March 29, 2010
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The No. 15 Missouri Tigers (12-5) have known all year that on April 10 they will be a host for the 2010 NCAA Regional Championships. But the team had to work hard all year to ensure that they would be one of the 36 teams to advance to post-season competition. After the latest national rankings were released late last night, the Tigers found themselves in 15th and thus making Missouri's 22nd regional appearance. The only part of the equation that remained was what other teams would be joining them in the Hearnes Center on April 10 at 6 p.m.
The NCAA made the announcement this afternoon that No. 5 Georgia (10-7), No. 8 Oregon State (17-5), No. 25 Minnesota (7-14-1), No. 30 Iowa (11-13) and No. 36 North Carolina (19-6) will be the other five teams competing in the Columbia Regional. In addition to the six teams, five all-around competitors from non-qualifying schools will compete as well as individual event qualifiers. The top two finishing teams will advance to the 2010 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship from April 22 - 24 in Gainesville, Fla. Additionally, the top two finishing all-around competitors from a non-qualifying team will advance to the national competition as well.
Last season, the Tigers competed in the Tuscaloosa Regional and posted the program's highest regional score of 196.000 to ultimately finish third in the meet. Then senior Adrianne Perry and current senior Sarah Shire (Columbia, Mo.) advanced to nationals as individual competitors to both end the season as All-Americans.
Two practice session will take place on Friday, April 9 from 2-3:40 p.m. and from 4-5:40 p.m. Each team's and individual's practice session will be assigned according to their competitive starting events. The practice sessions are open to the public and media.
To purchase tickets in advance for the Columbia Regional contact the Mizzou Ticket Office by calling (573) 884-PAWS or 1-800-CAT-PAWS. Ticket prices are $4 for student/youth general admission and $6 for adult general admission that seats in the "B" level and above. Adult/student reserved seating tickets are available for $10.
Continue to check the Columbia Regional site for more information leading up to the regional competition.
Columbia Regional - Missouri (University of Missouri, host)
Qualifying Teams
1. Georgia
2. Oregon State
3. MISSOURI
4. Minnesota
5. Iowa
6. North Carolina
Qualifying Individuals
All-Around Competitors
1. Rashonda Cannie, Texas Woman's University
2. Erica Schick, Illinois State
3. Jordan Salsberg, Southeast Missouri State
4. Rachel Montoya, Illinois-Chicago
5. Rikara Turner, Southeast Missouri State
Alt - Andrea Skala, Illinois-Chicago
Event Specialists
Vault - Chantel Turk, Illinois-Chicago
Alt. - Brianna Gaddie, Southeast Missouri State
Uneven Bars - Ashley Guerra, Northern Illinois
Alt. - Christina Sundgren, Southeast Missouri State
Balance Beam - Hannah Deutsch, Illinois State
Alt. - Melissa Mann, Illinois State
Floor Exercise - Brianna Gaddie, Southeast Missouri State
Alt. - Kristin Edwards, Texas Woman's University