SAN FRANCISCO - The 2023 women's gymnastics season kicks off this weekend with all eight Pac-12 squads scheduled to compete against some of the top teams in the country. Six Pac-12 programs will begin the new campaign in Las Vegas, competing at the elite Super 16 presented by Ozone event that features 12 teams ranked in the top 25 of the Women’s College Gymnastics Association (WCGA) Preseason Poll, while two-time defending Pac-12 champion and No. 3-ranked Utah hosts No. 6 LSU in a top-10 battle in Salt Lake City live on ESPN2. 

THIS WEEK

• No. 3 Utah, which begins the season in the top five of the WGCA Preseason Poll for the sixth consecutive season, will be put to the test right out of the gate as the Utes welcome No. 6 LSU to the Jon M. Huntsman Center Friday, Jan. 6 at 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT. The top-10 matchup will be nationally televised on ESPN2, one of three regular season meets for Utah that will be broadcast on ESPN networks. The Utes will have revenge on their minds after the Tigers edged them out in Baton Rouge a season ago. This will be the first meeting between Utah and LSU in Salt Lake City since 2007. 
• Six of eight Pac-12 squads will start the 2023 season in Las Vegas Jan. 6-7 at the Orleans Arena. The inaugural Super 16 presented by Ozone meet will feature four sessions with four teams each over the two-day event. On Friday, Jan. 6, No. 21 Washington, Fisk University, No. 27 North Carolina and No. 28 Southern Utah will be in the 2 p.m. session followed by No. 14 Oregon State, No. 17 Stanford, No. 20 Georgia and Rutgers in the 8 p.m. session. On Saturday, Jan. 7, the 2 p.m. session will include No. 8 California, No. 18 Iowa, No. 22 BYU and No. 24 Arizona State. The event will conclude on Saturday with an 8 p.m. session that features four of the top 10 teams in the country including No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Auburn and No. 10 UCLA. Each session will have a team title, all-around title and individual event titles. In addition to featuring 12 teams in the WCGA Top 25, the meet will serve as the first ever competition for an HBCU school with Fisk competing in the opening session. Sessions 1, 2 and 4 will be aired live on the Big Ten Network and session 3 will be available on the Big Ten Network plus livestream with a delayed airing on Big Ten Network on Sunday, Jan. 8.
• No. 25 Arizona will have a tall task of its own as the Wildcats travel to Columbus, Ohio to compete at No. 19 Ohio State’s non-conference quad meet on Sunday, Jan. 8. In addition to the host Buckeyes and the Wildcats, the meet includes No. 11 Kentucky and Greenville University. 

PRESEASON RANKINGS

• All 8 Pac-12 women's gymnastics teams are ranked in the top 25 of the 2023 Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) Preseason Poll. The annual preseason poll, which is voted on by Division I women's gymnastics coaches, featured every Pac-12 program in the top 25 for the first time since 2014. The eight teams in the top 25 are tied for the most with the SEC.
• Utah, which finished third at the national championships and won its second consecutive Pac-12 title in 2022, is the Conference's top-ranked team coming in at No. 3 with a pair of first-place votes. It is the Utes' highest preseason ranking since they were picked second overall in the national poll in 2010.
• Joining Utah in the top 10 is California at No. 8 and UCLA at No. 10. Oregon State checks in at No. 14, followed by Stanford at No. 17, Washington at No. 21, Arizona State at No. 24 and Arizona at No. 25. 

OLYMPIC STRENGTH

• Pac-12 lineups this upcoming season will feature four Olympic medalists from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Reigning Pac-12 Gymnast and Freshman of the Year, Oregon State's Jade Carey (USA) won an individual gold medal in the floor exercise, All-American, UCLA's Jordan Chiles, and Utah's Grace McCallum were silver medalists in the team competition with the United States, and Utah's Amelie Morgan helped Great Britain to team bronze, which was its first gymnastics medal since 1928.
• Rounding out the Pac-12 with Olympic ties are UCLA's Brooklyn Moors, who competed for Canada in Tokyo, and Utah's Kara Eaker and UCLA's Emma Malabuyo, who were alternates for the United States.
• Carey and Chiles recently also won individual medals at the recent 2022 World Championships and a silver medal team championship. Bruin freshman Ciena Alipio also competed at the World Championships, winning a silver medal on the balance beam.

