The Regionals:  The Way West(wood)

North Central Regional, hosted by DU

#1 Seed Stanford is fresh off their upset of #1 UCLA at the Pac-10 Championships.  This is a team with momentum and motivation, as their core group seniors is looking to end their careers with a National Title.  To do that, they'll have to first advance from the pack at the Mile High City.  Locations usually impact a meet due to the size of the crowd or the competitive field.  In the case of Denver, however, Mother Nature gets involved.  The high altitude can sometimes cause problems, especially on FX where the last pass can seem especially tough, even for these ultra-fit athletes.  Teams have been known to even switch their passes around to avoid this issue.  Stanford looks to maintain a cruising altitude, however, behind the senior leadership of Caroline Fluhrer, Lise Leveille and Lindsay Wing.  Star AAer Natalie Foley will look to repeat her perfection from two weeks ago, and capture a Regional AA title.  Stanford shines on the BB, and so being first up on the event should prove to be no problem for this team.  Maintaining consistency and getting good performances from the rest of the lineup, including Jessica Louie and Shelly Goldberg, will be key.

Washington has overcome injury, preseason losses and a resulting lack of depth to mount a highly successful campaign.  Senior Emily Pritchard has had a break through season, taking sole leadership all season long of the UB rankings.  Her improved health and fitness has been key to increased difficulty and higher scores.  Two sport star Carly Dockendorf and AAer Kelly McDonald, plus Pac-10 BB co-champ Molly Seaman give the Huskies high scoring potential in each event.  Injuries that will limit key players from certain events and lower start values on vault, however, may give the opening the other teams need.  But with two regular season victories over Iowa and strong consistency should give the Huskies some added confidence.

Host Denver looks to bump Washington and secure another trip to Nationals.  The two teams are remarkably similar, as preseason injury and retirements have resulted in a smaller squad that is dependent on more AAers than specialists.  Seniors Emily Bankhead continues to lead the way, along with powerful classmate Ashley Shible.  Frosh Heather Huffaker has had a standout rookie campaign, while Cassidy Willingham has stepped up into an AA role.  Those four AAers, plus three eventers Meredith Fricke, an OU transfer and Casey Dobyns, a frosh, will look to avoid the mistakes that plagued earlier road meets.  In fact, of all the host teams, the altitude and the home crowd may benefit DU the most.

Iowa enters the meet as another powerful #4 seed with a good chance to bump off the other squads.  Very highly ranked in the early part of the season, Iowa slipped back slightly.  A core group of seniors, Stephanie Gran, Brandy Killian, Alexis Maday, and Nicole Wong are seeking to punch the GymHawks a return trip to Nationals.  Sophomore Liz Grajewski and junior Annie Rue are two other key players, but the GymHawks will to remain consistent.  The BB  will be a key event, as they end the meet on the apparatus.  Falls on this event along with some lower scores on UB have sometimes proven to be an issue in the past.  Lurker behind Iowa is Minnesota.  Coming off a strong performance at the Big 10s, the Gophers are looking to pull off a big surprise and surpass the other teams.  Seniors Mary Skokut and Alicia Opsahl, along with sophomore Laura Johnson will be key to this effort.  Southern Utah completes the field, after a surprisingly strong year, considering the number of newcomers on the squad.  This young squad is building for the future.

The Call:   Stanford, if they avoid mistakes, should capture the title.  The second qualifier will likely come from the group of UW, DU and Iowa.  DU has the advantage of the home crowd and altitude, but UW and Iowa have the edge in experience.  If all three hit, UW should advance, depending on the lineup they are actually able to field due to injury limitations and low vault start values.  This could be another wild finish, with Iowa boasting the best big meet experience but with a poor draw.

Be sure to catch:  Wing's (Stan) switch ring leap and bhs, layout, Korbut combo on BB...  Foley's (Stan) Shoushunova on UB... Fluhrer's (Stan) great lines and back layout 5/2 twist punch front on FX...  Dockendorf's (UW) unusual interpretive dance and sky-high double arabian on FX....  Pritchard's hecht mount to immediate "Pritchard" (straddle back 1/2 with flight to front support) on UB... Shible's (DU) vault (1/2 on 1/2 off front with a 1/2 or 1/1)... Bankhead's (DU) triple full on FX...  Maday's (Iowa) triple second pass on FX...  Gran's (Iowa) double layout...  Skokut's (Minn) Shoushunova on UB...

South Central Regional, hosted by Arizona

The Utah Utes are sure to bring a large following to Tuscon, to watch the Red Rocks earn another trip to Nationals.  To get there, the Utes will have to work through a series of last minute injuries that have accumulated at the end of the season.  Senior Melissa Vituj has had another outstanding campaign, along with junior Annabeth Eberle.  Those two AAers are the foundation of great scores on every event for the Utes.  This Ute squad has also seen a boost from three frosh, Nicolle Ford, Stephanie Lim and Rachel Tidd.  With this blend of experience, depth and youth, the Utes will be hard to bump from the top two spots.  However, due to the strength of the #2 and #3 seeds, this team will be taking nothing for granted and could be challenged for the Regional title.  

Florida travels West for a tough Regional host opponent in Arizona.  The Gators will be looking to bump off the Utes while staying ahead of the Wildcats.  Led by juniors Erinn Dooley and Californian Orley Szmuch, the UF squad is sure to have a strong group of Orley-fans in the audience.  The recent loss of UB/BB star Kristen Stucky was an emotional and scoring setback, but the depth of talent on this roster is high.  Even the large and talented group of frosh have performed like veterans.  However, a big meet situation far from the home gym could prove to be a challenge.

