University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Qualify for NCAA Regional Championship
3/29/2010 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
“I feel very good about where we were placed,” said head coach Meg Stephenson. “This is different than what we expected, but I feel great about our chances.”
Every women’s gymnastics team in the Big Ten Conference has qualified for NCAA regional competition for the second year in a row. Minnesota and Iowa are competing in the Columbia Region, Illinois and Michigan State will compete at the Lexington Regional, Penn State and Ohio State are competing at the University Park Regional, and Michigan will compete at the Morgantown Regional.
A total of 36 teams have qualified for an NCAA regional championship, and those 36 teams will compete at six sites. The teams finishing in the top two spots at each regional meet will advance to the NCAA Championships, to be held in Gainesville, Fla., April 22-24. In addition to the top two teams, the top two individual all around competitors who are not members of an advancing team will also earn a trip to the NCAA Championship as individual competitors.
The Minnesota gymnastics team has qualified to compete in an NCAA regional meet for each of the past 16 seasons. In 1997 and 2002, the Gophers earned a trip to the NCAA Championships.
In their most recent competition, the Gophers tied for fourth place with a season-best score of 195.35 at the Big Ten Championship on March 27.
NCAA Regional Championship Assignments:
Los Angeles Regional California (University of California, Los Angeles, host)
1. UCLA
2. Arkansas
3. Iowa State
4. Arizona
5. Brigham Young
6. Arizona State
Salt Lake City Regional Utah (University of Utah, host)
1. Florida
2. Utah
3. Auburn
4. Boise State
5. Denver
6. Washington
Columbia Regional Missouri (University of Missouri, Columbia, host)
1. Georgia
2. Oregon State
3. Missouri
4. Minnesota
5. Iowa
6. North Carolina
Lexington Regional Kentucky (University of Kentucky, host) 1. Alabama
2. Nebraska
3. Illinois
4. Kentucky
5. Central Michigan
6. Michigan State
University Park Regional Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania State University, host)
1. Oklahoma
2. LSU
3. Penn State
4. Maryland
5. Ohio State
6. New Hampshire
Morgantown Regional West Virginia (West Virginia University, host)
1. Stanford
2. Michigan
3. Southern Utah
4. North Carolina State
5. Kent State
6. West Virginia