Gymnastics championship preview
The Women’s NCAA Championships kick off in Fort Worth this week with Florida’s Leanne Wong and Kayla DiCello listed among the top all‑around contenders as teams like Oklahoma loom large. ( ) DiCello has posted scores north of 39.700 in two of her three appearances since returning from injury and helped lead Florida to the SEC title en route to Fort Worth. (sports.yahoo.com)
Eight teams arrive in Fort Worth this week with Florida’s Leanne Wong and Kayla DiCello in the all-around mix and Oklahoma back as the team to beat. (ncaa.com) The national semifinals are Thursday, April 16, at Dickies Arena, with Semifinal I at 4:30 p.m. Eastern and Semifinal II at 9 p.m. Eastern on ESPN2 and ESPN+. The team final is Saturday, April 18, at 4 p.m. Eastern on ABC and ESPN+. (ncaa.com) The field is LSU, Stanford, Florida and Georgia in one semifinal, and Oklahoma, Arkansas, University of California, Los Angeles and Minnesota in the other. The top two teams from each session advance to Saturday’s four-team final. (ncaa.com) Florida reached Fort Worth after winning the Tempe Regional with a 198.050, ahead of Georgia’s 197.750. Oklahoma got there with a 198.350 in the Lexington Regional final, the fourth-highest regional score in program history, according to the school. (gymnastics-now.com, soonersports.com) Florida also won the Southeastern Conference championship on March 21 with a 198.175, edging Oklahoma’s 198.150 by 0.025 after a 49.80 bars rotation. That gave the Gators their 13th Southeastern Conference title and a direct result to point to against the defending national champions. (floridagators.com) The all-around race is open because 2025 champion Jordan Bowers of Oklahoma is gone from college gymnastics. Forbes listed Louisiana State University freshman Kailin Chio, University of California, Los Angeles star Jordan Chiles, Wong and DiCello among the leading contenders for the title to be decided Thursday. (ncaa.com, forbes.com) DiCello’s case starts with her return from the Achilles injury she suffered at the 2024 United States Olympic Trials, a setback that sidelined her in 2025. Florida lists her as a junior all-arounder, and her comeback has put another 39.700-plus scorer back into the Gators’ lineup. (floridagators.com, forbes.com) Wong brings the deeper college résumé. USA Gymnastics lists her as the 2025 World all-around silver medalist and the 2025 United States vault champion, and Florida’s roster page credits her with four NCAA Championships All-America honors. (usagym.org, floridagators.com) Oklahoma’s grip on the team race is built on repetition as much as ranking. The Sooners won the 2025 national title for the program’s seventh championship, then opened 2026 as the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association preseason No. 1 and have now reached 22 straight national championships. (ncaa.com, usagym.org, soonersports.com) By Saturday night, Fort Worth will settle two separate questions: whether Oklahoma can keep the team crown, and whether Florida’s veteran pair can turn a deep championship into an individual title. (ncaa.com, forbes.com)
