Fort Worth Loading! 2025 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships Preview Semifinal II

15 Apr Fort Worth Loading! 2025 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships Preview Semifinal II

Posted at 08:42h in 2025 NCAA Headquarters, News & Features by Christy Sandmaier 0 Comments

By Christy Sandmaier

Vice President & Co-Publisher

2025 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

By Megan Roth, Nate Salsman and Christy Sandmaier

From 36 to eight, Fort Worth promises an NCAA Women’s Championship to remember! Will six-time (2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023) National Champion Oklahoma capture their seventh crown after missing the Final Four on the Floor last year? Will No.1 LSU defend their title? Or will Michigan State, who will be competing for the crown for the first time since 1988, add their name to the exclusive club of champions?

Eight teams, a lifetime of goals. So many stars and storylines. If you listen closely, you can already hear the crowd building, get swept up in the wave of colors around the arena, and see the flashes of sequins under the lights. It’s about to be Go-Time in Fort Worth and right now, it’s anyone’s game.

Here’s how to watch it all play out, along with our look at the field of eight including quick takes from commentators Samantha Peszek and John Roethlisberger, who spoke with the media on Friday.

HOW TO WATCH

Thursday, April 17th

NCAA Championships Semifinal I | Alabama, Oklahoma, Florida, Missouri | 4:30 p.m. ET | ESPN2
NCAA Championships Semifinal II | Michigan State, LSU, Utah, UCLA | 9:00 p.m. ET | ESPN2

Saturday, April 19th

NCAA Championships Finals | 4 p.m. ET | ABC

Both Semifinal competitions are scheduled to be televised on ESPN2 with Samantha Peszek, John Roethlisberger, and Aly Raisman on the call. ABC will broadcast the final “Four on the Floor” on Saturday.

The ESPN+ “Stream Team” for Fort Worth will be comprised of 2008 Olympic Silver Medalist Bridget Sloan, and former collegiate stars Kennedy Baker, Trinity Thomas and Anastasia Webb.

New to this year’s coverage is rather than the standard apparatus streams, fans can follow their specific squad in action throughout the arena with a dedicated stream and commentators. Streams will be split up with two teams and commentators per feed.

Peszek’s Quick Take:

“I think this is one of the tightest fields in a really long time, maybe ever. I think all eight of these teams are extremely competitive and have shown moments of greatness this year that could contend with any team in the country. For me, it’s like I look at all eight teams and I could make a case for all of them to qualify to the final day of competition. We just wrapped up most of our coaches’ interviews, and that’s really the plan for all of these teams. Their goal is to be competitive on the final day of competition and be the best team in the country.”

Roethlisberger’s Quick Take:

“I think the favorites are Oklahoma and LSU. Because they have the most consistency at putting up championship performances the highest percentage of times. If you’re going to roll the dice 10 times, they’re going to put up a championship performance eight or nine out of 10 times. And I think that is a higher percentage than anybody else. But to Sam’s point, it does feel more wide open. It’s exciting. If Alabama and Missouri and Michigan State made it to the finals, we’d be all going, holy cow. But at the same time, we shouldn’t be surprised.”

For our Preview of Semifinal I, Click Here!

Rotation Order 2025 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships

Semifinal II

Hanging With the Big Dogs

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Seeded No. 8 Michigan State

Season High: 198.150

NQS: 197.360

First Event In Fort Worth: Vault

Michigan State head coach Mike Rowe wears his heart on his sleeve and he’s never been more ready to walk into a National Championship knowing his team has put everything into this journey to Fort Worth.

“I’m above and beyond excited,” Rowe said. “We’re still putting everything to the grind. We’re hanging with the big dogs, and we’re very excited about that. That helps build confidence. It’s been on our radar. It’s been a program goal for years. But, of course, it’s everybody’s. So, we’re just happy that things seem to be coming together and working out for us. The girls are working really hard, and we’re really proud of them.”

The Spartans were on the brink of getting to Nationals in 2024 having captured their first-ever Big Ten title, but ended their season at the Florida Regional Final where they placed fourth. This year, it felt like it was finally their time and they delivered. At the Pennsylvania Regional Semifinal, senior Gabrielle Stephen earned the top scores of the session on vault, bars and in the All-around, scoring a perfect 10.0 on vault, and sending the Spartans straight to the Final.

