Athletics

Women's gymnastics to compete in evening session at NCAA Championships

Freshman Emma Sibson Credit: Penn StateCreative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- For the first time since 2009 and the 17th time in school history, the Penn State women's gymnastics program earned a spot at the NCAA Championships in Birmingham, Ala. on April 18-20. The No. 16 Nittany Lions posted a second place finish at the University Park Regional, behind No. 1 Florida, to qualify for the evening session of the NCAA Championships, which is slated to start at 8 p.m. EDT on April 18.

The Blue and White will be joining in the second semifinal session by the top-ranked Gators, No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Utah, No. 8 UCLA and No. 9 Nebraska. The first semifinal session, slated for 2 p.m. EDT, will feature No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 LSU, No. 6 Georgia, No. 7 Michigan, No. 10 Stanford and No. 11 Illinois. Both the Big Ten and the SEC have four teams represented at this season's NCAA Championships.

The top three teams from each semifinal session on Friday will advance to the Super Six on Saturday, April 19 at 7 p.m. EDT to compete for the national championship. The top four individuals from each semifinal session on each event - including ties - will compete in the individual event finals on Sunday, April 20, at 3 p.m. EDT.

The rotation order was determined by a random draw and the Nittany Lions will begin their quest for their first berth in the Super Six on the bye before heading to the floor exercise. That will be followed vault (third), bye (fourth), uneven bars (fifth) and balance beam (sixth).

Penn State will be making its 17th appearance at the NCAA Championships and their first since the 2009 squad advanced to the Super Six for the first time in program history. The Nittany Lions has been represented at 29 of the 33 NCAA Championships events, qualifying 17 times as a team and sending an individual on 12 occasions.

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Last Updated April 10, 2014

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