March 23, 2004

Columbia, Mo. - For the third straight season, the University of Missouri gymnastics squad has qualified for the National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Regional Championships, it was announced Monday by the NCAA. Mizzou will travel to University Park, Penn., on April 3 for the Regional, which is being hosted by Penn State. The Tigers qualify for the postseason with a regional qualifying score (RQS) of 196.85 and are ranked 16th in the latest Top 20, which was also released yesterday.

The Tigers will face off with No. 4 Georgia, No. 9 Iowa State, No. 19 Michigan, host school Penn State and New Hampshire. Mizzou has already faced three of those five schools at least once during the regular season.

Mizzou is coming off of one of the best seasons in school history, having set the school record for total team score five different times. Led by head coach Rob Drass, the Tigers look to advance to the National Championships for the second time in Mizzou history and for the first time since 1981.

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 Los Angeles, California, April 15-17, hosted by the University of California, Los Angeles. 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.

For more information on Mizzou gymnastics and for updates heading into regional competition, log on to www.mutigers.com.

Northeast Region - April 3 at University Park, Pennsylvania (Penn State Univ.)

Teams 
1. Georgia
2. Iowa State
3. Missouri
4. Michigan
5. Penn State
6. New Hampshire