COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – NCAA postseason selections for women’s gymnastics were announced on Monday with members of the Mountain West represented across the board.
Boise State, the highest-ranked team in the MW at No. 29, will go head-to-head against No. 32 BYU in the opening round of the Arkansas Regional in Fayetteville on Wednesday, April 3, looking to move and face LSU, Minnesota and Oregon State the next evening on Thursday, April 4. The top two teams from that competition will advance to the Regional Finals on Saturday, April 6.
Should Boise State not advance past BYU, several individual gymnasts will compete for the Broncos that evening, including senior Courtney Blackson, MW Gymnast of the Year Emily Lopez, junior Emma Loyim and graduate senior Adriana Popp. Blackson will appear for the Broncos on vault and floor, Lopez on bars and beam, Loyim on beam and floor and Popp on the beam.
San José State, ranked No. 35 in the nation, will take part in the play-in competition in the California Regional and face MPSF champion Southern Utah on Thursday, April 4. A victory over the Flippin’ Birds would mean a second-round matchup against host California, alongside Auburn and Stanford on Friday, April 5. The Regional Finals will then play out with the top two qualifying teams from that competition on Sunday, April 7.
Individual qualifiers from across the MW will look to make their mark in the California Regional, including MW Freshman of the Year Maggie Slife, representing Air Force in the all-around. San José State senior Lauren Macpherson will also compete in the all-around, along with graduate senior teammate Jada Mazury on bars and floor, and junior Katherine Weyhmiller on beam. Utah State senior Brianna Brooks will round out the MW showing, competing on bars.
The top two teams from each regional will receive an automatic berth to the national championships April 18-20, in Fort Worth, Texas, at Dickies Arena. In addition, the top all-around competitor and top event specialist from round two at each regional (who is not on a team advancing to nationals) will advance to the national championships. Event specialist qualifiers will only compete in the events in which they qualified.
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