Format review: The top 2 teams in each regional semifinal advance to the regional final. The top 2 teams in the regional final advance to nationals. There is a day off between the regional semifinal and the regional final.
In each regional semifinal, the #1-NQS team starts on vault, #4 on bars, #3 on beam, and #2 on floor, which was decided by random draw. In the regional final, the #3-NQS team starts on vault, #2 on bars, #1 on beam, and #4 on floor.
MICHIGAN REGIONAL
Play-in (Wednesday, April 3, 2pm ET)
Illinois vs Ball State
Afternoon Semifinal (Thursday, April 4, 1pm ET)
[8] Alabama
[11] Michigan
Kent State
Penn State
Evening Semifinal (Thursday, April 4, 7pm ET)
[1] Oklahoma
[16] NC State
Ohio State
Play-in Winner
AA Individuals
Zoe Middleton – Ball State
Raisa Boris – Eastern Michigan
Payton Murphy – Western Michigan
Event Individuals
VT – Victoria Henry – Ball State; Suki Pfister – Ball State; Alana Fisher – Eastern Michigan; Arielle Ward – Illinois; Jaye Mack – Illinois State
UB – Ashley Szymanski – Ball State; Megan Teter – Ball State; Lyden Saltness – Illinois; Mia Takekawa – Illinois
BB – Ella Chemotti – Eastern Michigan; Mia Takekawa – Illinois; Nya Kraus – Lindenwood
FX – Suki Pfister – Ball State; Mia Townes – Illinois; Jaye Mack – Illinois State; Jordyn Ewing – Pitt; Cassie St Clair – Western Michigan
**Event individuals include those from play-in teams so that if they happen to be eliminated in the play-in, they can still compete the next day in the hope of advancing to nationals since individual qualification to nationals is based on the regional semifinal results.
ARKANSAS REGIONAL
Play-in (Wednesday, April 3, 2pm CT)
Boise State v BYU
Afternoon Semifinal (Thursday, April 4, 1pm CT)
[7] Kentucky
[12] Arkansas
Arizona
Nebraska
Evening Semifinal (Thursday, April 4, 7pm CT)
[2] LSU
[15] Minnesota
Oregon State
Play-in Winner
AA Individuals
Luciana Alvarado-Reid – Central Michigan
Kendall Whitman – George Washington
Event Individuals
VT – Sydney Benson – BYU; Sarah Zois – George Washington; Kiera O’Shea – Northern Illinois;
UB – Courtney Blackson – Boise State; Emily Lopez – Boise State; Anyssa Alvarado – BYU; Anna Bramblett – BYU; Alyssa Al-Ashari – Northern Illinois
BB – Emily Lopez – Boise State; Emma Loyim – Boise State; Adriana Popp – Boise State; Brynlee Andersen – BYU; Elease Rollins – BYU; Maya Peters – George Washington
FX – Courtney Blackson – Boise State; Emma Loyim – Boise State; Hallie Hornbacher – Central Michigan
CAL REGIONAL
Play-in (Thursday, April 4, 2pm PT)
Southern Utah v San Jose State
Afternoon Semifinal (Friday, April 5, 1pm PT)
[6] Denver
[9] UCLA
Arizona State
Washington
Evening Semifinal (Friday, April 5, 7pm PT)
[3] Cal
[14] Auburn
Stanford
Play-in Winner
AA Individuals
Maggie Slife – Air Force
Karina Muñoz – Iowa
Lauren Macpherson – San Jose State
Niya Randolph – Southern Utah
Event Individuals
VT – Kayla Pardue – Southern Utah; Keanna Abraham – UC Davis; Megan Ray – UC Davis
UB – Kara Houghton – Sacramento State; Jada Mazury – San Jose State; Isabella Neff – Southern Utah; Brianna Brooks – Utah State
BB – Ilka Juk – Iowa; Katherine Weyhmiller – San Jose State; Ellie Cacciola – Southern Utah; Kennedi McClain – Southern Utah
FX -Emily Erb – Iowa; Jada Mazury – San Jose State; Keanna Abraham – San Jose State
FLORIDA REGIONAL
Play-in (Thursday, April 4, 2pm ET)
Clemson v Iowa State
Afternoon Semifinal (Friday, April 5, 1pm ET)
[5] Utah
[10] Michigan State
Towson
Maryland
Evening Semifinal (Friday, April 5, 7pm ET)
[4] Florida
[13] Missouri
Georgia
Play-in Winner
AA Individuals
Rebecca Wells – Clemson
Syd Morris – LIU
Kylie Gorgenyi – New Hampshire
Event Individuals
VT – Molly Arnold – Clemson; Noelle Adams – Iowa State; Josie Bergstrom – Iowa State; Lali Dekanoidze – North Carolina; Emily Leese – Rutgers
UB – Lali Dekanoidze – North Carolina; Isabelle Schaefer – North Carolina; Avery Balser – Rutgers
BB – Kielyn McCright – Clemson; Noelle Adams – Iowa State; Josie Bergstrom – Iowa State;
FX – Julia Bedell – Brown; Molly Arnold – Clemson; Brie Clark – Clemson; Noelle Adams – Iowa State; Kaia Parker – Iowa State
THOUGHTS:
- So first of all, I was deeply concerned that we weren’t going to get any crazy pronunciations this year, mostly because now there’s a woman hosting and she would, like, do the research instead of just showing up and assuming she could wing it. But we did get some solid ones creep in at the end with Anya Tunner, Neeya Rudolph, and UC Dabritz
- But the real win was the deeply horrible spelling on the graphics. A cursory glance yielded seven missed names, starring Karina Monoz of Iowa. She’s joined on Team Typo by Molly Adams of Iowa State (who is no one), Kaia Parket, Lynden Saltness, Avery Balsar, Julia Bedall, and Miya Randolph, who really got the short end of the stick in this selection video.
- OK, now to the seeded host problem. The ranking-based draw would have paired both Florida and Arkansas, and Cal and Michigan, which couldn’t happen, so the draw had to be rearranged and [whispers] maybe kind of rendered the entire season up to this point moot. There was no real way around screwing someone over given the rules of how the seeded teams need to be arranged, but the winner of getting screwed over is Michigan State (which has to go to a reeeee-ough regional that the ranking was actually good enough to avoid). Denver is in the same sucky boat to some degree, with UCLA getting demoted two spots in the rankings so now Denver has to deal with Cal and UCLA at regionals.
- The one surprise to me here is the draw for Oregon State—a geographically placed team that is going to nearby (checks notes) Arkansas. The expected draw would have had Oregon State going to the Cal regional and probably Arizona State going to Arkansas instead, but those two are switched. I wonder if there was a concern about how deep and tough the Cal regional is already (3 of the top 9 teams) and not wanting to put the best unseeded team there also.
- In the positive category, all the play-in teams are ranked 29-36, so no one got demoted into an extra meet this year that they should have been able to avoid. The only play-in weirdy is the placement of BYU with Boise State. BYU can’t go to a regional site that has its final on Sunday, but I would have thought BYU and Southern Utah to Arkansas and Boise State and San Jose to Cal to maintain ranking integrity.