2019 NCAA Gymnastics Championships

Individual All-Around Competitors At 2019 NCAAs

Individual All-Around Competitors At 2019 NCAAs

While the full teams duke it out for the NCAA championship this weekend, gymnasts will be competing individually for event titles as well.

Apr 17, 2019
Individual All-Around Competitors At 2019 NCAAs

While the full teams duke it out for the NCAA team championship this weekend, gymnasts will be competing individually for event titles as well—including for the all-around. 

The athletes at the top of the season’s all-around field whose teams did not make it to the championships will be competing in Fort Worth on their own—without their teams behind them—for that individual all-around title. 

Here are the four individual all-around competitors we’ll be seeing this weekend, where they stand in the field, and what we can hope to expect from them. 

Sienna Crouse

Team: Nebraska

Year: Senior

Hometown: Fargo, North Dakora

NQS AA: 39.45

Highest AA: 39.7

Sienna Crouse is one of the all-around competitors who has scored a 9.95 or higher on all four events this season—meaning that if she does her absolute best this weekend, she could be a real contender. 

On vault, Crouse has a Yurchenko 1.5, which has that 10.0 start value—so if she’s able to control her legs and her landing, we could see a big score from her. Her bar routine is jam-packed with impressive skills and connections, starting off with a Weiler full to a gorgeous Geinger to an overshoot and then ending with a full-twisting double back. She’s gotten up to a 9.975 on the apparatus this season—so if she hits, she’s up there with the rest of the bar greats for the title.

On beam, Crouse is both solid and elegant, with a front aerial/back handspring connection and a great Gainer full dismount. She’s a bit less consistent here than the other events, so we’ll want to watch her especially carefully. And her floor routine is both fun and unique, with a final pass of a front 1.5 into a layout step-out that’s guaranteed to get “oohs” from the crowd. If Crouse can hit all four events when it counts, she could certainly get onto the podium—with the all-around title and/or on any of the individual events.




Alex Hyland

Team: Kentucky

Year: Senior

Hometown: Foxborough, Massachusetts

NQS AA: 39.480

Highest AA: 39.55

Alex Hyland is a true joy to watch compete, with an infectious grin and earnest attitude that makes you want to get behind her and cheer. She has a high of a 9.925 on every event this season, bringing an admirable consistency to the lineup—and while that won’t be high enough to earn her the title on any of the individual events, we could see her being a fierce competitor. 

On vault, Hyland has a beautiful, stretched-out Yurchenko full that doesn’t leave much on the table points-wise. We’ll see her soar in her bars routine, too, with a big, beautiful opening Tkatchev and a full-twisting double-back dismount. 

Hyland is super confident on beam, with a solid acro series of a back handspring into a layout step-out and a sticky side aerial/back full dismount. But where she really shines is on floor, with a routine set to the theme song from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, a great double-pike, and dance moves that include a moonwalk and a situation where she essentially does a back handspring from her knees into a headstand. Even if she doesn’t win the title, you can bet the crowd will be up on their feet.




Alicia Boren

Team: Florida 

Year: Senior

Hometown: Franklin Lakes, New Jersey

NQS AA: 39.55

Highest AA: 39.725

After a devastating upset in the regional finals, Florida won’t be heading to nationals—but Alicia Boren will represent the Gators in the all-around field, and we’re hoping she can bring home some glory. 

We can’t talk about Boren without first mentioning her floor routine, which is one of the most fun, dynamic floor routines in the NCAA this year. The tumbling passes on their own are notable, with a double layout, a back 1.5 into a front layout, and a double back that travels up to Mars—but her dancing puts the routine over the top, with the kind of moves that make you wish you were next to her at a dance party. Put all that to music that is fantastically all over the place, and you’ve got yourself a super memorable routine.

Boren excels on the rest of the events too, with a Yurchenko 1.5 that’s gotten up to a 9.925 this season and a polished bars routine that we’ve seen 9.95s on. Beam is another one of Boren’s strengths—she looks like she’s performing on a floor, rather than a four-inch piece of wood—and she packs more difficulty into her routine than most of her competitors. With a front toss, back handspring into a layout step-out, and a Gainer layout, she has way more acro up there than she needs—all that she pulls off with the kind of cool confidence that makes her such a fun competitor to watch. 




Lexy Ramler

Team: Minnesota 

Year: Sophomore

Hometown: St. Michael, Minnesota

NQS AA: 39.6

Highest AA: 39.725

The only underclassman of the individual all-arounders, Lexy Ramler has an elegant maturity to her gymnastics that makes her a true force in competition. She could end up sneaking onto the podium for any of the individual events this weekend.

Ramler’s favorite event is beam, and when she’s up there, it’s obvious; she brings a fluidity and confidence to the apparatus that makes her a blast to watch. Her entire routine looks effortless, and it certainly is not; with a back handspring to layout step-out combo, front aerial into a wolf jump, and a gorgeous, rare ring jump, it’s one of those next-level routines that truly stand out in a lineup. She brings that same ease and poise to her bars routine, with elite-level transitions—a Maloney, Pak, and Van Leeuwen—along with perfect handstands and a full-twisting double back dismount. (She’s scored up to a 9.95 on there this season, and could be a true competitor for the title.)

Ramler has a Yurchenko 1.5 on vault, making her competitive with the other 10.0 start-valuers—though she’ll have to score higher than her season-high of a 9.925 if she wants to get on the podium. Ramler hasn’t scored over a 9.9 on floor this season, but with jazzy music, a big double pike, and a 1.5 through to a double full combination pass, we know she has a bigger score in her—and if she’s able to hit, we could see that finally happening at nationals.