A gorgeous campus plays host to three rounds of action
This is going to be a fun regional.
Seven teams have trekked through the winding mountain roads to join Penn State at this regional, and if LSU advances, one will be joining them on their trip to Fort Worth. The regional, officially known as the Pennsylvania Regional, will be held at Rec Hall and broadcast on ESPN+ starting today at 1:00 with a Round 1 dual meet between Maryland and West Virginia. Tomorrow at noon, #8 Michigan State, #9 Kentucky, Ohio State and Penn State will face off. Then at 6, #1 LSU will face the #16 Arkansas, Michigan and the winner of today’s meet. The top two from the semifinal sessions will meet on Saturday at 4:00 for the right to go to nationals. Alex Perlman and Kennedy Baker will be on the call for the quad meets while a local crew will be calling the dual meet.
Know before you tune in
Round One: The Maryland-West Virginia meet is a traditional dual meet. Since they have the higher NQS, Maryland will rotate as if they were the home team and WVU will rotate as if they were the road team.
Quad meet rotations: The NQS of each team determines the event on which teams start their rotation within the Olympic order (vault, bars, beam, floor). For the semifinals, the team with the top NQS (Michigan State and LSU) will start on floor, the team with the second-best NQS (Kentucky and Arkansas) will start on vault, the team with the third-best NQS (Ohio State and Michigan) will start on bars and the team with the worst NQS (Penn State and the winner of Round One) will start on beam. In the regional final, the team with the highest NQS will start on bars, the team with the second-highest NQS will start on floor, the team with the third-highest NQS will start on vault and the team with the worst NQS will start on beam.
Individuals at regional semis: The top 12 all-arounders and top 16 individuals on each of the four events among teams who were not selected to regional semifinals (as determined by the individual’s NQS) qualify to compete at regional semifinals for a chance to qualify as an individual to nationals. There are two things I think you should know about them. First, Maryland and West Virginia have individuals among that set of 76 gymnasts that way they are guaranteed an opportunity to compete even if their team gets eliminated in the play-in since the play-in was the appendix left over from the old six-regional format. Second, the individual qualifiers rotate with one of the regional semifinal teams and compete after the team with which they rotate finishes on their event.
Two things I feel I should point out about the previews for each team. First, event rankings are based on NQS, not average. Second, the numbers by each team represent their NQS ranking. The NCAA gives a seed to the top 16 teams and places the rest of the teams using a system that isn’t made very transparent other than an explicit rule requiring teams to go to a regional if they’re within 400 miles as the crow flies of that regional. These previews are going to be separated by round, and after previewing each team, I’m going to give a brief overview of the individuals vying for a spot at nationals. Fun fact: this regional is the first 9-team regional in NCAA women’s gymnastics history with 0 teams who compete in conferences outside the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12 or SEC (as is the Tuscaloosa Regional).
Round One
#31 Maryland (196.030 NQS, 15-20 overall (15-9 regular season), 12th at B1Gs (dead last))
2024 finishes: 26th overall, 5th at B1Gs
Program overview: best finish ever: 14th in ‘01, 0 conference titles, 0 individual NCAA titles, 0 nationals appearances, 0 Super 6 appearances (1993-2018), 0 Four on the Floor appearances (2019-present)
Event rankings: t-#26 on vault [49.035], t-#25 on bars [49.185], #38 on beam [48.990], #31 on floor [49.175]
Preview: One of my favorite things that I’ve followed the last couple years has been March Maryland. Head coach Brett Nelligan packs the team’s schedule with a ton of meets in the last month of the season. Six of the team’s 13 meets have been since March 1. They shift into another gear a this point and shoot up the rankings from outside the top 36 to inside it. They had a bad Big 10 Championship meet by their standards, but they have consistency on their side. Advancing out of this round will require enough of that to beat an inconsistent team.
Whom to watch for: See the individual qualifiers section.
