Florida Gators gymnastics headed to Minneapolis regional

Report on the Florida Gators gymnastics team:

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 2 Florida gymnastics team heads to Minneapolis, Minnesota, for NCAA Regional action. The NCAA Gymnastics Committee unveiled the fields for each of the six 2016 NCAA Region Championships sites Monday. NCAA Minneapolis Regional competition is set for Saturday, April 2 at 5 p.m. ET in theSports Pavilion.

The field for the NCAA Minneapolis Gymnastics Regional includes No. 2 Florida, No. 11 Denver, No. 16 Minnesota, No. 20 Missouri, No. 28 Ohio State and No. 31 BYU.

The top two teams and the top two all-around competitors (who are not on an advancing team) from each region site advances to the NCAA Championships, set for April 15-16 at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

Last year, UF won the program’s 15th NCAA Regional title in Morgantown, West Virginia, to advance to its 33rd NCAA Championships. Florida won its third consecutive NCAA title in 2015, edging Utah 197.85 – 197.80 for the win.

Each of the six regions have three teams among the nation’s top 18, with one team each from the nation’s No. 1-6, No. 7-12, and No. 13-18 ranking positions. The final three spots in each regional were filled from teams ranked 19-36 by regional qualifying score. The committee tried to keep those teams within their own region as much as possible.

Florida is the only team in the Minneapolis Regional field which advanced to the 2015 NCAA Championships. All of the other teams have qualified for NCAA Championships’ action in the past. Minnesota will be looking to return to the NCAA Championships after missing the 2014 event, as the Gophers qualified in 2013 by taking second in the Gainesville Regional. Denver, led by Florida gymnastics alumna Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart, last advanced in 2008. BYU has appeared in seven NCAA Championships’, with the last coming in 2005. Missouri appeared in the 2010 NCAA Championships in Gainesville and Ohio State advanced in 2012 and 1985.

Florida will open regional competition on the bye before bars.

In addition, five all-around competitors (who are not on a qualifying team) and one individual specialist per event advance to each of the six regions. The all-around competitors and event specialists came from within the region. Iowa State sophomore Haylee Young will be paired with the Gators for regional competition.

For the third consecutive season, the seeding determined at the time of regional selections will be maintained throughout the championships. Standard bracketing procedures will be followed with teams seeded 1, 4, 5, 8, 9 and 12 placed on the left side of the bracket and teams seeded 2, 3, 6, 7, 10 and 11 placed on the right side of the bracket.

2016 NCAA Minneapolis Region Competition Order
Vault Bye Bars Beam Bye Floor
I BYU Florida Ohio State Denver Missouri Minnesota
II Minnesota BYU Florida Ohio State Denver Missouri
III Missouri Minnesota BYU Florida Ohio State Denver
IV Denver Missouri Minnesota BYU Florida Ohio State
V Ohio State Denver Missouri Minnesota BYU Florida
VI Florida Ohio State Denver Missouri Minnesota BYU
2016 NCAA Gymnastics Regional Fields (with national rank)
Minneapolis Regional (Minneapolis, Minn.) – April 2 @ 5 p.m. ET
2. Florida
11. Denver
16. Minnesota
20. Missouri
28. Ohio State
31. BYU
Ann Arbor Regional (Ann Arbor, Mich.) – April 2 @ 6 p.m. ET
6. Auburn
7. Michigan
18. Stanford
24. Eastern Michigan
25. Penn State
33. New Hampshire
Iowa City Regional (Iowa City, Iowa) – April 2 @ 5 p.m. ET
1. Oklahoma
12. Nebraska
13. Arkansas
19. Iowa
30. Kent State
35. Central Michigan
Athens Regional (Athens, Ga.) – April 2 @ 4 p.m. ET
3. LSU
9. Georgia
13. Oregon State
22. ArizonaAssociations / Rankings
27. George Washington
36. Michigan State
Salt Lake Regional (Salt Lake City, Utah) – April 2 @ 8 p.m. ET
5. Utah
8. UCLA
17. Washington
23. Southern Utah
29. Illinois-Champaign
32. Utah State
Tuscaloosa Regional (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) – April 2 @ 5 p.m. ET
4. Alabama
9. California
15. Boise State
21. Kentucky
26. West Virginia
34. Bowling Green
Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.