Photo by: Seth Seebaugh
Field Set for NCAA Morgantown Regional Championships
March 22, 2021 07:16 PM | Gymnastics
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The 2021 National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championships regional selections were announced on Monday, and West Virginia University will compete in the play-in round of the Morgantown Regional, inside the WVU Coliseum, on Thursday, April 1, at 3 p.m. ET.
Joining the Mountaineers at the Morgantown Regional are No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 California, No. 12 BYU, No. 13 UCLA, Kent State, Ohio State, Penn State and Towson.
Under the new NCAA regional format, four meets will be held in three days. On Thursday, April 1, PSU and WVU will compete in a dual meet. WVU will open the meet on the uneven bars. The team's complete rotation order is bars, vault, floor exercise and balance beam.
The Mountaineers are 8-40 all-time against the Nittany Lions, with the two squads last meeting in dual action on Jan. 11, 2020. Despite the loss, West Virginia recorded its highest season-opening meet score in program history at Penn State last season.
The winner of Thursday night's matchup will advance to the second round of competition and face the Wolverines, the Bruins and Golden Flashes on Friday, April 2, at 7 p.m. ET. The first second-round meet will feature the Golden Bears, the Cougars, the Buckeyes and the Tigers at 1 p.m. on Friday. The top-two teams from each second-round meet will advance to the regional final, which will be held on Saturday, April 3, at 7 p.m.
Today's bid is the 41st regional championships berth for the Mountaineers (2-7, 0-6 Big 12), their 36th in NCAA competition, and the team's sixth consecutive qualification.
WVU plays host to a regional championships for the 11th time in program history. The last time the squad played host to the NCAA Regional Championships was in 2017, when the Mountaineers earned a program regional-record score of 196.325 and finished third.
The Mountaineers have advanced to the NCAA National Championships three times (1995, 1999, 2000) since 1983.
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 16-17 in Fort Worth, Texas, at Dickies Arena. The championship event is hosted by Texas Woman's University and Knight Eady. The top-two teams from the Morgantown and Athens Regionals will compete in the first semifinal, and the top-two teams from the Salt Lake City and Tuscaloosa Regionals will compete in the second semifinal.
Morgantown Regional (West Virginia University, host)
Vault – Courtney Mitchell, Lindenwood
Vault – Aleah Leman, Lindenwood
Vault – Kyndall Baze, Lindenwood
Vault – Kylie Gorgenyi. New Hampshire
Uneven Bars – Ava Verdeflor, Penn State
Uneven Bars – Alissa Bonsall, Penn State
Uneven Bars – Katrina Coca, Pittsburgh
Uneven Bars – Katie Chamberlain, Pittsburgh
Uneven Bars – Kylie Gorgenyi, New Hampshire
Balance Beam – Hailey Lui, New Hampshire
Balance Beam – Robyn Kelley, New Hampshire
Balance Beam – Alyssa Worthington, New Hampshire
Balance Beam – Lauren Beckwith, Pittsburgh
Floor Exercise – Robyn Kelly, New Hampshire
Floor Exercise –Melissa Astarita, Penn State
Floor Exercise – Kendra Combs, West Virginia
Floor Exercise – Abbie Pierson, West Virginia
Floor Exercise – Kiana Lewis, West Virginia
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUGymnastics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Joining the Mountaineers at the Morgantown Regional are No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 California, No. 12 BYU, No. 13 UCLA, Kent State, Ohio State, Penn State and Towson.
Under the new NCAA regional format, four meets will be held in three days. On Thursday, April 1, PSU and WVU will compete in a dual meet. WVU will open the meet on the uneven bars. The team's complete rotation order is bars, vault, floor exercise and balance beam.
The Mountaineers are 8-40 all-time against the Nittany Lions, with the two squads last meeting in dual action on Jan. 11, 2020. Despite the loss, West Virginia recorded its highest season-opening meet score in program history at Penn State last season.
The winner of Thursday night's matchup will advance to the second round of competition and face the Wolverines, the Bruins and Golden Flashes on Friday, April 2, at 7 p.m. ET. The first second-round meet will feature the Golden Bears, the Cougars, the Buckeyes and the Tigers at 1 p.m. on Friday. The top-two teams from each second-round meet will advance to the regional final, which will be held on Saturday, April 3, at 7 p.m.
Today's bid is the 41st regional championships berth for the Mountaineers (2-7, 0-6 Big 12), their 36th in NCAA competition, and the team's sixth consecutive qualification.
WVU plays host to a regional championships for the 11th time in program history. The last time the squad played host to the NCAA Regional Championships was in 2017, when the Mountaineers earned a program regional-record score of 196.325 and finished third.
The Mountaineers have advanced to the NCAA National Championships three times (1995, 1999, 2000) since 1983.
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 16-17 in Fort Worth, Texas, at Dickies Arena. The championship event is hosted by Texas Woman's University and Knight Eady. The top-two teams from the Morgantown and Athens Regionals will compete in the first semifinal, and the top-two teams from the Salt Lake City and Tuscaloosa Regionals will compete in the second semifinal.
Morgantown Regional (West Virginia University, host)
- BYU
- California
- Kent State
- Michigan
- Ohio State
- Towson
- Penn State
- UCLA
- West Virginia
- Cassidy Rushlow, Penn State
- Hannah Joyner, Rutgers
- Belle Huang, Rutgers
Vault – Courtney Mitchell, Lindenwood
Vault – Aleah Leman, Lindenwood
Vault – Kyndall Baze, Lindenwood
Vault – Kylie Gorgenyi. New Hampshire
Uneven Bars – Ava Verdeflor, Penn State
Uneven Bars – Alissa Bonsall, Penn State
Uneven Bars – Katrina Coca, Pittsburgh
Uneven Bars – Katie Chamberlain, Pittsburgh
Uneven Bars – Kylie Gorgenyi, New Hampshire
Balance Beam – Hailey Lui, New Hampshire
Balance Beam – Robyn Kelley, New Hampshire
Balance Beam – Alyssa Worthington, New Hampshire
Balance Beam – Lauren Beckwith, Pittsburgh
Floor Exercise – Robyn Kelly, New Hampshire
Floor Exercise –Melissa Astarita, Penn State
Floor Exercise – Kendra Combs, West Virginia
Floor Exercise – Abbie Pierson, West Virginia
Floor Exercise – Kiana Lewis, West Virginia
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUGymnastics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
Assistant Coach Kaylyn Millick | Intro
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Assistant Coach Jessica Yamzon | Intro
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Associate Head Coach Travis Doak | Intro
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Head Coach Jason Butts | Intro
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