The NCAA women’s and men’s gymnastics seasons culminate in Saturday’s national championships
The GIST: A massive upset rocked last night’s women’s gymnastics national semifinals, leaving the field wide open for tomorrow’s championship meet. Absolutely flipping out.
The semis: While the first semi went as expected — No. 2–seed LSU and No. 3 Cal advanced without a hitch — the second semi was a stunner: In an unbelievable end to perhaps the most dominant regular season ever, back-to-back defending champ No. 1 Oklahoma recorded a shocking five falls, falling short of the final meet for the first time since 2012. A choke of epic proportions.
- Advancing over the Sooners? No. 4 Florida and No. 5 Utah, who only needed to keep their sh!t together to soar past Oklahoma and No. 8 Alabama.
The final: With Oklahoma off the mat, tomorrow’s final is anyone’s for the taking. LSU is arguably the favorite after their dominant semifinal performance, and Cal is the only finals first-timer — the rest are seasoned veterans who know how to shine on the sport’s biggest stage.
The individuals: While the team trophy will be awarded tomorrow, six gymnasts have already scored individual glory. Stanford’s Anna Roberts secured the championship in vault, LSU’s Aleah Finnegan sealed the floor title, and Oklahoma’s Audrey Davis shared two titles — the uneven bar crown with Florida’s Leanne Wong and the beam trophy with fellow Sooner Faith Torrez.
- As for the sport’s highest individual honor? Meet your new all-around champion, LSU senior Haleigh Bryant, who even out-flipped an Olympic gold medalist for the title.
The men: Can’t get enough gymnastics? The men also hand out their hardware this weekend: Six teams and 30 individuals will survive today’s semis to compete in tomorrow’s 6 p.m. championship meet (streaming on NCAA.com). Is the No. 1 Stanford Cardinal headed for a fifth (!!!) straight natty, or is another massive weekend upset in the, ahem, Cards?