The Utah gymnastics team opened at No. 5 Monday in the first Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) poll of the season.
UCLA was picked to defend its NCAA title followed by Oklahoma, Florida, LSU and the Utes. Not so coincidentally, that was the final order of finish at last spring’s NCAA women’s gymnastics championships.
Utah has finished fifth at nationals for the last two seasons as Super Six finalists. The NCAA Championship moves to a four-team format this season. Utah’s last top-four finish was in 2015 when the Utes finished second to Florida by five hundredths of a point.
Junior two-time NCAA champion MyKayla Skinner headlines a team that returns 20-of-24 routines from its 2018 NCAA lineup. She is one of five returning All-Americans along with seniors Kari Lee and MaKenna Merrell-Giles, junior Missy Reinstadtler and sophomore Sydney Soloski. The freshman class showcases a pair of Junior Olympic champions and J.O. National Team members in Cristal Isa and Adrienne Randall.
BYU was the only other in-state team to surface in the poll, checking in at No. 24.
GYMNASTICS TOP 25
Rank Team (1st place votes) Points
1. UCLA (20) 1,961
2. Oklahoma (25) 1,959
3. Florida (9) 1,946
4. LSU (2) 1,891
5. Utah 1,783
6. Alabama 1,672
7. Georgia (1) 1,585
8. California 1,526
9. Michigan 1,517
10. Kentucky 1,481
11. Nebraska 1,361
12. Arkansas 1,341
13. Denver 1,286
14. Auburn 1,281
15. Washington 1,253
16. Boise State 1,183
17. Oregon State 1,005
18. Ohio State 989
19. Missouri 912
20. Arizona State 862
21. Stanford 831
22. Illinois 809
23. Minnesota 798
24. BYU 749
25. North Carolina State 704
