Field Set for NCAA Morgantown Regional
March 23, 2015 06:17 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The 2015 National Collegiate Women’s Gymnastics Championships regional selections were announced today, and West Virginia University will compete as the No. 6 seed at the Morgantown Regional, inside the WVU Coliseum, on Saturday, April 4, at 4 p.m.
The bid is the 36th regional championships berth for the Mountaineers (14-9-1, 1-1-1), their 31st in NCAA competition, and their first since qualifying in 2013. Since the NCAA began sponsoring gymnastics in 1983, the Mountaineers have advanced to the NCAA National Championships three times (1995, 1999, 2000).
WVU (14-9-1, 1-1-1) will host a regional championships for the first time since 2013 and for the ninth time in program history. The Mountaineers finished fifth at the 2013 NCAA Morgantown Regional Championships with a score of 194.475.
No. 2-ranked Florida, the two-time reigning NCAA National Champions, earned the region’s top seed. No. 11-ranked Stanford is the No. 2 seed, and No. 14 Illinois is the No. 3 seed. The Fighting Illini also were the No. 3 seed at the 2013 NCAA Morgantown Regional Championships and advanced to the NCAA National Championships. No. 19 Arkansas is the No. 4 seed, and New Hampshire, a former WVU foe in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League, is seeded fifth.
“We’re really excited to host the regional championships this year – we’re very happy to be back in the game,” said fourth-year coach Jason Butts. “The goal was to be back at the regional championships as a team, and we accomplished that goal.
“We’ve been working really hard as a University to host this event, and I’m excited about the draw. I’m happy to welcome a strong field to the WVU Coliseum next Saturday, including reigning co-National Champion Florida.”
WVU has met only UNH this season. The squads split their meetings, with the Wildcats earning a 196.525-195.3 win in Durham, New Hampshire, on February 8, and the Mountaineers evening the series with a 195.2-194.1 victory at the WVU Coliseum on February 22. WVU’s win over the then-No. 25 Wildcats is its lone victory against a ranked opponent this season.
WVU will open the meet on floor. The Mountaineers’ complete rotation order is floor, vault, bye, uneven bars, balance beam, bye.
Six teams, five all-around competitors (who are not on a qualifying team) and one individual event specialist per event [who has a minimum Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 9.4] were named to each of the six predetermined host sites.
The top-18 teams are seeded nationally, based on RQS. Teams 19-36 are organized into three pods (19-24, 25-30 and 31-36) and placed geographically at one of the six sites, beginning with teams 19-24 followed by teams 25-30 and then finally teams 31-36. All-around competitors and event specialists are assigned to their respective geographic region or the designated site for their region.
The top two teams and the top two all-around competitors (who are not on an advancing team) from each regional will receive an automatic berth to the national championships in Fort Worth, Texas, April 17-19, hosted by Texas Woman’s and the Knight Eady Sports Group. The top two teams from the Norman, Auburn and Ames regionals will compete in one of the semifinals, and the top two teams from the Morgantown, Columbus and Berkeley regionals will compete in the other semifinal. Additionally, the event winners at each regional site will advance to the national championships (in that event only) if they are not part of a qualifying team or an all-around qualifier.
Tickets for the championships are on sale through the Mountaineer Ticket Office. Tickets are $12 each when purchased in advance online at WVUGAME.com or by calling the Mountaineer Ticket Office at 1-800-WVU-GAME. Groups of 10 or more can receive a special group rate of $10 per person at WVUGAME.com or by calling 1-800-WVU-GAME. Group tickets must be purchased in advance. Tickets will be available at the door for $15 each on the day of the meet.
Morgantown Regional (West Virginia University, host) – 4 p.m.
Teams
- Florida
- Stanford
- Illinois
- Arkansas
- New Hampshire
- West Virginia
All-Around Competitors
- Sasha Tsikhanovich, Bridgeport
- Diana Walters, Brown
- Majesta Valentine, West Chester
- Jorden Mitchell, Brown
- Elizabeth Groden, Rutgers
Individual Event Specialists
Vault – Luisa Leal, Rutgers
Uneven Bars – Jenna Williams, Rutgers
Balance Beam – Lindsay Offutt, Pitt
Floor Exercise – Caitlin Perry, Bridgeport
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