March 30, 2000
April 1, 2000 - 6:00 p.m.
McKale Center - Tucson, Ariz.
Devils Seek Fourth Consecutive NCAA Championship Appearance
Two NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship births will be awarded at the Region 3 Championships, April 1 at the McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz beginning at 6:00 p.m. Arizona State, ranked 17th with a Regional Qualifying Score of 195.280, will battle for a spot against #5 Nebraska, seventh-ranked LSU, host Arizona, Missouri and Illinois-Chicago. Also competing in Tucson are top gymnasts from Region 3 schools which did not qualify as a team. The two highest soring teams in each of the six regional meets will advance to the NCAA Championships April 13-15 in Boise, Id. In addition, the all-around champion and individual event winners will also advance to Boise if they are not members of one of the qualifying teams.
The Rotation
The Devils drew a competition rotation in which they will open the meet with a bye, then compete on the uneven bars and balance beam before another bye, and finish on the floor exercise and vault. All-arounder Michelle Huston of Illinois State will join the Devils in their rotation.
| V | Bye | UB | Beam | Bye | Floor | ||
| I | LSU | ASU | UA | NEB | MO | UIC | |
| II | UIC | LSU | ASU | UA | NEB | MO | |
| III | MO | UIC | LSU | ASU | UA | NEB | |
| IV | NEB | MO | UIC | LSU | ASU | UA | |
| V | UA | NEB | MO | UIC | LSU | ASU | |
| VI | ASU | UA | NEB | MO | UIC | LSU |
Scouting the Regional Opponents
Nebraska has qualified for five of the past six NCAA Championships, and hold the top seed in Tucson with a RQS of 196.675. The Huskers' Heather Brink is the nation's fifth-ranked all-arounder and #2 vault artist. Fresh off a second place tie at the SEC Championships, Louisiana State comes to Tucson with a 196.390 RQS and top-10 rankings in three of the four events. Sophomore Randi Liljenquist ? the nation's 10th-ranked all-arounder ? leads Arizona, which placed seventh at the Pac-10 Championships. Missouri and Illinois-Chicago, the fourth and fifth ranked teams in Region 3, respectively, are both positioned amongst the top-25 in beam competition.
Looking Back at 1999
Last season Arizona State was shipped to State College, Pa., for the NCAA Region 5 Championships, where they placed second behind host Penn State with a score of 195.100. Lea Carver tied for top honors on the balance beam at 9.875, while Elizabeth Reid did the same in uneven bar competition with her 9.925 mark. ASU also got a strong performance from Wendy Ellsberry, who finished fourth as an all-arounder at 38.975. The Sun Devils' second place performance advanced them to the NCAA Championships in Salt Lake City, where they placed fourth overall.
Pac-10 Championship Recap
The 2000 Pac-10 Championships, held March 18 in Tempe, netted a fourth place conference finish for Arizona State and a season high team score of 196.875. In addition, ASU had its first individual event winners since 1996 as senior Elizabeth McNabb and sophomore Lea Carver tied a pair of UCLA Bruins for first place on the floor at 9.925.