Gymbacks Earn 10th Program Berth to NCAA Championships
The No. 9 Gymbacks rose to the occasion on Sunday evening as the team finished in the top two of the Lexington regional final and punched their ticket to the NCAA Gymnastics National Championships April 16-18.
Arkansas qualified to the national championship in Fort Worth with a score of 197.450, along with fellow SEC competitor No. 1 Oklahoma (198.350). Missouri placed third with a score of 197.225, and Ohio State came in fourth at 196.700.
The nationals berth is the 10th in program history, and second under head coach Jordyn Wieber. The Gymbacks were last in Fort Worth in 2024, where they finished in seventh place of eight.
The competition was stiff as the Razorbacks and Tigers got close and closer in score after each rotation, but Arkansas never dipped out of second place all night. The Gymbacks were led with strong performances from Morgan Price, Joscelyn Roberson, Lauren Williams, and Allison Cucci, who all delivered scores of 9.900+ in the meet.
Arkansas will be joined by Oklahoma, No. 4 UCLA, and No. 13 Minnesota in the national semifinal, which is set for Thursday, April 16 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, with time to be announced. The other session of competition will consist of No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Florida, No. 6 Georgia and No. 7 Stanford. The top two teams from each semifinal will advance to the national final on Saturday, April 18 at 3 p.m. CT.
The semifinals will be broadcast live on ESPN2, and the national final will be live on ABC. Live scoring will be provided by Virtius.
Floor
Hailey Klein and Leah Smith starting the opening rotation strong with scores of 9.850 and 9.825, respectively. Midway through the lineup, Morgan Price delivered her second 9.900 on floor in as many meets, setting the table well for the next three. Frankie Price went 9.850 next, and Williams matched the score in the fifth spot. Roberson closed the rotation with a big 9.950, which brought Arkansas’ event score to 49.400, matching their semifinal mark.
Vault
The Gymbacks headed to vault second in the standings and started out with scores of 9.825 for Cami Weaver, 9.850 for Smith and 9.800 for Cucci. Klein continued to push the scores with a 9.850, and Williams was fifth in the lineup with another Yurchenko 1.5. She delivered one of her best all season, complete with stick, that went 9.950. After a fall from Morgan Price in the anchor position, Arkansas concluded vault with a 49.275.
Bars
Bars began with back-to-back 9.875s from Roberson and Klein, and Smith and Avalon Campbell also got matching scores of 9.800 next. Cucci and Morgan Price provided the spark that Arkansas needed to finish the rotation as they both dialed up clean routines with stuck dismounts that went 9.900 apiece. In total, the Gymbacks went 49.350 on bars.
Beam
With just .025 separating second and third place going into the final rotation, one of the best beam teams in the country needed to deliver. Priscilla Park started with a 9.850, but the nerves settled in a little after that as Klein and Weaver earned 9.825 and 9.800, respectively. As Missouri was trying to find vault sticks, the back half of the beam lineup locked in for Arkansas as Cucci responded with a 9.900. Morgan Price got a 9.900 next, which was enough to clinch the nationals berth for the Gymbacks, but Roberson continued to impress with her dominance on the event and sealed the rotation with yet another 9.950. Arkansas’ event score on beam was 49.425.
More Information
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