University of Minnesota Athletics
NCAA Women's Gymnastics Regional Championship Teams Announced
3/31/2008 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Minnesota enters the NCAA Regional Championship ranked No. 28 in the country, and is the No. 6 seed in the region. The Gophers have a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 194.885, and finished in sixth place at the Big Ten Championship last weekend.
Utah is the top-ranked team in the field, and is currently No. 2 in the national rankings with an RQS of 196.944. Utah is a perennial power in women’s gymnastics, and finished second in the country last season. Utah has advanced to the NCAA Championship for the past 26 consecutive seasons, and is the favorite to win this year’s regional championship.
Arkansas is ranked No. 11 in the nation with an RQS of 196.165, and is the No. 2 seeded team in the North Central Region. The Lady Razorbacks finished sixth at the SEC Championships last weekend, while co-head coaches Mark and Rene Cook earned SEC Coach of the Year honors.
Arizona is the No. 3 seed in the regional meet, and is ranked No. 14 nationally with an RQS of 195.890. The Wildcats finished fourth at the PAC-10 Championship last weekend.
Iowa is the No. 4 seed in the North Central region, and is currently ranked No. 23 nationally with an RQS of 195.200. The Hawkeyes finished fifth at the Big Ten Championships last weekend, where head coach Larissa Libby was named the Co-Big Ten Coach of the Year along with Michigan’s Bev Plocki.
Southern Utah is ranked No. 27 nationally with an RQS of 194.890, and is the No. 5 seed in the regional championship.
Both single and group tickets for the NCAA North Central Regional Championship are on sale. Tickets may be ordered through the Minnesota athletics website at www.gophersports.com, or by calling the athletics ticket office at 612-624-8080 or toll free at 1-800-U-GOPHER. All seats are reserved.
Ticket prices are as follows:
$13 chair-back seats (all ages)
$11 bench seats (adults)
$7 bench seats (youth, students, seniors)
$5 bench seats (groups of 15 or more if ordered by April 9, 2008)
All six teams competing in Minneapolis will hold a practice on Friday, April 11 that will be free and open to the public. Practices will run from 2-6 p.m. at the Sports Pavilion.
The University of Minnesota is one of six institutions to host a regional championship in 2008. The other five sites and host institutions are: Baton Rouge, La. (Louisiana State University), University Park, Pa. (Penn State University), Norman, Okla. (University of Oklahoma), Gainesville, Fla. (University of Florida), and Corvallis, Ore. (Oregon State University).
Two teams from each regional championship will advance to the NCAA National Championship, which will be hosted by the University of Georgia on April 24-26, 2008.
