June 25, 2010
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The University of Illinois has been selected as one of six host sites for the 2012 NCAA Regional Gymnastics Championships. The Regional Championships will take place on April 7, 2012 at the Assembly Hall and will mark the first-ever women's gymnastics regional on the UI campus in school history.
"Hosting an NCAA regional championship is an exciting opportunity," Illinois head coach Bob Starkell said. "This will be the first time hosting this type of event for women's gymnastics and we will take great pride in providing a top notch experience for the participating student-athletes. This opportunity doesn't happen very often, but I have great confidence in our event management staff to host a championship event in which our community and visiting fans will enjoy."
The competition also will mark the first-ever women's gymnastics meet at the Assembly Hall in the program's 37-year history. It will be the first time the Assembly Hall will host a gymnastics meet since the 2004 men's NCAA Championships.
The other five sites for the Regional Championships are Washington, Utah, Arkansas, North Carolina State and Auburn.
The top two teams, as well as the top two all-around competitors not on an advancing team, from each regional will receive an automatic berth to the 2012 National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championships, which will be hosted by the University of Washington. 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 competition.
The Illinois women's gymnastics program has reached the NCAA Regional Championships 23 times in school history, including each of the previous seven seasons. In 2009, Illinois placed second behind Utah at the West Regional Championship in Seattle to qualify for the NCAA Championships for the first time in school history. This season, the Fighting Illini earned a third-place finish at the NCAA Central Regional in Kentucky.
