The Race to Regionals:  Week of February 28th

February 28th, 2006

Nationally, Georgia remains in the #1 spot by a wide margin (.795), while #2 Florida has a slim lead (.01) over #3 Utah.  The other teams that seem like virtual locks for seeded positions are: Alabama, Iowa State, Oklahoma, LSU, UCLA, Missouri, Nebraska, Michigan, and Stanford.  #13 Auburn and #14 Arizona are in very good position for seeded spots as well.

Perhaps the most interesting situation in the national rankings at the moment is the cluster of teams (Arizona State, Oregon State, Penn State, Denver, and Kentucky) in ranks 15-19 with only a difference of .365 from top to bottom.  There is then a large drop-off (.685) from #19 Kentucky to #20 Arkansas.  Anything can happen in the four remaining weeks of competition, but the most likely scenario is that there will be a dogfight between these five teams currently ranked 15-19 for only four seeded spots.

Central Region

Seeded teams:
#4 Alabama
#7 LSU
#13 Auburn

Unseeded teams currently in position to qualify to Regionals:
#19 Kentucky
#23 Michigan State
#25 Ohio State

Next in line:
#38 Western Michigan (should be #36– missed Troester deadline)
#40 Central Michigan

There are three Central teams, Alabama, LSU, and Auburn, that seem safe bets to receive seeded spots to Regionals.  Kentucky (RQS 194.58) is currently in the unlucky #19 spot nationally but could pull into a seeded spot before all is said and done.

Michigan State (193.205) and Ohio State (193.105) are in position to qualify for the final two Regionals berths and are more than a point ahead of their nearest competitor, Western Michigan (192.07).  However, if Kentucky does manage to pull up into a seeded position, the fight between Western Michigan and Central Michigan (191.59) for the resulting Regionals berth could be intense.  Central Michigan is still carrying a 189 away score, and replacing that with a 192+ (which they have already scored four times) could close the gap entirely.

As things stand now, the following would the individual qualifiers to Regionals:

All-Around
Cherisse Marier, Western Michigan
Heather Carroll, Western Michigan
Carrie Mayle, Kent State
Rebecca Fuss, Eastern Michigan
Jessica Neel, Central Michigan
(Next in line- Jillian Kowalski, Kent State)

Vault
Mattie Crawford, Central Michigan

Uneven Bars
Kristin Peters, Kent State

Balance Beam
Jennifer Sturgis, Western Michigan

Floor Exercise
Amy Cucinotta, Kent State

North Central Region

Seeded teams:
#3 Utah
#5 Iowa State
#18 Denver

Unseeded teams currently in position to qualify for Regionals:
#22 Minnesota
#26 Brigham Young
#27 Southern Utah

Next in line:
#30 Utah State
#33 Iowa

This is always a very deep region, and this year is no exception.  Utah and Iowa State stand tall atop the national rankings.  But with six teams ranked between 18 and 33, at least two (and maybe three) deserving teams will not be attending Regionals.  Denver will be involved in the dogfight to retain a seeded position, and Minnesota (193.595) looks secure in its unseeded position.  Behind them, there are four teams fighting for one or two berths.

Brigham Young (193.055) and Southern Utah (193.03) will jockey for position against one another in an extremely close race and at the same time will need to fend off Utah State (192.72), which is not too far behind.  Iowa (192.285) has more ground to make up.

As things stand now, the following would the individual qualifiers to Regionals:

All-Around
Jessica Parenti, Utah State
Liz Grajewski, Iowa
Meagan Lewis, Utah State
Lauren Robison, Air Force
Lynn Morris, Wisconsin-Eau Claire
(Next in line- Rhian Paulson, Wisconsin-Stout)

Vault
Kortny Williamson, Iowa

Uneven Bars-
(There is currently a tie, which would be broken by the highest score not used in RQS.)
Katie Omann and Alex Martin, Utah State

Balance Beam
Brittany Price, Utah State

Floor Exercise
Kortny Williamson, Iowa  

Northeast Region

Seeded teams:
#11 Michigan (should be #10– missed deadline)
#17 Penn State

Unseeded teams currently in position to qualify for Regionals:
#31 New Hampshire
#42 Pittsburgh
#47 Rutgers (should be #48– Towson missed deadline and should be #47)

Next in line:
#55 Yale
#59 Rhode Island U.

This is typically the weakest region in terms of depth, and while there is some improvement, there are still two teams below the top 36 in position to qualify for Regionals.  Michigan is comfortably in seeded position, while Penn State will be fighting to stay in the top 18.  New Hampshire (192.52) is a virtual lock for an unseeded berth.  This leaves one or two berths for the remaining Northeast Region teams.

Pittsburgh (191.425) has a large lead over Rutgers (190.64), and Rutgers in turn has a huge lead over Yale (187.595) and Rhode Island U. (186.4).

