As we finish our post-NCAA "detox", it's time to look forward to the next season. Here's a few observations and a look forward to next season, including some thoughts on the upcoming code revision.
Florida's Alex McMurtry has been named the Honda Sports Award winner for Gymnastics. The Honda Award is given to the top student-athlete in each sport. At the end of the season, one winner from all sports will be selected as the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the winner of the Honda Award.
OU's Men's team won their third straight National Championship on Saturday night, posting a big 431.95 to easily outdistance the field. Ohio State was 2nd at 423.7, Illinois third at 422.1, and Stanford 4th at 421.5 Minnesota was fifth at 414.2, with NU at 412.9.
Oklahoma posted a 430.6 to win Session 2 of the Men's NCAA qualifier. Illinois was 2nd at 421.3 and Minnesota was 3rd at 420.1
Stanford posted a 420.45 to lead Session 1 at the Men's NCAA Championships. OhioState (414.65) and Nebraska (413.05) also advanced.
The Nissen-Emery Award is presented to the year's most outstanding male gymnast. This year's recipient is Akash Modi of Stanford. He is a past NCAA AA and event champion and a 2016 Olympic Alternate.
This year's nominee for the Honda Award are Chayse Capps (OU), Maggie Nichols (OU), Ashleigh Gnat (LSU) and Alex McMurtry (UF). The winner of the sport award becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the 2017 Honda Cup.
The NCAA has announced future National and Regional sites for the years 2019-2022.
OU powered to their third NCAA title, posting a 198.3875 to win the Super Six. LSU was 2nd at 197.7375, overtaking Florida's 197.7. UCLA was fourth at 197.2625 while Utah was fifth at 196.5875. Bama suffered through problems on UB and BB to post a 196 for sixth.
Here are the complete results from Session 1 and 2 of the NCAA Semi-Finals (PDF): Link
In the NCAA Semi-Finals, event winners were crowned in each event. Below are the top five by score
Florida's Alex McMurtry won the AA, posting a 39.8125 in the second session to win the title. Utah's MyKayla Skinner was 2nd, and Bama's Kiana Winston was 3rd.
LSU powered to a 198.275 to win Session 2 of the NCAA Semi-Finals. Florida posted a 197.725 to best Bama's 197.6. All three teams advance to the NCAA Super Six Finals, joining OU, UCLA and Utah.
Oklahoma shook off a few mistakes in their opening FX rotation and an unexpected fall from star Maggie Nichols on BB to post a 197.725 and win Session 1. UCLA, led by Kyla Ross and Madison Kocian, posted a strong 197.5 for second. Utah, led by Session 1 AA winner MyKayla Skinner, posted a 197.05 to secure the last spot in the Super Six.