Minnesota Makes Way out West for NCAA Regionals

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- The No. 10 Minnesota women's gymnastics team heads to the 2025 NCAA Regionals in Salt Lake City, Utah. They'll be in the first session on Thursday in the regional semifinals against No. 5 UCLA, No. 24 Southern Utah and Boise State. The two top scores from the afternoon session will compete with the two top scores from the night session on Saturday, April 5. Thursday's meet is set for 2 p.m. CT/1 p.m. MT while Saturday's will be at 6 p.m. CT/5 p.m. MT. Both will be streamed on ESPN+.

The night session consists of No. 4 Utah (hosts), No. 13 Stanford, Denver, and the winner of the play-in meet between BYU and Utah State, which will be contested on Wednesday. The two highest scoring teams at the regional finals on Saturday will advance to nationals in Fort Worth, Texas from April 17-19.

The Gophers (15-3, 8-1 B1G) finished tied for second in the Big Ten regular season standings and took third at the 12-team Big Ten Championships.

MEET INFORMATION
No. 10 Minnesota vs. No. 5 UCLA, No. 24 Southern Utah and Boise State
Thursday, April 3
2 p.m. CT/1 p.m. MT
Jon M. Huntsman Center
Salt Lake City, Utah
TV/Stream: ESPN+
Commentators: Jason Ross (Play-By-Play) and Bridget Sloan (Analyst)
Live Stats: GopherSports.com

EVENT ROTATION ORDER
Minnesota: Vault-Bars-Beam-Floor
UCLA: Floor-Vault-Bars-Beam
Southern Utah: Bars-Beam-Floor-Vault
Boise State: Beam-Floor-Vault-Bars

SCOUTING MINNESOTA

The No. 10 Minnesota gymnastics team finished the regular season with a 15-3 (8-1 B1G) record. The Gophers hold a season-high score of 197.425, an NQS of 197.210 and an average of 196.740. Of Minnesota's 15 wins, six have come against teams that were ranked in the Road to Nationals top-25. The Gophers rank 12th on vault, 16th on bars, 16th on beam and 11th on floor.
Vault high score is 49.400, bars is 49.425, beam 49.525 and floor 49.550.
The 'U' holds wins over CMU, UNH, Penn State, Iowa, Ohio State, Washington, Nebraska, Illinois, ISU, Maryland, Michigan (2x), LIU and Centenary.
Its only loss came at Michigan St., who is ranked eighth nationally.
Individually, Mya Hooten ranks No. 21 on vault and 14th on floor (WCGA Second Team All-America) nationally this season. Jordyn Lyden ranks 20th nationally on the uneven bars. Ava Stewart ranks 24th on vault.
Hooten, who was named an AAI Nominee for the second consecutive year, earned her fourth First Team All-Big Ten honor and fifth overall. Jordyn Lyden, Sarah Moraw and Ava Stewart were all named to the second team, while Stewart made the All-Freshman Team too. It was all their first All-B1G honor.
The 'U' has taken home 47 event titles in 12 meets, and eight different individuals have won at least one. Mya Hooten leads the team with 16 while Jordyn Lyden has 12 and Ava Stewart holds six.
Minnesota has earned Big Ten Weekly awards four times this season. Mya Hooten has earned Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week twice in 2025, while Teryn Crump and Ava Stewart have each won Freshman of the Week.
The Gophers took third (197.425) at the Big Ten Championships, posting a season-high score. They tallied their best beam performance of the season there at 49.525, a figure that ties for the eighth-best beam score in program history.
In 2024, Minnesota's second place finish at the Big Ten Championships came with a score of 197.500, missing winning the conference crown by .100 to Michigan State (197.600). It was the second-best finish at the Big Ten Championships since 2006 (won Big Ten title in 2021).
The 'U' made nationals three times (2016, 2021, 2022) the past 10 years, finishing second each time in their regional. Their two regional titles in program laurels came in 1980 and 1982.

