April 4, 2018
By Maria Evangelou, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - For the first time since 2014, Penn State University will serve as the host for an NCAA Regionals meet this Saturday, April 7. This marks the 14th time in school history that the university has had the honor of hosting, but the first-ever time hosting an NCAA Regional for new head coach Sarah Brown.
"I have to say I was a was little bit nervous about knowing we were hosting, being my first year here at Penn State," Brown said. "But the staff at Rec hall is amazing. They've hosted championships before, and everybody involved from sports information to marketing to ticketing, even our medical staff--everyone has been incredible. They come to our planning meetings prepared and organized, so I honestly feel like I've let the staff run the championship the way they want to, because they've done a great job in the past. I'm so grateful to have their help this year so I can focus on coaching and preparing the team."
Penn State has competed every year in the regional format since its inception in 1982.
"We want to make sure we're just being ourselves," Brown said on competing in the meet. "We're really comfortable in Rec Hall, so we haven't talked a lot about format or changes because we know how it's going to be set up. The underclassmen are really prepared for post-season now that they've seen a little bit of everything, between double-duals, being at Big Fives, and being on podium at Big Tens. We're lucky to be starting on bars, which is a strong rotation for us and something that we've already practiced this year, so I think they're going to be prepared and excited for a great weekend."
It will be a change of pace in Rec Hall with such a large presence from other universities.
The Nittany Lions, currently ranked at No. 29, will host No. 5 Florida, No. 8 Washington, No. 17 Arizona State, No. 27 West Virginia and No. 30 New Hampshire, with the top two teams earning a berth into the NCAA Championship field on April 20-21 in St. Louis, Missouri.
"Last week we broke down the routines a little bit," Brown said. "We didn't do as many full sets, we did a lot of drills and timers and tried to focus in on the details to clean things up. I think that took a lot of the pressure off mentally, in making sure that the girls were able to relax a bit.'
The athletes are feeling refreshed and ready to go after working hard in the gym at their weekly practices, as well as taking some time off for the Easter holiday to enjoy with their family and friends. In addition to preparing the athletes, Brown is taking extra time to prepare herself and her fellow coaching staff, as well.
"I've had to lean on everybody's areas of expertise and tried to let them lead the way in what they know will make for a good championship," Brown said. "As far as Rob [Drass] and Dallas [Becerra] go, they've been in a handful of postseason events, so we've talked about preparing the girls for a little bit of a different structure in the warm-up time."
The regional will be comprised of six teams, five all-around competitors - who did not qualify with a team - and one individual event specialist per event were named to each of the six predetermined host sites. In knowing that there will be individual event specialists rotating in amongst the Nittany Lions, the athletes are eager to be good hosts and welcome their fellow competitors into the rotation so that they feel comfortable and at home.
"I think it makes it feel a little bit more exciting knowing that it is a regional championship," Brown said. "There's going to be a lot more advertising for the NCAA and not just Penn State, so we know that we're going to feel a little bit of a difference. We are lucky enough to have a regional practice day on Friday, so we're happy to have another opportunity to be in Rec Hall before the meet."
After wrapping up the regular season and kicking off the postseason on the road for the past five weeks, the Nittany Lions are ready to finally take on their home base at Rec Hall once more, with the comfort of their home campus allowing the gymnasts to rest up in a familiar environment and maintain composure.
"I'm really looking forward to building upon the success that we've had this season," Brown said. "It takes a lot to get to know sixteen different personalities when you walk in. Now we're so comfortable with each other, but now we're going to have a lot higher expectations because we know what these athletes are capable of and how hard they've worked to get where they are."