University of Minnesota Athletics
Russell to Compete at NCAA Championship
4/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
The semifinal sessions on April 22 will not be televised, but the team finals on Friday, April 23 will be telecast by CBS on a tape delay basis and will air on Saturday, May 8 at 1 p.m. central.
Twelve teams qualified for the national championship by placing among the top two at their respective regional championships. The 12 participating teams, in order of national qualifying score, are UCCLA, Florida, Alabama, Oklahoma, Utah, Stanford, Arkansas, Oregon State, LSU, Missouri, Michigan, and Nebraska.
In addition to the 12 teams, 12 individual all around gymnasts and two event specialists have qualified to compete at the national championship. Each individual competitor is assigned to rotate with one of the participating teams. Minnesota’s Russell will rotate with Michigan.
Russell and the University of Michigan will compete on beam in the first rotation, and will have a bye in the second rotation. She will compete on floor in the third rotation, vault in the fourth, and have a bye in the fifth rotation. Russell will conclude the session on bars, one of her strongest events this season.
The Gophers have advanced to the NCAA Championship as a team in two seasons, 1997 and 2002. Minnesota has sent individual qualifiers to the NCAA meet 11 times, meaning the Gophers have been represented in 13 of the 27 NCAA Championships.
The last time Minnesota had an individual qualifier at the NCAA Championship was in 2008 when Carmelina Carabajal represented the Gophers at the national meet. Carabajal finished 14th in the all around at the 2008 NCAA Championships.
Players Mentioned
