Avery Neff and Two More Red Rocks Head to NCAA Nationals as Individuals After Utah’s Legendary 49-Year Team Streak Shatters 

Although Utah Gymnastics’ legendary 49-year team streak came to an end at the NCAA Nationals, three gymnasts from the program have earned the spot to compete in the individual events at the National Championships. No. 12 Utah competed against No. 4 UCLA, No. 5 Alabama, and No. 13 Minnesota in the Corvallis regional final on Sunday, April 5, 2026, at Gill Coliseum.

UCLA and Minnesota led the final round with 197.725 and 197.625 points, respectively. Utah and Alabama followed the leaders with 197.500 and 197.175 points, respectively. With only the top two teams from each regional final advancing to the national semifinals, Utah and Alabama had to conclude their seasons. This also ended their 49-year streak of competing in the national championship with a needle-thin 0.125-point margin.

However, three Red Rocks gymnasts will compete in individual events, including Avery Neff in the all-around, Ana Padurariu on the balance beam, and Ella Zirbes on the floor. Neff scored 39.650 points and finished in second place. She fell short of only 0.100 points against Jordan Chiles, but advanced to the NCAA nationals. Padurariu collected 9.900 points, and Zirbes posted 9.925 to clinch the spots for the highly anticipated faceoff.

Zirbes settled in fourth place in the floor event behind Chiles, Arianna Ostrum, and Tiana Sumanasekera. Utah has won the NCAA Nationals title eight times so far: consecutively from 1982 to 1986, and also in 1990, 1992, 1994, and 1995.

Details about NCAA Nationals Semifinal Round

Who will compete at the NCAA Nationals Semifinal Round?

LSU, Stanford, Florida, and Georgia earned their places in the championships on Saturday, April 4, 2026, after competing at the Baton Rouge and Tempe regional finals. The leaders of the Lexington and Corvallis regionals followed them. The top eight teams from the regional championships have moved to the semifinal round of the ultimate National Championships, the list of which is mentioned below:

1. UCLA
2. LSU
3. Stanford
4. Minnesota
5. Oklahoma
6. Florida
7. Georgia
8. Arkansas

When and where will the top eight teams compete?  

The qualified eight teams will compete at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, on Thursday, April 16, 2026. It will be followed by the NCAA Nationals final championships on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at the same venue. Two sessions will be held during the semifinal round at 3:30 p.m. CT and 8 p.m. CT. The top two teams from each session will advance to the four-team meet.

While Oklahoma will vie to defend its title in Fort Worth, Texas, LSU will compete to collect its second victory after lifting its first historic title in 2024.

Also read:

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