No. 10 Minnesota Set for NCAA Regional Finals

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — The No. 10 Minnesota women’s gymnastics team is getting set for the the 2025 NCAA Regional Finals on Saturday night in Salt Lake City, Utah. They’ll take on No. 4 Utah, No. 5 UCLA and No. 18 Denver with the top two scores destined for a spot at nationals on April 17. Saturday’s meet will be at 6 p.m. CT/5 p.m. MT, steamed on ESPN+.

The Gophers (17-4, 8-1 B1G) finished tied for second in the Big Ten regular season standings and took third at the 12-team Big Ten Championships before placing second (197.200) behind UCLA (197.750) at Thursday’s regional semis.

MEET INFORMATION
No. 10 Minnesota vs. No. 4 Utah, No. 5 UCLA, and No. 18 Denver
Saturday, April 5
6 p.m. CT/5 p.m. MT
Jon M. Huntsman Center
Salt Lake City, Utah
TV/Stream: ESPN+
Commentators: Jason Ross (Play-By-Play) and Bridget Sloan (Analyst)
Live Stats: GopherSports.com

EVENT ROTATION ORDER
Minnesota: Vault-Bars-Beam-Floor
UCLA: Floor-Vault-Bars-Beam
Utah: Bars-Beam-Floor-Vault
Denver: Beam-Floor-Vault-Bars

REGIONAL SEMIFINALS RECAP

• The No. 10 Minnesota gymnastics team placed second at the NCAA Regional Semifinals on Thursday afternoon with a score of 197.200. No. 5 UCLA (197.750) placed first in the meet while No. 24 Southern Utah (196.475) took third and Boise State (195.175) placed fourth.
• The Gophers earned 49.150 on vault, 49.375 on bars, 49.325 on beam and 49.350 on floor.
• No. 4 Utah and No. 18 Denver advanced to the regional finals after tying at 197.650 during the evening session. Denver upset No. 13 Stanford for the second spot in the Regional Finals.
• Minnesota’s Mya Hooten went 9.925 on the floor, putting her in position to make nationals in the event if the team does not qualify on Saturday night. Ava Stewart and Jordyn Lyden (9.900) had standout performances on uneven bars while Brooklyn Rowray (9.900) had the beam outing of the day.

SCOUTING MINNESOTA

• The No. 10 Minnesota gymnastics team heads into the NCAA Regional finals with a 17-4 (8-1 B1G) record. The Gophers hold a season-high score of 197.425, an NQS of 197.210 and an average of 196.740. Of Minnesota’s 17 wins, seven have come against teams that were ranked in the Road to Nationals top-25.
• The Gophers rank 12th on vault, 16th on bars, 16th on beam and 11th on floor. Vault high score is 49.400, bars is 49.425, beam 49.525 and floor 49.550.
• The ‘U’ holds wins over CMU, UNH, Penn State, Iowa, Ohio State, Washington, Nebraska, Illinois, ISU, Maryland, Michigan (2x), LIU, Centenary, Southern Utah and Boise State. Its only losses have come to Michigan St. and UCLA.
• Individually, Mya Hooten ranks No. 21 on vault and 14th on floor (WCGA Second Team All-America) nationally this season. Jordyn Lyden ranks 20th nationally on the uneven bars. Ava Stewart ranks 24th on vault.
• Hooten, who was named an AAI Nominee for the second consecutive year, earned her fourth First Team All-Big Ten honor and fifth overall. Jordyn Lyden, Sarah Moraw and Ava Stewart were all named to the second team, while Stewart made the All-Freshman Team too. It was all their first All-B1G honor.
• The ‘U’ has taken home 47 event titles in 12 meets, and eight different individuals have won at least one. Mya Hooten leads the team with 16 while Jordyn Lyden has 12 and Ava Stewart holds six.
• Minnesota has earned Big Ten Weekly awards four times this season. Mya Hooten has earned Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week twice in 2025, while Teryn Crump and Ava Stewart have each won Freshman of the Week.
• The Gophers took third (197.425) at the Big Ten Championships, posting a season-high score. They tallied their best beam performance of the season there at 49.525, a figure that ties for the eighth-best beam score in progam history.
• With its second place finish at Thursday’s regional semifinals, the Gophers advanced to their fourth NCAA Regional Finals in the last five seasons. They’re one of three Big Ten teams to do so this year, joining MSU and UCLA.
• The ‘U’ made nationals three times (2016, 2021, 2022) the past 10 years, finishing second each time in their regional. Their two regional titles in program laurels came in 1980 and 1982. Minnesota is seeking its 7th-ever nationals appearance in 2025.

SCOUTING UCLA

• The No. 5 UCLA Bruins (19-3, 9-0 Big Ten) are led by third-year head coach Janelle McDonald. She’s helped the Bruins navigate their first year in the Big Ten with a perfect 9-0 conference record and their first Big Ten regular season and tournament championships. Their only losses have come to then No. 4 California, No. 19 Oregon State and No. 5 Utah. UCLA ranks 7th on vault, 8th on bars, 4th on beam and first on floor in 2025.
• Their season-high of 198.450 is a tally only three other teams in the nation have hit. Individually, eight Bruins were named to the All-Big Ten teams, including four on the first team. Six Bruins combined for 10 WCGA All-America honors. Jordan Chiles, a two-time Olympian, was named to the All-Big Ten First Team and earned for WCGA All-American nods. She won Big Ten Gymnast of the week six times in 2025

SCOUTING UTAH

• No. 4 Utah (14-4, 6-0 Big 12) is led by Carly Dockendorf, who is entering her second season as the head coach of Utah and her eighth overall as a member of the coaching staff in 2024-25. In year one, she led the Utes to a Pac-12 Championship and a Final Four appearance at nationals.
• Utah won both the Big 12 regular season and championship titles this season. Grace McCallum was named Big 12 Gymnast of the Year and Avery Neff earned Freshman of the Year honors. Four Red Rocks earned WCGA All-America honors, including the two aforementioned athletes.

