March 27, 2006

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Regional selections for the 2006 National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championships were announced on Monday by the NCAA and Bob Starkell's Fighting Illini squad earned the fourth seed in the South Central Regional in Fayetteville, Ark. The regional invite is the third in a row under Starkell, who is in his seventh season with the Illini. Illinois will begin the meet on the uneven bars, the same event it started on at last week's Big Ten Championship.

Six teams, plus up to five all-around competitors (who are not on a qualifying team) and one individual event specialist per event were named to each of the six regions. 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 hosted by Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, April 20-22. 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.

Joining the Illini in Fayetteville will be No. 3 Florida, No. 9 UCLA, No. 18 Arkansas, No. 42 Illinois-Chicago and No. 49 Southeast Missouri State. Illinois is currently ranked 30th in the nation with a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 194.060.

Also joining the teams in the South Central Regional is one all-around gymnast and one specialist for each event. The all-around gymnast qualifying in the South Central region is Cheryl Berezan (Illinois State). Event specialists include Meghan Koshman (Illinois State) on vault, Courtney Arno (Texas Woman's University) on uneven bars, Courtney Arno, (Texas Woman's University) on beam and Brisa Fuentes (Texas Woman's University) on floor exercise.

Each of the six regionals is made up of three teams ranked among the top-18 in the nation, based on RQS. The top 18 teams were seeded and assigned to the six regional sites (three per site), while the remaining three team slots at each regional site were filled by the next three highest-ranking teams within that respective region. The top all-around gymnast and the top event specialist in each event - not on a qualifying team - were then invited to their respective regional championships. Complete regional assignments can be found at www.ncaasports.com/gymnastics/womens.

This is Illinois' 19th trip to the NCAA Regional Championships. The Illini's best finish at a regional meet is fourth on several occasions, most recently in 1987. The Illini have never qualified for the national championships as a team.

At last year's South Central Regional in Lincoln, Neb., Illinois finished sixth with a team score of 193.850. In 2004 the Illini placed fifth at Regionals with a score of 195.400. Senior Ashley Williams and sophomore Cara Pomeroy advanced to the NCAA Championships as individuals with Williams competing in the all-around and Pomeroy on bars, who captured the Regional title on the event with a perfect 10.0.

NCAA South Central Regional - April 8, 2006, 6 p.m. CT - Fayetteville, Ark. (University of Arkansas)

Qualifying Teams (RQS)
1. Florida (196.570)
2. UCLA (196.230)
3. Arkansas (195.290)
4. Illinois (194.060)
5. Illinois-Chicago (192.810)
6. Southeast Missouri State (192.350)