As things stand now, the following would the individual qualifiers to Regionals:

All-Around
Kimberly So, Yale
Alina Liao, Yale
Kelly Gurney, Rhode Island U.
Emily Rinaldo, Rhode Island U.
Julia Zimmerman, MIT
(Next in line- Leslie Gregory, Cornell)

Vault
Miki Seltzer, Yale

Uneven Bars
Cathy Schnell, Cornell

Balance Beam
Lauren Tatsuno, Yale

Floor Exercise
Miki Seltzer, Yale

South Central Region

Seeded teams:
#6 Oklahoma
#9 Missouri
#10 Nebraska (should be #11– Michigan missed deadline and should be #10)
#14 Arizona
#15 Arizona State

Unseeded teams currently in position to qualify to Regionals:

#20 Arkansas
#21 Illinois-Champaign
#36 Illinois-Chicago (should be #37– Western Michigan missed deadline and should be #36)

Next in line:
#43 Northern Illinois (should be #44– California missed deadline and should be #43)
#46 Southeast Missouri 

This region has an impressive five teams (Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska, Arizona, and Arizona State) currently in seeded position.  They are all in good position to retain their seeded spots, with #15 Arizona State the most tentative (see above commentary on the teams currently ranked 15-19).  It’s not out of the question for Arkansas (193.895) or Illinois-Champaign (193.685) to become seeded, but it appears unlikely.  

The result is that this is the region least likely to have a major shakeup between now and the end of the season.  Illinois-Chicago (191.8) is in position for the final berth for Regionals, and they have a sizeable lead over Northern Illinois (191.23) and Southeast Missouri (190.74).

As things stand now, the following would the individual qualifiers to Regionals:

All-Around
Sandra Blake, Southeast Missouri
Alison Ezell, Southeast Missouri
Cheryl Berezan, Illinois State
(These are the only three gymnasts from this region with all-around RQS who are not on a qualifying team.)

Vault
Meaghan Koshman, Illinois State

Uneven Bars
Maureen Grimaldi, Southeast Missouri

Balance Beam
Jennifer Naughton, Northern Illinois

Floor Exercise
Bethany Plapp, Northern Illinois

Southeast Region

Seeded teams:

#1 Georgia
#2 Florida

Unseeded teams currently in position to qualify to Regionals:
#24 West Virginia
#28 North Carolina
#32 North Carolina State

Next in line:
#39 Maryland
#41 George Washington 

Boasting the #1 and #2 teams in the country in Georgia and Florida, this region has two teams locked into seeded position, and it is unlikely that any other Southeast Region team could join them.

West Virginia (193.19) and North Carolina (193.01) have a sizeable lead over the teams below them.  North Carolina State (192.3) is in good position to take the final Regionals berth, but Maryland (191.735) and George Washington (191.5) are not out of the hunt.

As things stand now, the following would the individual qualifiers to Regionals:

All-Around
Rachel Martinez, Maryland
Rachel Colon, Maryland
Christina Ghani, Towson
Erin Aiken, George Washington
Decelia Willacy, Towson
(Next in line- Cristina Lindo, Towson)

Vault
Angela Ferg, Maryland

Uneven Bars
Mandy Pascual, Maryland

Balance Beam
Alex Gatch, Maryland

Floor Exercise
Brittany Gibbs, William and Mary

West Region

Seeded teams:
#8 UCLA
#12 Stanford
#16 Oregon State

Unseeded teams currently in position to qualify to Regionals:
#29 San Jose State
#34 Sacramento State
#35 Boise State

Next in line:
#37 Washington (should be #38– Western Michigan missed deadline and should be #36)
#45 California (should be #43– missed deadline)
#44 Cal State-Fullerton (should be #45– California missed deadline and should be #43)

This is an interesting year in the West Region, with perennial Regionals qualifier Washington currently not in position to qualify.  San Jose State and Sacramento State are having great seasons and are ranked more highly both within the region and in the nation than they have been in recent years.

UCLA and Stanford appear to be locks for seeded berths, and Oregon State is in good position but not out of the woods yet.  San Jose State (192.925) has a large lead over the other unseeded qualifiers.  Sacramento State (192.135) and Boise State (192.09) will be fighting it out with Washington (191.76) and maybe California (191.34) for the final two berths (assuming Oregon State stays in seeded position).

As things stand now, the following would the individual qualifiers to Regionals: 

All-Around
Jessica Portlock, Alaska
Lauren Agostino, Alaska
Sarah Sullivan, Seattle-Pacific
Chelsea Bakken, Washington
Brittany Hoffman, Cal State-Fullerton
(Next in line- Britani Pittullo, California)

Vault
Ashley Houghting, Washington

Uneven Bars
Kelly McDonald, Washington

Balance Beam
Kelly McDonald, Washington

Floor Exercise
Kristen Omori, Washington