Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Mountaineers Bound for Ann Arbor
March 25, 2019 06:25 PM | Gymnastics
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The 2019 National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championships regional selections were announced today, and West Virginia University will compete at the Ann Arbor Regional April 5-6, at the University of Michigan's Crisler Center.
Joining the Mountaineers at the Ann Arbor Regional are No. 2 UCLA, No. 7 Michigan, No. 10 Alabama, No. 14 Nebraska, No. 23 Penn State, Ohio State, Illinois and Central Michigan.
Under the new NCAA regional format, four meets will be held in three days. On Thursday, April 4, Illinois and Central Michigan will compete in a dual meet. The winner will advance to the second round and face the Bruins, the Cornhuskers and the Mountaineers on Friday, April 5, at 7 p.m. WVU will open the meet on floor exercise. The team's complete rotation order is floor exercise, vault, uneven bars, balance beam.
The first second-round meet will feature the Bruins, the Crimson Tide, the Nittany Lions and the Buckeyes at 2 p.m. Friday. The top-two teams from each second-round meet will advance to the regional final, which will be held on Saturday, April 6, at 7 p.m.
"I love that we're competing Friday night – I think it's a huge advantage for the team to compete in the second session," Mountaineer coach Jason Butts said. "We're competing against some great teams, and it's going to be a tough competition. This is an easy trip for us to make, and we're competing in a great arena. This is a really good draw for us.
"The next eight days are all about dedication. We're really focusing in on our training and taking care of our bodies. We want to turn in the best performance we can. This team is a national-caliber team."
Today's bid is the 40th regional championships berth for the Mountaineers (19-12, 0-7), their 35th in NCAA competition, and the team's fifth consecutive qualification.
The Mountaineers have advanced to the NCAA National Championships three times (1995, 1999, 2000) since 1983.
WVU is 2-2 against the Ann Arbor Regional field. Most recently, the Mountaineers scored a season-high 196.425 in wins over PSU (195.525) and OSU (194.925) on March 17 at the WVU Coliseum. WVU opened the season with a 196.05 – 194.15 loss to the Wolverines at the Cancun Classic on Jan. 4 and also dropped a 196.85 – 196.1 decision at OSU on March 2.
The top 36 teams based on National Qualifying Score (NQS) were selected for regional competition. The committee named the top-16 teams and seeded them in the bracket. Seeding determined at the time of selections will be maintained through the championship. Teams 17-36 were placed geographically at one of the four regional sites. Nine teams will compete at each of the four regional sites.
The committee also selected the top-12 all-around competitors and the top-16 event specialist based on NQS and placed them geographically into one of the four regional sites, keeping individuals from the same team together. The list of all-arounders and event specialists included individual qualifying scores from the teams competing in the first round to ensure those individuals will compete in the individual competition, regardless of whether their teams advance from the first round.
The top-two teams and the top all-around competitor (who is not on an advancing team) from each regional will receive an automatic berth to the national championships. In addition, the top event specialist at each regional site who is not part of an advancing team or all-around competitor will advance to the national championships in that event only.
The national championships will take place April 19-20 in Fort Worth, Texas, at the Fort Worth Convention Center Arena. The championship event is hosted by Texas Woman's University and Knight Eady. The top-two teams from the Ann Arbor and Baton Rouge Regionals will compete in the first semifinal, and the top-two teams from the Athens and Corvallis Regionals will compete in the second semifinal.
Joining the Mountaineers at the Ann Arbor Regional are No. 2 UCLA, No. 7 Michigan, No. 10 Alabama, No. 14 Nebraska, No. 23 Penn State, Ohio State, Illinois and Central Michigan.
Under the new NCAA regional format, four meets will be held in three days. On Thursday, April 4, Illinois and Central Michigan will compete in a dual meet. The winner will advance to the second round and face the Bruins, the Cornhuskers and the Mountaineers on Friday, April 5, at 7 p.m. WVU will open the meet on floor exercise. The team's complete rotation order is floor exercise, vault, uneven bars, balance beam.
The first second-round meet will feature the Bruins, the Crimson Tide, the Nittany Lions and the Buckeyes at 2 p.m. Friday. The top-two teams from each second-round meet will advance to the regional final, which will be held on Saturday, April 6, at 7 p.m.
"I love that we're competing Friday night – I think it's a huge advantage for the team to compete in the second session," Mountaineer coach Jason Butts said. "We're competing against some great teams, and it's going to be a tough competition. This is an easy trip for us to make, and we're competing in a great arena. This is a really good draw for us.
"The next eight days are all about dedication. We're really focusing in on our training and taking care of our bodies. We want to turn in the best performance we can. This team is a national-caliber team."
Today's bid is the 40th regional championships berth for the Mountaineers (19-12, 0-7), their 35th in NCAA competition, and the team's fifth consecutive qualification.
The Mountaineers have advanced to the NCAA National Championships three times (1995, 1999, 2000) since 1983.
WVU is 2-2 against the Ann Arbor Regional field. Most recently, the Mountaineers scored a season-high 196.425 in wins over PSU (195.525) and OSU (194.925) on March 17 at the WVU Coliseum. WVU opened the season with a 196.05 – 194.15 loss to the Wolverines at the Cancun Classic on Jan. 4 and also dropped a 196.85 – 196.1 decision at OSU on March 2.
The top 36 teams based on National Qualifying Score (NQS) were selected for regional competition. The committee named the top-16 teams and seeded them in the bracket. Seeding determined at the time of selections will be maintained through the championship. Teams 17-36 were placed geographically at one of the four regional sites. Nine teams will compete at each of the four regional sites.
The committee also selected the top-12 all-around competitors and the top-16 event specialist based on NQS and placed them geographically into one of the four regional sites, keeping individuals from the same team together. The list of all-arounders and event specialists included individual qualifying scores from the teams competing in the first round to ensure those individuals will compete in the individual competition, regardless of whether their teams advance from the first round.
The top-two teams and the top all-around competitor (who is not on an advancing team) from each regional will receive an automatic berth to the national championships. In addition, the top event specialist at each regional site who is not part of an advancing team or all-around competitor will advance to the national championships in that event only.
The national championships will take place April 19-20 in Fort Worth, Texas, at the Fort Worth Convention Center Arena. The championship event is hosted by Texas Woman's University and Knight Eady. The top-two teams from the Ann Arbor and Baton Rouge Regionals will compete in the first semifinal, and the top-two teams from the Athens and Corvallis Regionals will compete in the second semifinal.
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