The nation’s best female collegiate gymnasts begin their quest for national NCAA titles at 12 p.m. ET on Friday, April 20, at the 2012 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships, April 20-22 at the Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga. The field of 12 teams and 16 individual athletes advanced from six NCAA Regional Championships. Fans can follow the action on Saturday and Sunday live on ESPN3 or check www.ncaa.com for live scoring.

The 12 schools vying for the coveted team title are (listed in rank order) the University of Florida, University of California-Los Angeles, University of Oklahoma, University of Alabama, University of Georgia, University of Nebraska, University of Utah, University of Arkansas, Oregon State University, Stanford University, Louisiana State University and Ohio State University.

Eighteen former U.S. Senior Women’s National Team members are on the roster to compete at the NCAA Championships. 2008 Olympic team silver-medalist Samantha Peszek of UCLA, 2008 U.S. Olympic Team alternates Corrie Lothrop of Utah and Ivana Hong of Stanford are also expected to compete in the championships. The field also features eight U.S. world medalists: 2010 World Championships team silver medalists Mackenzie Caquatto of Florida, Mattie Larson of UCLA and alternate Chelsea Davis of Georgia; 2009 World Championships vault gold medalist Kayla Williams of Alabama; 2007 World team gold-medalists Shayla Worley of Georgia, Peszek and Hong; and 2006 World team silver-medalist Ashley Priess of Alabama.

Other current or former U.S. senior national team members in the field are: Geralen Stack-Eaton, Alabama; Olivia Courtney and Vanessa Zamarripa, UCLA; Kytra Hunter, Alaina Johnson, and Randy Stageberg, Florida; Samantha Shapiro, Stanford, Jessie DeZiel, Nebraksa and Cortni Beers, Utah.

Team semifinal and all-around competition at the 2012 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships will be conducted in two sessions on Friday, April 20, at 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. ET. Here are the semifinal matchups with seeds (based on National Qualifying Score):

Semi Final Sessions Friday, April 20

    Session 1: Friday, April 20, 12 p.m. ET
    Group 1
    UCLA
    Oklahoma
    Utah
    Nebraska
    Stanford
    LSU

    Session 2: Friday, April 20, 6 p.m. ET
    Group 2
    Florida
    Alabama
    Georgia
    Arkansas
    Oregon State
    Ohio State

Super Six, Saturday, April 21, 4 p.m. ET

Individual Event Finals, Sunday, April 22, 1 p.m.

The all-around gymnast with the top score from both sessions on Friday will win the all-around title. The top three teams from each semifinal will advance to the Super Six team finals on Saturday, April 21, at 4 p.m., which will air live on ESPN3. The top four individuals in each event (plus ties) from both of Friday’s sessions will compete in the individual-event competition Sunday, April 22, at 1 p.m. and again will air live on ESPN3. There will also be a show on Wednesday, May 2 at 8:30 p.m. on ESPNNU.

The process for determining rotation pairings for first day’s sessions of the NCAA Women’s Championships team competition is based on a National Qualifying Score (NQS) calculated by adding the Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) to the score achieved at regional competition. Teams are ranked based on the NQS from 1 to 12. Teams 1, 4, 5, 8, 9 and 12 were placed in Group A; and teams 2, 3, 6, 7, 10 and 11 placed in Group B.

In the 2011 championships, Alabama won its fifth NCAA women’s team title with an overall score of 197.650. UCLA finished second with a score of 197.375, followed by the University of Oklahoma in third (197.250), University of Nebraska in fourth (196.725), University of Utah in fifth (196.500) and University of Michigan in sixth (196.425).

The top two teams and the top two all-around competitors from each Regional received automatic berths to the national championships. In addition, the event winners at each Regional Championship advanced to the national championships (in their specific event) if they were not part of a qualifying team or the all-around qualifiers.

Team Competition Qualifiers for 2012 NCAA Championships

TEAM REGIONAL REGIONAL SCORE NATL QUALIFYING SCORE
Florida Raleigh
197.325
394.770
UCLA Fayetteville
197.225
394.495
Oklahoma Champaign
197.025
394.385
Alabama Seattle
197.025
394.270
Georgia Auburn
197.100
394.095
Nebraska Salt Lake City
196.525
393.555
Utah Salt Lake City
196.825
393.530
Arkansas Fayetteville
196.825
393.370
Oregon State Auburn
196.450
393.210
Stanford Champaign
196.675
393.085
LSU Seattle
196.075
392.645
Ohio State Raleigh
196.225
392.470

All-Around Individual Competition Qualifiers

QUALIFIERS SCHOOL REGIONAL SCORE
Amy Glass Boise State Arkansas 39.450
Alina Weinstein llinois Champaign 39.450
Sharaya Musser Penn State Raleigh 39.450
Katie Zurales Michigan Auburn 39.375
Bri Guy Auburn Auburn 39.350
Rachel Updike Missouri Arkansas 39.350
Morgan Evans North Carolina Raleigh 39.275
Aubree Cristello Arizona Seattle 39.250
Aliza Vaccher Washington Seattle 39.225
Moriah Martin Denver Champaign 39.200
Dusti Russell Minnesota Salt Lake City 39.125
Kayla Slechta Minnesota Salt Lake City 39.025

Individual Competition Event Qualifiers

  QUALIFIERS SCHOOL REGIONAL SCORE
Bars
  Rachel Fincham North Carolina State Raleigh 9.900
Beam
  Taylor Westrick Southeast Missouri State Champaign 9.900
  Katie Matusik Arizona Seattle 9.900
Vault
  Kylie Shields Auburn Auburn 9.925
  Joanna Sampson Michigan Auburn 9.925