March 21, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - For the 35th-straight year, the Penn State women's gymnastics program will compete at the NCAA Regional Championships, as the Nittany Lions head to the campus of the University of Michigan for competition on April 2 inside the Crisler Center. The meet is slated to start at 6 p.m.
"We are very proud to represent Penn State University and the Big Ten conference at the 2016 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Regionals in Ann Arbor, Michigan," head coach Jeff Thompson said. "The girls are excited about the opportunity to compete against some of the nation's best teams and see how they measure up in head-to-head competition. The field is definitely tough with No. 6 Auburn and No. 7 Michigan as the one and two seeds and perennial powerhouse Stanford as the three seed; but, as was made evident two weekends ago at the Big Five Qualifier, anything can happen."
Competing against the Nittany Lions in the Ann Arbor Regional will be No. 6 Auburn, No. 7 Michigan, No. 18 Stanford, No. 24 Eastern Michigan and No. 33 New Hampshire.
The No. 6 Auburn Tigers enter the meet following a fourth-place finish at the SEC Championships with a score of 196.975 and host No. 7 Michigan recently captured its 22nd Big Ten title with a 197.125.
The No. 18 Stanford Cardinal finished fifth at the Pac-12 Championships with their score of 196.125, No. 24 Eastern Michigan won its second Mid-American Conference (MAC) title in program history with its score of 196.425 and No. 33 New Hampshire finished second at the East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) Championships with a 195.525.
Penn State has advanced to all 35 NCAA Regional Championships since women's gymnastics was adopted as an NCAA sport in 1982. The Nittany Lions will be looking to secure their 18th appearance at the NCAA Championships in 2016 as they currently rank tied for 11th in NCAA history in appearances at the national meet.
The Nittany Lions have hosted the regional championships on 13 occasions and will travel for the 22nd time. The 2016 Ann Arbor regional marks the second time in program history the Nittany Lions will compete in a regional in Ann Arbor (2003).
The Blue and White competed inside the Crisler Center last year for the 2015 Big Ten Women's Gymnastics Championships.
"We like the fact that our sophomores and juniors competed in Crisler Center last season at the Big Ten Championships; so, they will be familiar with the environment and also be able to help the freshmen with setting expectations," Thompson said. "We are thrilled that we can drive there, too."
"Finally, we are excited that we have the same event rotation [in essence] that we had at the Big Five Qualifier -- as we begin on bars and beam and finish on floor then vault," Thompson said. "The only drawback is that we end on a bye and will have to sit and watch to see if our score holds up."
Penn State recently finished fourth at the 2016 Big Ten Women's Gymnastics Championships with a score of 196.150. At the meet, Kiera Brown (Newport News, Va.) claimed Penn State's 17th event title in program history. Brown tied for the top-spot on the uneven bars with her score of 9.950, which tied her career-best performance and her tally also tied the No. 3 score in program history.
The top two teams and the top two all-around competitors (who are not on an advancing team) from each regional will receive an automatic berth to the national championships in Fort Worth, Texas, April 15-16.
Ann Arbor Regional (University of Michigan, host) -- 6 p.m. EDT
No. 6 Auburn
No. 7 Michigan
No. 18 Stanford
No. 24 Eastern Michigan
No. 25 Penn State
No. 33 New Hampshire
Athens Regional (University of Georgia, host) -- 4 p.m. EDT
No. 3 LSU
No. 9 Georgia
No. 13 Oregon State
No. 22 Arizona
No. 27 George Washington
No. 36 Michigan State
Iowa City Regional (University of Iowa, host) -- 4 p.m. CDT
No. 1 Oklahoma
No. 12 Nebraska
No. 13 Arkansas
No. 19 Iowa
No. 30 Kent State
No. 35 Central Michigan
Minneapolis Regional (University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, host) -- 4 p.m. CDT
No. 2 Florida
No. 11 Denver
No. 16 Minnesota
No. 20 Missouri
No. 28 Ohio State
No. 31 BYU
Salt Lake City Regional (University of Utah, host) -- 6 p.m. MDT
No. 5 Utah
No. 8 UCLA
No. 17 Washington
No. 23 Southern Utah
No. 29 Illinois
No. 32 Utah State
Tuscaloosa Regional (University of Alabama, host) -- 4 p.m. CDT
No. 4 Alabama
No. 10 California
No. 15 Boise State
No. 21 Kentucky
No. 26 West Virginia
No. 34 Bowling Green