Huskers Venture to Penn State for Northeast Regional

INDIANAPOLIS -- The eighth-ranked Nebraska women's gymnastics team will head to State College, Pa., to compete in the Northeast Regional the NCAA announced Monday. Nebraska, seeded second, will face No. 1 seed and fifth-ranked Michigan, No. 3 seed and 16th-ranked Iowa, No. 4 George Washington, No. 5 Penn State and No. 6 Pittsburgh in the meet hosted by Penn State.

"I'm very pleased with going to Penn State," Head Coach Dan Kendig said. "Having three teams ranked in the top 16 will make for a great meet. With Penn State at home, you never know what's going to happen and George Washington has really turned it on as of late. We're excited and we're expecting to have a lot of Husker fans there."

The Huskers, who will be looking for their third straight regional title, already own wins over Penn State and Iowa, but have yet to face Michigan, George Washington or Pittsburgh this season. NU enters the meet with a 14-2 record and is coming off their second consecutive Big 12 Championship title.

Six teams, five all-around competitors (who are not on a qualifying team) and one individual event specialist per event [who has a minimum qualifying score (RQS) of 9.4] were named to each of the six regions.

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 Tuscaloosa, Alabama, April 18-20. In addition, the event winners at the regional championships will advance to the national championships (in that event only) if they are not part of a qualifying team or the all-around qualifiers.

As a result of the September 11 tragedies and out of concern for the welfare of the student-athletes, the Division I Championship/Competition Cabinet made adjustments to the seeding and pairing procedures for the 2002 National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championship. Selections to the championship field remain unchanged from the 2001 procedures; however, the policy adjustments include seeding the top twelve teams (eighteen were seeded in 2001) and reducing team air travel by placing teams at regional sites within 400 miles whenever possible.

Northeast Region - April 6 at State College, Pa. (Penn State)
Teams
1. Michigan
2. Nebraska
3. Iowa
4. George Washington
5. Penn State
6. Pittsburgh

All-Around Competitors
1. Russo, Rutgers
2. Fong, Yale
3. Green, Yale
4. Hamilton, Rhode Island
5. Warrington, Temple
Alt. - Wolf, Yale

Individual Event Specialist
Vault - Turner, Rutgers
Alt. - Marino, Rutgers
Uneven Bars - Teft, Massachusetts
Alt. - Marino, Rutgers
Balance Beam - Finst, Brown
Alt. - Judge, Rhode Island
Floor Exercise - Turner, Rutgers
Alt. - Judge, Rhode Island

In case of ties for selection to regional competition, the team, all-around competitor or individual event specialist with the highest score, not including the six used for the regional qualifying score, will qualify. If a tie still exists, the process is continued until the tie is broken.