Welcome to the live blog for the 2016 NCAA Championships coaches conference call! I’m on the line with all twelve coaches with teams that will represent at next week’s nationals in Fort Worth, Texas. Refresh your browser every few minutes for updates, the most recent of which will appear at the top of the post.

2:03 pm. Media coordinator Phil Pierce is thanking the coaches. That’s it! Best of luck to all teams competing next week.

2:00 pm. Do any coaches feel strongly about the competition format?

“I do think that the fact that we have live TV this year, part of that is due to the fact that we’ve created the two-day format, that we’ll include individual honors along with team honors. I don’t know that it’s absolutely perfect but my feeling is that it’s better. Whether or not we’ve found the final way, I don’t think so and I don’t know if it’s out there. But I think the two-day format for this season, I’m really excited about trying it, as with the fact that we’ve adjusted the number of judges will make ties much less frequent, which will be helpful.” – Megan Marsden

“It’s a little bittersweet because crowning a national champion on that third day was exciting but it was also anti-climactic coming from the Super Six. Live TV is something that we’ve been striving for for a number of years, so for that to be the end product, I think most of us coaches were willing to give up those individual event finals if this is the direction we’re moving in.” – Danna Durante

“One thing I think that’s exciting is that the evening, no matter what the outcome is, everyone ends their season. The teams all together get to celebrate and no one has to go to bed early and worry about getting their rest. It’s not perfect but the upside is that everyone can celebrate their season all together.” – Dana Duckworth

1:58 pm. How is this year different than last year from assistant coach to head coach, for Jenny Rowland?

“I’m grateful to have worked under a head coach like Jeff Graba who allowed me to learn the entire process and business side of running your own program. I was able to learn a lot and was prepared to step into this position. I truly feel that this year has been one of the most rewarding experience of my college coaching career. It’s been phenomenal and honoring as a coach to see these young athletes deal with things that they never thought they’d ever have to, and to see them grow as people, to mature and come together as a team, and to be able to have a bond that they had never experienced before. I can’t thank my staff enough. They’ve helped me along this journey, and this whole year has been a journey. We’re taking advantage of every moment and opportunity and are enjoying every step in the process.”

1:56 pm. For coaches that participated last year – does it help being back at the same center?

“There’s nothing better than being in the state of Texas. There’s so much passion from fans in this state. Fort Worth was a wonderful place for championships. The hotels are close, there’s a nice atmosphere…the ladies will enjoy being in an arena where they’ve been before.” – Dana Duckworth

“I would like to say that the area around the center is phenomenal for fans. There’s lots of restaurants, lots within walking distance. It’s a great place for our fans to enjoy the gymnastics.” – Danna Durante

1:55 pm. For Jenny Rowland – how has the team grown since the LSU meet?

“This whole season has been a great challenge. They have grown as young ladies on and off the competition floor. Since SECs, this team has bonded together and really has rallied as a team to push each other to be the best they can possibly be. That’s what you’re going to continue to see at NCAAs.”

1:53 pm. University of Utah, Megan Marsden: “Utah’s thrilled to be attending this year’s nationals. I think even more gratifying is that this is mine and Tom Farden’s very first team to take. At the start of the year, we lost a tremendous group of seniors who did the majority of our routines last year and we were labeled a rebuilding team early in the season. Our freshmen have really developed and our seniors have become stars. This team has exceeded expectations but at the same time at championships we’re looking to see how far they can go.”

1:50 pm. UCLA, Valorie Kondos-Field: “It’s always a thrill to be back. We get to go to the big dance. YAY. We love the Texas fanbase because they love gymnastics. Shoutout to my staff and my team…the last years have been difficult personally so to keep plugging through and not miss a beat is remarkable. This is the most exciting and fun team I have ever coached. They’re not as talented as teams I’ve had in the past but they’re extremely inspiring. We haven’t had our whole team healthy, we’re hoping it’ll come together this weekend, but our non-scholarship athlete have stepped up BIG this season. 80% of our routines have been competed by non-scholarship athletes so it’s been fun to empty our bench on the competition floor and see them compete like Bruins. Our fanbase has literally doubled because of our team’s personalities. I attribute that to good gymnastics but also showmanship and their appreciation for the fans who come. The opposing fans have even been great. It’s been such a great thing for college gym as we have seen in the exponential growth from our live TV broadcasts. And yay, we finally have that now for nationals, with every one of our routines showcased. Gymnastics more so than any other sport is able to showcase their individual teams’ unique styles. I love after a meet when fans say they like styles of different teams. It’s healthy and that we’re able to get feedback with live broadcasts, we can appreciate each culture and look from each university and team. I’m super excited about where our sport has gone in the last few years. I’m done.”

