University of Minnesota Athletics
GOPHER GYMNASTS SET TO HOST REGIONAL ACTION
4/1/2000 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
TICKET INFORMATION - Tickets for the NCAA Region 2 Championships can be purchased through the Gopher Ticket Office. Call 612-624-8080 or 1-800-U-GOPHER.
REGION 2 FORMAT - The regional championships will feature six teams, five all-around competitors and one individual specialist per event, based on regional qualifying scores. RQS is based on a team's six best regular-season meet scores, of which three must be road contests. To obtain the RQS, the highest score is eliminated and the remaining five scores are averaged. The nation's top 12 teams were seeded and then paired into the six regions; the remaining four regional teams are taken from within the region based on RQS.
REGION 2 CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS - Because Region 2 teams Utah, BYU and Iowa State are ranked in the top 12 nationally, they were seeded and paired into one of six regional championships. No. 8 Iowa State will compete in Region 4 at Alabama, while No. 10 BYU will compete in Region 6 at Georgia. No. 4 Utah will compete at Minnesota, as will No. 9 West Virginia. The top two team finishers from the regional championships will advance to the NCAA Championships, to be held April 13-15 in Boise, Idaho.
The teams, with regional qualifying score: Utah 196.705 West Virginia 195.710 Minnesota 195.400 Denver 195.236 Utah State 194.940 Southern Utah 193.400 ABOUT THE FIELD-
Denver: Denver is ranked No. 19 and set a school record team total of 196.425 on March 11. Junior Jenny Ebdon has won 24 individual event titles this season and six all around titles. She is ranked No. 5 in the nation on the floor exercise. Head coach Melissa Kutcher was named the 1999 Region 2 Coach of the Year.
Minnesota: No. 16 Minnesota is making its fifth consecutive NCAA regional appearance. The Golden Gophers qualified for the NCAA Championships in 1997. Minnesota is coming off a third-place finish at the Big Ten Championships, scoring a season-high 196.150.
Southern Utah: Southern Utah qualified for its first-ever NCAA regional meet after having individual qualifiers every year since 1990. This season, the Thunderbirds have recorded five of the top 11 scores in team history.
Utah: No. 4 Utah is the top seed at the Region 2 Championships. Utah is one of two teams (Florida is the other) that has qualified for all 24 NCAA Championships. Utah has won 10 national titles, the most of any team. Deidra Graham is ranked No. 7 in the nation in the all around and uneven bars, and Utah gymnasts are listed seven other times in the nation's individual top 25 lists.
Utah State: The No. 24 Aggies placed second at the Big West Conference Championship. Senior Christy Denson was named the Big West Gymnast of the Year after winning the all around with a season-high 39.525. She is ranked No. 2 in the nation on uneven bars.
West Virginia: No. 9 West Virginia qualified for its 18th straight NCAA regional championships. The Mountaineers qualified for their second NCAA championship berth last season. West Virginia placed fifth at the East Atlantic Gymnastics League Championship. The Mountaineers scored a season-high 197.275 on March 12.
Individuals: Three all around competitors from Air Force will compete: Jenn Dougherty, Kim Broughton and Kristi Delcour. Iowa has two all around competitors: Corynne Cooper and Julie Matolo. In addition, three individuals are competing as event specialists. Iowa's Heather DeAtley will compete on vault, Iowa's Angie Hungerford will compete on uneven bars and Air Force's Beth Stott will compete on both balance beam and floor exercise.
WHAT'S AT STAKE - The top two team finishers automatically advance to the NCAA Championships, which will be held April 13-15 in Boise, Idaho. Individuals not part of a qualifying team may advance to the national championships by winning the all around or individual events.
LAST YEAR'S REGION 2 CHAMPIONSHIPS - Top-ranked Georgia, the eventual NCAA champion, and No. 10 Florida advanced to the national meet from the Region 2 Championships in Logan, Utah. Of the six regional meets, only the Region 2 Championships had all six teams ranked in the top 25. Minnesota tied with Denver for fourth place with 194.200 points.
MINNESOTA'S REGIONAL HISTORY - Minnesota's highest regional finish was second in 1983. The Golden Gophers advanced to the NCAA Championships in 1997 after a fourth-place finish at the regional championships. Prior to 1999, one team advanced from each region, with the remaining six spots determined based on score from the region championships.
MINNESOTA RANKED 16TH NATIONALLY - Minnesota is ranked No. 16 in the 11th regular-season poll of the season, released Tuesday, March 21. The ranking of 195.400 is based on the regional qualifying score from Minnesota's 13 meets this season. Minnesota was ranked fourth after the first week of the season, tying the team's highest national ranking ever (week 1, 1998).
BEUCKENS RANKED ON FLOOR EXERCISE - Sophomore Megan Beuckens (Brandon, S.D./Brandon Valley) is the only Minnesota individual in the national top 25 lists. She is tied for 20th place on the floor exercise with a regional qualifying score of 9.90. Beuckens was also ranked in the top 25 in the all around for the first six weeks of the season.
MINNESOTA RECENTLY -The Golden Gophers placed third at the Big Ten Championships in University Park, Pa., on March 18. Michigan won its second consecutive title, scoring a championship-record 197.850. Host Penn State was second at 196.575. Minnesota scored a season-high 196.150, the second-highest score in team history.
FOUR MINNESOTA GYMNASTS ARE ALL-BIG TEN - Senior Judy Cavazos (Monterrey, Mexico/Mexicana del Noreste) earned her third consecutive All-Big Ten honor on uneven bars, tying for fourth at 9.90. Sophomore Megan Beuckens won her second straight conference honor on floor exercise, tying for third at 9.90. Sophomore MaryAnne Kelley (Barrington, Ill./Fremd) placed third in the all around with a career-high total of 39.375, while newcomer Leigh Dixon (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif./The Bishop's School) tied for fourth on vault at 9.85.
DIXON STARS ON VAULT - First-year gymnast Leigh Dixon has been Minnesota's top vaulter in 2000. She earned All-Big Ten honors by tying for third place with a 9.80. Dixon set a career-best 9.90 against Iowa State, tying the second-best score in team history. She has scored at least 9.80 seven times this season, including five straight. Dixon won the vault in her first career competition, at home against Auburn, with a 9.825, which was then the seventh-best score in team history. She leads the team with a 9.794 average on the vault.
TWO SOPHOMORES EARN BIG TEN ATHLETE OF THE WEEK HONORS - Sophomores Megan Beuckens and MaryAnne Kelley have each earned Big Ten women's gymnastics athlete of the week honors this season.
Beuckens has earned the conference honor twice this season, most recently after breaking the school record in the all around with a 39.450 against Iowa State. She set or tied career highs in all four events. Beuckens earned her first honor after winning the all around against Auburn.
Kelley received her honor after winning the all around Feb. 6 at Iowa with a score of 39.175, then the second-highest score in Minnesota history. In that meet, she also tied for first place on the vault and balance beam.
