PITT GYMNASTICS EARNS THIRD CONSECUTIVE BERTH TO NCAA REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
4/11/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
April 11, 2007
PITTSBURGH - The Pitt women's gymnastics team will travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., this weekend for the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships. The Panthers (12-13, 4-3 EAGL) will take on No. 1 Florida, No. 12 Michigan, No. 13 Arkansas, New Hampshire and Rutgers. The meet will be held in the Crisler Arena at 6 p.m.
To qualify for nationals, a gymnast must be on one of the top two teams. Or she must win an event title if she's not on a qualifying team. Or she would have to be one of the top-two all-arounders not on a qualifying team. Pitt's last NCAA qualifier was Leila Tait in 2005. She won the balance beam at the regional meet.
One of Pitt's key competitors this weekend will be senior Andrea Arlotta (Cincinnati, Ohio/Northwest) who will be looking to make her first trip to the national championships. An all-arounder for the Panthers, Arlotta's top event is the uneven bars. She recently won the event title at the league championships and also went on to break the school record for most career points.
Freshman Dani Bryan (Germantown, Md./Northwest) won the vault title at the EAGL Championships with a 9.925 and could qualify for nationals on that event this weekend if she hits. With a regional-qualifying score (RQS) of 9.870, she's ranked second in the region on this event, and she's 35th in the nation. Bryan has also contributed big scores on the floor exercise this year.
Pitt's Shannon McConnell (Allison Park, Pa./North Allegheny) is one of the team's most consistent competitors on the vault and floor exercise. She ranks 15th in the region on the vault with an RQS of 9.740 and has a career-high 9.825 on the floor exercise. Junior Samantha DeBone (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) will also be an important contributor and could qualify for nationals with a solid balance beam performance. She was an All-EAGL first team selection on the event after having matched her career-high 9.900 earlier this season. DeBone is also a key competitor on the uneven bars.
Andrea Konesky (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bishop Canevin) has been the team's lead-off competitor on the balance beam this season and has really provided a solid start to the event. Jessica Garber (Manheim, Pa./Lancaster Country Day School) is one of the team's most seasoned floor exercise competitors. Alix Croop (Allentown, Pa./Bridgeway Academy) contributes clean lines and big skills on the uneven bars. Freshmen Jessica Byich (Nicktown, Pa./Bishop Carroll) and Kirsten Dahlberg (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine Richland) provide depth to the vault squad, and Byich also competes on the balance beam and uneven bars.
While the competition is scheduled for Saturday, Pitt Head Coach Debbie Yohman will be taking part in a press conference on Friday along with the five other head coaches. Competition information is available at www.mgoblue.com, and live results will be posted here.