NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships 2015: Daily Results and Reaction
The nation’s best gymnasts descended on Fort Worth, Texas for the 2015 NCAA women’s gymnastics championships.
The events take place Friday, April 17 through Sunday, April 19 and will determine a team national champion, individual event champions and an all-around champion. Incredibly, only six teams have won an NCAA title (Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma, UCLA and Utah) in the 34 years the sport has held a national championship meet.
Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Utah, LSU, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Stanford and UCLA are the 12 teams looking to add their names to the history books with a 2015 title, and there are a number of individual specialists from various schools as well.
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Kristy Rivero of NCAA.com noted that one conference in particular has dominated this event in the past: “If you’re sick of Southeastern Conference domination in football, then don’t look here to get away from it. An SEC team -- Alabama, Florida or Georgia -- has won or shared the title every year but one since 2005, and the conference owns 18 of the 33 titles overall.”
Check back here throughout the NCAA championships for daily results and reaction.
Schedule and Format
NCAA.com described the schedule and format for the 2015 championships:
"At the national championships, semifinal team and all-around competition will be conducted in two sessions Friday, April 17. The top three teams from each semifinal will advance to Super Six competition Saturday, April 18. The top four individuals from each semifinal in each event (plus ties) from semifinal and all-around competition will compete in the individual event championships Sunday, April 19.
The team championship will be awarded to the team with the highest cumulative team score, with five scores counting per event. The all-around championship will be awarded to the individual with the highest cumulative score during semifinal competition. The individual event champions will be determined solely on the basis of scores from the individual event championships; scores from semifinal and team final competition will not be considered.
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Whichever team wins the Super Six is the official NCAA champion.
Super 6 Results
Here are the results from the Super 6 finals on Saturday:
| 1 | Florida | 197.850 | - |
| 2 | Utah | 197.800 | -.050 |
| 3 | Oklahoma | 197.525 | -.325 |
| 4 | Alabama | 197.275 | -.575 |
| 5 | Stanford | 197.250 | -.600 |
| 6 | Auburn | 195.625 | -2.225 |
| 1 | Georgia Dabritz | Utah | 9.975 |
| 2 | Haley Scaman | Oklahoma | 9.950 |
| 2 | Elizabeth Price | Stanford | 9.950 |
| 2 | Lauren Beers | Alabama | 9.950 |
| 1 | Georgia Dabritz | Utah | 10.000 |
| 2 | Bridget Sloan | Florida | 9.950 |
| 2 | Alex McMurtry | Florida | 9.950 |
| 2 | Ivana Hong | Stanford | 9.950 |
| 1 | Ivana Hong | Stanford | 9.975 |
| 2 | Erica Brewer | Oklahoma | 9.950 |
| 2 | Aja Sims | Alabama | 9.950 |
| 1 | Kytra Hunter | Florida | 9.975 |
| 2 | Bridget Sloan | Florida | 9.950 |
| 3 | Kennedy Baker | Florida | 9.925 |
| 3 | Becky Tutka | Utah | 9.925 |
| 3 | Haley Scaman | Oklahoma | 9.925 |
Florida surged to its third national title in a row and second outright crown in the past three years (the Gators shared the title with Oklahoma last year) after Bridget Sloan and Alex McMurtry recorded back-to-back 9.95 scores on the uneven bar to give Florida a final score of 197.850, enough to sneak past Utah (197.800).
“I didn’t necessarily know what score I had to get. That would have made it harder on me,” said McMurtry of her bar routine, per Chris Harry of Gatorzone.com. “Going last, sometimes that’s a good position, sometimes bad. I just had to do my job and it all worked out for me."
"That was one of the best routines of my career.”
The Gators were awesome on the vault, as Kennedy Baker, Sloan and McMurtry nailed 9.9 routines and Kytra Hunter posted 9.925. It's been quite the weekend thus far for Hunter, who also won a share of the NCAA’s all-around individual championship.
On Sunday, the competition will turn to the individual competition. If this weekend is any indication, expect Florida to have its fair share of success on Sunday as well.
