Minnesota Gophers Gymnastics Ready for NCAA National Semifinals

Brooklyn Rowray will look to finish her Gopher career on a high note | Kelly Lynn— Gophersports.com

The Minnesota Golden Gophers gymnastics team will be the large underdog once again as they compete in the NCAA National Gymnastics Semifinals Thursday night in Fort Worth, Texas. Minnesota enters the semifinals as the lowest seeded team of the eight teams in the competition. But the Gophers were the lowest seeded team left in the Corvallis Regional Final as well. The #13 seeded Gophers upset #5 Alabama and #12 Utah to advance to the final eight along with #4 UCLA in a show of Big Ten power. So the Gophers know they are the underdog, and they relish that chance to try and shock the gymnastics world once again.

Minnesota is looking to cap an impressive 2026 season. The Gophers (25-8, 7-2 B1G) finished second in the Big Ten regular season standings and took third at the 12-team Big Ten Championships before placing second (197.625) behind UCLA (197.750) at the Regional Finals to punch their ticket to nationals. The Gophers have a 13-6 record against top-25 ranked teams.

Minnesota will have a tough task ahead of them on Thursday night. The #13 seeded Gophers will face off against #1 Oklahoma, #4 UCLA and #9 Arkansas with only the top two teams advancing to Saturday’s Final Four on the Floor. They will be joined by the top two teams from the afternoon semifinal that features #2 LSU, #3 Florida, #6 Georgia and #7 Stanford. Individual Event NCAA Championships will be awarded on Thursday night as well at the completion of both semifinals. All of the Gophers competing on their various events Thursday night are eligible to win an individual NCAA Championship. Brooklyn Rowray’s 9.925 beam score helped her win the regional title on the beam in the regional semis on April 3.

The Gophers will look on a mixed group of veterans and freshmen to lead them. Rowray is a senior who has anchored the Gophers on beam. In her last seven beam routines, she’s earned 9.925 scores six times, including both nights at regionals. She’s hit 9.900-or-better eight times in 2026. Emma Slevin is a junior in eligilbity but in her first year in the Gopher gymnastics program. The Ireland native has been great on the bars for the Gophers this season hitting 9.900 six times. Junior Jordyn Lyden has been huge for the Gophers down the stretch. She appears to be peaking at the right time as she tied a season-best with a 9.950 bars score to earn a share of the Big Ten Uneven Bars title while also earning a 9.950 on the floor to make the Big Ten All-Championships Team. At regionals she earned a 9.950 on bars, 9.875 on beam and 9.900 on the floor at the NCAA Regional Semis to help send the Gophers to Fort Worth.