#36 West Virginia (195.855 NQS, 4-20 overall (4-14 regular season), 7th at Big 12s (dead last))
2024 finishes: 53rd overall, 5th at Big 12s (dead last)
Program overview: best finish ever: 12th (’95, ’99 and ’00), 11 conference titles (4 A-10, 7 EAGL, last in ’12), 0 individual NCAA titles, 3 nationals appearances (’95, ’99 & ’00), 0 Super 6 appearances, 0 Four on the Floor appearances
Event rankings: #35 on vault [48.965], #47 on bars [48.840], #34 on beam [49.005], t-#33 on floor [49.155]
Preview: This team should not have gotten here by any traditional understanding of this tournament. They had a 192 in meet three, and they needed a bunch of teams to fail to move ahead of them during the final week of the season. Only two teams did. If you’re curious about the 4 wins, they were over four teams outside the top 40, two of which had already beaten them earlier in the season. What got them here was hitting big in those losses. Their season high, a 196.275, came in a loss at Pitt. Their second highest score, a 196.125, came in a third-place finish in a quad meet at Towson. This not winning thing has to end now, though. If they want to go from last team in to regional semis, they’ll need the kinds of performances that propelled them into this tournament and many appearances of the stick plunger hat.
Whom to watch for: See the individual qualifiers section.
Regional Semifinal 1
#8 Michigan State (197.360 NQS, 21-4 overall (11-3 regular season), 2nd at B1Gs)
2024 finishes: 14th overall, Big 10 Champions
Program overview: best finish ever: 9th (’22), 1 B1G title (‘24), 0 individual NCAA titles, 1 nationals appearance (’88), 0 Super 6 appearances, 0 Four on the Floor appearances
Event rankings: #4 on vault [49.460], #7 on bars [49.440], #13 on beam [49.325], #13 on floor [49.420]
Preview: Michigan State has had some bad regional draws in the past few years. Last year’s might’ve been the worst of them all: they got shifted to the Florida regional because of seeding conflicts with other host Arkansas. This didn’t matter in the end, though, because they did the other thing they’re infamous for doing: falling apart in the clutch. This season, they blew a .800 lead in the final rotation at UCLA which wound up costing them the Big 10 regular season title. If they want to make a triumphant return to nationals, they have to push past that and remain poised through this regional.
Whom to watch for: I could be cheap and say “the entire MSU vault team,” but I’ll specify their two First Team All-Americans: juniors Nikki Smith and Sage Kellerman. Kellerman does a front pike half and shocked everyone by getting the first 10 of 2024 with it. She’s incredibly consistent. Nikki Smith’s Yurchenko 1.5 is on the same level and also got a 10 last year. Each is highly likely to be in position make nationals if the Spartans don’t qualify a team.
#9 Kentucky (197.315 NQS, 8-11 overall (6-6 regular season), 6th at SECs)
2024 finishes: 9th overall, 3rd at SECs
Program overview: best finish ever: 6th (’23), 0 SEC titles (best finish: 3rd in ’24), 8 individual NCAA titles (all by Jenny Hansen from ’93-’96, 3 in AA, 2 on VT, 2 on BB, 1 on FX), 2 nationals appearances (’18 and ’23), 0 Super 6 appearances, 0 Four on the Floor appearances
Event rankings: #5 on vault [49.345], #15 on bars [49.270], t-#9 on beam [49.385], #10 on floor [49.440]
Preview: Last year’s team might’ve been the best in school history despite missing nationals. They had the misfortune of an unlucky regional draw that saw them have to face a lower seeded host. This year, they get the same draw that got them to nationals in 2023, and they have the talent needed to make it back. Getting through the semifinal should be easy, but if they want to make their return to nationals, they need to lock in. This is a group that is not happy about last year’s result. Maybe that need for revenge fuels them for this run.
Whom to watch for: When LSU first faced Kentucky, I highlighted Skylar Killough-Wilhelm, the Washington transfer all-arounder who’s been a huge help for the Wildcats this season. This time, I want to highlight their three regular season All-Americans. Fifth-year senior Isabella Magnelli was a First Team All-American on vault and beam, and she was a nationals qualifier on beam in 2024. She’s in strong contention to make it to nationals on one of those events if Kentucky doesn’t advance. Fifth-year senior Hailey Davis and sophomore Creslyn Brose were each Second Team All-Americans on floor, but Brose has a 10 this season.
