Florida and Bama tied for the 2nd session title and advanced to the Super Six to face OU, UGA and LSU. Both squads wavered but never counted a fall. Florida blasted to a 49.55 on UB while Bama tumbled to a 49.575 on FX. Neither squad finished below a 49.3.
NU capitalized on shakiness from UCLA and Utah on BB to advance. NU did so by absolutely nailing beam with the highest team total of the day, and advanced four Huskers to the finals. Beam wins Championships, or in this case, Super Six slots.
| 1 | Alabama | 197.650 |
| 1 | Florida | 197.650 |
| 3 | Nebraska | 197.100 |
| 4 | Utah | 197.025 |
| 5 | UCLA | 197.000 |
| 6 | Penn State | 194.825 |
Note: UF wins the tie-breaker.
OU won the first session of the NCAAs, posting a 197.5 to outpace UGA's 197.3 and LSU's 197.1. Stanford was fourth with a 196.6, while Michigan was back with a 196.425 (issues on BB). Illinois was sixth at 195.8.
Michigan's Joanna Sampson was the AA leader in Session 1 with a 39.55.
| 1 | 1 | Oklahoma | 197.500 |
| 1 | 2 | Georgia | 197.300 |
| 1 | 3 | LSU | 197.100 |
| 1 | 4 | Stanford | 196.600 |
| 1 | 5 | Michigan | 196.425 |
| 1 | 6 | Illinois-Champaign | 195.800 |
Paris and Alexa Phillips have announced their commitment to North Carolina State. Alexa is a first year L10 who recently placed 4th AA at her state meet and 9th AA at her regional meet. Paris qualified to L10 regionals last season. This season she won her state meet and placed 1st on FX. She placed 16th AA at regionals. Alexa and Paris compete for Georgia Elite Gymnastics.
Florida seeks to defend its National Championships this weekend. However, the Gators will have to contend with the likes of host Bama and upstarts LSU and OU, along with eight other squads, including former champions UCLA, UGA and Utah.
To contend for the Super Six, the teams will first have to qualify. This is not a guarantee for any squad, especially in the tough evening session. Teams that have struggled during the season always seem to peak for the Big Dance, and the added pressure of the National spotlight can cause others to falter.
Defending AA champ Bridget Sloan of Florida will seek to defend her title against a host of challengers. How does the race stack up?
NU's Emily Wong has been named as the winner of the 2014 AAI Award. The Award honors the nation's top senior on the basis of athleticism, academic excellence and civic responsibility. It is voted on by the coaches.
Link: NU Release
Georgia has announced the Spring signing of Natalie Vaculik. Vaculik is a Canadian National Team member who finished 2nd AA at the 2013 Canadian Championships. Her sister Kristina is a star at Stanford. Her commit was reported previously. Her year of initial competition was undetermined and the release is vague on timing.
Link: Release
Michaela Nelson, a L10 at Hill's Gymnastics, has committed to Washington 2016-2017. This past weekend, she won UB, BB, FX and the AA (38.55) at the Region 7 L10 Regionals, Jr. D. She placed 2nd on vault. In 2012, she accomplished a rare sweep of the 2012 L9 Eastern Nationals, winning every event in her age group.
Link: Video Channel
Sophia Bochenek, L10 at Splitz in Michigan, has committed to Missouri. Sophis place 1st AA at the 2013 L9 Eastern Championships. This season she placed 11th AA at her state meet and won the vault title at regionals.
Ally Ferber, L10 at Gold Medal in New York, has committed to NIU. Ally qualified to JOs last year as a first year L10. This season she won the Brestyans Invitational and placed no lower than 6th AA at her meets. She finished 4th AA at her state meet and placed 1st on bars.
SPU's Maria Hundley had a standout afternoon at the USA Gymnastics Collegiate National event finals. She claimed the vault and beam titles and tied with Air Force's Linnaea Hance and TWU's Brittany Johnson for the beam title. Teammate Kai Tindall tied with Bridgeport's Melissa Doucette and Caitlin Perry and TWU's Spencer Jones for the floor title.
Link: Brown Release
The Level 10 Regionals were held this weekend, and during the competition the Top 7 from each Region (if they hit a minimum score) advance to the Nationals. In addition, alternates get a chance to advance to the National Invitational Tournament. (Additional qualifiers may also advance from certain Regions)
Bridgeport won its sixth straight USA Gymnastics Collegiate National title, posting a 195.225 to the win. TWU was second 194.725, just ahead of SPU at 194.55 and Air Force at 194.35.
As it comes down to every meet, Championships are won on BB. Bridgeport was the only team to break 48 and that was enough to outdistance the field. TWU posted three scores of 49+ but a rough rotation on BB kept them from challenging UB.
Link: TWU Release
Here are your 2014 Men's NCAA champions:
Floor: Alec Robin, OU
PH: Ellis Mannon, Minn
Rings: Michael Squires, OU
Vault: Robin, OU
PB: Sam Mikulak, Michigan
HB: Jordan Valdez, Illinois
Sam Mikulak's win tied him with two others for the most NCAA titles in history.
Link: Michigan Release
Michigan defended their NCAA Team Title with a convincing win over OU. Stanford was third.
Michigan's Sam Mikulak defended his AA crown, suffering a fall on HB but still handily defeating Stanford frosh Akash Modi. Ohio State's Sean Melton was third.
In Session 1, Air Force and Bridgeport advanced to the finals of the USA Gymnastics Collegiate Nationals. In Session 2, TWU and SPU qualified to the finals.
Link: UB Release, Session 1
Brown's Diana Walters won the AA with a 38.9.
Link: Brown Release
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