March 26, 2012
IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa women’s gymnastics team has been selected to compete in NCAA Regional competition. The GymHawks were one of just 36 teams in Division I women’s gymnastics to receive an invitation to regional competition.
The GymHawks will travel to Seattle, Wash., to compete in the regional hosted by the University of Washington April 7, at 6 p.m. (CT) at Alaska Airlines Arena. Iowa will be joined by No. 4 ranked and defending NCAA champion Alabama, No. 9 LSU, No. 16 Arizona, No. 23 Washington and Central Michigan.
Iowa competed against LSU and Arizona in the Cancun Classic to open the season, and also hosted LSU in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The GymHawks faced 14 teams that qualified for NCAA Regionals this season. All eight Big Ten teams were selected for NCAA Regionals.
The top two teams and the top two all-around competitors (who are not on an advancing team) from each regional will receive an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships, April 20-22, in Duluth, Ga.
In addition, the event winners at the regional championships will advance to the NCAA Championships (in that event only) if they are not part of a qualifying team or the all-around qualifiers.
Head Coach Larissa Libby has led Iowa to six NCAA Regional appearances in her eight seasons at the helm, including each of the last five seasons.
Last season, seniors Rebecaa Simbhudas and Houry Gebeshian advanced to the NCAA Championships in the all-around.
Tickets can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com or over the phone by calling (206) 543-2200. Ticket prices are $12 for reserved seating, $9 for general admission, $6 for children and $4 for groups of 15 or more.