MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The 2016 National Collegiate Women’s Gymnastics Championships regional selections were announced today, and West Virginia University will compete as the No. 5 seed at the Tuscaloosa Regional, inside Coleman Coliseum, on Saturday, April 2, at 5 p.m. EST.

 

The bid is the 37th regional championships berth for the Mountaineers (11-8, 1-5), the 32nd in NCAA competition, and the team’s second straight qualification. WVU is seeded fifth for the first time since competing as the No. 5 seed at the 2013 NCAA Morgantown Regional.

 

NCAA BRACKET | REGIONAL ROTATION ORDER

 

The Mountaineers have advanced to the NCAA National Championships three times (1995, 1999, 2000) since 1983.

 

Host Alabama, ranked No. 4 nationally, earned the region’s top seed. No. 10 California is seeded at No. 2, while No. 15 Boise State claimed the No. 3 seed. No. 21 Kentucky is seeded fourth, and Bowling Green is seeded sixth.

 

Of the six teams competing at the Tuscaloosa Regional, only the Crimson Tide advanced to the 2015 NCAA National Championships, where they placed fourth. Alabama has claimed six NCAA titles, with its last win in 2012.

 

“We competed at Alabama already this year, and the team is used to the arena,” fifth-year Mountaineer coach Jason Butts commented following today’s NCAA Selection Show. “Tuscaloosa is a great town, and we received a great seeding coming into this.

 

“We’re happy with our ranking and the rotation order, and we’re thrilled to be going to Alabama. We know they’ll be a great host.”

 

WVU is 1-2 against the field. The Mountaineers defeated Bowling Green, 196.8-195.725, at the WVU Coliseum on March 6, and lost at Alabama, 197.375-195.25, on Feb. 14, and to Kentucky, 195.8-195.6, at the WVU Coliseum on Feb. 21. The Mountaineers’ winning score against the Falcons was the team’s highest of the season and matched the seventh-best score in program history.

 

The Mountaineers will open the meet on the uneven bars. WVU’s complete rotation order is uneven bars, balance beam, bye, floor exercise, vault, bye.

 

Six teams, four all-around competitors (who are not on a qualifying team) and two 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, and placed into the bracket. 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. Seeding determined at the time of regional selections will be maintained throughout the championships. 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 15-16, hosted by Texas Woman’s and the Knight Eady Sports Group. The top two teams from the Iowa City, Salt Lake City and Tuscaloosa regionals will compete in one of the semifinals, and the top two teams from the Minneapolis, Ann Arbor and Athens 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.

 

 

           

 

 

Vault – Taylor Allex, Arizona State; Andie Van Vorrhis, Northern Illinois

Uneven Bars – Jamyra Carter, Northern Illinois; Lauren Africano, Northern Illinois  

Balance Beam – Amanda Mohler, Illinois State; Megan Greenfield, Northern Illinois  

Floor Exercise – Taylor Allex, Arizona State; McKinzie Jones, Southeast Missouri State