Boise State Heads to Second Round of NCAA Regional
4/2/2025 9:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
- THE MEET: No. 30 Boise State will compete in the 2025 NCAA Regional Championships on Thursday, April 3 at 1 p.m. in Salt Lake City. The Broncos will take on No. 5 UCLA, No. 10 Minnesota and No. 24 Southern Utah in the second round and the top two will advance to the regional finals.
- CONSISTENT COMPETITORS: This marks the 17th-straight season that the Broncos have qualified for regionals. Head coach Tina Bird has been to the dance every year she's been at the helm of the program with the current streak starting her first season in 2008.
- SCOUTING THE BRUINS: UCLA is ranked fifth nationally and won the Big Ten Championships to complete its conference sweep. The Bruins rank within the top ten in the country in every event and are currently tied for first on floor, led by Olympian Jordan Chiles. This marks the first matchup between the two since the NCAA Regional on March 30, 2023 as UCLA leads the all-time series 28-0.
- SCOUTING THE GOPHERS: Minnesota ranks 10th in the nation and are coming off a third-place finish at the Big 10 Championships and second-place regular season finish. The Broncos and Gophers last faced off on March 1, 2024 as Boise State defeated Minnesota 196.825-196.425. The Gophers lead the all-time series 5-3.
- SCOUTING THE THUNDERBIRDS: Southern Utah enters the meet ranked 24th nationally as a team. The Broncos defeated the Thunderbirds 196.775-196.125 on March 14, 2025. Boise State ranks higher than Southern Utah on both bars and beam. The Broncos lead the all-time series, 51-30.
- IN THE RANKINGS: Boise State is No. 30 in the RoadToNationals team rankings with an NQS of 196.115, improving its previous score every week since the team NQS started on Feb. 17. The Broncos are No. 20 in the bars rankings, boasting a 49.240 NQS, the highest of any non-power 4 opponent. The team is also in the beam rankings at No. 28 with an NQS of 49.080, also the highest of any non-power 4 opponent.
- BARS QUEEN: Emily Lopez is tied for 20th nationally on bars in the RoadToNationals individual rankings with an NQS of 9.915. She ranks first in the Mountain West and seventh in the west region.
- EVENT CHAMPIONS: The Broncos earned three MW individual conference championships on March 22. Lopez claimed co-championship vault and bars titles while Emma Loyim was crowned the floor champion.
- REGULAR SEASON CHAMPS: The Broncos earned the Mountain West regular season championship after defeating Air Force on Feb. 28. Boise State rounded out conference competition with a 5-1 record.
- CONFERENCE YEARLY ACCOLADES: Bird picked up her second-consecutive MW Coach of the Year honor, bringing her conference accolade total to eight. Kristina Shchennikova was named MW Co-Freshman of the Year, marking the first Bronco to do so since Shani Remme in 2016. Alyssa Vulaj and Lopez also earned MW Vault and Bars Specialist of the Year, respectively.
- ALL-MW: Six Broncos accounted for nine All-MW honors. Lopez earned first team on bars and beam, as well as second team on vault. Vulaj picked up first team on vault and second team on beam. Loyim and Blake Pascal both received first team on floor. Shchennikova and Bridget Kemp both garnered second team on bars and floor, respectively.
- EMLO LOVES REGIONALS: Lopez will be making her fifth-straight NCAA Regional Championships appearance. In 2023, she secured her spot in the national championships on bars after scoring a 9.950 during the second round. The then junior posted a 9.900 on bars and beam in the first round that same year. In 2024, Lopez earned a 9.900 on vault in the first round of regionals to secure the event title over BYU.
- RECORD WATCH: Lopez earned her 20th-career bars win at the Mountain West Championships (March 22), tying her for second all-time for bars victories in program history. She now sits behind Emily Mulenhaupt (2018-22), who is in first with 22 wins.
Players Mentioned
GYM | Senior Video
Friday, March 14
WBB | Highlights vs Nevada
Monday, March 10
GYM | Boise State Gymnastics Vlog
Tuesday, January 28
GYM: Team Retreat
Monday, September 09