#25 Ohio State (196.395 NQS, 11-16 overall (6-10 regular season), 7th at B1Gs)
2024 finishes: 13th overall, 4th at B1Gs
Program overview: best finish ever: 8th (’83, ’85 and ’87), best finish since 1998: 10th (’12), 5 B1G titles (’83-’87), 0 individual NCAA titles, 7 nationals appearances (last in ’12), 0 Super 6 appearances, 0 Four on the Floor appearances
Event rankings: #14 on vault [49.235], #42 on bars [48.975], #26 on beam [49.110], #19 on floor [49.315]
Preview: This season was supposed to be a lot better, but they were this year’s victims of the biggest injury curse. The biggest name of all that’s missed a significant portion of the season is Payton Harris, a stud for the program the last three years. That’s what holds them back so heavily in this semifinal. This is not the team that’s made regional finals the last two years, it’s a team that has fought through a lot of adversity to make it here.
Whom to watch for: Almost every major name has missed significant time for this team. The notable exception is all-arounder Tory Vetter. Her NQS is fourth among gymnasts from non-LSU teams in this regional, the best of any gymnast on any unseeded team and 23rd best overall. She’s a solid threat to advance to nationals for the first time in her career as an all-arounder, and she has a 9.900 NQS on floor, too.
#28 Penn State (196.230 NQS, 12-14 overall (11-4 regular season), 11th at B1Gs)
2024 finishes: 15th overall, 8th at B1Gs
Program overview: team titles: 2 (AIAW, ’78 and ’80), best NCAA finish ever: 3rd (’82), best finish since 1998: 7th (’00), 9 conference titles (9 A-10 from ’83-’91), 1 individual NCAA title (Pam Loree on VT in ’86), 17 nationals appearances (last in ’14), 0 Super 6 appearances, 0 Four on the Floor appearances
Event rankings: #36 on vault [48.955], #28 on bars [49.170], #25 on beam [49.115], #47 on floor [49.055]
Preview: After missing regionals for the first time in decades in 2022, Penn State managed their first top 16 finish since 2009 in 2024 thanks to Michigan’s collapse at regional semis. The Nittany Lions had a big loss in the preseason when star all-arounder Ava Piedrahita suffered a season-ending injury. Despite it, they’ve had a decent season. They’re going to need a lot more luck if they want to advance to regional finals again, but a good meet can set them up with a lot of momentum heading into 2026.
Whom to watch for: This isn’t a team with a clear-cut superstar that you have to watch. I’ve narrowed it down to two: senior Maddie Johnston and sophomore Kalea McElligott. McElligott missed most of March before returning to do a beam set a Big 10s. If she’s good, that’s great news. Johnston is solid on vault, bars and beam for Penn State. It’s highly unlikely that anyone from this team makes nationals considering the draw, but it’s never impossible.
Individuals:
Delaney DeHaan, AA, George Washington (rotating with Ohio State): DeHaan’s best event is floor, where she’s tied for 47th in the country with a 9.900 NQS and has a season high of 9.925. She holds an AA NQS of 39.290, good for 43rd in the nation, and has a season high of 39.475.
Isabella Minervini, AA, Towson (rotating with Penn State): The 2025 EAGL all-around champion is best on bars, where her 9.905 NQS puts her in an eight-way tie for 25th overall. Her season high there is 9.925. Her AA NQS is 39.280, good for 44th in the nation. She scored her season high of 39.425 at the EAGL Championships.
Elizabeth Cesarone, VT, Pitt (rotating with Kentucky): Fifth-year senior Elizabeth Cesarone transferred to Pitt from Central Michigan. She was a big name there and, as a freshman, helped the team to a top 30 finish in 2021. She also competed on vault as an individual in 2023. She does a Yurchenko Full. She’s one of six people tied for 97th on vault with a 9.840 NQS and has a season high of 9.875.
Lola Montevago, UB, George Washington (rotating with Kentucky): If you remember my preview of the Purple and Gold Podium Challenge, you might remember that I highlighted Lola Montevago as a name to watch for. She’s back. She’s only a freshman and she’s already set the GWU bars record with a 9.975. Her 9.890 NQS has her in a 12-way tie for 45th overall. If she were in the late session, she’d have a better chance of qualifying since scores are typically higher in that session, but she’s so good that it may not matter.
