With just one or no meets remaining for the top teams in the country this week, it is possible to do the most in-depth analysis of the season.  Mathematically, nineteen teams have separated themselves from the rest of the pack, which means that one of these teams will be left out of the Top 18.  Florida and Georgia are locked into the top two seeds, no matter how they do this weekend, although they could switch places.  Alabama has maintained its third-place ranking, and LSU has jumped up to fourth with a strong away score, to round out an all-SEC top four.  While there has been some movement throughout the top eighteen, the same teams have remained in that group for several weeks.  Only #19 Michigan State could crash this party!  #15 Arizona, #15 Iowa State, #17 Auburn, and #18 Missouri are vulnerable to losing their seeded berths, creating potential turmoil in their respective regions.

Please click this link to see the Top 55 Teams, including each team’s maximum RQS and minimum and maximum rank.  Note that every attempt has been made to create as accurate a chart as possible, and that it does include discrepancies from the Troester rankings.  For example, several scores that were not yet entered into Troester at the time of the rankings are reflected in our data, including Denver’s Monday night meet.  The maximum RQS score is what a given team will have if it scores a new season high this weekend.  The maximum rank is what that team will have if it not only scores that new season high, but the teams ahead of it do not score high enough to prevent that team from passing them, and no team ranked behind that given team passes it (as you’ll see below, some teams have higher maximum RQS than teams currently ranked ahead of them).  The minimum rank is what a team will be ranked if its RQS does not improve, and every team with a chance of passing it does so.

Central Region

		RQS	Rem. Meet	Max. RQS	Min. Rank	Max. Rank
Seeded Teams:
3	Alabama	196.98	1A	197.265	4	3
4	LSU	196.7	1A	196.985	7	3
17	Auburn	195.7	1A	195.915	19	15
Unseeded Teams in position to qualify:
19	Michigan State	195.52	1A	195.935	19	15
20	Ohio State	195.215	1A	195.385	23	20
25	Kentucky	194.755	1A	195.165	29	21
Next in line:
28	Kent State	194.59	1A	194.835	33	23
33	Central Michigan	194.295	1A	194.75	36	27

The Central Region is looking very interesting in this last week before conference championships.  Michigan State is the only team in the country capable of breaking into the seeded ranks, and with a maximum RQS higher than that of two seeded teams (Auburn and Missouri), they are guaranteed a seeded berth if they achieve a season high at Big 10s.

Ohio State, which cannot be caught by any other Central Region team, is guaranteed an unseeded Regionals berth.  Kentucky maintains its lead over Kent State, but the latter is still within striking distance.  Central Michigan will only qualify to Regionals if it passes Kent State and Michigan State rises to the top 18 without Auburn falling to 19.

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

All-Around

Jillian Kowalski, Kent State
Jolene Worley, Eastern Michigan
Katie Simon, Central Michigan
Zu Vuong, Eastern Michigan
Jules Passy, Central Michigan
Alt.- Laura Rogers, Central Michigan

Vault

Sheena Smith, Central Michigan
Alt.- Jacque Bernhardt, Bowling Green

Bars

Kristin Peters, Kent State
Alt.- Sheena Smith, Central Michigan

Beam

Kristin Peters, Kent State
Alt.- Jessica Suder, Central Michigan

Floor

Laci Hendress, Kent State
Alt.- Amy Cucinotta, Kent State

North Central Region

		RQS	Rem. Meet	Max. RQS	Min. Rank	Max. Rank
Seeded Teams:
6	Utah	196.545	1A	196.67	9	6
14	Denver	196.08	done	196.08	16	14
15	Iowa State	195.855	1A	196.105	19	14
Unseeded Teams in position to qualify:
23	Minnesota	194.775	1A	195.06	29	22
23	Brigham Young	194.775	1H	195.105	29	21
29	Utah State	194.505	1A	194.795	33	23
Next in line:
32	Iowa	194.34	1A	194.5	36	30
34	Southern Utah	194.24	1H	194.46	36	30

In the North Central Region this week, Utah State has passed Iowa for the remaining unseeded position, and it is impossible for either Iowa or Southern Utah to catch up.  Minnesota, Brigham Young, and Utah State will all be attending Regionals unless Iowa State falls to #19, a scenario that is possible but unlikely.  If that does happen, any of those three teams could be the odd one out.

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

All-Around

Elise Wheeler, Southern Utah
Leah Sakhitab, Southern Utah
Katie Burke, Iowa
Kara Pinjuv, Iowa
Katie Turcotte, Iowa
Alt.- Jennifer Simbhudas, Iowa

Vault

Jennifer Simbhudas, Iowa
Alt.- Shayla Garcia, Southern Utah

Bars

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

Beam

Kellie Dangerfield, Southern Utah
Alt.- Danielle Legeai, Iowa

Floor

Jennifer Simbhudas, Iowa
Alt.- Tehani Keeno-Douglas, Southern Utah

 

Northeast Region

		RQS	Rem. Meet	Max. RQS	Min. Rank	Max. Rank
Seeded Teams:
12	Penn State	196.115	1H	196.355	14	10
13	Michigan	196.11	1A	196.255	14	11
Unseeded Teams in position to qualify:
42	Pittsburgh	193.335	1A	193.605	44	37
43	New Hampshire	193.245	1A	194.015	45	35
53	Rutgers	191.3	1A	191.77	55	53
Next in line:
55	Pennsylvania	190.725	1A	191.33	57	53
59	Cornell	189.6	1H	190.27

In the quiet Northeast Region, the outlook remains as it has been all season.  However, while Penn State and Michigan are locks for seeded berths and Pittsburgh and New Hampshire are locks for unseeded berths, Pennsylvania has a chance to knock Rutgers out at the last moment.  Pennsylvania would have to score a near-season high, while Rutgers would have to fail to improve or improve only slightly.

