Rachel Kreager, L10 from San Mateo Gymnastics in California, has committed to UC Davis. This season she placed 2nd AA (1st FX) at the Red Heart 10.0 meet and 2nd AA (1st UB) at the Wine Country meet. She placed in the top 10 all around at all of her 2012 meets, including a 7th place finish at the Nor Cal meet last weekend.
MacKenzie Brannan, an elite from Capital Gymnastics in Texas has committed to Alabama according to Chalkbowl, her webmaster. This season she has competed at the San Diego Classic (2nd AA; 1st V), the Alamo Classic (1st AA; 1st V/UB/FX), the Nadia Comaneci Invite (1st AA; 1st BB/FX) and the WOGA Classic (1st AA; 1st V/UB).
Ericha Fassbender has committed to Florida according to a tweet from Chalkbowl, her webmaster. The former Jr. International Elite from Stars in Texas has competed in several Level 10/Open sessions this season, finishing 1st AA at the HNI (1st AA; 1st V) and the National Gym Challenge (1st AA; 1st V/UB/BB/FX). She also competed at the Lady Luck meet and finished 2nd AA and 1st on vault.
Grace Williams has tweeted about her commitment to Nebaska. Williams competes at Level 10 for Geddert's in Michigan. Grace has picked up the AA and vault titles in all of her meets this season, while also picking up five bars titles, two beam titles and three floor titles. Grace will be joining her Geddert's clubmate, Karerin Moore, at Nebraska.
With a season-best performance this weekend, PSU takes over the top spot in the Troester GymInfo National Rankings for the Week of March 4th. OU is 2nd and Stanford is 3rd.
The Men's rankings from Troester GymInfo are now using the "Four Meet Average". To get this average, the four highest scoring meets are taken, of which no more than two are home meets, the high score dropped, and the remaining three are averaged.
Individually, Jake Dalton of OU holds the top spot in the AA. He is also the leader on floor and PB. This week, the big change is that PSU's Craig Hernandez takes over the top spot on PH. Teammate Scott Rosenthal retains his lead on Rings. Stanford's Eddie Penev ranks first on vault. On the pipe, Illini Paul Ruggeri also retains his lead.
| Rank | Team |
Team Four Meet Average |
| 1 | Penn State | 355.600 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | 354.167 |
| 3 | Stanford | 352.650 |
| 4 | Illinois | 352.133 |
| 5 | Minnesota | 347.267 |
| 6 | Ohio State | 345.467 |
Link: Troester GymInfo
The NCAA Manual is the “go to” resource for prospects and families as they begin to build their education base in the college search. Between the Division 1, 2 and 3 manuals there is well over 1,500 pages of helpful information!
The aim of this article is to direct you toward these resources, help you simplify your search and wrap your arms around recruiting terms, rules and procedures you will encounter as you navigate your personal college quest.
First, let’s search for a copy of the manual!
Go to www.ncaa.org.
Click the “resources” tab.
Under “Resources,” Click either the Division 1, 2 or 3 manual links.
From there you can either order a hard copy of the manual or download a free PDF version.
If you haven’t done so already, create a college folder on your computer. Add a subfolder and label it “NCAA.” Save the manuals to your folder for easy access in the future.
The manual is loaded with tremendous information, but to be very honest with you, there is only a fraction of information parents and athletes need to really study closely. When you break it down, only 3 chapters or “Articles” in the manual are the most vital to understand and utilize: (In the below I refer to the D-1 manual)
Article 13 Recruiting
This is a very important chapter that will provide you with the nuts and bolts of how recruiting works and the limitations and time-lines college coaches and families are bound. Below is a list of sub-articles I suggest you place your most attention:
You will notice in some cases multiple “revisions” of a rule or definition. Simply look carefully to the most recent date of the revision and the effective date and you will be right on target!
This chapter is a great “first read” that will begin to help shape your personal recruiting picture in your mind. Remember, the recruiting process is like learning a new language -- sometimes you have to simply “jump in.” That being the case, the more you practice the more you will learn and understand.
Article 14 Eligibility: Academic and General Requirements
Boy, is this ever an important chapter! Can you imagine going through the entire recruiting process, showing up to your college campus in the fall of your freshmen year and getting the news from your new coach and compliance officer that you are ineligible to practice or play?
Academic eligibility is a necessary part of the college recruiting process and you want to be certain you are on track every step of the way. Whether it is scheduling the proper coursework during your high school years, registering for the NCAA Eligibility Center or taking the ACT’s you want to be sure you have your ducks in a row and are hitting tangible targets! Below are important sub-articles to research:
This is a critical chapter that will provide you with a clearly spelled out list of academic requirements you will be expected to meet as well as recruiting pitfalls you want to avoid! Remember, you can’t play the game if you don’t know the rules!
Article 15 Financial Aid
This chapter is equally important and it will give you a very clear and informative analysis of both need based and athletic related financial aid (scholarships). It not only defines an athletic scholarship and how they are distributed, it also clarifies maximum limits of athletic aid (by sport).
This is a pretty short chapter and I suggest you focus on each sub-article:
About Tom Kovic:
Tom Kovic is a former Division I college gymnastics coach (Penn) and the current director of Victory Collegiate Consulting, where he provides individual advisement for families on college recruiting. Tom is the author of “Reaching for Excellence”, an educational guide for college athletics recruiting. For further information visit: www.victoryrecruiting.com
Editor's Note: Publication of this article is not an endorsement of any recruiting service. Always check with the NCAA or your school's compliance officer for any questions regarding recruiting rules, the latest timelines, or other issues.
