This Saturday, April 4th, six sites will play host to the NCAA Regionals, where the top 36 teams will compete for spots at the NCAA Championships in Fort Worth, Texas from April 17-19th.

The top two teams from each region will earn a spot to compete at NCAA Championships. Many of the teams are a sure lock, such as top ranked teams Oklahoma, Florida, Utah, LSU and Alabama. But there are also some close races which will be interesting to watch. Beyond that, it will be exciting to see who finishes first at each meet. We’ve summarized some of these much anticipated match-ups below.

Alabama vs. Auburn

It will be a tight race for first place at the Auburn Regional between No. 6 ranked Alabama and No. 8 ranked Auburn. The two teams have faced off three times already this year, including last week at SEC Championships, which Alabama won with a 197.525, also beating out Florida and LSU. Auburn came in last with a 196.925.

Alabama beat Auburn at both regular season meets by less than a point. The two teams tend to score closely on all four events, although Auburn typically outscores on vault (with the exception being at SECs) while Alabama outscores on bars.

Alabama’s Lauren Beers will lead the team in the all-around, after placing 3rd at SEC Championships with a 39.5. Lauren has also placed 1st on floor in both regular season meets against Auburn and also placed first on beam in February. She tied with Auburn’s strong all-arounder, Caitlin Atkinson, in the all-around at a February meet. Atkinson also placed first in the all-around against Auburn in the March 8th meet, in addition to winning vault and bars. She is also a strong beam worker, having tied for first at the meet in February.

Michigan vs. UCLA

Another close fight for first will take place at the Columbus Regional, between No. 6 ranked Michigan and No. 7 ranked UCLA. Michigan hosted the Big 10 Championships a few weeks ago, winning with a 197.825. UCLA finished second at the Pac-12 Championships, finishing behind Utah.

Michigan’s Nicole Artz will go head to head with UCLA’s Samantha Peszek, both strong all-around competitors who tend to excel the most on vault, bars and beam. Both gymnasts finished first in the all-around at the Big 10 and SEC Championships. Nicole also finished first on bars and beam at Big 10s, and Sam finished first on beam and floor. Michigan’s other strong all-arounder is Sachi Sugiyama, who has been a consistent competitor all season and brings in big numbers on floor especially. Sadiqua Bynum is UCLA’s strong floor competitor, having finished first in the last few regular season meets. UCLA will also be counting on Peng Peng Lee and Danusia Francis, who have both been performing well on beam and bars. Michigan’s Brianna Brown fits the bill for beam and bars on their side, having placed second and third, respectively, at their last meet.

Stanford vs. Illinois

While Florida is likely to take one of the spots from the Morgantown Regional, there will be a close fight for that second spot between Stanford and Illinois, currently ranked #11 and #14, respectively. Stanford had their second best meet of the season at Pac-12 Championships, finishing with a 197.175. And while Illinois is currently ranked several spots below Stanford, they actually scored higher at the Big 10 Championships, with a 197.35 - also their best score all season. The last time the two teams competed was in 2014 at the NCAA Team Semifinals, when Stanford placed 4th and Illinois placed 6th.

Taylor Rice will lead the all-around field for Stanford, having recently placed first in a meet against UCLA a few weeks ago. She will go head to head with Illinois’ Mary Jane Horth, who finished third in the all-around at the Big 10 Championships. Both teams also sport strong specialists, such as Elizabeth Price from Stanford, who has consistently scored highly on bars and vault all season, and also recently added in floor, when she scored a 9.975 in a meet against Washington. Giana O’Connor is one of Illinois’ strongest on bars and vault, placing 2nd at Big 10s, and the team’s star on beam has been Sunny Kato - she will find tough competition against Stanford’s Ivana Hong.

Oregon State vs. Penn State

Another tight race for a 2nd place spot will occur at the Norman Regional, where Oklahoma will almost certainly take 1st place. This may actually be the closest competition between No. 12 ranked Oregon State and No. 13 ranked Penn State. In looking at averages, the two teams score very similarly, with Penn State usually scoring higher on vault and bars, while Oregon State scores higher on beam and floor.

Both teams have strong all-around competitors. Penn State’s Briannah Tsang, Krystal Welsh, and Sidney Sanabria-Robles have all collected titles in the regular season, in addition to individual event titles. The team also has top event specialists, such as Emma Sibson, who scores highly on vault and floor, and Tina Postiglione, who performs well on beam.

Oregon State’s strong all-arounders are Maddie Gardiner and Kaytianna McMillan. The team has also always scored very highly on floor exercise, and they have a number of gymnasts who regularly collect titles on this event besides Gardiner and McMillan - including Chelsea Tang and Risa Perez.

Let us know which match-ups you’re most looking forward to seeing! 

Related:
NCAA Regional Placements Announced