U-M Draws Afternoon Session for NCAA Preliminaries
4/9/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- For the first time in three years, the University of Michigan will compete in the afternoon session (Thursday, April 19, at 1 p.m.) of preliminary competition at the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships, the NCAA announced today (Monday, April 9). The Wolverines' first-place finish at last Saturday's (April 7) NCAA Northeast Region Championships secured the team a bid for the NCAA National Championships (April 19-21) at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Ga.
The five other teams in the earlier session of the preliminaries are Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, Oregon State and UCLA. Georgia, the host of the championships, will compete in the evening session (7 p.m.) against Arizona, Denver, Nebraska, Stanford and Utah. The top three teams in each session advance to the "Super Six" finals and a chance at the team title the following evening (Friday, April 20) at 7 p.m.
Each session will also have six individual all-around competitors participating with the teams. All-around competitor Dinorh Boyd of West Virginia will join the Wolverines for the preliminary competition.
In addition to the team competition, the top four individuals from each session in each event (plus ties) from the preliminary competition will compete in the individual event finals on Saturday, April 21, at 7 p.m. The individual all-around winner will be determined Thursday.
Last weekend, Michigan won its third consecutive NCAA Regional championship to earn a spot in the national championships. This is the ninth consecutive year the Wolverines have had a chance to win the program's first NCAA title and the University of Michigan's first team title in a women's sport. Michigan finished as the runner-up in 1995 and 1999.
NCAA Championships Site
Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423
