LEXINGTON, Ky. ? The No. 20 Wildcats (9-13 overall, 1-5 SEC) travel to Baton Rouge, La. for the Central Regional Championships hosted by LSU. The meet is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Saturday April 12.
After the SEC Championships in Duluth, Ga. on March 29, Kentucky had the week off in order to prepare for the 2008 Central Regional Championship. A total of six schools will be competing on Saturday. Joining the Cats and host school LSU, will be Stanford, Missouri, Ohio State, and Kent State.
No. 6 Stanford most recently won its third conference title in five seasons at the PAC-10 championships with a score of 197.000. LSU, ranked 7th in the nation, competed with Kentucky at the SEC Championships. The Tigers had a fourth place finish, led by Ashleigh Clare-Kearney who won the all-around title with a 39.600. Missouri finished the regular season 18th in the nation and placed third at the BIG 12 competition, hitting a 195.225.
The remaining competing schools are No. 26 Kent State and No. 33 Ohio State. The Golden Flashes are fresh of their 10th MAC championship title. The Buckeyes placed seventh overall at the BIG 10 championship, posting a 194.075. OSU?s standout Maalika Moore-Thomas landed third overall on the floor exercise with a 9.875.
With their own seventh place finish at SEC?s, the Wildcats hit the team?s best conference championship total since 2004?s competition. The regular season for the Cats was also ended on a high note by breaking the school?s Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) record by .595 with a total of 195.395. Other SEC honors were shared by senior Crissy Cannon who was named to the Good Works team for her continual efforts to help her community. Freshman Andrea Mitchell received SEC accolades, being named to the Freshman All-SEC team and is the first Wildcat to do so in the honors inaugural year.
A top-two overall finish in the Central Regional competition earns an automatic bid for the NCAA National Championship in Athens, Ga. hosted by UGA. Individuals may also make the Georgia trip by placing first in their event(s).
UK looks to keep the season going after this Saturday by hitting highs and making the top two spots. Kentucky seeks the school?s first ever trip to the national competition. For complete coverage of Kentucky gymnastics, please visit www.ukathletics.com.