SCOUTING UCLA

The No. 5 UCLA Bruins (16-3, 9-0 Big Ten) are led by third-year head coach Janelle McDonald. She's helped the Bruins navigate their first year in the Big Ten with a perfect 9-0 conference record and their first Big Ten regular season and tournament championships. Their only losses have come to then No. 4 California, No. 19 Oregon State and No. 5 Utah. UCLA ranks 7th on vault, 8th on bars, 4th on beam and first on floor in 2025.
Their season-high of 198.450 is a tally only three other teams in the nation have hit. Individually, eight Bruins were named to the All-Big Ten teams, including four on the first team. Six Bruins combined for 10 WCGA All-America honors. Jordan Chiles, a two-time Olympian, was named to the All-Big Ten First Team and earned for WCGA All-American nods. She won Big Ten Gymnast of the week six times in 2025

SCOUTING SOUTHERN UTAH

No. 24 Southern Utah (15-5, 7-0 MPSF) is led by 34th-year head coach Scotty Bauman. This season, Bauman led the Flippin' Birds to their third straight conference title, finishing with a team score of 196.625 at the MPSF Championships. They rank 21st on vault, 29th on bars, 33rd on beam and 18th on floor this season. Their only losses have come to Rutgers, Arizona, Utah, Stanford and Boise State.
Southern Utah made history this year, becoming the first program ever to sweep the five major end-of-year awards in the MPSF. The Thunderbirds also claimed an impressive 18 of the 37 total all-conference honors. Niya Randolph was named MPSF Gymnast of the Year for the second consecutive season while Mia Hampton won Freshman of the Year. Ellie Cacciola was named Specialist of the Year and Bauman was Coach of the Year.

SCOUTING BOISE STATE

The Boise State Broncos (15-6-1, 5-1 Mtn. West) are led by 15th-year head coach Tina Bird. She's spent the last 30-plus years on the coaching staff, winning nine league championships. Bird led the team to winning the inaugural Mountain West Championship in 2024, while also being named conference coach of the year. They placed second in 2025 with a score of 195.950. This will be BSU's 17th straight NCAA Regional appearance.
Boise State earned four Mountain West yearly awards in 2025. Bird was named coach of the year, Kristina Shchennikova was crowned co-freshman of the year, while Emily Lopez and Alyssa Vulaj earned specialist of the year on bars and vault, respectively.

NCAA REGIONALS HISTORY

Minnesota will begin the NCAA Regionals for the 44th time in program history this week in Salt Lake City. The Gophers hold two regional titles, which came in 1980 and 1982. In the 11 years with coach Hansen in charge, they've made 10 regionals (no postseason in 2020 due to COVID).
Under Jenny Hansen, the Gophers have advanced out of regionals three times, making nationals in 2016, 2021 and 2022 with second place finishes. The Gophers went on to finish sixth at nationals in 2022, their best finish in program history.
This year will be Minnesota's 29th straight season making NCAA Regionals. Last year, the Gophers made the regional final in Fayetteville, Ark. In 2023, the Gophers bowed out of regionals in the semifinals in Denver.
In 2022, The No. 8 University of Minnesota gymnastics team competed in the Norman Regional and earned a score of 197.725 to advance to the NCAA National Championships. Minnesota entered the final rotation trailing Cal for the second position to qualify for nationals. The Gophers recorded a meet-best 49.650 to send them to Texas. Mya Hooten led the Gophers with a nearly flawless 9.975.
Also in 2022, Minnesota qualified for the NCAA National Championships as a team for the sixth time ever. The Gophers also earned a spot in the championship meet in 1997 (10th-place finish), 2002 (ninth), 2013 (eighth), 2016 (12th) and 2021 (eighth). 2022 marked the first time in school history that the Gophers qualified for the NCAA Championships as a team in consecutive years.
In 2021, the No. 8 Gophers punched their ticket to NCAA Nationals after placing second in the Athens Regional Championship. The Gophers posted a 197.425 and were second only to Florida who had a team score of 197.700. Then freshman Mya Hooten had a huge performance for the Maroon and Gold, posting a 9.950 on floor and vault. All four of four-year All-American Lexy Ramler's routines earned a 9.900 or above from the judges. Ramler had a 9.950 on beam, 9.925 on bars and a 9.900 on both vault and floor.

HOOTEN BY THE NUMBERS

Mya Hooten is a 12-time All-American (8-time WCGA, 4-Time NCAA Championships), six-time Big Ten Champion (three floor, two vault, one bars), five-time All-Big Ten selection (4-time first team), four-time Big Ten All-Championships Team honoree, four-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, two-time Academic All-American and an NCAA Regional Champion. She's also tallied nine perfect 10's on floor.
In her career, she's participated in 194 total routines (64 bars, 63 vault, 61 floor, five beam). She's been 9.900-or-better on 96 of those routines (49.4 %). Hooten has gone 9.900-or-better on 29 of 63 vaults (46.0%) and 52 of 61 floor routines (85.2%).