“This was one of the steps we were missing from past years, coming in first in the Semifinals,” said Rowe. “We’re primed and ready to go and know all of the little things we need to fix to score even higher. We’re pumped. It was a great warm up day for us. Very excited, very proud of them.”

Two days later, they scored a 198.000 to finish second in the Final and advanced to the program’s second-ever NCAA Championships and their first appearance since 1988. Notably, in what was considered by many to be the toughest Regional, the Spartans came within 0.050 of top-seeded LSU, who won the Regional Final with a 198.050.

Understanding his student-athletes and their careers prior to them stepping onto the MSU campus, as well as an emphasis on pacing and putting the focus on them as people, Rowe said, is key to their success and the upward trajectory.

“Gymnastics has always been an individual sport for these kids. They come from all walks of life, all different sorts of programs, coaching. And you toss them all together… Figuring out what makes them tick, from the moment they step onto campus, even as we recruit them, you know, to be your true self, be as authentic as you can. That’s how our program kind of works. And that’s how you develop really tight, close knit friendships, trust and respect. I think it starts there.

“We try to emphasize the quality of our quantity from the get go, and be detail-oriented so we’re not taking too many turns. When it comes to the competitive season, we try to de-emphasize the magnitude of who we’re competing against, or what the event is, or, you know, is it postseason or conference championships, or is it just a regular season, dual or whatever? It’s just, let’s go out and have a great time. Let’s put on a show.”

Sage Kellerman - Michigan State University

The Spartans’ heart and soul is its seniors – Delanie Harkness, Lauren Hsu, Giana Kalefe, Genevieve Lebster, Katie Sawyer, Skyla Schulte and Gabrielle Stephen – seven student-athletes who have given everything and more to this program and who are ready to take on Fort Worth as they have everything else: as a team.

“The leadership is just crazy intense. They lead by example. Vocally, they’re very supportive of their teammates. And you don’t have to ask that of them. Even some of the girls that maybe won’t line up for the weekend, they’re cheering their hearts and souls out, giving words of encouragement,” Rowe said. “This is like a team led team, because they do have a lot of input into things that we do, whether it’s a drill on an event or an activity, or feeling that they need some downtime. We’re very flexible with giving the student-athletes input and as a staff, we listen to them. And with our three captains – with Sage and Skyla and Gabi as our three captains – they’re the perfect package.”

“For me, Michigan State is such a fun team to watch,” Samantha Peszek said. “If you watch the UCLA versus Michigan State meet that was earlier this year, those are two of the most fun teams to watch from a personality standpoint. Michigan State, you have Skyla Schulte, you’ve got Gabi Stephen. Their personality just shines through in a way through their skills that you don’t see for many other teams. I just think it’s unique and cool. You see their heart on their sleeve and their willpower when they compete. I think they’ve been knocking on the door the last few years. For them to finally be in this competition, I’m excited to see how they’re ranked in comparison to all these top teams.”

With Schulte, Harkness, Stephen, and junior Nikki Smith all having competed at Nationals as individuals for the Spartans, Rowe noted they’re preparing for just how big this will be for the team, all while keeping it in perspective and getting ready to do their best gymnastics, just as they have all season.

“The sky’s the limit for these kids. I truly believe in what they’re capable of doing, and I know how passionate that they are. When we walk into the arena and warm ups are finished, they change, they march in. It’s like push play, show time. Let’s see what we can do. Let’s tighten up, you know, keep those details in mind. I’m not going to coach them to anything new on the event day. So it’s, ‘do what you guys do and do what you’re great at. Let’s have a blast and make this the biggest memory of your life.”

Back-To-Back

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Seeded No.1 LSU

Season High: 198.575

NQS: 198.115

First Event In Fort Worth: Bars

Throughout the season, the LSU Tigers have had one goal: winning their second consecutive National title. Despite the pressure of coming into the season as reigning National Champions, the Tigers have come out on top. They finished No. 1 in the regular season standings for the first time in program history, and looked primed for their second title in Fort Worth.

“It would mean a lot to this current team to win their first championship together,” LSU head coach Jay Clark said. “That’s the way that we see it. This program will have it’s milestones along the way and history will write itself, but going back-to-back is not something that we think about. It’s about here and now with the kids on our team right now.”

LSU’s strength is its depth and experience, with big routines from 2024 all back including those from Aleah Finnegan, Haleigh Bryant, Konnor McClain, and Sierra Ballard. 2024 NCAA All-Around Champion Bryant had a slow start to her season after facing a minor preseason injury. Building back stronger than ever, she came away with the All-Around title at the SEC Championship and is peaking at the perfect time.