Day Two Results and Reaction
| Elizabeth Price | Stanford | Vault | 9.9333 |
| Georgia Dabritz | Utah | Uneven Bars | 9.9625 |
| Samantha Peszek | UCLA | Balance Beam | 9.9500 |
| Kytra Hunter | Florida | Floor Exercise | 9.9650 |
Four individual national champions were decided in Sunday's events, and to no one's surprise, UCLA first-team All-American Samantha Peszek claimed the top prize on the balance beam.
USA Olympic gold medal winner Jordyn Wieber had high praise for Peszek's performance:
"@samanthapeszek is a beam legend.
— Jordyn Wieber (@jordyn_wieber) April 19, 2015"
Team national champion Florida had its biggest star in Kytra Hunter match Peszek as the all-around NCAA champion on Saturday. Hunter continued her strong form on Sunday with a title-winning routine in the floor exercise.
Gatorsports.com highlighted how accomplished Hunter has been in her NCAA career:
Stanford's Elizabeth Price was first on the vault, while Georgia Dabritz delivered the individual championship on the uneven bars for Utah.
Cardinal coach Kristen Smyth expressed gratitude afterwards that the freshman phenom Price would be around for the foreseeable future, per the team's official Twitter account:
Utah Athletics noted how much of a breakthrough Dabritz's victory on the uneven bars was:
Dabritz is a senior, but the Utes showed grit by getting into the Super Six despite being the last seed in the competition. Her leadership should help Utah carry forward some momentum into next year.
Although it had to be nice for the Pac-12 to be represented with three individual champions on Sunday, Hunter's triumph was a reminder of how dominant the Gators have been—and how the SEC has owned NCAA women's gymnastics.
The talent pool in the Pac-12 certainly seems to be at least gaining some ground with regard to its ability to land elite gymnasts. Until someone dethrones Florida and nabs even more marquee prospects from the SEC, though, that cluster ought to continue reigning supreme in the sport.
Day One Results and Reaction
Here is a look at the results from day one of competition. There were two semifinal sessions.
| First Semifinal | ||
| 1 | Florida | 197.475 |
| 1 | Utah | 197.475 |
| 3 | Stanford | 197.175 |
| 4 | Michigan | 197.025 |
| 5 | Georgia | 196.600 |
| 6 | UCLA | 196.400 |
| Second Semifinal | ||
| 1 | Oklahoma | 197.400 |
| 2 | Alabama | 197.100 |
| 3 | Auburn | 197.075 |
| 4 | Nebraska | 196.675 |
| 5 | LSU | 196.550 |
| 6 | Oregon State | 195.875 |
| 1 | Elizabeth Price | Stanford | 9.950 |
| 1 | Kari Lee | Utah | 9.950 |
| 3 | Bridget Sloan | Florida | 9.925 |
| 3 | Brandie Jay | Georgia | 9.925 |
| 1 | Georgia Dabritz | Utah | 10 |
| 2 | Bridget Sloan | Florida | 9.950 |
| 2 | Brittany Rogers | Georgia | 9.950 |
| 2 | Elizabeth Price | Stanford | 9.950 |
| 1 | Alex McMurtry | Florida | 9.900 |
| 1 | Kytra Hunter | Florida | 9.900 |
| 1 | Nicole Artz | Michigan | 9.900 |
| 1 | Talia Chiarelli | Michigan | 9.900 |
| 1 | Ivana Hong | Stanford | 9.900 |
| 1 | Samantha Peszek | UCLA | 9.900 |
| 1 | Kytra Hunter | Florida | 9.950 |
| 2 | Talia Chiarelli | Michigan | 9.925 |
| 2 | Georgia Dabritz | Utah | 9.925 |
| 1 | Myia Hambrick | LSU | 9.950 |
| 1 | Ali Jackson | Oklahoma | 9.950 |
| 1 | Haley Scaman | Oklahoma | 9.950 |
| 1 | McKenzie Wofford | Oklahoma | 9.950 |
| 1 | Brenna Dowell | Oklahoma | 9.950 |
| 3 | Rheagan Courville | LSU | 9.925 |
| 1 | Caitlin Atkinson | Auburn | 9.950 |
| 2 | Kayla Williams | Alabama | 9.900 |
| 2 | Jessie Jordan | LSU | 9.900 |
| 2 | Keeley Kmieciak | Oklahoma | 9.900 |
| 2 | Rebecca Clark | Oklahoma | 9.900 |
| 2 | Chayse Capps | Oklahoma | 9.900 |
| 2 | Madeline Gardiner | Oregon State | 9.900 |
| 1 | Haley Scaman | Oklahoma | 9.950 |
| 2 | Ashleigh Gnat | LSU | 9.925 |
| 2 | Hollie Blanske | Nebraska | 9.925 |
| 2 | Brenna Dowell | Oklahoma | 9.925 |
| 2 | Nina McGee | University of Denver | 9.925 |
| 1 | Kytra Hunter | Florida | 39.600 |
| 1 | Samantha Peszek | UCLA | 39.600 |
| 3 | Caitlin Atkinson | Auburn | 39.550 |
| 3 | Rheagan Courville | LSU | 39.550 |
Two-time defending champion Florida (the Gators were co-champions with Oklahoma last year) set the tone early Friday in the first session.
