop back on the landing.
Harris-Miranda: Y 1.5, underrotates and has to take a step back on the landing. Gators will count at least one score in the 9.700s.
McDonough (UW): Y full, high height and nice straight arms on the block, stuck with a solid chest positioning. Good for her!
Missouri (UB)
Burns: short on the opening handstand, blind to Jaeger to overshoot was much cleaner, DLO dismount with a stick.
Horton: Clear hip to Maloney, immediately back up to the high bar, DLO with a stick!
Moore: Solid routine going, hits her final handstand, FTDT dismount, maybe a small adjustment of a foot on the landing? The bars are the farthest away so it’s hard to tell right away.
Kelly: Caught her release really close, transitions to low bar well, fights for the landing on the dismount. Tigers have good scores right now, just need to keep pushing.
Missouri just got a huge hit from Celestine with Titarsolej to go.
Titarsolej: Usual Maloney to Pak combination, hits that final handstand on top of the bar, finishes her full turn up there as well to double tuck dismount with a stick. Beautiful routine.
Mundell (DU): Pretty first handstand, good height on the Tkatchev and holds that handstand as well! This is a GREAT routine for Mundell, nails her double layout!
Alabama (BB)
LaCoursiere: Keeps her arms moving on that series to make sure she gets credited for that connection. RO 1.5 dismount with a stick.
Kvamme: Pretty full turn. BHS LOSO series with beautiful extension throughtout. Some bent arms on her BHS 1.5 dismount, small hop forward.
Ladanyi: Front aerial split jump, got the position in the air. BHS LOSO, interesting form on that but it works well. Switch leap split jump, BHS gainer full, didn’t have a ton of rise in the air on the gainer but gets the stick.
Hudson: Front aerial BHS series, slight hesitation after the aerial, so I won’t be shocked if she doesn’t get credit for it. Side aerial was good. Hops forward and to the side on her dismount.
Gladieux: BHS layout to two feet, solid! Front aerial tiny adjsutment out of it but keeps moving. Switch leap split jump, good toe point and positioning throughout, solid landing on her dismount.
Adams: Okay double wolf turn! Balance check, comes back strong with her BHS LOSO series. BHS gainer full dismount with a step on the landing.
McLaughlin (AUB): BHS LOSO was solid, goes for her next connection element and falls. Ugh, so not what I wanted her last routine to look like. Gainer pike dismount with a stick.
Oklahoma (FX):
Davis: FHS front double full, little stumble on the landing. Good height and rotation on her leaps. Back 1.5 to front full final pass, really came back from that stumble at the beginning very well!
Sievers: Double pike to open, solid control on the landing, front through to double tuck second pass, slides that front foot ever so slightly.
Mueller: Front through to double tuck, adjusts her foot on the landing. Nice tight twist on her second pass, her choreography might be my favorite and I normally can’t stand OU’s choreography.
Fatta: RO 2.5 twist, probably the best one she’s done all season. Switch side straddle full, I really think she cheated the rotation on that just a little bit, but we’ll see what the judges do.
Bowers: RO 2.5 to punch front, her usual. Double pike was nice and high, looked like she got her leaps around fully, but that was a BEAUTIFUL routine overall.
Torrez: Sooners haven’t gone below 9.850 in this rotation so far. Double layout to open, good control on the landing. Good rotation on the leap series, front through to double tuck was right on the money. That was just as good as Bowers if not a little bit better.
Ulrich (DU): Double layout opening pass, bit of a low chest but a stick on the landing. Aww the OU girls chanting “Let’s go DU”. Loving that rotation on the leaps, Back 1.5 front layout, nice rise on that layout. She’s having a really good day so far! Double pike, didn’t get as much height as she can and had a low chest.
After 3: Oklahoma 148.2750, Missouri 147.8000, Florida 147.7250, Alabama 147.4875
Missouri moves into second place as it heads to beam! Florida had some struggles on landing its vaults that could come back to haunt it. Tigers and Sooners both had all six scores above a 9.800, but two 9.950s from Torrez and Bowers have the Sooners in a solid lead heading into the final rotation.
Rotation 4: Oklahoma VT, Florida UB, Missouri BB, Alabama FX
Oklahoma (VT)
Pederson: Y 1.5, some bent elbows on the block, tiny step forward on the landing.
