Gymnastics to NCAA Central Regional

AMES, Iowa- The No. 16 Iowa State gymnastics team travels to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for the NCAA Central Regional at Coleman Coliseum on Saturday. The Cyclones enter the meet as the third seeded team and will face No. 3 Alabama, No. 10 Oklahoma, No. 19 Michigan State, No. 21 Ohio State and No. 26 Kentucky. Competition is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

Last year, ISU hosted its first-ever regional competition and took second to qualify for the NCAA Championship. Senior Janet Anson was the NCAA North Central Region co-champion on vault. For the first time in school history, Iowa State placed second in the first round to advance to the Super Six a year ago. The Cyclones finished the season ranked sixth nationally, the best final season ranking of any Iowa State team.

Who: No. 16 Iowa State vs. No. 3 Alabama, No. 10 Oklahoma, No. 19 Michigan State, No. 21 Ohio State, No. 26 Kentucky
What: NCAA Central Regional
Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
When: Saturday at 6 p.m.

ISU at NCAA Central Regional
Alabama will host the NCAA Central Regional on Saturday, April 14, at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Ala. ... ISU, along with host Alabama, Oklahoma, Michigan State, Ohio State and Kentucky will be competing to advance to the NCAA Championship ... the top two teams from each regional will qualify for the NCAA Championship in Salt Lake City, Utah, April 26-28 ... the top all-around regional competitors, if not on an advancing team, will also qualify for the championship ... in addition, each event winner who is not on an advancing team or a qualifying all-around competitor will earn a national championship appearance in that event.

About Iowa State
The Cyclones took fourth place at the 2007 Big 12 Conference Championship ... senior Janet Anson was named Big 12 Gymnast of the Year and freshman Megan Barnes was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year by the league's coaches ... Anson, who also received the same honor last season, is the first gymnast in the history of Big 12 gymnastics to win the award in consecutive years ... in the best Big 12 Championship of her career, Anson won a share of the bars title, matching her career-high 9.90 ... she also took second place in the all-around (39.550), second on vault (9.90), third on beam (9.875) and third on floor (9.875) ... she was named to the All-Big 12 team in every event ... also being named to the All-Big 12 team were Katie Lasher and Ceilia Maccani, who each scored a 9.850 to tie for fourth on bars.

Iowa State National Event Rankings
Event	Rank	RQS	High
Vault	14th	49.105	49.350
Bars	11th	49.120	49.375
Beam	T17th	48.920	49.200
Floor	24th	48.895	49.325
All-Around	16th	195.855	196.700

About Alabama
The Crimson Tide took third place with a score of 197.00 at the Southeastern Conference Championship and were led by freshman Morgan Dennis' 39.500 all-around score ... Florida won the event and for the first time since 1989, a team other than Bama or Georgia won the SEC title ... Alabama's Ricki Lebegern won the beam title with a 9.925 and took seventh place in the all-around (39.425).

Alabama National Event Rankings
Event	Rank	RQS	High
Vault	5th	49.345	49.450
Bars	6th	49.240	49.475
Beam	3rd	49.280	49.375
Floor	4th	49.390	49.525
All-Around	3rd	197.170	197.475

About Oklahoma

Oklahoma finished second at the Big 12 Championship after posting a score of 195.325 ...junior Kiara Redmond was second on beam (9.90), third on bars (9.875), third in floor (9.875) and third in the all-around (39.475) ... senior Brittney Koncak-Schumnann continued to lead the Sooners, winning her share of the floor crown, matching a season-high 9.90.

Oklahoma National Event Rankings
Event	Rank	RQS	High
Vault	8th	49.220	49.350
Bars	14th	49.075	49.350
Beam	4th	49.200	49.325
Floor	T16th	49.085	49.375
All-Around	10th	196.335	197.175

About Michigan State
The No. 19 Spartan's finished seventh at the Big Ten Championship ... senior Kristen Coleman was named 2007 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year, the first MSU gymnast to earn the honor since 1989 ... she led the Spartan's in the all-around with a score of 38.775 ... freshman Rochelle Robinson tied for second on vault (9.875).

