Midwest Regional Recap

contributions by head coaches Kerrie McKinney - UW-Oshkosh, and Kris Glidden - Gustavus

The NCGA West Regional Championships was held on Friday, March 8th at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN. Luckily, all eight teams arrived at Gustavus, despite some wicked Midwest weather. In fact, UW Whitewater endured a small detour off the highway after hitting a patch of black ice, resulting in a few seconds of terror before spinning back onto the highway and continuing to St. Peter!

Heading into this meet, the field was tightly packed. All eight teams have shown great promise and competitive spirit throughout the season, but March 8th would determine the four teams and top individuals qualifying to the National Championships. Needless to say, the pressure was on.

With the capital cup format of competition, the meet ran quickly! UW LaCrosse had an unusually rough start on the balance beam but quickly regained composure and hit their floor routines with a total score of 46.975 and a strong bar set of 44.525. Meanwhile, Gustavus, encouraged by an enthusiastic home crowd, was posting strong scores on all four events including a 46.025 on balance beam. An intense battle for team regional champion built throughout the meet with Gustavus Adolphus winning the title in the end with a 180.60 on the strength of a 6 for 6 vault set of 46.125 in the final rotation. The defending champion team of UW Lacrosse finished second with a 180.175. Hamline University maintained consistent scores for a third place finish with a 177.60. LaCrosse, Gustavus and Hamline had clinched the top three National qualifying spots. Meanwhile, UW Whitewater, UW River Falls and UW Oshkosh were battling it out for the fourth spot. Whitewater had strong showings on the vault and floor exercise to compile a total score of a 175.275, however Oshkosh edged them out with a solid beam rotation adding to a final score of a 175.9. River Falls, though, outscored both teams with strong marks on the balance beam and floor exercise. Not only did UW River Fall's 176.325 capture fourth place at Regionals, they also squeezed by UW Whitewater for the fourth and final team qualifying position. UW Eau Claire, with a 174.25, and UW Stout, with a 170.55, also performed with consistency and grace grabbing seventh and eighth places respectively.

Individually, many performances earned top honors. The number 1 and 2 all-arounders in the nation were dueling, and on this night, number 2 Amanda Parker from Gustavus Adolphus won the all-around with a 37.325, beating Hamline's Melissa Stanton who earned a 37.075. On Vault, Parker earned the top score with a 9.475, edging out Whitewater's Ann Kingsnorth who scored a 9.325. Oshkosh's Jennifer Willaims scored a 9.675 to win the balance beam, while Gustavus's Parker finished second with a 9.55. Melissa Stanton won bars, beating out LaCrosse's Michelle Saxton's 9.15 with a score of 9.375. Lastly, Leslie Stewart and Jenny Moore, both from UW LaCrosse, took first and second place on floor with a 9.5 and 9.425 respectively.