The stage is set for the Four on the Floor, and the drama did not disappoint.
Oklahoma, Missouri, UCLA and Utah are headed to the 2025 NCAA Championship Finals, while the No. 3 Florida Gators and top-seeded, defending national champion LSU Tigers unexpectedly saw their seasons come to an end.
In Semifinal One, Oklahoma “slayed the dragons,” as head coach K.J. Kindler told the media following the competition. The Sooners’ uncharacteristic performance at the 2024 NCAA semifinals — where they failed to advance to the finals as the reigning national champions — had undoubtedly lingered in the back of their minds all season.
“It’s been a long 364 days,” Kindler said. “I don’t ever want to see TV footage of Oklahoma falling over and over again on vault. That dragon is slayed and we’re past it. That’s definitely my number one comment.”
Kindler acknowledged the pressure on the Sooners this season — especially finishing on vault in this competition — but they rose to the occasion, posting the highest team score on the event in the first session (49.275).
“Day two of regionals we also ended on vault, so we had that experience very recently in a competition setting as well,” Jordan Bowers said. “We knew how it felt and we knew what to do, so we were going to be prepared.”
The Sooners were led by Bowers, who claimed the all-around title with a 39.7125, and Faith Torrez, who wasn’t far behind with a 39.6375.
“They were definitely spot on and we needed that,” Kindler said. “When they are on fire, it’s hard for our team not to be successful.”
On Saturday, as the Sooners look to reclaim their spot atop the podium and bring home title No. 7, Kindler said she will be looking for her team to compete with more freedom.
“I felt like we were competing with some weight on our shoulders a little bit,” she said. “So we need to compete with more freedom, more faith.”
One of the biggest storylines of Semifinal One was the Missouri Tigers, who finished the regular season ranked No. 7 but will leave Fort Worth with their highest finish in program history — regardless of what happens in the finals.
Fifth-year senior Helen Hu, who returned to the sport after taking a full year off, sealed the deal for the Tigers with a clutch beam performance. Hu’s 9.9875 held through the second semifinal to secure Missouri’s first NCAA title in program history.
“I think Florida was a little bit ahead of us, but I was like, ‘We’ve got Helen, we got our secret weapon, so we’re good,’” fellow fifth-year Mara Titarsolej said following the competition. “It gives a lot of confidence that we know she’s going to hit it every time.”
“It’s all about perspective,” Hu said of her mindset going into beam. “I can look at it as ‘this is super high pressure I have to hit,’ or I can look at it and say, ‘this might be my last beam routine so I’m going to have as most fun as I can.’ I think I went up and my only thought was, ‘I’m going to smile, I’m going to remember my dance and I’m going to have fun up there and do it for my team.’ It wasn’t high pressure. There was obviously some nerves, I’m human, but once I got up there, I was just having fun.”
The Tigers pulled off the upset over the Gators, who had uncharacteristic mistakes on vault and struggled to stick landings on the uneven bars in the final rotation.
There was no shortage of drama in Semifinal Two, either.
With LSU, UCLA, Utah and Michigan State all in the building, the semifinal felt more like an NCAA championship final. But only two teams could advance.
Similar to the Gators in the first semifinal, the Tigers struggled to find their landings throughout the competition. While their score of 197.525 would have been enough to advance out of the first semifinal, they needed more 9.9+ routines to secure a spot in the final, given the high level of performance from the teams in the second semifinal.
Freshman Kailin Chio delivered with a near-perfect Yurchenko 1.5 (9.975) to claim the vault title and cap off a phenomenal freshman campaign. However, it was undoubtedly a disappointing finish for the reigning NCAA champions, who had hoped to go all the way to the very end.
Meanwhile, the Utah Utes delivered one of their strongest performances of the season, earning the highest team score across both semifinal sessions with a 197.7625. Senior Grace McCallum rose to the occasion in a big way, matching her career high on vault with a near flawless stuck Yurchenko 1.5. Her all-around score of 39.675 led semifinal two and put her second in the combined rankings when all was said and done.
The Utes ended with a bang on uneven bars – not counting a score below a 9.9125 and earning their spot in the Final Four for the fifth consecutive year.
The goal for the Utes coming in was to fight to the very end — something that senior Amelie Morgan felt the team accomplished with ease.
“That was a big thing going in — that we don’t need any more or any less than what we already have,” Morgan said. “I feel like people really trusted their training today, and we didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.”
The UCLA Bruins showcased grit and unwavering determination, earning their place in the finals with the second-highest team score of the competition (197.738). Trailing in third at the halfway mark, the Bruins surged ahead with a 49.425 on uneven bars and 49.550 on beam, the highest total of the day on that event. Senior Emma Malabuyo needed just a 9.7875 to secure UCLA’s spot in the final, and she delivered in spectacular fashion, sealing the deal with a clutch 9.975.
“That last rotation was everything you could hope for in a national championship,” head coach Janelle McDonald told the media following the meet. “I could not be more proud of this team. They really set out from day one to make something special happen and to be heading to the Four on the Floor is everything we could ask and hope for, but the job’s not done! We got one more meet and we’re gonna come out swinging.”
The Bruins night was also capped off with two individual NCAA titles. Jordan Chiles defended her uneven bar title with a 9.975 and Brooklyn Moors won her first NCAA title on floor with a 9.9625.
MSU came into this semifinal fresh off the high of advancing to NCAA’s for only the second time in program history and the first time in 37 years.The Spartans did so in head-turning fashion, coming within a half-tenth of upsetting the No. 1 team, the LSU Tigers, in the regional final.
Although the Spartans led at the halfway point in Fort Worth, an average beam and floor performance dropped them out of the running and into sixth place nationally — a placement that will still go down in history as the program’s highest and one that the Spartans should be unbelievably proud of.
The NCAA Championship Finals will air live Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on ABC.