Host Arizona will be looking to return to Nationals, after last year's injury filled campaign.  Star AAer Monica Bisordi has continued her winning ways, and the large and deep Arizona squad has been able to capable support her on any event.  Three eventer Andi McCabe has returned to form after injury as has sophomore Katie Johnson.  Both shine on the FX.  With talent such as Canadians Aubrey Taylor and Abby Pearson, plus former Pac-10 BB co-champ Stevie Fanning, the Wildcats are clearly capable of challenging for a spot.

Lurking just behind those three is an ever improving Arkansas squad.  In just their second year of existence, Coaches Mark and Rene Cook have brought their squad into Regional and National contention.  Led by AAers Dana McQuillan, Cassie Drew plus sometimes AAer Rachel Barnett, the GymHawgs are looking to stay consistent and clean in hopes of the upset.  

Fifth Seed Illinois looks to build on this experience as they grow and improve their program.  Star AAers Ashley Williams and former elite Kara Kapernakas, plus Lauren Newcomb have led the Illini all season long.  And with frosh talent like Dayne Botterman and Cara Pomeroy, this squad will continue to improve.  Also from Illinois, UIC also looks to build on the experience.  UIC had one of the most ambitious road schedules in the country, traveling across the country, led by AAers Alyson Cacciatore and Veronique Meunier.    

The Call:  Utah should advance from this region, barring several mistakes.  However, the spot for #2 could be interesting due to the "Comforts of Home" that Arizona has.  A young Gator squad competing with a comfortable and deep Az squad could be interesting.  Mistakes will be key for both teams, and if the Gators falter at all look for the Wildcats to score an upset.  Arkansas should lurk just behind those two, lacking a bit of the difficulty.

Be sure to catch:  Vituj's (Utah) triple full on FX and off of UB...  Hoffman's (Utah) Riverdance FX and full-in mount...  Lim's (Utah) Pike Full in on FX (if healthy)...  Szmuch's (UF) in-bar Gienger and personality on FX...  Pendleton's (UF) smooth invert work on UB...  big flight series from UF on BB...Bisordi's (AZ) sparkling personality on FX...  Big E skills on UB from Arizona...  McQuillan's (Ark) double pike dismount on FX...  gainer full off the end of BB from Hardman (Ark)..

West Regional, hosted by Oregon State

Alabama takes the long journey West to Corvallis for the West Regional.  Bama should feel right at home, as they always bring a large fan base, and the crowd will be swelled by the double attraction of the Region II Regionals held during the same weekend.  Bama is led by Senior Jeana Rice, who continues to look sharp in her quest for a National AA title.  Supporting her and lending their leadership are standouts Shannon Hrozek and crowd favorite Alexis Brion.   Also key for Bama this season have been strong performances from their stellar sophomore class, in particular Ashley Miles, Dana Filetti and Mari Bayer.  Starting on BB should not be a problem for this team, and avoiding multiple mistakes is what they will need to assure a return trip to Nationals.

Oregon State enters as the #2 seed and the double advantage of being a host team.  This and a favorable rotation draw could be all the Beavers need to earn their trip to Nationals.  Last season, they missed Nationals by 0.025.  Then, last fall, tragedy struck as Meghan Jones was struck by drunken driver, the now fugitive, Myrna Taylor.  Compounding this were a series of injuries to key athletes like Annie Campbell, Daylee Ingalls, and Lindsay Nelson.  Despite all these setbacks, the OSU depth has held up and they are coming off a 3rd place finish at the Pac-19s.  Led by Tanya Ricioli-Hebron and Pac-10 Frosh of the Year Chelsea Plourde, the OSU team looks to hold an edge.

Oklahoma also missed Nationals last season by a small margin, finishing 0.05 behind AU and CMU.  As she has had for the last four years, Kasie Tamayo has led the Sooners to another successful campaign.  The Big 12 Champions look very capable of earning the trip to Nationals.  Standout frosh Brittany Koncak was lost for the season earlier in the year, but Ashley Cooney joined the team and has filled the gap.  Add junior Erin Labarr to the mix, and the Sooners will remain tough to the end.  This should be another close finish.

California enters the meet as the number four seed, and is intent on showing its capable of stepping into the role of a Nationals contender.  That task became more difficult when Karissa Chock went down with another injury.  Standout My-Lan Dodd continues to shine, supported by AAers Stephanie Kim and Britani Pittullo.  Boise State has been led by senior Carla Chambers and frosh Lindsay Ward.  Also handling AA duties is Lindsey Thomas, and Heidi White continues to shine on BB.  CSUF completes the Regional slate with a young squad looking to build experience.  Frosh Erica Ficarotta leads the large CSUF contingent.  

The Call:  Bama should advance, barring a major meltdown.  The battle for second could come down to OSU and OU.  OSU does very well with the comforts of home, and edged OU in a similar matchup a couple of years ago.  OU has been improving throughout the season, and has confidence moving into the weekend.  OSU may edge OU in a squeaker.  

Be sure to catch:  Brion's (Bama) huge pike front 1/2 vault and sky high double backs on FX...  Rice's (Bama) Pike Full-in on FX and bhs-lo-lo on BB...  Miles' (Bama) double layout on FX...  Lamun's (OSU) flexibility and leaps on FX...  Morales' (OSU) double layout on FX... Hebron's (OSU) invert work on UB...  Tamayo's (OU) personality on FX and smooth UB work...  Cooney's (OU) back layout 5/2 twist punch front on FX....  Pac-10 BB Co-Champ Dodd's (Cal) beautiful toe point and arm motions... more of the same performance quality on BB and FX from Kim (Cal)...  Ward's (BSU) excellent flexibility...

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