Top-ranked Gator gymnasts head to Raleigh, N.C., for NCAA Regional
Monday, March 26, 2012 | Gymnastics
The No. 1 University of Florida gymnastics team will travel to Raleigh, N.C., to compete as the top seed for the NCAA Regional on Saturday, April 7. Start time is set for 4 p.m. (ET) in North Carolina State's Reynolds Coliseum. The NCAA Gymnastics Committee announced the fields for each of the six 2012 NCAA Region Championships sites Monday.
The top two teams and the top two all-around competitors (who are not on an advancing team) from each region site advances to the NCAA Championships, set for April 20-22 at The Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga. Florida competed at The Arena at Gwinnett Center last Saturday, claiming the program's eighth Southeastern Conference team title.
Last year, UF used a runner-up finish at the NCAA North Central Region in Denver, Colo., to advance to the NCAA Championships for the 29th time in the 30-year history of the meet. The Gators took seventh overall in the NCAA Championships.
No.12 Ohio State and No. 13 Penn State are the other seeded teams at the Raleigh Regional. No. 20 NC State, No. 26 Kent State and No. 31 North Carolina round out the field for the regional site. NC State is the only team in the field UF has met in 2012 regular season action, as the Gators opened the campaign with a 196.025-194.675 dual meet win in Raleigh.
Florida will open regional competition on the uneven bars.
The top 18 teams nationally, based on regional qualifying score (RQS), were paired into the six regions (three per region). Each region site contains one team each from the nation's No. 1-6, No. 7-12, and No. 13-18 ranking positions. The final three spots in each regional were filled from teams ranked 19-36 by RQS. The committee tried to keep those teams within their own region as much as possible.
In addition five all-around competitors (who are not on a qualifying team) and one individual specialist per event advance to each of the six regions. The all-around competitors and event specialists came from within the region. Monica Mesalles Sallares of Bridgeport will be paired with the Gators for regional competition.
The National Qualifying Score (NQS) determines the pairings for day one of the team competition at the NCAA Championships. The NQS is calculated by adding a team's RQS and score from the regional meet. Teams will be ranked 1 to 12 based on the NQS. Teams 1, 4, 5, 8, 9 and 12 will be placed in Group A; and teams 2, 3, 6, 7, 10 and 11 placed in Group B. A random draw will be used to determine competition session for Groups A and B for the 2012 NCAA Championships.
| 2012 NCAA Southeast Region Competition Order | ||||||
| Vault | Bye | Bars | Beam | Bye | Floor | |
| NC State | Penn State | Florida | Kent State | Ohio State | UNC | |
| II | UNC | NC State | Penn State | Florida | Kent State | Ohio State |
| III | Ohio State | UNC | NC State | Penn State | Florida | Kent State |
| IV | Kent State | Ohio State | UNC | NC State | Penn State | Florida |
| V | Florida | Kent State | Ohio State | UNC | NC State | Penn State |
| VI | Penn State | Florida | Kent State | Ohio State | UNC | NC State |
| 2012 NCAA Gymnastics Regional Fields (with national rank) | |
| Raleigh Regional (Raleigh, N.C.) – April 7 @ 4 p.m. ET | |
| Florida | |
| 12. | Ohio State |
| 13. | Penn State |
| 20. | NC State |
| 26. | Kent State |
| 31. | North Carolina |
| Auburn Regional (Auburn, Ala.) – April 7 @ 6 p.m. CT | |
| 6. | Georgia |
| 7. | Oregon State |
| 18. | Auburn |
| 21. | Michigan |
| 27. | West Virginia |
| T32. | Michigan State |
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| Seattle Regional (Seattle, Wash.) – April 7 @ 4 p.m. PT | |
| 4. | Alabama |
| 9. | LSU |
| 16. | Arizona |
| 23. | Washington |
| 30. | Iowa |
| 36. | Central Michigan |
| Fayetteville Regional (Fayetteville, Ark.) – April 7 @ 4 p.m. CT | |
| 3. | UCLA |
| 10. | Arkansas |
| 15. | Boise State |
| 19. | Missouri |
| 29. | New Hampshire |
| 34. | Maryland |
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| Champaign Regional (Champaign, Ill.) – April 7 @ 4 p.m. CT | |
| 2. | Oklahoma |
| 11. | Stanford |
| 14. | Denver |
| 22. | Illinois-Champaign |
| T24. | Kentucky |
| 32. | Illinois-Chicago |
| Salt Lake City Regional (Salt Lake City, Utah.) – April 7 @ 6 p.m. MT | |
| 5. | Nebraska |
| 8. | Utah |
| 17. | Minnesota |
| T24. | Iowa State |
| 28. | Arizona State |
| 35. | San Jose State |