Michigan State National Event Rankings
Event	Rank	RQS	High
Vault	21st	48.955	49.100
Bars	18th	49.010	49.325
Beam	19th	48.845	49.150
Floor	19th	49.070	49.425
All-Around	19th	195.520	196.350

About Ohio State
Head coach Carey Fagan was named the 2007 Big Ten Coach of the Year while her Buckeye's placed fourth at the Big Ten Championship ... junior Maalika Moore-Thomas (38.800) took seventh in the all-around and junior Kaylan Clevinger (38.350) finished 13th ... Moore-Thomas and Kristin Perchatsch tied for eighth on bars, each scoring 9.850.

Ohio State National Event Rankings

Event
Rank

RQS

High

Vault
24th

48.920

49.175

Bars
15th

49.045

49.150

Beam
34th

48.490

48.950

Floor
23rd

48.990

49.100

All-Around
21st

195.215

195.825

About Kentucky
Kentucky scored a 194.000 at the SEC Championship, its highest score at the championship meet since 2003 ... the Wildcats were led by freshman Emilie Rymer, who earned a 39.025 in the all-around ... Krystle Cook scored a 9.90 and tied for fourth on vault.

Kentucky National Event Rankings
Event	Rank	RQS	High
Vault	20th	49.025	49.200
Bars	33rd	48.680	48.925
Beam	29th	48.610	49.000
Floor	T14th	49.125	49.300
All-Around	T26th	194.755	196.200

Also Competing
All-Arounders
Jillian Kowalski, Kent State
Jolene Worley, Eastern Michigan
Katie Simon, Central Michigan
Laura Rogers, Central Michigan
Jennifer Sturgis, Western Michigan

Individual Event Specialists
Vault- Sheena Smith, Central Michigan
Uneven Bars- Kristin Peters, Kent State
Balance Beam- Kristin Peters, Kent State
Floor Exercise- Laci Hendress, Kent State

Iowa State vs. the Central Region
Iowa State has competed against two of the four Central Region opponents in either the 2005 or 2006 seasons ... ISU last met the Crimson Tide, April 21, 2006 at the NCAA Super Six ... Bama took third place, while the Cyclones finished sixth in the championship ... Iowa State defeated Kentucky 195.625-193.325, at the 2005 NCAA Central Regional in Tuscaloosa, Ala., where ISU took second and the Wildcats finished fourth ... back in 2003, the Cyclones beat Michigan State in Ames on Jan. 17, 196.000-193.325 ... Iowa State has not faced Ohio State since April 1, 2000, when they met at the Region 4 Championship also at Alabama ... ISU placed second, ahead of the third-place Buckeyes.

Rotation Order
Oklahoma will begin on vault, Alabama starts on bars, Michigan State leads off on beam and Ohio State opens on floor ... Kentucky and Iowa State will each have a bye for the first rotation ... Iowa State will begin competition on floor in the second rotation.

Rotation V Bye UB BB Bye FX

1 OU UK BAMA MSU ISU OSU

2 OSU OU UK BAMA MSU ISU

3 ISU OSU OU UK BAMA MSU

4 MSU ISU OSU OU UK BAMA

5 BAMA MSU ISU OSU OU UK

6 UK BAMA MSU ISU OSU OU

Top Event Individuals for Each Team

*National Rankings (RQS, April 2)

Vault
T8. Rochelle Robinson, Michigan State (9.905)
T8. Morgan Dennis, Alabama (9.905)
T14. Janet Anson, Iowa State (9.895)
T20. Brittney Koncak-Schumann, Oklahoma (9.890)
T20. Kiara Redmond, Oklahoma (9.890)
T25. Krystle Cook, Kentucky (9.880)
T65. Amanda Surine, Ohio State (9.840)

Uneven Bars
T11. Terin Humphrey, Alabama (9.90)
T16. Brittney Koncak-Schumann (9.895)
T19. Kristen Coleman, Michigan State (9.890)
T27. Krystle Cook, Kentucky (9.875)
T30. Janet Anson, Iowa State (9.870)
T55. Kaylan Clevinger, Ohio State (9.840)

Balance Beam
T9. Brittney Koncak-Schumann, Oklahoma (9.890)
T11. Kristen Coleman, Michigan State (9.885)
T13. Janet Anson, Iowa State (9.880)
T22. Casey Jo Magee, Arkansas (9.870)
T22. Heather Hite, Kentucky (9.870)
121. Kiki Holman, Ohio State (9.780)