“We always talk about the quality of people that we have on this team and Haleigh has certainly been the tip of the spear in that in the way that she conducts herself just in life,” Clark said. “The respect that she’s had for our program and her coaches and teammates has been tremendous. Aleah falls in that same boat. She is every bit the person that she is gymnast. Those are the most important qualities to me, more so than just their contributions from an athletic perspective.”

Finnegan has been back in the All-Around this year after taking a hiatus from bars last season. She’s scored a perfect 10.0 on beam and three 9.975s on floor. Just over ten months after tearing her achilles at the U.S. Classic, McClain returned to competition on floor exercise for the first time since the 2024 season during the Regional Final, performing as if she had never left and earning a strong 9.900 on the event. Getting McClain back on floor could be the Tiger’s ace in Fort Worth. She’s also been a steady member of both the bars and beam lineups, competing in those events just over seven months after her achilles injury, and showing more joy in her gymnastics than ever before.

“We had to be cautious, and we were up until a few weeks ago,” Clark said. “There’s a lot of metrics that we look at, and we just got to a place where she was confident and we were confident that she could go. Having her come back on floor that day at Regionals helped a lot, and we certainly believe that we are better with Konnor McClain on three events then without her on three. It was nice to get her back out there.”

Freshman standout Kailin Chio has been a huge contributor for LSU this season. With the poise she carries through competition, you would have to convince people she is a freshman! She has performed consistently on all four events, earning a career high All-Around score 39.800! Chio will be key to LSU winning another National Championship and will also be a contender for individual titles in Fort Worth. In addition, 2022 World Team gold medalist (alternate) Lexi Zeiss has fit right in as a Tiger and has been solid all season in her freshman debut.

The Tigers claimed their 15th Regional Championship title in program history at the Pennsylvania Regional. With the win, the program earned their 34th NCAA Championship appearance overall and their third consecutive appearance in the NCAA Championships. “There’s no complaints after scoring a 198. It was tough to get out of this thing, and we did what we needed to do to win and advance,” said Clark. “We told them to focus on base hits, and that’s what they did. We understand that we need to be better to win a championship, but that’s not what tonight required.”

LSU has had no shortage of highlights this season, including defeating both Florida and Oklahoma in dual meets, as well as winning the SEC Championship for the second year in a row. With such a similar roster heading into this year’s championship, and the Tigers seemingly rising higher than ever at just the right time, is anyone else getting deja vu?

“The team has listened and believed in our process of ‘the next five minutes in front of our face’ all year,” Clark said. “That’s truly who we are and what we believe. It’s not just a motto for us. It’s about being present. We don’t believe that the destination is the definition of who we are, it’s how we go about getting there, and so far they’ve just trusted in that to get them to this point.”

49 Straight

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Seeded No.4 Utah

Season High: 198.100

NQS: 197.780

First Event In Fort Worth: Beam

For the 49th consecutive year, Utah is headed to the National Championship, and head coach Carly Dockendorf knows just how much returning to Nationals means to the program.

“I thank the Marsdens for all their years of excellence that have led us to this moment of 49 years. It’s a really big deal, and I think some teams get to come to Regionals and they don’t have anything to lose, but for us, there is something to lose. We don’t want to lose that tradition of excellence. We don’t want to be the team that doesn’t make it and ends the streak. There’s always something riding extra for this program.”

Now that Regionals are past them, the Red Rocks are looking to Fort Worth to best their 3rd place finish from last season. Like previous years, Olympian Grace McCallum has been a stand out for Utah. She finished out her career in The Huntsman Center with back-to-back 10.0s on bars in both rounds of Regionals, and Dockendorf says her leadership is at an all time high as well.

“Her leadership is everyday in the gym, with her attitude and her effort. She’s just so consistent with that, and our team really looks up to her.”

While she was sidelined for part of the season due to ankle injuries she sustained on floor at a meet in January, freshman standout Avery Neff has also been key to Utah’s success this season. Remarkably, Neff is back to competing in the All-Around, with a huge career high of 39.6750. Along with established stars Jaylene Gilstrap, Amelie Morgan, and Makenna Smith, and emerging stars like sophomore Ella Zirbes and freshman Zoe Johnson, who closed out Regionals sticking her Yurchenko 1.5, sending Utah back to Nationals, Utah is ready to show off their strengths in Fort Worth.

