No. 4 Florida Gymnastics at NCAA North Central Regional Championships
Friday, April 9, 2010 | Gymnastics
A challenging field awaits the No. 4 University of Florida gymnastics team (15-2, 5-1 SEC) at the NCAA North Central Region Championships, set for April 10 at 8 p.m. (ET) in the University of Utah's Huntsman Center. The six teams competing for the NCAA North Central Regional title include No. 4 Florida, No. 10 Utah (12-3), No. 16 Auburn (8-9), No. 19 Boise State (15-3), No. 22 Denver (19-6) and No. 23 Washington (7-13).
| Click here to see interviews with Coach Rhonda Faehn and Gator gymnasts Amy Ferguson and Rebekah Zaiser about the NCAA North Central Regional. |
What the teams are vying for at each of the nation's six NCAA Regional sites is a top-two finish, which advances those teams to the NCAA Championships, set for April 22-24 in Gainesville, Fla. The NCAA Championships' teams compete in two sessions on April 22, with the top three teams in each session advancing to the April 23 NCAA Super Six, where the team champion is determined. Florida has advanced to the NCAA Championships 27 times in the meet's 28-year history, missing only the 2000 event.
Florida has won its last five regional events, beginning its string of NCAA Regional titles in 2005, in Gainesville, Fla. The Gators also won the 2006 (NCAA Central/Fayetteville, Ark.), 2007 (NCAA Northeast/Ann Arbor, Mich.), 2008 (NCAA Southeast/Gainesville), and 2009 (NCAA North Central/Iowa City, Iowa) regional team titles. NCAA North Central Region host
Utah is the only team to advance to every possible NCAA Championship. Utah has been stellar in the NCAA Regional competition, winning 23 of its 28 appearances (Utah finished as runner-up five times) and is undefeated in its 10 NCAA Regional appearances in the Huntsman Center. Saturday's meet should draw a big crowd, as Utah led the nation in 2010 in NCAA women's athletics attendance with its average of 14,213 in home action.
In their last action, Florida claimed its seventh Southeastern Conference team title at Jacksonville's Veterans Memorial Arena on March 27. Florida won the meet with a score of 197.05 ahead of then No. 1 Alabama (196.875) and then No. 5 Georgia (196.825), who rounded out the top three. The Gators were led by freshman Ashan?e Dickerson, who was named the SEC Freshman of the Year. Dickerson was runner-up in the all-around at 39.45, while fellow freshman Marissa King shared fourth at 39.325. Senior Maranda Smith shared second at 9.90 in the floor exercise competition and sophomore Elizabeth Mahlich shared third in the uneven bars when she equaled her collegiate-best 9.875. Florida head coach Rhonda Faehn shared the SEC Coach of the Year honor with Alabama's Sarah Patterson, her third time winning the honor since 2006.
Live scoring can be found at www.GatorZone.com and live meet updates can be viewed at www.Twitter.com/GatorZoneGym.
| 2010 NCAA North Central Region Competition Order | ||||||
| Vault | Bye | Bars | Beam | Bye | Floor | |
| I | Auburn | Boise State | Washington | Denver | Florida | Utah |
| II | Utah | Auburn | Boise State | Washington | Denver | Florida |
| III | Florida | Utah | Auburn | Boise State | Washington | Denver |
| IV | Denver | Florida | Utah | Auburn | Boise State | Washington |
| V | Washington | Denver | Florida | Utah | Auburn | Boise State |
| VI | Boise State | Washington | Denver | Florida | Utah | Auburn |