Deana Sheremeta, BB & FX, George Washington (rotating with Michigan State): Deana Sheremeta is the only person in this regional who qualified on multiple events. She’s in a five-way tie for 85th in the nation on beam with a 9.865 NQS, and she’s scored a season high of 9.900 on it twice including against LSU at the Podium Challenge. She was the last person in on floor thanks to tiebreaking procedures. Her 9.865 NQS puts her in an 18-way tie for 110th in the country, and her season high is 9.900.
Clara Hong, BB, Towson (rotating with Kentucky): For the purposes of disclosure, I interviewed her last year. She’s an amazing person and I can’t wait to see her finish her career on a high note. Her most recent routine was a 9.900 that earned her the 2025 EAGL beam championship outright, one of three 9.900s she’s had this year. Her NQS of 9.875 puts her in a 12-way tie for 63rd overall.
Kendall Whitman, FX, George Washington (rotating with Kentucky): She keeps popping up and I hope this isn’t the last time. The last routine of the first session will be the hardest routine in the NCAA. It’s three E passes of front tumbling goodness you won’t soon forget. You won’t want to miss what might be your last chance to see this live. She has an NQS of 9.920, one of five gymnasts tied for 25th in the country, and has a season high of 9.950 which she’s done thrice this year and twice in March.
Regional Semifinal II
#16 Arkansas (197.055 NQS, 7-9 overall (7-9 regular season), DNC at SECs)
2024 finishes: 7th overall, 6th at SECs
Program overview: best finish ever: 5th (’09), 0 SEC titles (best finish: 2nd in ’11), 2 individual NCAA titles (Katherine Grable on VT and FX in ’14), 9 nationals appearances (last in ’24), 2 Super 6 appearances (’09 and ’12), 0 Four on the Floor appearances
Event rankings: #15 on vault [49.225], t-#16 on bars [49.265], #14 on beam [49.315], #9 on floor [49.470]
Preview: This is going to be very interesting. Arkansas is the only team in the tournament who did not compete the week prior to the tournament after failing to qualify to the SEC Championship meet. Last year’s team advanced to nationals on familiar equipment. This year, they have to fend off the top unseeded team to make it out of their first day. They have to be on point if they want to prove that last year was the start of something big. Did the extra rest allow them to reset and refocus, and did it throw off their rhythm? For their sake, they need to act like the former is true.
Whom to watch for: Joscelyn Roberson is the best freshman in Arkansas history, and that was before she became their first freshman with All-American honors. She is a strong all-arounder with a high chance of making nationals either as an all-arounder or on beam, the event on which she was an All-American. If she’s on, they’re going to have a good chance of advancing. If not, this could be a disastrous day for the Hogs.
#17 Michigan (196.945 NQS, 18-9 overall (10-6 regular season), 4th at B1Gs)
2024 finishes: 18th overall, 3rd at B1Gs
Program overview: 1 team title (’21), 27 B1G titles (last in ’23), 9 individual NCAA titles (last was Natalie Wojcik on BB in ’19), 26 nationals appearances (last in ’22), 10 Super 6 appearances (last in ‘11), 1 Four on the Floor appearances (‘21)
Event rankings: #20 on vault [49.140], #18 on bars [49.255], #15 on beam [49.310], #17 on floor [49.355]
Preview: Michigan has a reason to come out swinging in the regional semis, pun intended. In 2024, they became the first seeded regional host to miss nationals in the current era (2019-present) after collapsing on beam in their regional semifinal, completing their journey of getting knocked out one round earlier each year since their national title run. This year’s team has been mired in a mid-ness most fans aren’t used to, and that’s likely due to inexperience from the dominant freshmen. However, the Wolverines just put up their best score of the season at the Big 10 Championship meet they hosted. They’ve only crossed the 197 barrier twice this year and both came at home. If they want to pull off an upset run, they’ll need to hit it twice more.
Whom to watch for: Michigan doesn’t have any 2025 regular season All-Americans, which is somewhat shocking considering they have a bunch of contenders for a nationals spot. If they want to pull the upset, they’ll need hits from people like freshman Sophia Diaz, a consistent vaulter with the best NQS outside LSU’s vaulters, fifth-year senior Carly Bauman, a star on bars and beam who made it to Fort Worth on bars last year, and sophomore Kayli Boozer, a rising star who does everything but beam.
