No. 16 Kentucky Concludes Season at NCAA Lexington Regional
LEXINGTON, Ky. – No. 16 Kentucky saw its season come to an end inside Historic Memorial Coliseum on Friday night, finishing in fourth place in Session II of the NCAA Lexington Regional Second Round. The Wildcats scored a 196.175 after counting a fall on the balance beam.
No. 1 Oklahoma finished first in the session, scoring a 197.875. Ohio State secured second place with a 196.550, advancing to the Regional Final. Rutgers finished in third place with a 196.300. No. 8 Missouri and No. 9 Arkansas were the two teams to advance to Sunday’s Regional Final from Session I.
Creslyn Brose secured a NCAA Regional Championship for the second year in a row, claiming the NCAA Lexington Regional Floor title with a 9.925 score. Brose has scored a 9.900 in all ten floor routines this season and has scored at least a 9.900 in 33 of 36 career floor routines.
Kentucky began the night on the uneven bars, posting a 49.250. Cecily Rizo led off the rotation with a 9.750 before freshman Sabrina Nemcek began a string of four sticks in a row. Nemcek, a freshman from Chicago, scored a 9.900, nearly matching her career high, and earning a top five regional finish in her postseason debut. Gabby Van Frayen followed her classmate with a 9.850, a score matched by both Chesney Bennett and Ryan Noonan. Delaynee Rodriguez anchored the rotation with a 9.800.
The Wildcats saw their early season struggles on the balance beam return, scoring 48.450. Rizo and Brose led off with a pair of 9.800s, before Sharon Lee and Bennett each fell off the beam to score 9.150 and 9.000, respectively. Van Frayen added a 9.800 before Rodriguez anchored with a 9.900. The All-American anchor’s posting was good enough to earn third place in the Lexington Regional.
Kentucky rebounded on the floor exercise, posting a 49.325. Van Frayen led off with a 9.800, followed by Rizo at 9.825. Bennett recovered from her shake-up on the beam to deliver a solid routine and score 9.850. A fall from Callie Gardner led to a mark of 7.625. The Cats were able to recover with back-to-back scores at 9.9+, with Rodriguez scoring her second 9.900 of the night and Brose’s event-winning mark of 9.925 closing the penultimate rotation.
The Wildcats closed the meet with a score of 49.150 on vault. Addisyn Hofseth made her Regional debut with a 9.800, followed by 9.825s from Rizo, Gardner, and Noonan. Rodriguez took a fall to score a 9.200 and Anna Flynn Cashion anchored with a 9.875.
The top individual on each event from a non-advancing team will qualify for the 2026 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships in Ft. Worth, Texas on April 16. Final qualifiers from the Lexington Regional will be announced next week.
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