Women's Gymnastics | 3/9/2026 9:33:00 AM

La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse found out on Sunday that they have received an at-large bid to the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) National Championships scheduled for Friday, March 20 at State University of New York Cortland.


NCGA CHAMPIONSHIP FORMAT

• A total of six teams earned bids to the 2026 NCGA Championships. 
• UW-Oshkosh and UW-Whitewater earned automatic bids by placing first and second, respectively at the NCGA West Regional on Saturday while SUNY Brockport and SUNY Cortland finished first and second at the NCGA East Regional to automatically qualify.
• Two at-large bids were then given to the two teams with the highest teams,regardless of region, based on Seasonal Average Score (SAS) as indicated on the Road to Nationals website (roadtonationals.com). UWL and UW-Eau Claire both 
• In addition, individuals not on qualifying teams will be chosen to compete at nationals based on regional results and SAS.

EAGLE HISTORY AT THE NCGA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

• UWL has won an NCGA record 18 team championships in the 40 years. In fact, UWL has 27 top-two finishes in 40 national championship meets.
• The Eagles won their NCGA record 18th national title last season when they scored 194.925 to finish ahead of UW-Whitewater (194.025) and UW-Oshkosh (193.075).  
• Individually, UWL boasts 41 former national champions (25 gymnasts). In addition, UWL student-athletes have earned 258 All-America honors throughout the history of the NCGA Championships.
• At the 2025 Championships, UWL had five gymnasts win individual titles and eight earn NCGA All-America honors. Grace Kehr won a title on the vault (9.850) while Raina Christenson, Claire Robbins and Kyla Dickson tied for the title on the balance beam (9.850). Jessica Taylor took the floor exercise (9.990) national crown. Also earning All-America honors was Paige Breckwoldt (vault), Sarah Best (uneven parallel bars) and Grace Edwards (floor exercise).
• Head Coach Kasey Crawford is in her tenth season at UWL. Last year's national title was Crawford first as a head coach and completing the trifecta as she has now won a NCGA National Championship as a student-athlete, assistant coach and head coach all at UWL. She led the Eagles to a WIAC Championship in 2018 and second-place finishes at the NCGA Championships in 2017, 2018 and 2023. The Eagles finished third at the 2022 and 2024 NCGA Championships. Coach Crawford was named the NCGA Coach of the Year at the conclusion of the 2023 championships. Crawford was a four-year letter winner and two-year team captain at UWL, competing from 2004-08.