NCAA women’s gymnastics championship in Fort Worth: Athletes to watch, ticket info
U.S. Olympic silver medalist Jordan Chiles, who is known for her floor routines that encompass 1990s hip hop, will join some of the best collegiate gymnasts in the country in Fort Worth at the 2023 NCAA women’s gymnastics championship.
Chiles and UCLA will compete with seven other teams Thursday and Saturday at Dickies Arena. This will be the sixth time Fort Worth has hosted the event. The championship is scheduled for Dickies through the 2026 season.
Here’s everything you need to know before the best in women’s college gymnastics compete for the title.
Semifinals are at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Thursday. The final is at 3 p.m. Saturday.
How to buy tickets?
Prices begin at $26 for the first and second semifinal sessions. All-day ticket packages start at $96. Finals tickets start at $34.
Where to watch?
Semifinals are on ESPN 2 and ESPN+, the team finals will be on WFAA Channel 8.
Who’s competing?
The first semifinal has No. 3 Florida, No. 4 California, No. 6 LSU, and No. 8 Denver. The second semifinal contains No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Utah, No. 5 UCLA, and No. 7 Kentucky.
Each team will have four all-around gymnasts and 16 event specialists. The top two teams from each semifinal advance to the national championship. The top five scores from each event are counted toward a team’s overall score.
Oklahoma is the reigning champion and has won five of the last eight national championships.
Notable athletes
Chiles won an Olympic silver medal with the U.S. women’s gymnastics team in Tokyo during the 2020 Summer Olympics. Her floor routines have gone viral.
Jordan Bowers was a part of last year’s championship Oklahoma squad and won several gold medals in the 2018 Junior Pan-American Championships.
LSU junior Haleigh Bryant was the 2021 NCAA vault champion. Bryant has been selected to six All-American teams during her career and has won 14 career titles.
Texas ties
Eighteen gymnasts from Texas are competing. LSU and Kentucky have the most athletes from Texas with four apiece.
Kentucky: Megan Sapp (Northlake Academy), Jillian Procasky (Texas Connections Academy at Houston), Arianna Patterson (Plano), Kaitlin DeGuzman (Epic Charter School).
LSU: Kiya Johnson (Coppell), K.J. Johnson (Flower Mound Marcus), Lexi Nibbs (Katy Taylor) and Maddie Rau (Stars Gymnastics).
Oklahoma: Katherine LeVasseur (San Antonio Reagan), Caitlin Smith (Texas Connections Academy of Houston) and Ragan Smith (Adirondack Academy).
Florida: Rachel Baumann (Spring Creek Academy), Sloane Blakely (Frisco Wakeland), and Victoria Nguyen (Chow’s Gymnastics).
Utah: Jaylene Gilstrap (Texas Connections Academy).
UCLA: Chae Campbell (Plano Prestonwood).
Denver: Bella Mabanta (Denton Gymnastics) and Momoko Iwai (Texas Dreams Gymnastics).
