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What To Watch For: Vault & Bars Defending champion Alabama is the No. 1 seed in the Seattle region.
Junior Lauren Rogers is the top Husky vaulter this season.
 
Junior Lauren Rogers is the top Husky vaulter this season.

April 3, 2012

SEATTLE -The women's gymnastics team anticipates an exciting event as the University of Washington hosts the 2012 Seattle Gymnastics Regional in Alaska Airlines Arena, Saturday at 4 p.m. This Regional features highly talented teams and individuals, including the reigning national champions Alabama, LSU, Arizona and UW, who are all ranked, Iowa and Central Michigan and individual qualifiers.

In preparation for this weekend, we take a look at what you can expect to see and who you should keep an eye on as the Husky women's team tries to earn one of the top two spots to advance on to Nationals. In Part 1 we focus on the vault and uneven bars.

VAULT
What to Expect:The Huskies are in the top 25 in the Nation on the vault with a Regional Qualifying Average (RQS) of 48.950. Husky assistant coach Elise Ray is anticipating big and dynamic vaults from her team, and as they prepare for the event this week there is extra focus on sticking the landings. The vault also features four other teams in the top 25, with Alabama and LSU in the top six, Both schools have been consistently producing huge vaults with stuck landings, so you can expect this to be a high-flying and high-scoring event.

Who to Watch:Washington junior Lauren Rogers is ranked the highest on the team with an RQSof 9.850. Senior Amanda Cline will try and top her season high of 9.875 and sophomore Aliza Vaccher is looking to up her season best of 9.850. The top performers in this event representing the other teams in the Seattle Regional include: Rheagan Courville, L.S.U (9.930); Marissa Gutierrez, Alabama (9.915); Aubree Cristello, Arizona (9.875); Kristen Teubner, Central Michigan (9.840); and Maya Wickus, Iowa (9.830).

Individual Qualifiers:Sacramento State's Nicole Meiller is an individual qualifier for the Vault with an RQS of 9.790.

UNEVEN BARS
What to Expect:With an RQS of 49.000, Washington is ranked 20th overall on the bars. Senior Hatsune Akaogi is looking forward to the event, saying that the team has been consistent and successful on the bars this season. With uneven bars being their second event of the meet, she hopes the Huskies can carry over some momentum from the vault rotation. Five of the six teams in the regional are top 20 in the nation, with Alabama ranking number at No. 6 with an RQS of 49.270. With so many good teams participating in the regional, Akaogi believes it will be an exciting event to watch. "Expect a lot of sticking and head throws, Alabama is really famous for that."

Who to Watch:Senior Ruby Engreitz is Washington's top performer on bars with an RQS of 9.850 and a season high of 9.900. Several other Huskies will be hoping to post their season bests as Akaogi and Cline have season-highs of 9.850 while junior Lauren Rodgers and freshman McKenzie Fetcher both try to break their highs of 9.875. Other gymnasts to watch on the event include: Geralen Stack-Eaton, Alabama (9.890); Sarie Morrison, L.S.U (9.875) Brittany Petzold, Central Michigan (9.850); Tesla Cox, Iowa (9.850); and Aubree Cristello, Arizona (9.845).

Individual Qualifiers:Sacramento State's Nicole Meiller is also an individual qualifier for uneven bars with a RQS of 9.845.

Check back on Thursday as we provide a "What To Look For" on beam, floor and who to watch in the all-around.

Friday's practices are open to the public at Alaska Airlines Arena. The first practice session is 1:15-3:01 p.m., and the second practice session is 4-5:46 p.m.

Check out the Seattle Regional site and get your tickets now: http://www.gohuskies.com/sports/w-gym/mtt/12ncaaregional.html.

Go Huskies!