What will be different for Utah compared to other post-season meets this season is that Nationals will be a true away meet for them. Because the Big 12 Championships and Regionals were held in Salt Lake City, Utah had the privilege of competing in front of a home crowd throughout the postseason. During the regular season, the Red Rocks consistently scored higher at home, but now when it counts, Utah will need to bring big gymnastics to Dickies Arena in what will be the most competitive and high-stakes meet of the season.

Of the Red Rocks, Samantha Peszek noted: “One of my favorite quotes from all of the coaches during our call so far was from Utah’s head coach, Carly Dockendorf. [She said] “we’re not afraid to talk about wanting to win a National Championship.” And so, they have this philosophy that because they’ve been talking about it since the fall, that it almost took away the nervousness, and they feel like they can fearlessly attack that goal because they’ve been talking about it all season long — they’re not afraid of going after it.”

What Utah knows how to do is rally. That’s exactly what they did to qualify to Nationals this year. “Instead of going into doubt and worry and fighting tooth and nail, we got excited and let our competitive spirits out,” McCallum said after Regionals. That mindset is exactly what the Red Rocks will need to advance out of a National Semifinal where it could take more than a 198 to advance. If Utah brings that competitive spirit to Fort Worth, this could be the year the Red Rocks return to victory.

Jaylene Gilstrap: “This team is full of talent and full of heart.”

Bruins Are Back

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Seeded No.5 UCLA

Season High: 198.450

NQS: 197.680

First Event In Fort Worth: Floor

After a disappointing end to the 2024 season, finishing 17th, the UCLA we all know and love is back, and the Bruins know it. From day 1 of this season, consistency was the name of the game for UCLA.

From talking with Brooklyn Moors in January, that goal was clear. “We want to give it our all and bring back the culture that UCLA is known for and the legacy we’re known for,” she said. “We want to bring back some consistency and have fun with our gymnastics while we’re doing it.” Since week 2, UCLA has scored 197+ every meet. Their season high 198.450 came at the Big 10 Championships, where the Bruins went lights out to win the title in their first year in the conference.

In addition to their already world-class roster including Olympians Emma Malabuyo, and Brooklyn Moors, along with 2025 Big 10 All-Around Champion Chae Campbell, the addition of Jordan Chiles back to the Bruins has been game changing. She’s scored a perfect 10 on bars and two on floor (in addition to countless 9.950+ scores).

“UCLA is fun,” Samantha Peszek noted. “I mean, they have Brooklyn Moors. They have Chae Campbell, who’s just been the glue since her time at UCLA. They have Emma Malabuyo. They have athletes that just do exciting stuff. I think they’ve been a little up and down, but over the past couple of years, I think the culture standpoint, has really started to come together. And that’s what head coach, Janelle McDonald, was talking to us about. She said, ‘that’s been the biggest change this year, is the belief that they have with one another, that we’re actually working together as a team, which has been different and a positive change for them this year.’

“This is a very different team from last year,” Campbell said after the Regional Final. “We all made it a mission to make this year different for us, and so it’s really nice to see that hard work pay off. Just having our Bruin Bubble and really committing to that has really taken us far.”

“[The Regional Final] wasn’t a perfect day for us, but they just really stayed in it and stayed fighting each and every step of the way, and so I couldn’t be more proud of them,” McDonald said following the meet. “We’re really excited to have this box checked and be heading to Fort Worth.

“Heading into Nationals, it was a great experience for us, being on the floor with really great teams. We know what we need to do to really lock in and have a cleaner performance at Nationals, and to be able to hit our event that we want to.

“I feel like our team culture has become very steady, and I think that in all the things that get thrown at us throughout the season, that steadiness allows us to stay calm and confident in the moments we need to the most. I feel like our seniors really have encompassed that in every step of the way all season long.”

For the third meet in a row, UCLA will start on floor, and hope to build momentum on their strongest event. While finishing a meet on beam could be nerve-racking for any team, beam has been a strength for this team. UCLA has the fourth highest team beam NQS, only behind Oklahoma, Florida, and Utah. Having now closed out two high-stakes meets on beam, in addition to a phenomenal season on beam as a whole, could this be the year we see UCLA return back to the National Championship Final and contend for the title?

Brooklyn Moors Shines Early In Her Senior Season