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Field for NCAA Gymnastics Championships as expected, with one exception

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Missy Reinstadtler performs her floor routine. The fourth-ranked Utes compete against No. 9 California, No. 16 Auburn, No. 21 Brigham Young, Stanford and Southern Utah, during the the NCAA Regional Championships, Saturday, April 7, 2018 at the Huntsman Center. The top two teams advance to the NCAA Championships April 20-21 in St. Louis. Saturday, April 7, 2018,

The field for the NCAA Gymnastics Championships on April 20-21 in St. Louis looks almost as everyone expected with all but one region avoiding any upsets.

The one surprise was in the Tuscaloosa Regional where No. 18 Georgia finished ahead of No. 7 Michigan 196.5-196.35 to qualify along with No. 6 Alabama, which won the regional with a 197.225.

Two-time defending champion and top-ranked Oklahoma won the Minneapolis Regional with a 198.0 while No. 12 Kentucky advanced with a 197.05.

Fifth-ranked Florida won the University Park Regional with a 197.725 to advance along with No. 8 Washington 196.275 and second-ranked LSU won the Raleigh Regional with a 197.675 to advance with No. 11 Nebraska (197.525).

Third-ranked UCLA, which won the Pac-12 title, won the Columbus Regional with a 197.65 and No. 10 Arkansas advanced with a 196.775.

Utah coach Tom Farden said the championships were going to be “a battle.” The Utes finished fifth last year.

“We have to go in and take nothing for granted,” Farden said.

Lineup change

The Utes used Sydney Soloski in the balance beam instead of Alexia Burch because Burch was hindered by a slight knee strain. Soloski had two small breaks and scored a 9.725 in what was just her third competition on the beam.

“She did a nice job up there,” Farden said. “She had one mistake being aggressive and the other being cautious. You can let the one slide where she was being aggressive, that is OK because that is what we want.”

Farden said the Utes made the decision to go with Soloski on Friday after watching the two in practice.

Hot ticket

The Utes announced a sellout of 8,403, just shy of the Huntsman Center’s record for a regional meet set in 1992 when 8,469 attended the competition.

Utah officials elected to curtain off the upper bowl, which limited seats but made for a better atmosphere, according to school officials.

The Utes averaged 15,139 fans this season, the second-best mark in school history.

This and that

Stanford’s Elizabeth Price was recognized as the West Region Gymnast of the Year … Utah’s Kari Lee tied her season high on floor with a 9.9, and senior Maddy Stover tied her season high on the balance beam with a 9.875 … BYU wasn’t totally shut out of the meet as Shannon Hortman-Evans tied for the uneven bars title.