Three Purple Knights Earn NCAA Gymnastics National Championship Invitations As Individual Event Specialists

Indianapolis, Indiana-The 2017 National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championships regional selections were announced today by the NCAA, and three members of the University of Bridgeport women's gymnastics team have been selected to head to Morgantown, West Virginia as individual event specialists.

For the second consecutive year, senior Brianna Comport (Gilberstville, Pa.) will compete on the balance beam and in the floor exercise.  Freshman Maya Reimers (New York, N.Y.) will join Comport in the floor exercise, and senior Kimberly Stewart (Eastham, Mass.) will compete in the vault.

Six teams, four all-around competitors (who are not on a qualifying team) and two individual event specialists per event [who have a minimum Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 9.4] were named to each of the six predetermined host sites.

Women's Gymnastics Championships: Bracket | Regionals Rotation Order 

The top 18-teams are seeded nationally, based on RQS, and placed into the bracket. Teams 19-36 are placed geographically at one of the six regional sites. Seeding determined at the time of regional selections will be maintained throughout the championships. All-around competitors and event specialists are assigned to their respective geographic region.

In the event of a tie for the last berth into regional competition and for seeding purposes, the team, all-around competitor or individual event specialist with the highest score, not including the six used to calculate the regional qualifying score, will qualify. If a tie still exists, the process is continued until the tie is broken.

The qualifying teams and individuals are listed below. All regionals will be conducted Saturday, April 1, with start times of 4 p.m. local time.

Champaign Regional (Central) (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, host).

Teams

• UCLA
• Oregon St.
• Iowa
• *Illinois
• Eastern Mich.
• Ohio St.

All-Around Competitors

• Nicola Deans, Michigan St.
• Rachael Underwood, Western Mich.
• Anna Corbett, Western Mich.
• Ashley White, Centenary (LA)
• Alt. – Kaitlyn Menzione, Ball St.

Individual Event Specialists

• Vault – Jovannah East, Bowling Green
• Vault – Lauren Feely, Bowling Green
• Alt. – Sarah Ebeyer, Ball St.
• Uneven Bars – Jessie Peszek, Western Mich.
• Uneven Bars – Hailee Westney, Michigan St.
• Alt. – Lindsey Lemke, Michigan St.
• Balance Beam – Jessie Peszek, Western Mich.
• Balance Beam – Jovannah East, Bowling Green
• Alt. – Baylee Bell, Ball St.
• Floor Exercise – Elena Lagoski, Michigan St.
• Floor Exercise – Kira Frederick, Michigan St.
• Alt. – Kayla Rose, Bowling Green

Fayetteville Regional (South Central) (University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, host).

Teams

• Utah
• Denver
• California
• Auburn
• *Arkansas
• Central Mich.

All-Around Competitors

• Mikailla Northern, Ill.-Chicago
• Alexis Brawner, Southeast Mo. St.
• Ashley Potts, Northern Ill.
• Katherine Prentice, Northern Ill.
• Alt. – Schyler Jones, Texas Woman's

Individual Event Specialists

• Vault – Schyler Jones, Texas Woman's
• Vault – Kierstin Sokolowski, Lindenwood (MO)
• Alt. – Katey Oswalt, Lindenwood (MO)
• Uneven Bars – Jamyra Carter, Northern Ill.
• Uneven Bars – Courtney Dowdell, Northern Ill.
• Alt. – Nichelle Christopherson, Arizona St.
• Balance Beam – Nichelle Christopherson, Arizona St.
• Balance Beam – Kierstin Sokolowski, Lindenwood (MO)
• Alt. – Mallory Moredock, Texas Woman's
• Floor Exercise – Gabrielle Cooke, Illinois St.
• Floor Exercise – Courtney Dowdell, Northern Ill.
• Alt. – Katey Oswalt, Lindenwood (MO)

Gainesville Regional (Southeast) (University of Florida, host).

Teams

• *Florida
• Georgia
• Missouri
• New Hampshire
• Penn St.
• North Carolina

All-Around Competitors

• Chelsea Knight, North Carolina St.
• Gabriella Yarussi, Towson
• Tyra McKellar, Towson
• Kirsten Peterman, Maryland
• Alt. – Paris Phillips, North Carolina St.

