April 2, 2007

DAVIS, Calif. - UC Davis junior Andi Dolinsky and freshman Tanya Ho each have earned individual at-large berths to the NCAA West Region women's gymnastics meet, it was announced Monday. Dolinsky will compete on floor exercise, while Ho has qualified as a vault specialist. The regional takes place at Cal's Haas Pavilion on Saturday, April 14.

Furthermore, Aggie junior Carrie Lujan was selected as an alternate on vault, while Ho is the alternate qualifier in the all-around.

Each regional consists of six total teams, five all-around competitors and one individual specialist per event. The five all-arounders are those with the highest regional qualifying scores (RQS) who are not on one of the competing teams. The individual specialists are those with the highest RQS but are not all-around qualifiers nor members of one of the qualifying teams. The six teams at the Cal regional are Nebraska, Utah, Missouri, Washington, Sacramento State and the host Golden Bears. Nebraska was the top-ranked team in the South Central region and the No. 6 team nationally. Utah led the North Central region and was seventh nationally. Mizzou ranked fifth in the South Central region.

San Jose State, which slipped out of the West's top six in the final two weeks, instead qualified all-arounders Veronica Porte and Alise Blackwell. Seattle Pacific also claims two all-arounders, seniors Debra Huss and Sarah Sullivan. Boise State has the fifth all-arounder in DeAvera Todd.

Ho finished 18th in the West on vault with a 9.825 RQS. She won the first five meets of her career on vault, and never scored lower than 9.725 in any meet as a freshman. Ho hit a 9.825 to finish second at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships last weekend.

Dolinsky ranked among the top 20 in the West throughout the season, finishing at 18th with a 9.825 average. She won MPSF Gymnast of the Week honors twice during her junior year, including one for posting career-high marks on both uneven bars (9.850) and floor (9.875) in a home dual against Seattle Pacific. Dolinksy finished in a three-way tie for second at the MPSF Championships, matching her career best of 9.875.

Lujan, Ho's alternate on vault, ranked 20th in the regional in the event with a 9.800 RQS. She scored 9.700 or higher in all but one meet, and made five appearances as an all-arounder. Lujan made her collegiate all-around debut at Seattle Pacific in January, then improved to a 38.300 in her team's home win over Cal State Fullerton.

Ho and Dolinsky will be the first UC Davis gymnasts to compete at an NCAA regional since Tiffany Chan placed 11th on vault in 2004. The Aggies has made one team appearance at a region meet since reaching D-I status in 1994. In 1998, UC Davis earned its way to the regional at the University of Washington, placing seventh in the meet. It is believed to be the only time a non-scholarship program has advanced as a team to an NCAA D-I region meet.