NCAA Gymnastics Recap

It's beauty and it's grace, it's collegiate gymnastics.

All bias aside, we can all agree that there may be no other sport that is as demanding than gymnastics. The strength, skill and commitment that comes with flipping for more than just fun outweighs all other competition. Though, much like many other sports, gymnasts grow up in the gym, practicing rep after rep, traveling to compete and sacrificing a great deal of their lives to the sport they love. But gymnastics is different.

You choose at a very young age whether you want the olympics or a college career. Either choice is extremely competitive and with an injury rate of almost 100%, there is no guarantee that you will be able to reach the olympic or collegiate level. No matter the choice there is no chance of continuation. Once you have completed your said path, you are finished. There is no professional league, no alumni scrimmages and certainly no recreation league. Gymnastics has taken too far of a toll on your body. You have given the sport all you can, which is what make the NCAA gymnastics championship so special.

Much like March Madness, gym teams compete through a bracket style tournament with seeding according to their average score through the year. (A good score here is 197-199 out of 200)

This year the previous national champions and social media viral UCLA Bruins met Oklahoma Sooners, LSU Tigers and Denver University Pioneers in the final meet.

Each team had a significant factor to compete for (as if being crowned national champion isn't enough).

UCLA | Coach Val (Miss Val) announced to retire at the conclusion of the 2019 season after claiming seven national championships and 19 Pac-12 conference championships during her 29 years as head coach of the Bruins.

Oklahoma | The Sooners lost the 2018 national championship title by .0375 of a point....heartbreaking is an understatement. They team took to "the little things" the entire season in hopes that they would win because of their attention to every detail.

LSU | Standing as the SEC champs coming into the tournament, the Tigers were favored by a large crowd as they had been solid performers the entire season.

Denver | Making their first ever championship meet appearance, the Pioneers were out to prove themselves worthy and make a statement, not to "just enjoy the experience".

The meet did not lack entertainment as it highlighted routines like UCLA's senior Katelyn Okashi on floor, previous Final Five olympic team member Madison Kocain's beam routine, four routines from the Sooners two time All-Around Champion junior, Maggie Nicolas and many more.

After the final score was put in, the Sooners reigned victorious claiming the crown by almost 0.5 of a point. How thrilling!

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