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Muhammad Paired with Alabama
April 02, 2017 04:40 PM | Gymnastics
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University junior gymnast Zaakira Muhammad will compete alongside No. 6-ranked Alabama at the 2017 NCAA National Gymnastics Championships.
Hosted by the University of Missouri, Columbia, and the St. Louis Sports Commission, the championships will be held at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Missouri, April 14-15.
Muhammad and the Crimson Tide will compete in the evening session, which also features No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Florida, No. 7 Michigan, No. 10 Georgia and No. 14 Nebraska.
Muhammad will open the meet on floor exercise. The Pennsauken, New Jersey, native’s complete rotation order is floor, vault, bye, uneven bars, balance beam, bye.
“We are very familiar with Alabama, as we just competed alongside them last night. They have a super nice coaching staff, and I know their entire program will support Zaakira at the National Championships,” Mountaineer coach Jason Butts said. “It will be nice for Zaakira to rotate with a team who can push for an NCAA title. It also will be an advantage for her to compete in the second semifinal, as she is used to competing in the evening. We’re looking forward to being in St. Louis and having Zaakira represent WVU gymnastics on the national stage.”
Muhammad is the top all-around qualifier for the 2017 NCAA National Championships, having scored 39.325 and her fourth-place finish at the NCAA Morgantown Regional on April 1. The 19th WVU individual qualifier and the first since Hope Sloanhoffer qualified in the all-around in 2014, Muhammad also finished third on floor last night with a season-best matching score of 9.9.
The women’s gymnastics championships consist of 12 teams and 12 all-around competitors (who are not on a qualifying team). The top two teams and the top two all-around competitors from each of the six regionals have advanced to the national championships. In addition, the event winners at each regional also advanced to the national championships (in their specific event) if they were not part of a qualifying team or the all-around qualifiers.
Team semifinal and all-around competition will be conducted in two sessions Friday, April 14, at 1 and 8 p.m. EST. The top three teams from each semifinal will advance to Super Six competition on Saturday, April 15, at 9 p.m. EST. Semifinal I will be broadcast live on ESPN2, and Semifinal II and Super Six competition will be broadcast live on ESPNU.
TEAM COMPETITION
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ALL-AROUND INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIERS:
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Qualifiers
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Regional
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Regional Scor
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Zaakira Muhammad, West Virginia
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Morgantown
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39.325
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Alex Hyland, Kentucky
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Seattle
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39.300
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Mollie Korth, Kentucky
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Seattle
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39.300
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Angel Metcalf, Iowa
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Champaign
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39.300
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Alexis Mattern, Ohio St.
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Champaign
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39.250
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Briannah Tsang, Penn. St.
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Gainesville
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39.250
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Katie Becker, Auburn
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Fayetteville
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39.200
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Cami Drouin-Allaire, George Washington
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Morgantown
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39.175
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Jessica Yamzon, Arkansas
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Fayetteville
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39.175
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Haylee Young, Iowa St.
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Lincoln
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39.175
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Shani Remme, Boise St.
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Lincoln
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39.150
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Sabrina Garcia, Penn St.
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Gainesville
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39.050
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INDIVIDUAL EVENT QUALIFIERS:
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|
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Vault:
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Regional
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Regional Score
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Denelle Pedrick, Central Michigan
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Fayetteville
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9.990
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Braie Speed, Arkansas
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Fayetteville
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9.990
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Chelsea Raineri, George Washington
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Morgantown
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9.875
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Bars:
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Regional
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Regional Score
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Elizabeth Price, Stanford
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Seattle
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9.975
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Samantha Cerio, Auburn
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Fayetteville
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9.925
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Beam:
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Regional
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Regional Score
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Clair Kaji, Iowa
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Champaign
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9.950
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Katy Clements, Central Michigan
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Fayetteville
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9.900
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Desiree Palomares, California
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Fayetteville
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9.900
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Floor:
No regional qualifiers.
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Regional
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Regional Score
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