Individual Event Specialists

• Vault – Sarah Faller, Maryland
• Vault – Paris Phillips, North Carolina St.
• Alt. – Erin Tucker, Towson
• Uneven Bars – Amanda Fillard, North Carolina St.
• Uneven Bars – Melissa Brooker, North Carolina St.
• Alt. – Alecia Farina, Maryland
• Balance Beam – Mary Elle Arduino, Towson
• Balance Beam – Sarah Faller, Maryland
• Alt. – Drew Grantham, North Carolina St.
• Floor Exercise – Emily Brauckmuller, Maryland
• Floor Exercise – Alecia Farina, Maryland
• Alt. – Paris Phillips, North Carolina St.

Lincoln Regional (North Central) (University of Nebraska, Lincoln, host).

Teams

• LSU
• Boise St.
• *Nebraska
• Arizona
• Iowa St.
• Minnesota

All-Around Competitors

• Kara Witgen, Air Force
• Mariana Murphy, Air Force

Individual Event Specialists

• Vault – Anna Salamone, Air Force
• Vault – Jamie Lewis, Air Force
• Vault – Riley Hill, Air Force
• Uneven Bars – Anna Salamone, Air Force
• Uneven Bars – Brittney Reed, Air Force
• Uneven Bars – Darby Germain, Air Force
• Uneven Bars – Jamie Lewis, Air Force
• Balance Beam – Riley Hill, Air Force
• Balance Beam – Brittney Reed, Air Force
• Balance Beam – Rita Koenigbauer, Air Force
• Balance Beam – Chelsea Grimison, Air Force
• Floor Exercise – Casey Bell, Air Force
• Floor Exercise – Jamie Lewis, Air Force
• Floor Exercise – Darby Germain, Air Force
• Floor Exercise – Brittney Reed, Air Force

Morgantown Regional (Northeast) (West Virginia University, host).

Teams

• Alabama
• Michigan
• Southern Utah
• George Washington
• *West Virginia
• Kent St.

All-Around Competitors

• Majesta Valentine, West Chester
• Lyanda Dudley, Cornell
• Caroline Morant, Brown
• Libby Groden, Rutgers
• Alt. – Daisy Todd, Temple

Individual Event Specialists

• Vault – Tracey Pearson, Pittsburgh
• Vault – Kimberly Stewart, Bridgeport
• Alt. – Aya Mahgoub, Temple
• Uneven Bars – Taylor Laymon, Pittsburgh
• Uneven Bars – Daisy Todd, Temple
• Alt. – Kaitlin Green, Cornell
• Balance Beam – Brianna Comport, Bridgeport
• Balance Beam – Kaitlin Green, Cornell
• Alt. – Makenzey Shank, Rutgers
• Floor Exercise – Brianna Comport, Bridgeport
• Floor Exercise – Maya Reimers, Bridgeport
• Alt. – Tracey Pearson, Pittsburgh

Seattle Regional (West) (University of Washington, host).

Teams

• Oklahoma
• Kentucky
• *Washington
• Utah St.
• Stanford
• BYU

All-Around Competitors

• Alexis Brown, UC Davis
• Caitlin Soliwoda, Sacramento St.
• Lauren Rice, Sacramento St.
• Kaitlin Won, San Jose St.
• Alt. – Ariana Harger, Seattle Pacific

Individual Event Specialists

• Vault – Ariana Harger, Seattle Pacific
• Vault – Julia Konner, Sacramento St.
• Alt. – Katy Nogaki, UC Davis
• Uneven Bars – Yonni Michovska, UC Davis
• Uneven Bars – Rachel Heinl, San Jose St.
• Alt. – Sarah Liddle, UC Davis
• Balance Beam – Yasmine Yektaparast, UC Davis
• Balance Beam – Taylor Chan, San Jose St.
• Alt. – Chelsey Andrada, San Jose St.
• Floor Exercise – Taylor Chan, San Jose St.
• Floor Exercise – Ariana Harger, Seattle Pacific
• Alt. – Yasmine Yektaparast, UC Davis

* Denotes Regional Host.

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 St. Louis, Missouri, April 14-15, hosted by the University of Missouri, Columbia and the St. Louis Sports Commission. The top two teams from the Champaign, Fayetteville and Seattle regionals will compete in one of the semifinals, and the top two teams from the Gainesville, Lincoln and Morgantown regionals will compete in the other semifinal.

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

For tickets and information regarding the National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championships, log on to www.NCAA.com/wgymnastics.