March 28, 2006

Gymnasts Ficarrotta and Schafer Named as Alternates to NCAA Regionals

March 28, 2006

FULLERTON, CA - Cal State Fullerton junior Erica Ficarrotta and sophomore Melissa Schafer have been named as alternates for the 2006 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Regionals hosted by Stanford University on April 8 in Palo Alto, Calif.

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 regions.

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 Corvallis, Oregon, April 20-22, hosted by Oregon State University.

In addition, the event winners at the regional championships will advance to the national championships (in that event only) if they are not part of a qualifying team or the all-around qualifiers.

Ficarrotta (RQS of 38.415) was one of three all-arounders for the Titans this season, averaging 37.996 and scoring a season-high 38.800 against California on Feb. 26. Schafer (RQS of 9.710) averaged a 9.625 on floor this season, scoring a career-high 9.75 twice.

The qualifying teams and individuals are listed below.

West Region - 6 p.m. - April 8 in Stanford, California
Teams
1. Alabama
2. Stanford
3. Oregon State
4. Boise State
5. Sacramento State
6. San Jose State

All-Around Competitors
1. Jessica Portlock, Alaska Anchorage
2. Britani Pittullo, California
3. Lauren Agostino, Alaska
4. Jaynie Reynolds, Seattle Pacific
5. Chelsea Bakken, Washington
Alt. - Erica Ficarrotta, Cal State Fullerton

Individual Event Specialists
Vault - Ashley Houghting, Washington
Alt. - Kristen Omori, Washington
Uneven Bars - Kelly McDonald, Washington
Alt. - Lydia Williams, California
Balance Beam - Kelly McDonald, Washington
Alt. - Kristen Omori, Washington
Floor Exercise - Kristen Omori, Washington
Alt. - Melissa Schafer, Cal State Fullerton