LYDEN LIGHTS IT UP

Gophers sophomore Jordyn Lyden had a standout rookie season in the Maroon and Gold in 2024. She was a mainstay in the uneven bars lineup, where she posted a 9.867 average, including a career-high 9.975 on Feb. 3 at Penn State. Her score tied the school record for best uneven bars routine. She earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors three separate times as a freshman last season.
In year two in 2025, she's been a staple on the bars and beam teams, leading the team on both and ranking in the top 40 nationally with 9.886 bars and 9.841 beam averages. Lyden has gone 9.900 six times on bars in 12 meets, never going below 9.850. On beam, she's hit 9.900 four and has been 9.850-or-better eight times. She ranks second on Minnesota with 12 event titles in 2025 (eight bars, four beam).
As a freshman in 2025, she won just one event title (bars). Lyden earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors, her first career postseason honor.

WCGA AND ROAD TO NATIONALS RANKINGS

After week 12 the Gophers came in a tie at No. 10 in the Road to Nationals rankings. They rank No. 11 on vault, 16 on bars, 16 on beam and 11 on the floor. The team's NQS is 197.210 and average of 196.740. Minnesota's team-high score is 197.425.
Minnesota finished the 2024 season at No. 12 in the Road to Nationals rankings. They ranked 19th on vault, 21st on bars, eighth on beam and 11 th on the floor. Individually, Mya Hooten ranked eighth nationally on vault and second on the floor, earning WCGA All-America honors in both.
Minnesota began 2025 ranked No. 18 in the WCGA Preseason poll. Now, they rank behind only No. 5 UCLA and No. 8 Michigan St. in the B1G..

ROAD TO NATIONALS INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS

On vault, Mya Hooten (9.873 avg.) ranks 21st nationally (6th in B1G) while Ava Stewart (9.835 avg.) places 24th (7th in B1G). Moraw ranks 11th (9.769 avg.) while Crump ranks 17th (9.855 NQS).
Jordyn Lyden (9.892 avg.) comes in at No. 20 nationally (4th in B1G) on bars. Hooten/Stewart rank 23rd in the B1G (9.860 NQS).
Jordyn Lyden (9.846 avg.) ranks 39th in the country and 9th in the Big Ten on beam. Sarah Moraw (9.829 avg.) ranks 17th in the Big Ten.
Mya Hooten (9.914 avg.) ranks third in the Big Ten and 14th nationally on the floor. Emily Koch ranks 47th and 12th in the Big Ten (9.880 avg.).

EVENT TITLES APLENTY FOR THE 'U'

Overall in 2025, Minnesota has won 47 event titles in 12 meets. This includes 11 vault (by four individuals), 13 bars (three individuals), 12 beam (five individuals) and 11 floor (two individuals).
Mya Hooten leads the team with 16 event titles (10 floor, four vault, two bars) while Jordyn Lyden has 12 (eight bars, four beam). Freshman Ava Stewart ranks third with six (three vault, three beam). Eight different Golden Gophers hold at least one event title this season.

FOUR GOPHERS NAMED TO ALL-BIG TEN TEAMS IN 2025

Gopher gymnasts Mya Hooten, Jordyn Lyden, Sarah Moraw and Ava Stewart were named to the All-Big Ten teams this afternoon, the conference announced. Hooten earned first team honors while Jordyn Lyden, Sarah Moraw and Ava Stewart were named to the second team. Senior Emily Koch was Minnesota's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree.
Mya Hooten earned her fifth consecutive All-Big Ten honor, including her fourth first team accolade. Moraw, Lyden and Stewart each earned their first postseason all-league honor. Stewart was also named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.

UP NEXT
If Minnesota has one of the top two scores during Thursday's afternoon session, they will compete in the Regional Finals on Saturday at 6 p.m. CT/ 5 p.m. MT. ESPN+ will stream.

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Players Mentioned

Teryn Crump

Mya Hooten

Emily Koch

Jordyn Lyden

Sarah Moraw

Ava Stewart