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 #2-NQS team starts on vault, #3 on bars, #4 on beam, and #1 on floor, which was decided by random draw. In the regional final, the #3-NQS team starts on vault, #1 on bars, #4 on beam, and #2 on floor.
UTAH REGIONAL
Play-in (Wednesday, April 2, 2pm MT)
BYU vs Utah State
Afternoon Semifinal (Thursday, April 3, 1pm MT)
[5] UCLA
[12] Minnesota
Southern Utah
Boise State
Evening Semifinal (Thursday, April 3, 7pm MT)
[4] Utah
[13] Stanford
Denver
Play-in Winner
AA Individuals
Josie Bergstrom-Te Slaa, Iowa State
Raisa Boris, Eastern Michigan
Maggie Slife, Air Force
Event Individuals
VT – Kylie Eaquinto, BYU; Nyla Morabito, Utah State; Deb Silva, BYU
UB – Avery Bibbey, Utah St; Anna Bramblett-Wilde, BYU; Brianna Brooks, Utah State; Kylie Eaquinto, BYU; Frederique Sgarbossa, Iowa State
BB – Brynlee Anderson, BYU; Brianna Brooks, Utah St; Madison Gustitus, San Jose St; Sydney Jelen, Utah State
FX – Noelle Adams, Iowa State; Abby Brushwood, Eastern Michigan; Haylee Hardin, Iowa State; Nyla Morabito, Utah State
**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.
PENN STATE REGIONAL
Play-in (Wednesday, April 2, 2pm ET)
Maryland v West Virginia
Afternoon Semifinal (Thursday, April 3, 1pm ET)
[8] Michigan State
[9] Kentucky
Ohio State
Penn State
Evening Semifinal (Thursday, April 3, 7pm ET)
[1] LSU
[16] Arkansas
Michigan
Play-in Winner
AA Individuals
Delaney DeHaan, George Washington
Skyelar Kerico, Penn
Isabella Minervini, Towson
Event Individuals
VT – Charlie Behner, Kent St; Elizabeth Cesarone, Pitt; Karleigh DiCello, WVU; Natalie Martin, Maryland; Sophia Rice, WVU
UB – Sierra Kondo, Maryland; Hailey Merchant, Maryland; Lola Montevago, George Washington; Sarah Saville, Maryland
BB – Karleigh DiCello, WVU; Mimi Fletcher, Penn; Clara Hong, Towson; Maddie Komoroski, Maryland, Heidi Schultz, Kent State; Deana Sheremeta, George Washington
FX – Alyssa Guns, Kent State; Anna Leigh, West Virginia; Deana Sheremeta, George Washington; Kendall Whitman, George Washington
ALABAMA REGIONAL
Play-in (Thursday, April 3, 2pm CT)
Clemson v Rutgers
Afternoon Semifinal (Friday, April 4, 1pm CT)
[6] Cal
[11] Alabama
North Carolina
Iowa
Evening Semifinal (Friday, April 4, 7pm CT)
[3] Florida
[14] Oregon State
NC State
Play-in Winner
AA Individuals
Luciana Alvarado-Reid, Central Michigan
Taylor Ingle, SEMO
Zoe Middleton, Ball State
Event Individuals
VT – Halle Faulkner, WMU; Madison Minner, Clemson; Kiera O’Shea, NIU
UB – Delaney Adrian, Rutgers; Hannah Clark, Clemson; Reese Samuelson, WMU; Ashley Szymanski, Ball St
BB – Gabrielle Dildy, Rutgers; Rachael Riley, Rutgers
FX – Anne Challman, New Hampshire; Brie Clark, Clemson; Aine Reade, New Hampshire; Cassie St Clair, WMU
WASHINGTON REGIONAL
Play-in (Thursday, April 3, 2pm PT)
Illinois v UC Davis
Afternoon Semifinal (Friday, April 4, 1pm PT)
[7] Missouri
[10] Georgia
Arizona
Arizona State
Evening Semifinal (Friday, April 4, 7pm PT)
[2] Oklahoma
[15] Auburn
Nebraska
Play-in Winner
AA Individuals
Chloe Cho, Illinois
Mary McDonough, Washington
Amelia Moneymaker, UC Davis
Event Individuals
VT – Keanna Abraham, UC Davis; Alana Laster, Illinois St; Jaye Mack, Illinois St, Megan Ray, UC Davis; Arielle Ward, Illinois
UB – Makayla Green, Illinois; Taylor Russon, Washington
BB – Olivia Coppola, Illinois, Chelsea Hallinan, Washington; Emily Innes, Washington; Taylor Russon, Washington
FX – Keanna Abraham, UC Davis; Emily Innes, Washington; Alana Laster, Illinois St; Jaye Mack, Illinois St
THOUGHTS:
- The selection show was an hour. AN HOUR.
- The big news was that Oklahoma didn’t have a little clapping party live stream.
- No, really the only big news was the demotion of #27 Clemson into the play-in meets, while #30 Boise State avoided them. Geographic rules dictated that Boise State, BYU, and Utah State all had to go to the Utah regional, so as the highest -ranked of those three teams, Boise State couldn’t be in the play-in. Those same rules dictated that Penn State, Maryland, and West Virginia all had to go to the Penn State regional, which meant #28 Penn State avoided the play-in at their home regional as well, giving #27 Clemson the short straw.
- You might be asking, why do we even have a regular season if the geographic location of that year’s hosts carries more weight than the results of the actual meets? Just as an example of a question you might have.
- The host rearranging went as expected. Alabama and Utah were both ranked to go to the same regional, but since they’re both hosts, #12 Alabama was shifted one spot into the #11 seeding, while Minnesota got bumped down. Minnesota is actually tied for 10th with Georgia in the final rankings but lost the tiebreak to Georgia (next-highest score not used for NQS), then got demoted to resolve the host conflict, so dropped from 10 to 12 and into the Utah regional. That’s a tough regional from which to try to score an upset, so Minnesota can also feel aggrieved.
- Having John and Sam do it really spoiled the usual best part of the selection: all of the name mispronunciations. They also didn’t even try to say the names of the individual qualifiers, robbing us of the possibility.