Erika Reichert, L10 at Orlando Metro in Florida, has committed to William and Mary. Erika has finished in the top 5 AA at most of her meets this season, including 3rd place finishes at the Sand Dollar and the Gasparilla meets. She recently placed 5th AA (1st BB/FX) at the Florida state meet.
The NCAA has officially announced the fields for the 2012 Women's Regional competitions. The NCAA implemented one of two clear options for the Regional seeds, sending Bama/LSU/Arizona to Seattle and OU/Stanford/DU to Champaign. This was the only remaining question following this weekend's competition, as the rest of the placements were relatively straightforward after the seeding rules were considered. As OU is higher ranked than Bama, the committee elected to place them at the Regional site closest to them geographically (Bama is even closer but has the lower rank). Top ranked Florida received, as expected, the site closest to their school. The remaining seeds follow the rule that they are "anchored" by the host school.
The seeds four to six show a bit more mixing, with some teams being sent out of their Regions.
Auburn Regional1. Georgia
2. Oregon State
3. Auburn
4. Michigan
5. West Virginia
6. Michigan State
Champaign Regional
1. Oklahoma
2. Stanford
3. Denver
4. Illinois
5. Kentucky
6. Illinois-Chicago
Fayetteville Regional
1. UCLA
2. Arkansas
3. Boise State
4. Missouri
5. New Hampshire
6. Maryland
Raleigh Regional
Teams
1. Florida
2. Ohio State
3. Penn State
4. North Carolina State
5. Kent State
6. North Carolina
Salt Lake City Regional
1. Nebraska
2. Utah
3. Minnesota
4. Iowa State
5. Arizona State
6. San Jose State
Seattle Regional
1. Alabama
2. LSU
3. Arizona
4. Washington
5. Iowa
6. Central Michigan
The full list, including the individual AA and event qualifiers, is at the link.
The rotation order is as follows:
Vault: Seed 4
Bye before Bars: Seed 3
Bars: Seed 1
Beam: Seed 5
Bye Before Floor: Seed 2
Floor: Seed 6
This rotation draw adds to the excitement, as the 2nd seed has to end on beam. Seeds 3 and 4 get much better starting positions, with Seed 3 starting on bars after a bye and Seed 4 getting the Olympic rotation.
Link: NCAA Release
The final Regional Qualifying Scores have been published by Troester GymInfo, and the Top 36 is now finalized (the scores submitted to the NCAA take precedence).
Florida continues to hold the top space in the rankings, just ahead of OU. ULCA moves up to #3.
Cal won all six events as a team to defeat UIC. Cal's Jean Montecarlo won the AA and the rings, while teammate Glen Ishino won floor and PH.
Link: Cal Release
UCLA won the inaugural Pac-12 Championships, posting a 197.425 to edge host Utah's 197.375. Utah's tally included a counting fall on beam. 2011 Pac 10 champ Oregon State was third, and Stanford, who lead the field heading into the final event, only to suffer a counting fall.
Ute Corrie Lothrop won the AA with a 39.625. Teammate Georgia Dabritz won the bars. UCLA's Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs won the beam with a 9.975, while Stanford's Ashley Morgan posted a 9.95 to win floor. On vault, UCLA's Vanessa Zamarripa and Olivia Courtney tied with Stanford's Ivana Hong for the title.
In Session I, Arizona posted a 195.9, while ASU (194.55), Washington (194.125) and Cal (193.525) dealt with falls.
The two sessions were attended by 19,734 fans.
Link: Utah Release
Denver posted a 196.35 to win the WAC title. Sac State hit for a 195.675 and 2nd, SUU third at 195.025, SJSU foruth at 194.8 and USU close behind at 194.775. DU captured a seeded spot for Regionals, and SJSU held onto a Regional qualifier spot as well.
DU was led by Moriah Martin and Melodie Pulgarin Linero, who tied for the vault title. Sac State's Kailey Hansen had a career day, winning floor and beam. SUU's Alyssa Click won the bars.
San Jose State's Thomasina Wallace won the AA with a 39.4.
Link: DU Release
UC Davis won the MPSF title handily, posting a 193.675 to defeat SPU (191.15), Air Force (189.125) and Alaska (188.3). Davis frosh Tiana Montell was the AA winner with a career high of 38.725. MPSF Gymnast of the Year Katie Yamamura of UC Davis won the vault and bars. Teammate Madeline Kennedy won the bars. For SPU, Sherah Veron won the floor.
Link: UC Davis Release
Illinois State won the MIC Championships, defeating UIC 194.8 to 194.725. TWU was third with a 194.05, Centenary 4th with a 191.3, and SEMO fifth with a 191.225.
Kim Genereux led Illinois State, winning the AA with a 39.0. Teammate Apollonia Barrientos tied for the floor title with TWU's Kristin Edwards. Another Redbird, Robin Wiessman, tied for the bars title with UIC's Andrea Skala and Cynthia Lemiuex-Guillemette. TWU's Kayla Jones won vault, while SEMO's Taylor Westrick won the beam.
Link: TWU Release
OU overcame host Minnesota's season high to get the win. Ohio State was third.
Link: Gopher Release