University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA to Compete in NCAA Semifinal I Apr. 20
April 11, 2018 | Gymnastics
No. 3 UCLA will compete in the afternoon session of the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships team semifinals on Friday, Apr. 20. The competition will take place at 12 pm CT at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Mo. and will be televised live on ESPN2. Also competing in the afternoon session are No. 2 LSU, No. 6 Alabama, No. 7 Nebraska, No. 10 Arkansas and No. 12 Georgia.
Competing in the evening session at 6 pm CT will be No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4 Florida, No. 5 Utah, No. 8 Kentucky, No. 9 California and No. 11 Washington. The evening session will be broadcast live on ESPNU.
Friday's team semifinals determine the all-around and event champions and the qualifiers to the Super Six Team Finals. The top three finishers from each semifinal session will advance to the Super Six Team Finals on Saturday, Apr. 21 at 6 pm CT.
The Bruins will start the meet on vault and end on floor exercise. Nebraska starts on a bye before bars, Alabama begins on bars, LSU starts on beam, Arkansas has a bye before floor, and Georgia begins on floor. Rotating with UCLA will be individual all-around qualifier Cairo Leonard-Baker from Arizona State.
In the second semifinal, Utah begins on vault, Kentucky has a bye before bars, Florida begins on bars, Oklahoma starts on beam, California has the bye before floor, and Washington begins on floor.
All teams and individuals will participate in podium training at the arena on Thursday, Apr. 19. The Bruins, along with Alabama, LSU and Georgia, will be in the first practice session, which runs from 10:30 am-12:16 pm. Podium training is open to the public.
UCLA will be competing in its 34th NCAA Gymnastics Championship and seeking its seventh NCAA title and first since 2010. The Bruins have qualified to the NCAA Super Six 20 times since the format was introduced in 1993. UCLA finished fourth at last year's championship, with then-freshman Kyla Ross capturing a share of the uneven bars title and winning the balance beam title outright.
Tickets to the NCAA Championships can be purchased at NCAA.com/wgymnastics.
Players Mentioned
