April 2, 2008

PITTSBURGH--Two University of Pittsburgh gymnasts have qualified for the NCAA Northeast Regional meet, which will take place on Saturday, April 12, at Penn State University. Freshmen Molly Moyer and Shannon Vafiadou both earned spots in the regional competition with their stellar performances throughout the 2008 season.

 

Moyer (Telford, Pa./Homeschooled) will take part in the floor routine in State College, an event in which she averaged a score of 9.688 during the year, including a top mark of 9.875 at the Panthers' final regular-season meet with North Carolina, Cornell and Temple. A second team All-EAGL selection on floor, Moyer was also honored as the conference's Rookie of the Week on January 15 for her performance against Kent State and then-No.13 Penn State when she took second on floor with a score of 9.850.

 

Vafiadou (Mahwah, N.J./Mahwah) is one of five all-around competitors who are not on regional qualifying teams, but still have a chance to advance to the national meet. Pitt's only all-arounder for the past nine meets, she has racked up an average score 38.168. Like Moyer, Vafiadou also had a career-high score of 38.975 in Pitt's regular-season finale. She then went on to post another career-high on floor (9.825) and tie a career best on vault (9.750) at the EAGL Championship last weekend. Vafiadou was also honored by the conference as a second team All-EAGL all-arounder.

 

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 in Athens, Georgia, April 24-26, hosted by the University of Georgia.

 

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.

 

Northeast Region - Penn State University

Teams

1.   Georgia

2.   Auburn

3.   Denver

4.   Penn State

5.   Brigham Young

6.   Iowa State

 

All-Around Competitors                                       Individual Event Specialists

1.   Marissa Rosen, Pennsylvania                       Vault - Helena Diodati, New Hampshire

2.   Alina Liao, Yale                                           Alt. - Justine Turner, New Hampshire

3.   Shannon Vafiadou, Pittsburgh                   Uneven Bars - Helena Diodati, New Hampshire

4.   Lorraine Gallow, Bridgeport                           Alt. - Rebekah Porter, New Hampshire

5.   Laura Sevarino, Rutgers                                Balance Beam - Taryn LaFountain, New Hampshire

Alt. - Maddie Pearsall, Cornell                            Alt. - Chelsea Steinberg, New Hampshire

                                                                        Floor Exercise -  Molly Moyer, Pittsburgh

                                                                        Alt. - Lauren Gildemeyer, Brockport State