No. 1 Florida at University Park for April 5 NCAA Gymnastics Regional
Monday, March 24, 2014 | Gymnastics
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The first step in the defense of its national title begins in the northeast for the No. 1 Florida gymnastics team. The NCAA Gymnastics Committee unveiled the fields for each of the six 2014 NCAA Region Championships sites Monday. The field for the University Park Gymnastics Regional includes No. 1 Florida, No. 12 Oregon State, No. 15 Penn State, No. 23 New Hampshire, No. 29 Kentucky and No. 36 Maryland. NCAA University Park Regional competition is set for the Saturday, April 5 at 4 p.m. in Rec Hall.
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 18-20 at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC) in Birmingham, Ala.
Last year, UF won the program's 13th NCAA Regional title in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center to advance to its 31st NCAA Championships. Florida won its first NCAA title in 2013 at the national championships held in UCLA's Pauley Pavilion.
Each of the six regions have three teams ranked among the nation's top 18. 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.
Florida is the only team among the University Park Regional field to appear in the 2013 NCAA Championships. Oregon State will be looking to return to the NCAA Championships after missing the 2012 event while Penn State last advanced in 2009. New Hampshire will look for its first NCAA berth since 1994. Kentucky and Maryland have not advanced as a team to the NCAA Championships.
Florida will open regional competition during the second rotation on the uneven bars.
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. Senior Brittney Harris of Pittsburgh will be paired with the Gators for regional competition.
Starting this season, the seeding determined at the time of regional selections will be maintained throughout the championships. Standard bracketing procedures will be followed with teams seeded 1, 4, 5, 8, 9 and 12 placed on the left side of the bracket and teams seeded 2, 3, 6, 7, 10 and 11 placed on the right side of the bracket. If Alabama advances to the NCAA Championships, the teams in the group that includes the Tide will compete in Friday's evening semifinal session.
| 2014 NCAA University Park Region Competition Order | ||||||
| Vault | Bye | Bars | Beam | Bye | Floor | |
| Penn State | Florida | Kentucky | Maryland | Oregon State | UNH | |
| II | UNH | Penn State | Florida | Kentucky | Maryland | Oregon State |
| III | Oregon State | UNH | Penn State | Florida | Kentucky | Maryland |
| IV | Maryland | Oregon State | UNH | Penn State | Florida | Kentucky |
| V | Kentucky | Maryland | Oregon State | UNH | Penn State | Florida |
| VI | Florida | Kentucky | Maryland | Oregon State | UNH | Penn State |
| 2014 NCAA Gymnastics Regional Fields (with national rank) | |
| University Park Regional (University Park, Pa.) – April 5 @ 4 p.m. ET | |
| 1. | Florida |
| 12. | Oregon State |
| 15. | Penn State |
| New Hampshire | |
| 29. | Kentucky |
| 36. | Maryland |
| Minneapolis Regional (Minneapolis, Minn.) – April 5 @ 6 p.m. CT | |
| 2. | Oklahoma |
| 11. | Illinois-Champaign |
| 14. | Minnesota |
| 19. | California |
| 26. | Southern Utah |
| 31. | San Jose State |
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| Baton Rouge Regional (Baton Rouge, La.) – April 5 @ 4 p.m. CT | |
| 3. | LSU |
| 10. | Stanford |
| 13. | Auburn |
| 21. | Arizona |
| 27. | Kent State |
| 35. | Iowa State |
| Seattle Regional (Seattle, Wash.) – April 5 @ 4 p.m. PT | |
| 4. | Alabama |
| 9. | Nebraska |
| 16. | Boise State |
| 20. | Denver |
| 25. | BYU |
| 33. | Washington |
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| Fayetteville Regional (Fayetteville, Ark.) – April 5 @ 4 p.m. CT | |
| 5. | Utah |
| 8. | UCLA |
| 17. | Arkansas |
| 24. | Arizona State |
| 30. | Utah State |
| 34. | UC Davis |
| Athens Regional (Athens, Ga.) – April 5 @ 4 p.m. ET | |
| 6. | Georgia |
| 7. | Michigan |
| 18. | Central Michigan |
| 22. | Ohio State |
| 28. | North Carolina State |
| 32. | Rutgers |
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