Torrez: Y 1.5, nice HIGH block with a hop forward. She said there WILL be no repeat of last year.
Wells: Y 1.5, slightly underroated, slight foot adjustmnet on the landing.
Fatta: Y 1.5, the Sooners have gotten the block down today! Small foot movement on the landing.
Mueller: Y 1.5, another really high block, small step on the landing.
Bowers: Y 1.5, secures OU’s spot in the finals with a solid landing.
Ulrich (DU): FHS pike half, low chest but gets the landing.
Florida (UB)
Pilgrim: Little loose in her form throughout, DLO dismount with a small hop forward.
Blakely: pretty first handstand, stalder into release, catches it on her tips but keeps moving. double front half dismount, good routine so far!
Wong: Maloney to Pak, nice combo, Van Leeuwen to high bar, double layout with a solid stick! That could move her to the top of the leaderboard. 9.9375 ties her for first.
Harris-Miranda: Solid opening handstand, hits the transition to the low bar, stalder to double layout, tries to fight for the stick, has to hop out of it.
Arana: nice pretty handstands through, Maloney to Pak looked spot on, hits the double layout dismount. I DON’T KNOW WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN AND I AM STRESSED!
McCusker: Maloney to Pak, adjusts her grip ever so slightly. Gets the Van Leeuwen, stalder to double tuck with a hop out of it. I don’t know what the judges are going to do with this!!!!
Missouri (BB)
Wier: Front aerial, slight adjustment out of it. Nails her series, she missed it at regional finals, so glad to see her hit it here. Good extension and toe point on her leaps. Gainer full off the side with a dismount.
Celestine: BHS swingthrough into side aerial, really unique! Front toss, NAILS it WOW! Split jump split 3/4, beautiful toe point. Cat leap into gainer full with a stick.
Jackson: Even with the cheers for Wong in the background, Jackson has hit a great routine. Finishes it with a gainer pike and a tiny step back on the landing.
Lawrence: Side aerial LOSO, slight lean at the end. Gets her leaps and gets her stick on the BHS 1.5 dismount. This is going to be a close one. 9.9
Kelly: totally missed this routine, but she nails it. 9.8875
Hu: As someone’s shirt said earlier, EVERYONE HUSH HELEN HU IS ON BEAM. Beautiful turn to open, front aerial front aerial series. Nails her leaps, shows off that flexibility. Everyone is loving this, gainer pike with a stick. IS THIS GOING TO HAPPEN????
Andersen (BYU): BHS LOSO, spot on on the landing. Good extension on the leaps, slight lean after the full turn. Side aerial, with another adjustment.
Alabama (FX)
LaCoursiere: Beautiful double tuck to open, front layout front 1.5, nice tight twist. Her leaps were absolutely gorgeous, FLO front full to close.
Adams: Double pike to open, slides out of it on the landing. Nice rotation on the leaps, nails her final pass. Gotta hand it to Alabama, it has done really well today.
Sears: DLO to open, some leg separation in the air. Very nice position in the straddle leaps WOW. And hits the 180 position throughout. Front through to a nice and high double tuck.
Walker: Double pike to open it up, lacked just a little height. Some control issues with her leaps couldn’t quite keep the rotation in check. Solid routine!
(honestly I was so invested in the FLA/MIZ that I missed these routines, I am so sorry.)
L. Smith (UGA): Beautiful opening pass, her extension and the way she finishes each of her skills instead of rushing through each one makes this a beautiful routine. Nails that final pass. Great way to end her season!
Holy cow Missouri is going to do it. Hu’s 9.9875 on beam sends Missouri to the national finals! WHAT!
FINAL: Oklahoma 197.5500, Missouri 197.3000, Florida 197.2000, Alabama 196.8250
Well. I don’t know how the evening session is going to top this, but I am HERE FOR IT. Missouri guaranteed its highest finish in program history to send the Gators home in the national semifinals. What a stunner.
Leaders in the clubhouse for individual event titles!
VT: Ferris (UF) – 9.9000
UB: Bowers (OU), Titarsolej (MIZ), Arana (UF) & Wong (UF) – 9.9375
BB: Hu (MIZ) – 9.9875
FX: Bowers (OU) & Torrez (OU) – 9.9500
AA: Bowers (OU) – 39.7125
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Live blog by Savanna Wellman
