MPSF Gymnasts Compete in NCAA Regionals
April 8, 2014
SACRAMENTO STATE junior Kalliah McCartney became the first Hornet to qualify for the NCAA Championships after placing sixth in the all-around at the Seattle Regional on Apr. 5 at the University of Washington. McCartney scored a season best 39.275 and had the top all-around score outside of Nebraska and Alabama gymnasts. Those two schools finished first and second to advance to the NCAA Championships paving the way for McCartney to earn one of two individual berths. The NCAA Championships will take place in Birmingham, Ala., on April 18-20. McCartney began the night on floor where she tied for 13th overall with a 9.800. She tied for 10th on vault with a 9.875 before scoring 9.800 on bars to tie for 17th place. McCartney closed out the meet on beam with a 9.800 to tie for 10th. Her total of 39.275 is tied for the ninth -highest in school history and is the best by a Hornet at an NCAA regional.
UC DAVIS sophomore Stephanie Stamates posted team highs of 9.725 on balance beam and 9.850 on floor exercise, senior Anna Shumaker wrapped up her collegiate career with a 9.825 on vault, and junior Lisa Wiktorski notched a 9.825 on uneven bars, highlighting a193.900 team total at the NCAA Fayetteville Region on Apr. 5. Tamara Ross was named West Region Assistant Coach of the Year. This was the first time in the 36-year history of the program that the Aggies have ranked in the nation's top-36 for regional entry, and the first time since 1998 competing as a team in the NCAA postseason.
SAN JOSE STATE Bekah Gehr, Cassandra Harrison, and MPSF Gymnast of the Year Julia Greer ended their collegiate careers with a trip to the Minneapolis NCAA Regional. Greer and Harrison each had 9.85 floor routines. The Spartans, one of two MPSF teams participating in the regionals this year, accumulated 193.950.
SEATTLE PACIFIC has advanced to the USA Gymnastics Championships for the 32nd time in the last 33 years, April 11-13 in Providence, RI, hosted by Brown University. Maria Hundley tied for 10th-place on the balance beam with a score of 9.80 on Apr. 5 to headline the Falcons at the NCAA Division I West Regional Championship in Seattle. Hundley enters the USAG Championships as the nation's No. 2 ranked vaulter.
AIR FORCE seniors Linnaea Hance and Katie Hawthorne, and sophomore Shannen Kelly wrapped up action at the NCAA Regional Championships in Minneapolis, MN, Apr. 5. Hance tallied a 37.000 to finish 15th in the all-around, after competing on the vault (9.675, 36th), uneven bars (9.300, 40th), balance beam (9.175, 39th) and floor exercise (8.850, 42nd). Hawthorne posed the trio's best individual finish, placing 33rd with a score of 9.625, while Kelly scored a 9.200 to finish 38th on the balance beam.
ALASKA-ANCHORAGE sophomore Stefany Bryan, the 13th Seawolf all-time to compete in the NCAA Regionals, scored a 37.300 all-around in her hometown of Seattle, WA. Bryan's best routine in Alaska Airlines Arena was a 9.675 on uneven bars.