Individuals:
Skyelar Kerico, AA, Penn (rotating with WVU/Maryland): Skyelar Kerico is one of the best gymnasts you’ve literally never heard of, and that’s entirely because she goes to Penn. She does a Yurchenko 1.5, the first by any Quaker ever, and she used it to set a new program record of 9.925 a few weeks ago. She holds the school all-around record. I’m selling her short actually: she’s got the entire top five in school history. If she sticks her vault, she could become the first Ivy Leaguer at nationals since Alicia Sacramone, the Olympian, did so in 2007 on floor while at Brown. She also has a season high of 9.950 on bars, the highest score at Penn in almost 25 years, so don’t count her out there, either. Her NQS of 39.155 ties her with Zoe Middleton for 55th in the country and her season high is a program-record 39.425 set at the GEC championship.
Charlie Behner, VT, Kent State (rotating with LSU): Behner tied for the last spot into regionals on vault alongside Sophia Rice. Her NQS of 9.835 put her in a nine-way tie for 103rd overall. Her season high with her Yurchenko Full is a 9.850, a score she’s earned three times. This is her second appearance at regionals having made it with the team last year.
Natalie Martin, VT, Maryland (would rotate with Arkansas): In 2024, Emma Silberman hit her half on, pike off vault for a 9.950 to become the first Terrapin at nationals since 2001 (a few days before she was born as we found out when we talked). Nobody expected this, especially since that was her career high. Natalie Martin also does a 10.0 SV vault, a more common Yurchenko 1.5. If she sticks it, there’s a chance lightning strikes twice. Martin is in a three-way tie for 24th overall with a 9.890 NQS and has scored a season high of 9.925 twice.
Karleigh DiCello, VT, West Virginia (would rotate with Arkansas): Yes, she is the younger sister of Florida star Kayla DiCello, I’m glad you asked. DiCello does a Yurchenko Full. Her 9.840 NQS puts her alongside Elizabeth Cesarone in that six-way tie for 97th overall, but her season high is a 9.900.
Sophia Rice, VT, West Virginia (would rotate with Michigan): Sophia Rice is a very interesting case for a nationals spot. She does a Tsukahara layout full, a 10.0 SV vault that I’ve never seen before. Her NQS is tied with Charlie Behner at 9.835, but her season high is a whopping 9.975. I linked that clip so you can see what the vault looks like and why I think she could be this year’s unexpected vault qualifier like Emma Silberman, Jaye Mack and Gayla Griswold.
Hailey Merchant, UB, Maryland (would rotate with LSU): Hailey Merchant is one of the three people that make Maryland’s bars engine work well. She’s one of nine people tied for 106th on bars with a 9.855 NQS, and her season high is a 9.925.
Sierra Kondo, UB, Maryland (would rotate with Arkansas): Sierra Kondo is Maryland’s best bars worker in terms of scores. The senior bars specialist is one in a nine-way tie for 78th with a 9.870 NQS, and she tied the school bars record with a 9.950 against UCLA on January 18th.
Sarah Saville, UB, Maryland (would rotate with Michigan): Sarah Saville is a freshman bars specialist. Her NQS of 9.845 is part of an 11-way tie for 124th in the country, the lowest ranking of any individual qualifier alongside two others tied with her. Her season high is a 9.875. This is great experience for her as she grows in her career.
Maddie Komoroski, BB, Maryland (would rotate with Arkansas): The highest ranked Terp on any event, Komoroski is one of eight gymnasts tied for 31st in the country with a 9.895 NQS. She just set a new season high at Big 10s with a 9.925.
Heidi Schultz, BB, Kent State (rotating with LSU): Just like Charlie Behner above, this is Heidi Schultz’ second regionals appearance. The junior was one of the last beamers into regionals, and her 9.850 NQS ties her with 13 others for 110th in the country. She is the reigning MAC beam champion, and her season high is a 9.925.
Mimi Fletcher, BB, Penn (rotating with Michigan): Fletcher’s NQS of 9.860 puts her in a 13-way tie for 90th on beam. The freshman has a season high of 9.925.
Alyssa Guns, FX, Kent State (rotating with Arkansas): Guns’ 9.900 NQS puts her in a nine-way tie for 47th in the country, and her season high is a 9.925.
Anna Leigh, FX, West Virginia (would rotate with Michigan): Leigh is one of four gymnasts tied for 43rd in the country with a 9.905 NQS. Her season high is a 9.950.