ALL-AMERICAN PARTY 

• The Pac-12 has 17 All-Americans returning that have won over 50 career All-American honors, including reigning USA Gymnastics Athlete of the Year Carey, who was an eight-time All-American during her freshman campaign at Oregon State last year.
• Other returning All-Americans include: Abby Brenner, UTAH; Chae Campbell (4-time), UCLA; Jordan Chiles, UCLA; Kara Eaker, UTAH; Margzetta Frazier (3-time), UCLA; Madi Dagen, OSU; Nevaeh DeSouza (3-time), CAL; Cristal Isa (5-time), UTAH; Andi Li (3-time), CAL; Sirena Linton, ARIZ; Grace McCallum (5-time), UTAH; Maile O'Keefe (11-time), UTAH; Abby Paulson (4-time), UTAH; Jaedyn Rucker, UTAH; Hannah Scharf (3-time) ASU; and Sage Thompson, UTAH.

PAC-12 PRESEASON POLL & WATCH LISTS

• In the Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll defending Pac-12 champion Utah was selected as the preseason favorite to claim a third straight Conference title in 2023. UCLA checked in at second place in the poll. The two teams have taken turns capturing Conference titles since 2014, with UCLA winning in 2016, 2018 and 2019, and Utah in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2021 and 2022. California finished third in the poll followed by Oregon State in fourth, Stanford in fifth, Washington in sixth, Arizona State in seventh and Arizona in eighth.
• In December, the Pac-12 introduced the inaugural preseason watch lists for the 2023 season, which were nominated by the eight Pac-12 coaches. The 12-member Preseason Watch List included: Brenna Brooks, WASH; Jade Carey, OSU; Jordan Chiles, UCLA; Madi Dagen, OSU; Malia Hargrove, ARIZ; Caroline Herry, ARIZ; Skylar Killough-Wilhelm, WASH; Andi Li, CAL; Grace McCallum, UTAH; Hannah Scharf, ASU; Emily White, ASU; and Chloe Widner, STAN. The 4-member Newcomer Watch List included: eMjae Frazier, CAL; Selena Harris, UCLA; Anna Roberts, STAN; and Makenna Smith, UTAH.

BEST IN THE WEST

• For the first time in Pac-12 history, every Pac-12 Women’s Gymnastics program was selected to compete at the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Regionals last season. (All eight current programs were selected).
• Utah advanced to its 46th-consecutive national championship after winning the Seattle Regional and is the only program in the nation to qualify to every national championship, including all 40 NCAA Championships (began in 1982). Several individuals from the conference also advanced to compete at nationals.
• Utah advanced to the NCAA Finals and finished third overall for the second consecutive year.
• All eight teams finished in the Top 26 in the final rankings - #3 Utah, #11 California, #12 UCLA, #14 Stanford, #17 Oregon State, #21 Washington, #22 Arizona State, #26 Arizona.

ON TV 

• Pac-12 Networks will broadcast 22 women’s gymnastics meets this season as well as the 2023 Pac-12 Women’s Gymnastics Championships, presented by Sprouts, on Saturday, March 18. ESPN is set to air a pair of highly-anticipated matchups, including Utah’s battle with LSU on Friday, Jan. 6, and the league matchup between Utah and UCLA on Friday, Feb. 3.

2023 PAC-12 WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tickets for the 2023 Pac-12 Women’s Gymnastics Championships, presented by Sprouts, are on sale now at Pac-12.com/tickets. The one-day, two-session event returns to the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah on Saturday, March 18.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE (Full Schedule)