Michigan Headed to Penn State for Northeast Regional
3/22/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The NCAA women's gymnastics selection committee announced today (Monday, March 22) that No. 19 Michigan will join No. 4 Georgia, No. 9 Iowa State, No. 16 Missouri, New Hampshire and Penn State for the 2004 NCAA Northeast Regional Championships on Saturday, April 3, at 6 p.m at Penn State's Rec Hall in State College, Pa.
Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for youth and senior citizens. Fans can call 800-863-3336 to purchase tickets. General admission tickets will be available at the door the night of the event for $5 (adults) and $3 (youth/students/senior citizens).
The top two teams, the top two all-around gymnasts who are not on a qualifying team and any event winner who scores at least a 9.900 and is not part of a qualifying team at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships receive berths to the 2004 NCAA Women's Gymnastics National Championships, hosted by the University of California at Los Angeles, April 15-17 in Los Angeles, Calif.
Also joining the teams in the Northeast Regional are five all-around competitors and one specialist for each of the four events. The all-around gymnasts are Diandra O'Connor (Pittsburgh), Jayne Finst (Brown), Emily Petkun (Pennsylvania), Brooke Hamilton (Rhode Island) and Lorena Johnson (Rutgers). Event specialists include Alyse Zeffiro (Pittsburgh) on vault and floor excercise, Stephanie Zick (Rutgers) on uneven bars and Lisa Abrams (Rutgers) on balance beam.
Each of the six regionals is made up of three teams ranked among the top 18 in the nation, based on Regional Qualifying Scores. The top 18 teams were seeded and assigned to the six regional sites (three per site), while the remaining three team slots at each regional site were filled by the highest-ranking teams within the region which are not part of the top 18. The top five all-around gymnasts and the top event specialist (with a minimum RQS of 9.4) in each of the six regions were then invited to their respective NCAA Regional Championships.
For Michigan, the trip to the NCAA Regional Championships is the 14th in the history of the program and the 13th consecutive. The team has advanced to the NCAA National Championships 12 times, including each of the last 11 years.
Of the five other regional teams, Michigan faced only Penn State and Georgia this season. The Wolverines defeated the Nittany Lions 197.800-196.625 at the Big Ten Championships (March 20), after falling to the Bulldogs 197.000-196.300 in Ann Arbor (Feb. 27). The Wolverines faced New Hampshire and Iowa State at last season's NCAA regional competition in Ann Arbor, Mich. U-M finished first (196.825) while the Cyclones took third (196.525) and New Hampshire fifth (195.400).
Michigan began the 2004 postseason by winning its sixth consecutive Big Ten title with a season-high 197.800 on Saturday (March 20) in Minneapolis, Minn. Led by all-around champion Elise Ray (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake HS), the Wolverines set or tied team season-high scores on vault (49.275), bars (49.625) and floor (49.500) to compile the second-highest team total in school history. The squad's bars event total is the highest in U-M history.
Ray posted a 39.800 all-around score that included a perfect 10.0 for first place on the uneven bars, a 9.95 for first on the balance beam, a 9.95 for a share of first on the floor exercise and a 9.90 on vault. Calli Ryals (Elyria, Ohio/Midview HS) tied for second on the bars (9.95), while Becca Clauson (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham HS) and Lindsey Bruck (Marietta, N.Y./Marcellus HS) tied for second on the beam (9.90). For her efforts throughout the season and at the championships, head coach Bev Plocki was named the Big Ten co-Coach of the Year.
Contact: Jessica Steyers (734) 763-4423
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