Bowling Green State University Athletics
Harrington, Nocella Qualify to NCAA Regionals
March 25, 2013 | Gymnastics
Falcons send individuals to regionals for sixth straight year.
Indianapolis - The 2013 National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championships regional selections were announced today by the NCAA.
Bowling Green State University gymnasts Megan Harrington and Alyssa Nocella will participate as all-arounders, traveling to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to compete on Saturday, April 6. Jamilah Ali (vault) and Amanda Lievendag (uneven bars) are listed as alternates on their respective events. Six teams, five all-around competitors (who are not on a qualifying team) and one individual event specialist per event [who has a minimum Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 9.4] were named to each of the six predetermined host sites.
Harrington, who also made it to regionals in the all-around last year, qualifies with an RQS of 38.820. Harrington competed all-around in every meet this year for the Falcons, posting a season- and career-best mark of 39.025 on two occasions. Most recently, Harrington finished third all-around and second on floor exercise at the Mid-American Conference Championships. She, along with teammate Ali, were named to the All-MAC Second Team.
Freshman Nocella made the cut with an RQS of 38.640, edging out Michigan State's Alina Cartwright for the fifth and final qualifying spot. Nocella won the MAC balance beam title, scoring a career-high 9.85 to outscore 41 other gymnasts. For her efforts, she earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team - one of only two freshmen to receive the honor. Like Harrington, she competed all-around in every meet this season, twice reaching a career-high 38.850 score.
As individuals, Harrington and Nocella will each rotate with one of six qualifying teams during the competition. Harrington will compete alongside third-seeded Denver, starting on a bye rotation before floor exercise. Nocella will rotate with BYU, the five seed, beginning the meet on uneven bars.
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 national championships in Los Angeles, Calif., April 19-21, hosted by the University of California, Los Angeles.
In addition, the event winners at each regional site will advance to the national championships (in that event only) if they are not part of a qualifying team or an all-around qualifier.
For tickets and information regarding the National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championships, log on to www.NCAA.com/wgymnastics.