1:49 pm. Stanford, Kristen Smith: “Our regional meet was a dog fight. Every regional is like that so we’re grateful to be moving on. I’m really proud of my team and staff. This has not been an easy year for us at all, but our team has battled and stayed positive throughout. We’re prepared to take on the next challenge, we’re at the right place, peaking at the right time, and we’re looking forward to seeking our eighth Super Six!”

1:48 pm. University of Oklahoma, KJ Kindler: “Congratulations to everyone for your performances at regionals. They’re tough. We’re really excited to be back in Texas…40% of our team is from there and lots of our alums are there. Being a bus ride from Norman, we’re expecting a lot of our fans to head down and catch the meet. Consistency has been key this year…we don’t have a young team. We had an inexperienced team with 40% of our routines being new from last year so it’s been thrilling to see them take this experience week after week to become so confident and consistent. I’m really proud of how they’ve handled every challenge and am looking forward to see how they do next week.”

1:47 pm. University of Nebraska, Dan Kendig: “Congrats to everyone on this call for qualifying. This never gets old and you can’t take this for granted. The gymnastics in this country keeps getting better and there’s no question that regionals is one of those competitions…one and done, and it can easily be that way for a lot of people. To be one of the twelve teams moving on, I’m very pleased to represent Nebraska and the Big Ten. We’re a young team, excited about the opportunity, excited about ESPN stepping up to the plate to broadcast live.”

1:46 pm. University of Minnesota, Jenny Hansen: “We’re thrilled to be at nationals. This team has enjoyed an incredible season. One of our goals was to keep getting better each week and they’ve done that. We’re peaking at the right time and are led by a great group of seniors who brought us to championships as freshmen in 2013. It’s great for us to see them finish their careers back at nationals.”

1:45 pm. Louisiana State University, D.D. Breaux: “I look forward to coming back to the great state of Texas. As a team we’re excited to return to Fort Worth. It’s one of our strongest alumni groups in Texas and we have a lot of student athletes on our team from Texas. It’s a great way to finish our season in a big way. The live broadcast is something we’ve dreamed about…it’s going to bring so much to a sport that deserves more recognition than it gets. This team is well-balanced. We’ve had a tremendous season. We’re just looking forward to having a good time and letting the kids relax and enjoy.”

1:43 pm. University of Georgia, Danna Durante: “I want to echo what the others have said.” [I missed a lot of this but basically they’re excited to be heading back.] “We’ve had a season of ups and downs, certainly some highlights but certainly some struggles. We’ve used those struggles to make them more unified and we love their energy and resilience to bounce back from everything they’ve faced.”

1:42 pm. University of Florida, Jenny Rowland: “Very honored and excited to be attending the 2016 nationals as a first-time head coach. Very thankful that I have an amazing staff, an amazing and talented team that has jumped on board with my training style and philosophy, and looking forward to a fun and eventful weekend.”

1:40 pm. Auburn University, Jeff Graba: “we’re excited about being back for our second year in a row. We had a great year last year and there was a lot of pressure to prove it wasn’t a fluke. It was a young team this year, and we’ve weathered some injuries, but it’s been very successful and our girls have grown a lot. We’re starting to peak at the right time and as long as we stay healthy and can get to Texas in one piece, we have a good shot at doing well in the prelims session to continue the season a little bit longer. We’re very excited that this will be broadcast live so the whole world can see what NCAA gym is about.”

UC Berkeley, Justin Howell: “UC has been waiting a long time for a trip back to championships as a team. It’s been 24 long years and our team/coaching staff couldn’t be more thrilled for the opportunity. We have a young team, mostly juniors and the rest underclassmen. We have consistent and unique gymnastics which we’re excited to showcase in Texas. Many of our athletes are from there, and our goal is to do what we do – clean consistent gymnastics. The results will be what they are, but we’re very excited to compete at nationals.”

1:38 pm. University of Alabama, Dana Duckworth: “First of all, Alabama is very excited to be at nationals again. We never take it for granted. It never gets old. This is our 34th appearance. Our coaching staff is doing an amazing job. This is a typical Bama team peaking towards the end, we’re proud of our depth, we’ve used 16 of our 18 athletes, and continue to grow our strengths being consistent on vault and floor and we’re excited about bars and beam this season. We love Texas, our entire sophomore class is from Texas, and we couldn’t be more excited about going back. The SEC Network has been incredible for our conference and fans, keeping us relevant. Our goal remains the same. We hope we have an awesome championships with an opportunity to be on the floor the final night with the opportunity to win.”

1:37 pm. The call is starting! I believe we’ll get intros from each of the coaches and then there will be an open Q&A session.

1:34 pm. Still on a hold, but any minute now, I promise! 🙂

1:28 pm. The call will begin in two minutes! Stay tuned.

Article by Lauren Hopkins