Nationals Up Next for Gymback Duo
Arkansas will be represented on the biggest stage in collegiate gymnastics on Thursday as Lauren Williams and Norah Flatley are set to compete as individuals on vault and beam at the NCAA Gymnastics championships in Fort Worth.
It is the fourth consecutive year that Arkansas will have two gymnasts competing at nationals as individuals. Williams is the sixth Gymback ever to qualify as an individual on vault, the first since 2014, and first freshman individual competitor since 2017. Flatley is the seventh beam worker to head to nationals for Arkansas and first since 2019.
Both Williams and Flatley will rotate with Utah in the second semifinal session at 8 p.m. CT on Thursday and will compete their routines at the end of the team lineup. Williams will vault in the second rotation, and Flatley will cap off action for the night as the final beam competitor in the fourth rotation.
Individual titles and the top eight placements will be announced at the conclusion of both semifinal sessions. Ties will not be broken, and the top four finishers on each event and all-around will receive First Team All-America status, and fifth through eighth placements will be named Second Team All-America.
The meet will be broadcast live on ESPN2, and individual apparatus streams will also be available via ESPN+.
How They Punched Their Tickets
Individual qualifiers, all from non-advancing teams, earn a bid to nationals by posting the top individual score on an event in the first day of regional competition.
Rookie Lauren Williams will represent her home state of Arkansas as an individual vault qualifier after she posted a 9.900 in the Norman regional semifinal.
Flatley qualified on beam after she posted a 9.950 in the Norman regional semifinal last Thursday, the highest of the afternoon session and tied for highest on the day. It’s the second NCAA individual appearance for Flatley, as she qualified as an all-around competitor in 2022 with UCLA and placed seventh overall and fourth on beam (9.9375), both of which earned her a pair of All-American honors.
Numbers to Know: Vault Qualifiers
Arkansas: Lauren Williams (Qualifying score | NQS | Season high)
Vault: 9.900 | 9.880 | 9.925
Michigan: Naomi Morrison
VT: 9.950 | 9.905 | 9.975
Boise State: Courtney Blackson
VT: 10.000 | 9.880 | 10.000
Penn State: Ava Piedrahita
VT: 9.850 | 9.905 | 9.950
Beam Qualifiers
Arkansas: Norah Flatley (Qualifying score | NQS | Season high)
Beam: 9.950 | 9.905 | 9.975
Oregon State: Jade Carey
Beam: 9.950 | 9.975 | 10.000
Missouri: Alisa Sheremeta
Beam: 9.950 | 9.885 | 9.950
Michigan State: Gabrielle Stephen
Beam: 9.950 | 9.895 | 9.950
More Information
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