It’s natty time for Oklahoma, Utah, UCLA and Missouri — Check out their team celebrations

And what a gymnastics Saturday it is. Make sure to tune into the NCAA national championship today. 

The national semifinals Did. Not. Disappoint. 

In the afternoon session, Missouri capitalized on its big moment and overtook both Alabama and Florida to advance to today’s championship along with Oklahoma. The Sooners, hungry for victory after being eliminated in last year’s regional final, were on top of their game, but the second spot was Florida’s to lose. In the end, it came down to a hop.

Riley McCusker’s bars dismount ended in a tiny hop that had big consequences as Mizzou’s Helen Hu, finishing on beam — her speciality — nailed her own routine (taking the national title, too, as it turned out) to send the Tigers a tenth of a point ahead of the Gators and onto Four on the Floor. 

The evening session was always going to be a nail-biter, but it really brought the drama. Last year’s national champion, LSU, was the top seed going in and faced Utah, UCLA and Michigan State. The teams swapped the lead from rotation to rotation, but in the end, it came down to the beam once again.

This time, it was Emma Malabuyo for UCLA who needed to stick, and the 2024 Olympian did not disappoint — and even competed with a smile on her face while I watched through my fingers. LSU, hoping for a chance to defend its 2024 national title, was out in the end. So was Michigan State, which had the real Cinderella run of the gymnastics postseason, appearing in Fort Worth for the first time in 37 years. The Bruins, whose appearance in the final will be the first under head coach Janelle McDonald, advance alongside Utah, which will continue its streak of never missing nationals.

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Oklahoma’s Jordan Bowers took the all-around crown. This wasn’t an entirely unexpected victory, particularly after Bowers scored three 10s in the regional final, but many fans were hoping Jade Carey, competing as an individual, would win. And again, it came down to a hop — Carey’s hop after landing her vault kept her from the AA title. But you can’t be mad about a Bowers victory. 

LSU’s Kailin Chio won the vault title with a huge, stuck Yurchenko 1.5 in the final rotation. Jordan Chiles of UCLA won bars, coming through as the anchor with a massive stuck double layout dismount that appeared to hang above the high bar for a few seconds. Hu, as mentioned above, rightfully took the beam title with a beautiful routine. And UCLA’s Brooklyn Moors won the floor title, the culmination of four years of Bruins fans’ hopes and dreams. Artistry, in all event titles, was the name of the game here. 

Four on the Floor should be epic this year. Any team could, and would deserve, to win. 

Other gym news

Over at The Balance Beam Situation, Spencer liveblogged the national semifinals and will liveblog the final today. He also has your schedule and links for the final and a list of all of 2025’s NCAA records set and broken. 

College Gym News has all of your results from nationals in one place. Plus liveblogs from semifinals one and two, a data deep dive on whether evening semifinal competitors have more success than those in the afternoon session, and a piece on Missouri’s surprise entry into the final four. 

Aly Raisman wrote a blurb on Simone Biles as Biles was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People for 2025. 

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Mya Lauzon of Cal finished her storied career in Fort Worth competing as an individual on floor and beam. She threw the bear head on one last time and it’s too good not to share.

Five at The IX: UCLA Gymnastics

If you haven’t shed a tear yet in the postseason, this video of UCLA’s celebration of moving on to the national championship will probably do you in. We know it’s been a long several years, particularly for the seniors and fifth-years, of postseason frustration, and it’s obvious how relieved and grateful so many of them are. (And it’s nice to see freshman Mika Webster-Longin, who was injured on vault during the semifinal competition, circling up with her Bruins teammates to celebrate. Wishing her the very best and speediest recovery!)

JICYMI, the other teams who made it were also celebrated by their social teams. 

Missouri:

And one for Helen Hu, national beam champion: 

Oklahoma: 

And a shout-out to AA champ Jordan Bowers: 

Utah:

And a little slideshow to boot: