The Race to Regionals:  March 13th, 2007

Number two up to this point in the season, Georgia overtook the top spot this week.  With only the SEC Championships remaining, Georgia has a maximum RQS of 197.585.  #2 Florida has a home meet remaining, in addition to the Conference Championships.  #3 Alabama overtook #4 Stanford this week, while #5 Nebraska jumped up three spots from last week.  Nebraska has a good shot at catching Stanford, as the former has one more remaining meet than the latter, as well as an outlying low score .675 lower than its next lowest score.  Falling victim to Nebraska’s rise, UCLA dropped one spot to #6.

While officially Utah is #7 and LSU is #8, LSU’s latest meet results were not entered into Troester in time for this week’s rankings, and those two positions should be reversed.  #9 Oklahoma and #10 Oregon State remained in the same positions this week, though with a new season high, Michigan jumped up to join Oregon State in a tie for the tenth spot. 

Arkansas is hanging onto the final spot in the top twelve, while #13 Auburn jumped up three spots after two strong away scores this week.  #15 Iowa State is continuing to drop in the rankings, having fallen five spots in two weeks.  #17 Denver fell two spots this week after a weak showing at home.  #14 Arizona, #16 Penn State, and #18 Missouri round out the top eighteen.

Central Region

Not much has changed this week in the deep Central Region.  There are still five teams ranked between 19 and 36, fighting for only three spots.  Neither Ohio State nor Michigan State had a meet this weekend, and Kent State failed to improve its RQS.  Kentucky, which broke 196 for this first time this weekend, is the team to watch.  All of this team’s other counting scores are 193s and 194s, so time will tell whether this was a major breakthrough or a one-time deal.

If Regionals were today, the following would be the North Central Region individual qualifiers:

All-Around

Emilie Rymer, Kentucky
Katie Simon, Central Michigan
Zu Vuong, Eastern Michigan
Jolene Worley, Eastern Michigan
Jennifer Sturgis, Western Michigan
Alt.- Kelly Watson, Ball State

Vault

Krystle Cook, Kentucky
Alt.- Sheena Smith, Central Michigan

Bars

Krystle Cook, Kentucky
Alt.- Lucy Burgin, Kentucky

Beam

Heather Hite, Kentucky
Alt.- Jules Passy, Central Michigan

Floor

Hilary Ferguson, Kentucky
Alt.- Krystle Cook, Kentucky

North Central Region

In a region similarly as deep as the Central Region, the North Central Region seeded teams don’t appear to be quite as secure in their positions.  Denver will have to show at least moderate improvement to stay seeded, although movement in and out of the top eighteen doesn’t appear to be as volatile this year as it typically is.

After falling seven spots last week when the team had a week off, Brigham Young moved back up seven spots this week.  Minnesota moved up one more spot, while Iowa fell two.  Utah State, which replaced a 191.x with a 194.x, is closing the gap on Iowa, with one more counting score below 194 (a 192.x) yet to be replaced!

If Regionals were today, the following would be the North Central Region individual qualifiers:

All-Around

Jessica Parenti-Otte, Utah State
Elise Wheeler, Southern Utah
Leah Sakhitab, Southern Utah
Megan Lewis, Utah State
Shayla Garcia, Southern Utah
Alt.- Abigail Rogers, Air Force

Vault

Katy Schilla, Utah State
Alt.- Heather Heinrich, Utah State

Bars

Ashley Barr, Utah State
Alt.- Kellie Dangerfield, Southern Utah

Beam

Kellie Dangerfield, Southern Utah
Alt.- Erin Morgan, Southern Utah

Floor

Megan Tschida, Utah State
Alt.- Nicki Felley, Utah State

Northeast Region

In the quiet Northeast Region, New Hampshire replaced a 189.x with a 192.x to leapfrog over Pittsburgh in the close race between those two teams.  Rutgers continues to hang in there for the final unseeded position, but Pennsylvania has closed the gap to just over a point after a strong away meet on the west coast.  In order to protect its position, Rutgers will want to have some solid performances to close out the season.

If Regionals were today, the following would be the Northeast Region individual qualifiers:

All-Around

Marissa Rosen, Pennsylvania
Alicia Sacramone, Brown
Kelly Gurney, U. of Rhode Island
Alina Liao, Yale
Sarah Bulka, Brockport State
Alt.- Julia Zimmerman, MIT

Vault

Colleen Davis, Cornell
Alt.(tie)- Lauren Gildermeyer, Brockport State and Miki Seltzer, Yale

Bars

Christine McNeill, Temple
Alt.- Elizabeth Lowe, Pennsylvania

Beam

Jennifer Sobuta, Brown
Alt.- Lauren Tatsuno, Yale

Floor

Noelle Moore, Temple
Alt.- Miki Seltzer, Yale
 

South Central Region

Another tremendously deep region, the South Central Region is currently holding five of the eighteen seeded positions, with other team at #19!  Illinois-Champaign is within striking distance of Missouri, and possibly of some of the other top tier teams.  Arizona State has a better chance of cracking the top eighteen than some teams currently ranked above it, due to the fact that this team is counting three 193.x scores and three 195+ scores.  If Arizona State (note that RQS is unofficial – late data entry into Troester) can replace those 193.x scores in its final three meets, it could make a big jump in the rankings.  Southeast Missouri, Illinois-Chicago, and Northern Illinois are still in a fairly close race. 

If Regionals were today, the following would be the South Central Region individual qualifiers:

All-Around

Annie Kachman, Illinois-Chicago
Leah Johnson, Northern Illinois
Jessie Jaworowicz, Illinois-Chicago
Whitney Albright, Illinois State
Jessica Prousa, Illinois State
Alt.- Meaghan Koshman, Illinois State 

Vault

Meaghan Koshman, Illinois State
Alt.- Brittany Parker, Texas Woman’s

Bars

Courtney Arno, Texas Woman’s
Alt.- (tie) Jody Yednock, Northern Illinois; Zandre Labuschagne, Illinois-Chicago

Beam

Jennifer Naughton, Northern Illinois
Alt.- Rachael Zelinski, Illinois-Chicago

Floor

Rachael Zelinski, Illinois-Chicago
Alt.- Natalie Blum, Northern Illinois
 

Southeast Region

In the Southeast Region, West Virginia overtook North Carolina State, but this movement may not mean much, as both of these teams appear to be locks for unseeded Regionals berths.  With a tiny range of counting scores, it would be difficult for West Virginia to break into the top eighteen.  North Carolina continues to strengthen its position, dropping a 191.x for a 193.x this week.  Maryland moved up one spot in the rankings, while Towson moved up five!

If Regionals were today, the following would be the Southeast Region individual qualifiers:

All-Around

Brandi George, Maryland
Jackie Schweitzer, Towson
Decelia Willacy, Towson
Tricia Long, William and Mary
No other athletes currently have RQS.

Vault

Christina Ghani, Towson
Alt.- Angela Ferg, Maryland

Bars

Allison Dama, Maryland
Alt.- Rachel Colon, Maryland

Beam

Talia Tossone, Maryland
Alt.- Angela Ferg, Maryland

Floor

Jess Guilbert, George Washington
Alt.- Christina Ghani, Towson
 

West Region

In the West Region, Washington continues to look secure in its unseeded Regionals berth, while San Jose State and Sacramento State may have to fight until the end to ward off challengers.  California replaced a 189.x with a season-high 194.x to rise three spots in the rankings, and UC Davis (note that RQS is unofficial – late data entry into Troester) overtook both Boise State and Cal State-Fullerton this week.

If Regionals were today, the following would be the West Region individual qualifiers:

All-Around

Debra Huss, Seattle-Pacific
DeAvera Todd, Boise State
Michelle Kulovitz, UC Davis
Tanya Ho, UC Davis
Rachael Lehmkuhl, Alaska
Alt.- Courtney Williams, Alaska

Vault

Isabel Garcia, California
Alt.- Carrie Lujan, UC Davis

Bars

Katie Griffis, Boise State
Alt.- Siobahn Luce, California

Beam

Kristin Aldrich, Boise State
Alt.- Katie Griffis, Boise State

Floor

Yvette Leizorek, Boise State
Alt.- Andi Dolinsky, UC Davis