SCOUTING DENVER

• No. 18 Denver (16-6-1, 4-2 Big 12) is led by Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart, who is in her 27th season at the helm of Denver gymnastics in 2025. She’s led the team to 26-consecutive appearances at NCAA Regionals and six NCAA Nationals team berths. DU tied Utah for first at Thursday’s regional semifinals with their best scoring of the season at 197.650. They finished third at the Big 12 Championships.
• Three gymnasts made the All-Big 12 teams, with graduate students Bella Mabanta and Rylie Mundell earning recognition on vault and bars, respectively, while sophomore Madison Ulrich did so in the all-around. DU did not have any WCGA All-Americans in 2025.

NCAA REGIONALS HISTORY

• Minnesota is in the NCAA Regionals for the 44th time in program history this week in Salt Lake City. The Gophers hold two regional titles, which came in 1980 and 1982. In the 11 years with coach Hansen in charge, they’ve made 10 regionals (no postseason in 2020 due to COVID).
• Under Jenny Hansen, the Gophers have advanced out of regionals three times, making nationals in 2016, 2021 and 2022 with second place finishes. The Gophers went on to finish sixth at nationals in 2022, their best finish in program history.
• This year will be Minnesota’s 29th straight season making NCAA Regionals. Last year, the Gophers made the regional final in Fayetteville, Ark. In 2023, the Gophers bowed out of regionals in the semifinals in Denver.
• In 2022, The No. 8 University of Minnesota gymnastics team competed in the Norman Regional and earned a score of 197.725 to advance to the NCAA National Championships. Minnesota entered the final rotation trailing Cal for the second position to qualify for nationals. The Gophers recorded a meet-best 49.650 to send them to Texas. Mya Hooten led the Gophers with a nearly flawless 9.975.
• Also in 2022, Minnesota qualified for the NCAA National Championships as a team for the sixth time ever. The Gophers also earned a spot in the championship meet in 1997 (10th-place finish), 2002 (ninth), 2013 (eighth), 2016 (12th) and 2021 (eighth). 2022 marked the first time in school history that the Gophers qualified for the NCAA Championships as a team in consecutive years.
• In 2021, the No. 8 Gophers punched their ticket to NCAA Nationals after placing second in the Athens Regional Championship. The Gophers posted a 197.425 and were second only to Florida who had a team score of 197.700. Then freshman Mya Hooten had a huge performance for the Maroon and Gold, posting a 9.950 on floor and vault. All four of four-year All-American Lexy Ramler’s routines earned a 9.900 or above from the judges. Ramler had a 9.950 on beam, 9.925 on bars and a 9.900 on both vault and floor.

HOOTEN BY THE NUMBERS

• Mya Hooten is a 12-time All-American (8-time WCGA, 4-Time NCAA Championships), six-time Big Ten Champion (three floor, two vault, one bars), five-time All-Big Ten selection (4-time first team), four-time Big Ten All-Championships Team honoree, four-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, two-time Academic All-American and an NCAA Regional Champion. She’s also tallied nine perfect 10’s on floor.
• In her career, she’s participated in 197 total routines (65 bars, 64 vault, 62 floor, five beam). She’s been 9.900-or-better on 97 of those routines (49.2 %). Hooten has gone 9.900-or-better on 29 of 64 vaults (45.3%) and 53 of 62 floor routines (85.4%).

WCGA AND ROAD TO NATIONALS RANKINGS

• After week 12 the Gophers came in a tie at No. 10 in the Road to Nationals rankings. They rank No. 11 on vault, 16 on bars, 16 on beam and 11 on the floor. The team’s NQS is 197.210 and average of 196.740. Minnesota’s team-high score is 197.425.
• Minnesota finished the 2024 season at No. 12 in the Road to Nationals rankings. They ranked 19th on vault, 21st on bars, eighth on beam and 11 th on the floor. Individually, Mya Hooten ranked eighth nationally on vault and second on the floor, earning WCGA All-America honors in both.
• Minnesota began 2025 ranked No. 18 in the WCGA Preseason poll. Now, they rank behind only No. 5 UCLA and No. 8 Michigan St. in the B1G..

ROAD TO NATIONALS INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS

• On vault, Mya Hooten (9.873 avg.) ranks 21st nationally (6th in B1G) while Ava Stewart (9.835 avg.) places 24th (7th in B1G). Moraw ranks 11th (9.769 avg.) while Crump ranks 17th (9.855 NQS).
• Jordyn Lyden (9.892 avg.) comes in at No. 20 nationally (4th in B1G) on bars. Hooten/Stewart rank 23rd in the B1G (9.860 NQS).
• Jordyn Lyden (9.846 avg.) ranks 39th in the country and 9th in the Big Ten on beam. Sarah Moraw (9.829 avg.) ranks 17th in the Big Ten.
• Mya Hooten (9.914 avg.) ranks third in the Big Ten and 14th nationally on the floor. Emily Koch ranks 47th and 12th in the Big Ten (9.880 avg.).

UP NEXT
If the ‘U’ finishes in the top two again on Saturday, they wil head to nationals in Fort Worth, Texas, from April 17-19.