 |
Senior Hatsune Akaogi will compete in her final conference championship.
|
March 22, 2012
Weekly Release 
SEATTLE - The No. 22 UW gymnastics team is set to perform in its first-ever Pac-12 Championships hosted by newcomer Utah in Salt Lake City on Saturday. Also for the first time ever, the conference championships will be split into two sessions. Seeds 5-8 based on the RQS will compete at 1 p.m. PT while seeds 1-4 will compete at 6 p.m. PT. Live stats and chat will be available for session one at www.gohuskies.com. Scores from the two sessions will be combined for the overall team scores and event winners.
Scouting The Field
Six of the eight teams in the Pac-12 are ranked in the top 25 in the RQS this week. No. 1 seed UCLA, No. 2 Utah, No. 3 Oregon State and No. 4 Stanford will compete in the evening session. In session one, fans will see No. 5 Arizona, No. 6 Washington, No. 7 Arizona State and No. 8 Cal. The rotation orders were pre-determined by the Pac-12 and UW will get the advantage of competing in Olympic order (vault, bars, beam, floor) in session one. UW already competed against several Pac-12 teams this season, falling to Stanford, Oregon State and Arizona while defeating Arizona State, Cal and upsetting then-No.1 UCLA.
Husky History In Conference Championships
In the 2011 Pac-10 Championships at UCLA, the Huskies tied for their best finish ever, coming in third with a 196.025. Oregon State won the meet last year and UCLA finished second. UW upset the No. 3-ranked Stanford Cardinal, snapping an 11-meet losing streak. UW also finished third at the Pac-10 Championships in 2001 and last year's score was the best at a conference meet for UW since 2004. Senior Samantha Walior tied for the individual title on the bars in 2011, becoming the first Husky to win an individual title since 2007 and just the third bars champion in school history.
Pac-12 Women's Gymnastics Championships To Be Televised on Fox Sports Net
Fans will have the special opportunity to see the Husky Gym Dawgs on Fox Sports Net in March. As part of the Pac-12 conference's agreement with Fox Sports Net, the Pac-12 Women's Gymnastics Championships will be televised on the network. The competition will take place on March 24, 2012 at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah on the campus of the University of Utah. The championships will be tape-delayed and played at a numerous times during the weekend after March 29, 2012. See the final page of this release for that schedule air dates. The Husky gymnasts and other Pac-12 gymnasts are honored and excited for this event, as this will be the only televised collegiate gymnastics event for the 2012 season. Jim Watson will provide the play-by-play and Olympic gold medalist Amanda Borden will provide analysis.
2012 Seattle Regional Tickets On Sale
For the first time since 2009, an NCAA Gymnastics Regional will be held at the University of Washington at Alaska Airlines Arena on April 7. This will be one of six NCAA Regional sites around the country and will include six teams and other qualifying individuals that will be announced two weeks prior to the event. Tickets went on sale Friday, Jan. 27 at 8:30 a.m. PT. You can order by walking into the Husky Ticket Office in the Graves Building on campus or by calling the ticket office at (206) 543-2200. Tickets are also available on ticketmaster.com. Tickets are $12 for reserved seating, $9 for general admission adult, $6 for children and students and $4 for the group discount of 15+. View the tournament website here: http://www.gohuskies.com/sports/w-gym/mtt/12ncaaregional.html. More information about the 2012 Seattle Regional will be posted as the event gets closer.
Huskies In The National Rankings
As a team, UW moved up in the RQS to 22nd with a 195.595, an average of 194.980 and a high of 196.350. As a team, UW is 24th on vault (48.950), 17th on bars (49.000) and 22nd on beam (48.882).
Bowers Picks Up Career Win No. 100
Head coach Joanne Bowers reached two coaching milestones with the wins over Central Michigan and San Jose State on March 9. Bowers earned her 50th career win at UW and 100th overall as a head coach.
Huskies Post Second-Straight 196
In the final Dual Meet of the 2012 season, the Huskies finished on top at conference foe Cal. UW posted its second-straight score above 196, defeating Cal 196.250-191.775. As a team, the Huskies posted season-high on beam (49.100) and floor (49.175) while also getting high scores of 48.850 on vault and 49.125 on bars. Individually, the Huskies took the top six spots on vault, top two on bars, top five on beam and top six on floor. There were just two all-around performers in the meet and freshman McKenzie Fechter (Mequon, Wis.) won her second all-around title of the year with a 39.225.
