March 15, 2010
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The 18th-ranked University of Kentucky gymnastics team wraps up the regular-season portion of its 2010 schedule Friday when it travels to Oregon to compete against No. 7 Oregon State at Gill Coliseum. The first rotations start at 10 p.m. ET.
Kentucky (7-6), which owns a 195.600 regional qualifying score, remains listed among the nation’s top 25 for the 10th consecutive week. It marks the program’s longest stretch in the rankings since 1998.
“We’re using this meet to position ourselves for the (NCAA) regionals,” head coach Mo Mitchell said. “We need to continue to increase our standing, so we can receive the best possible seed when the regional seeds are determined.”
The Wildcats posted a 194.650 score in defeating visiting Illinois State (193.275) and George Washington (191.150) on “Senior Night” last Friday at Memorial Coliseum. UK posted a season-high team score on the balance beam at 48.800.
Emily Green (Penfield, N.Y.) won two event titles, finishing first on the floor exercise (9.900) and balance beam (9.850). Green and fellow senior Hillary Ferguson (Richmond, Ky.) are currently tied for 28th place among the nation’s top gymnasts on the floor exercise with a 9.870 RQS.
Sophomore Whitney Rose (Frisco, Texas) won title honors on the vault (9.875) at last week’s tri-meet. She has earned five first-place finishes on the event this season and ranks tied for 10th in the nation with a 9.900 RQS.
Oregon State (14-3) is coming off a second-place finish in a quad-meet hosted by then-No. 9 Utah last week. The Beavers (196.650) fell short to Utah (196.975), but ahead of then-No. 21 Southern Utah (196.025) and then-No. 18 Penn State (195.700).
“Oregon State is a quality team and this weekend should give us an idea as to where we stand and how we measure up against the level of talent we will face in the (NCAA) regional,” Mitchell said.
Live results for the Kentucky-Oregon State meet can be found at osubeavers.com.
UK will compete at the Southeastern Conference Championship on Saturday, March 27 at 5 p.m. ET.
Thirty-six teams from across the country will qualify for the NCAA Gymnastics Championships. Kentucky will play host to the NCAA Central Regional Championships on April 10 at Memorial Coliseum. Six qualifying teams will compete in Lexington. For ticket information, please contact the UK ticket office at 1-800-928-CATS.
The top two teams from each regional will advance to the NCAA Championship finals in Gainesville, Fla., April 22-24.
Stay tuned to UKathletics.com for complete coverage of the UK gymnastics team and follow “UKGymnastics” on Facebook and Twitter.
