Wildcats end season with 15th consecutive postseason appearance

LINCOLN, Neb. - The No. 23 University of Arizona women's gymnastics team finished in third place at the NCAA South Central Regional Championship Saturday in Nebraska's Bob Devaney Sports Center, in front of a crowd of 2,632. Arizona made its 15th consecutive postseason appearance at the regional meet. UA (9-22) scored a 194.825, but the Wildcats just missed qualifying for one of the two regional team berths to the NCAA Championship. Arizona was only .100 away from a second-place finish. Third-ranked Nebraska and No. 19 Oklahoma finished in first and second, respectively, and will advance to the NCAA Championship on April 19-21 in Athens, Ga.

Nebraska (23-1) posted a 196.200, and Oklahoma (20-7) edged Arizona (194.825) for second place with a 194.925. No. 10 Penn State (18-14) finished fourth with a 194.775, No. 15 Washington (17-13-1) ended the meet in fifth with a 194.450, and No. 25 Illinois State (13-14) rounded out the regional field in sixth place with a 191.725. Nebraska won the bars, beam and floor team events, while Washington ended the meet with the highest team vault total.

Nebraska's Tami Harris won the all-around title with a 39.400, and teammate Alecia Ingram tied for top honors on vault (9.875), along with Oklahoma's Mariana Goncalves and Penn State's Katie McAvoy. Washington's Emily Pritchard grabbed first place on bars (9.900), while fellow Husky Mandi Klug took top honors on beam (9.900). Arizona's Randi Liljenquist, Nebraska's Tami Harris and Penn State's Katie Rowland closed out the meet in a three-way tie for first place on floor (9.925).

Individually for the Wildcats, senior Kara Fry closed out the regional meet as Arizona's top performer in the all-around, as she posted a third-place finish (39.275). Fry tied for sixth on bars (9.825), tied for ninth on both vault (9.825) and beam (9.775) and tied for 11th on floor (9.850). Junior All-American Randi Liljenquist tied for top honors on floor with a 9.925. Liljenquist tied for second on bars with a 9.875 and tied for ninth place overall in the all-around with a 38.850.

Sophomore Nikki Beyschau tied for 14th place on vault with a 9.800 and finished 15th on bars with a 9.775. Freshman Andi McCabe closed out the regional meet in seventh place in the all-around (38.950). McCabe also tied for 12th on beam (9.750), and she tied for 14th on vault (9.800). Senior Mary Reiss tied for 11th on floor with a 9.850. Freshman Sheehan Lemley tied for 12th on beam (9.750) in her only event of the meet.

The top two teams in each of the six regionals across the nation Saturday night earned automatic bids to the NCAA Championship. The top two all-around competitors and the individual event winners who scored at least a 9.800 also will advance to the national championship, provided they are not members of a qualifying team.

University of Arizona Gymnastics 
NCAA South Central Regional Championship
Bob Devaney Sports Center, Lincoln, Neb.
April 7, 2001

Team Scores 		Vault 	Bars 	Beam 	Floor 	Totals
1. Nebraska 		49.050 	49.050 	48.625 	49.475	196.200
2. Oklahoma 		49.100 	48.775 	48.200 	49.150	194.925 
3. ARIZONA 		48.925 	48.825 	48.000 	49.075	194.825
4. Penn State 		49.100 	48.425 	48.100 	49.150	194.775
5. Washington 		49.125 	47.775 	48.500 	49.050	194.450 
6. Illinois State 	48.275 	47.450 	47.500 	48.500	191.725

Individual Scores
Vault
1. Alecia Ingram Nebraska 		9.875
1. Mariana Goncalves Oklahoma 		9.875
1. Katie McAvoy Penn State 		9.875
4. Tami Harris Nebraska 		9.850
4. Carla DeMartini Oklahoma 		9.850
4. Richelle Simpson Penn State 		9.850
4. Lanna Apisukh Washington 		9.850
4. Emily Pritchard Washington 		9.850
9. Kara Fry Arizona 			9.825

Uneven Bars
1. Emily Pritchard Washington 		9.900
2. Randi Liljenquist Arizona 		9.875
2. Tami Harris Nebraska 		9.875
2. Stacy Wong Washington 		9.875
5. Katie Rowland Penn State 		9.850

Balance Beam
1. Mandi Klug Washington 		9.900
2. Alecia Ingram Nebraska 		9.850
2. Bree Dority Nebraska 		9.850
2. Cheryl Rubinger Illinois-Chicago 	9.850
2. Maria Taylor Penn State 		9.850
2. Stacy Wong Washington 		9.850
2. Emily Pritchard Washington 		9.850
9. Kara Fry Arizona 			9.775

Floor Exercise
1. Randi Liljenquist Arizona 		9.925
1. Tami Harris Nebraska 		9.925
1. Katie Rowland Penn State 		9.925
4. Bree Dority Nebraska 		9.900
4. Jess Wertz Nebraska	 		9.900
4. Lanna Apisukh Washington 		9.900
4. Mandi Klug Washington 		9.900

All-Around
1. Tami Harris Nebraska 		39.400
2. Emily Pritchard Washington 		39.350
3. Kara Fry Arizona 			39.275
4. Katie McAvoy Penn State 		39.250
5. Kasie Tamayo Oklahoma 		39.150
7. Andi McCabe Arizona 			38.950
9. Randi Liljenquist Arizona 		38.850