No. 9 Kentucky Advances to NCAA Pennsylvania Regional Final
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Behind a team score of 197.525—the third highest posting of the season—No. 9 Kentucky advanced to its sixth consecutive regional final by placing second in the first of two semifinals at the 2025 NCAA Pennsylvania Regional. The Cats defeated Ohio State and Penn State to secure their spot in Saturday’s Sweet 16 quad meet. No. 8 Michigan State took first place in the session by a narrow one-tenth margin, setting up another showdown in two days’ time.
For the first time this season, the Cats scored at least 49.350 on every rotation, highlighted by a season high score of 49.425 on the uneven bars. Additionally, Kentucky has now scored higher than 197.500 in three of its past four meets, with all scores exceeding the team’s previous season high prior to this current stretch by at least .225. With the result, the Wildcats have now qualified for the regional final in all six seasons of the round’s existence.
Kentucky will return to the competition mat on Saturday, April 5 at 5 p.m. ET, facing off with Michigan State and the top two teams from tonight’s meet featuring No. 1 LSU, No. 16 Arkansas, Michigan, and Maryland. The four teams in Saturday’s regional final will be vying for two spots at the 2025 NCAA National Championships.
Two Wildcats—Isabella Magnelli and Creslyn Brose—posted the highest scores of the session on beam and floor, respectively. Individual results from tonight’s second semifinal will be combined with scores from this afternoon to determine regional champions on all five individual events.
Kentucky started the afternoon on vault, sticking four of six vaults to open the meet with a 49.350. Delaynee Rodriguez made her return to the vault lineup with purpose, sticking her Yurchenko full to match a career high score of 9.850. Jill Procasky followed with another stuck Yurchenko full, scoring a career high 9.900 to match the third-highest vault score of the session. Cecily Rizo followed with a 9.800, before Makenzie Wilson stuck her front handspring pike half to match Procasky’s 9.900. Magnelli hung on to stick her vault and post a 9.875, before Skylar Killough-Wilhelm closed with a 9.825.
The Wildcats’ uneven bars lineup saved its best meet of the season for the right time, posting a 49.425 to top their previous best mark by one-tenth. Rizo led off with a 9.800 to set up Annie Riegert’s regional debut, where she scored a 9.825. Procasky delivered another season high, sticking her double layout dismount to score a 9.925—the second highest mark of the session. Isabella Rivelli returned to the lineup with a season high score of 9.900 before Rodriguez matched that mark for the Cats’ third consecutive score of 9.9 or higher. Killough-Wilhelm, other than a hop back on the dismount, delivered a stellar anchor routine to close the rotation with a 9.875.
A strong close to the balance beam rotation allowed the Cats to score another 49.350 and extend their lead over the qualification line. Rodriguez led off with an ever-steady 9.850, but Creslyn Brose and Sharon Lee each experienced wobbles to score 9.675 and 9.750, respectively. Needing three hit routines in a row, freshman Chesney Bennett steadied the ship in a major way, matching her career high mark of 9.900 in her NCAA championship debut. Killough-Wilhelm added another 9.900 of her own before Magnelli delivered the highest-scoring routine of the afternoon, posting her 12th career score of 9.950.
The Cats closed on the floor exercise with a 49.400, the seventh meet in a row where Kentucky has met that standard on the event. Procasky delivered her third season high in three events, opening the rotation with a 9.850. Magnelli followed with a 9.875 routine before Rizo made her return to the floor lineup with a 9.825. Rodriguez went out of bounds on her second pass, only posting a 9.575. However, Killough-Wilhelm and Brose ensured that score was dropped, with the former setting up the latter with a big 9.900 mark. Brose closed the meet with seventh career mark of 9.950, receiving a perfect 10.0 from one of four judges.
In the all-around, Killough-Wilhelm placed third in the session with a 39.500 while Rodriguez posted a 39.175. Killough-Wilhelm finished as the session’s runner-up on both bars and beam as well.
For the latest on the Kentucky gymnastics team, follow @UKGymnastics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, as well as on the web at UKAthletics.com.