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
Julia Zimmerman, MIT
Alt.- Sarah Bulka, Brockport State

Vault

Ananda Frasier, U. of Rhode Island
Alt.- Colleen Davis, Cornell

Bars

Beam

Floor

Noelle Moore, Temple
Alt.- Miki Seltzer, Yale

South Central Region

		RQS	Rem. Meet	Max. RQS	Min. Rank	Max. Rank
Seeded Teams:
7	Nebraska	196.535	1A	196.815	10	4
10	Oklahoma	196.335	1A	196.545	11	6
11	Arkansas	196.135	1A	196.255	13	11
15	Arizona	195.855	1A	196.125	19	12
18	Missouri	195.66	1H	195.93	19	15
Unseeded Teams in position to qualify:
21	Illinois-Champaign	195.09	1A	195.38	24	20
25	Arizona State	194.755	1H	195.005	29	22
35	Illinois-Chicago	193.955	1H	194.6	40	28
Next in line:
41	Southeast Missouri	193.49	1A	193.75	43	36
45	Northern Illinois	192.975	1A	193.415	48	42

In the South Central region this week, Illinois-Chicago overtook Southeast Missouri, and Southeast Missouri cannot catch back up.  While Illinois-Champaign and Arizona State are locks for unseeded berths, Illinois-Chicago will have to watch out for action in the top eighteen.  Both Arizona and especially Missouri are vulnerable to #19 Michigan State.

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

All-Around

Rikara Turner, Southeast Missouri
Leah Johnson, Northern Illinois
Bryanna Wong, Southeast Missouri
Sandra Blake, Southeast Missouri
Whitney Albright, Illinois State
Alt.- Jessica Prousa, Illinois State

Vault

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

Bars

Courtney Arno, Texas Woman’s
Alt.- Jody Yednock, Northern Illinois

Beam

Jena Nguyen, Southeast Missouri
Alt.- Jennifer Naughton, Northern Illinois

Floor

Natalie Blum, Northern Illinois
Alt.- Jena Nguyen, Southeast Missouri

 

Southeast Region

		RQS	Rem. Meet	Max. RQS	Min. Rank	Max. Rank
Seeded Teams:
1	Florida	197.42	1A	197.545	2	1
2	Georgia	197.385	1A	197.585	2	1
Unseeded Teams in position to qualify:
22	North Carolina State	194.88	1A	195.29	26	20
27	West Virginia	194.67	1A	194.86	31	23
30	North Carolina	194.415	1A	194.62	35	28
Next in line:
36	Maryland	193.63	1H	193.765	42	36
37	Towson	193.58	1A	193.9	43	36

The Southeast Region is set, in terms of team qualification.  Florida and Georgia will be seeded, and North Carolina State, West Virginia, and North Carolina will be unseeded.  This weekend’s meets will not affect that. 

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

All-Around

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

Vault

Angela Ferg, Maryland
Alt.- Alise McDonald, Towson

Bars

Stevie Waldman, William and Mary
Alt.- Allison Dama, Maryland

Beam

Talia Tossone, Maryland
Alt.- Rachel Colon, Maryland

Floor

Jess Guilbert, George Washington
Alt.- Maggie Parrack, George Washington

		RQS	Rem. Meet	Max. RQS	Min. Rank	Max. Rank
Seeded Teams:
5	Stanford	196.68	1A	196.92	7	4
8	UCLA	196.42	1A	196.6	10	6
9	Oregon State	196.415	1A	196.76	10	4
Unseeded Teams in position to qualify:
31	Washington	194.345	1A	194.72	36	27
38	San Jose State	193.56	1A	193.985	43	35
39	Sacramento State	193.545	1A	194.145	43	35
Next in line:
40	California	193.535	1A	194.345	43	31
47	Boise State Univ.	192.535	1A	193	51	45

In the West Region, Sacramento State and California switched places again for the last unseeded Regionals berth.  The competition between these two and San Jose State is extremely close and will come down to this weekend’s performances.  Boise State is no longer in contention, and Stanford, UCLA, and Oregon State are all locks for seeded berths, and Washington has secured an unseeded berth.

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

All-Around

Jessica Kelley, California
Debra Huss, Seattle-Pacific
Siobhan Luce, California
DeAvera Todd, Boise State
Tanya Ho, UC Davis
Alt.- Michelle Kulovitz, UC Davis

Vault

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

Bars

Lydia Williams, California
Alt.(tie)- Yvette Leizorek, Boise State; Katie Griffis, Boise State

Beam

Kristin Aldrich, Boise State
Alt.- Bridgette Glass, California

Floor

Yvette Leizorek, Boise State
Alt.- Isabel Garcia, California