The Gators and Utah tied for first place in the team standings in that first session and will participate in Saturday's Super Six alongside Stanford. Florida and Utah both posted a 197.475, which was Utah's best score ever in an NCAA championship, and Stanford finished with a 197.175.
The Utes' performance was particularly notable because they were the 12th and final seed to make it to Fort Worth and are now in the Super Six.
Utah's Georgia Dabritz turned heads Friday with a perfect 10.0 in uneven bars, which was a dramatic way to overcome an earlier fall on the balance beam. She discussed her performance, via NCAA.com: "[The meet] didn't start out the way I wanted or planned. But I had to turn my head quickly for the team. One of our goals was to make it back into the Super Six and we gave it our all."
As for the Gators, Kytra Hunter led the way with first-place finishes in floor and balance beam. Her overall efforts landed her a tie for the all-around title with UCLA's Sam Peszek, who tied for first in the balance beam.
Both gymnast's respective programs offered their congratulations for the feat:
Although UCLA did not advance to the Super Six, Peszek is far from done. UCLA gymnastics looked ahead at what's to come and noted that Peszek was an All-American in those events:
Look for Peszek to win at least one of those events, especially since she will be fresh come Sunday while those gymnasts on the Super Six teams compete Saturday.
Florida’s appearance in the Super Six and overall strong performance was not a surprise considering it is the defending co-champs. Head coach Rhonda Faehn pointed out that her team is looking ahead not behind, though, per Rivero:
"We’re not going to be adding that extra pressure onto this team. This team is completely different, and I’ve said that year in and year out, that every team has to earn not just the championship, but they have to earn their performance at the championship.
And so, this is a new group and I know that they’re excited to get out there and to get acclimated on the practice day and to focus only on the first day of competition and advancing just to be able to give ourselves that chance to be able to try and challenge to win that title. Instead of focusing on the end result, we’re just taking it step-by-step and focusing on our journey.
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Florida wasn't the only defending co-champion to reach the Super Six, as Oklahoma turned in a dominant performance in the second session. The Sooners advanced along with Alabama and Auburn.
Alabama's narrow second-place finish over archrival Auburn was notable because it extended the Crimson Tide's winning streak over the Tigers to an incredible 115 meets. It is truly a one-sided rivalry, although Auburn was likely encouraged with its peformance Friday and spot in the Super Six.
Alabama established an early lead on the vault behind Kayla Williams' 9.925, but Auburn’s Caitlin Atkinson won the balance beam and Oklahoma’s Haley Scaman won the floor. The Sooners also received a strong floor performance from Brenna Dowell, who tied for second with a 9.925.
Scaman also tied for the lead in vault with her teammate Ali Jackson, while Dowell tied for first in uneven parallel bars with teammate McKenzie Wofford. Those performances were all critical for Oklahoma because two Sooners fell on the balance beam.
It seems appropriate that Florida and Oklahoma will once again battle for a title as part of the Super Six.
The two schools tied for last season's championship and will now have the opportunity to claim final bragging rights in Saturday's Super Six. There is also an underdog story in Utah and a rivalry between Auburn and Alabama to watch, which makes the competition appointment viewing.
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