Floor Exercise

1. Morgan Dennis, Alabama (9.940)
T7. Janet Anson, Iowa State (9.915)
T16. Kiara Redmond, Oklahoma (9.895)
T23. Heather Hite, Kentucky (9.885)
T33. Nicole Curler, Michigan State (9.875)
T58. Maalika Moore-Thomas, Ohio State (9.850)

All-Around
T6. Janet Anson, Iowa State (39.475)
11. Kiara Redmond, Oklahoma (39.425)
T12. Kristen Coleman, Michigan State (39.420)
T16. Ricki Lebegern, Alabama (39.300)
T16. Morgan Dennis, Alabama (39.300)
T34. Maalika Moore-Thomas, Ohio State (39.210)
43. Emilie Rymer, Kentucky (39.115)

Ticket Information
Tickets for the Central Regional are on sale through the Alabama Athletic Ticket Office ... tickets can be ordered online through Alabama's website, Rolltide.com, or by calling (205) 348-BAMA (2262) ... prices are $10 for adults and $7 for youth.

On the Web
Live Scores: Watch the Cyclones' live scores from the Central Regional on Cyclones.com ... for updated team and individual scores, fans should highlight "Cyclone Gameday" and choose "Live Stats" ... or choose on "Live Stats" in the calendar section on the homepage.

Anson Tops Region and Conference
Janet Anson is ranked first in the North Central Region and in the Big 12 Conference in the all-around ... she holds an RQS of 39.475 ... she is also ranked tied for sixth in the nation ... additionally, Anson is ranked first in the region on floor (RQS 9.915) and is tied for seventh in the nation ... against Denver and Iowa, Anson scored a season-high 9.950 to claim the floor title, she also placed first on vault, beam and in the all-around and took second on bars ... at the Big 12 meet, she placed second overall and earned Big 12 first team status on each event.

Injury Update
Ashley Alden returned to the beam line-up against Denver and Iowa on senior night, after missing five meets because of an ankle injury ... before she was injured, Alden was ranked eighth in the nation in the event ... freshman Megan Barnes, who did not compete against Denver and Iowa due to minor injuries, is expected to be back in the vault and bars line-ups ... sophomore Ashley Kent sustained a season-ending knee injury during the Nebraska meet and will miss the rest of the season.

Record Breakers

With its win over intrastate rival Iowa on March 23, the Cyclones recorded their highest team score of the season (196.700) ... freshman Nikki Dilbert earned or tied season highs in all four events, and in the all-around ... Katie Sweetin (9.925) and Jasmine Thompson (9.90) set season highs on floor ... in total, six Cyclones combined to earn or tie 13 season highs ... Friday's attendance of 2,403 was the fifth highest on Iowa State's all-time attendance list ... this is the second attendance record set this season.

Gymnastics to NCAA Central Regional

Players Mentioned

Ashley Alden

Ashley Alden

Janet Anson

Janet Anson

Megan Barnes

Megan Barnes

Nikki Dilbert

Nikki Dilbert

Ashley Kent

Ashley Kent

Ashley Kent

Katie Lasher

Katie Lasher

Ceilia Maccani

Ceilia Maccani

Ceilia Maccani

Katie Sweetin

Katie Sweetin

Jasmine Thompson

Jasmine Thompson

Jasmine Thompson

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Ohio State National Event Rankings
Event	Rank	RQS	High
Vault	24th	48.920	49.175
Bars	15th	49.045	49.150
Beam	34th	48.490	48.950
Floor	23rd	48.990	49.100
All-Around	21st	195.215	195.825

Iowa State University Athletics

Gymnastics to NCAA Central Regional

Related News

Players Mentioned

Ashley Alden

Ashley Alden

Janet Anson

Janet Anson

Megan Barnes

Megan Barnes

Nikki Dilbert

Nikki Dilbert

Ashley Kent

Ashley Kent

Ashley Kent

Katie Lasher

Katie Lasher

Ceilia Maccani

Ceilia Maccani

Ceilia Maccani

Katie Sweetin

Katie Sweetin

Jasmine Thompson

Jasmine Thompson

Jasmine Thompson

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