The Gophers women’s gymnastics team finished fourth out of six teams at its NCAA championships semifinal session on Friday.

Minnesota scored 196.375 in its first NCAA championships appearance since 2002, but fell short of making the finals by nearly a full point.

Florida, Louisiana State and Georgia – three Southeastern Conference teams – finished ahead of Minnesota to advance to Saturday’s team final.

Minnesota’s uneven bars score hurt its chances of advancing. The three teams that finished ahead of the Gophers had higher scores on the apparatus.

The Gophers were strongest on floor with a score of 49.2. All five gymnasts scored 9.8 or higher.

Freshman Lindsay Mable qualified for the event finals on Sunday by tying for first on the floor exercise. She also qualified for the vault competition.

Fellow freshman Hanna Nordquist qualified for the balance beam finals by finishing tied for second.

Sophomore Cierra Tomson led the Gophers in the all-around competition with a score of 39.175.

Minnnesota will wait and see where it ends up in the final rankings. The worst it can be is 10th (because six other teams will compete in the second session tonight). The best finish the Gophers have ever had at the NCAA championships was ninth in 2002.