Washington Gymnastics Set For NCAA Championships

Friday, April 14

St. Louis, Mo.

10:00 AM

University of Washington

NCAA Championships

April 11, 2017 | Gymnastics

NCAA Championship Bracket Rotation Order Live Stream Live Stats Meet Notes

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – For the first time in 19 years, the No. 11-ranked Washington gymnastics team will make the trip to NCAA Nationals. The Huskies will compete in Semifinal I on Friday, April 14 at 10 a.m. PT. Washington's Semifinal includes No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4 Utah, No. 6 UCLA, No. 7 Denver, and No. 12 Oregon State, and will air live on ESPN2.

Last Time Out
The Huskies finished the NCAA Regionals meet with a 196.550 to take second place in the Seattle Regional behind No. 1 Oklahoma's 198.075. Senior Kaitlyn Duranczyk tied her season and career-high on bars with a 9.95 to tie for second place overall on the event and Hailey Burleson tied for third on beam with a 9.9. The Huskies score of 196.550 was Washington's highest score ever at an NCAA Regional Championship, beating the previous record of 196.150 set in 1998.

NCAA Championship Notes

Washington gymnastics has reached the NCAA Championships five times prior to this year's appearance – 1984, 1987, 1994, 1997, and 1998.
The GymDawgs are chasing their first ever Super Six appearance.
The highest place finish ever for a Washington gymnastics team was 7^th in the 1998 season.
Washington's highest score ever at the NCAA Championship was 195.925 set in 1997.
The Huskies' only NCAA Individual champion in program history was Yumi Mordre, who placed first in both vault and beam in the 1987 NCAA Championships.

Rotation Order
Washington will begin the meet on bars, then head to beam before having a bye. Following their bye the GymDawgs will head to floor, then vault, and will end the meet on a bye. Shani Remme from Boise State will compete in the All-Around and will rotate with the GymDawgs.

In The Rankings

The Huskies end their season ranked as the No. 11 team in the country – their highest ranking since the 1998 season.
Washington ranks inside the top 25 in each event (No. 22 Vault, No. 21 Bars, No. 9 Beam, No. 12 Floor).
Hailey Burleson is the team's highest ranked All-Arounder at No. 16 in the nation.

Pac-12 Honors

Washington received many honors from the Pac-12 this season, including five All-Pac-12 honors and nine All-Pac-12 Academic honors.
First year head coach Elise Ray was named Pac-12 Gymnastics Head Coach of the Year at the Pac-12 Championships.

Event Previews
Vault (No. 22) – The GymDawgs highest score on vault came at the Pac-12 Championships when they scored a season-high 49.300. Hailey Burleson, who scored a 9.925 on vault at the Pac-12 Championships, has the team's highest vault score this season. She also has two vault titles on the year. Joslyn Goings and Alexandra Yacalis (one vault title) have been consistent on vault all year long and have each put up season-high 9.9s this year. Freshmen Madison Copiak (season-high 9.775) and Haley Roy (season-high 9.9), along with sophomore Monica Riley (season-high 9.875) have each been key contributors on vault this season.

Bars (No. 22) – Washington has scored a 49+ in each of their last seven meets this year, including NCAA Regionals. Their highest score came against Arizona, where they posted a 49.275. The GymDawgs have scored a 49.250 in two of their last three meets. Washington is led by senior Kaitlyn Duranczyk who has three bars titles this year and has scored a career-high 9.95 twice, most recently at NCAA Regionals. Burleson, Goings, and freshman Maya Washington have been in the bars lineup all year long.

Beam (No. 9) – Beam has consistently been the GymDawgs top event this year as they have been ranked inside the top-12 every week this season and have climbed up to as high as No. 7. They have scored a 49+ in each week this season and have a high score of 49.425, which they have achieved three separate times. Goings and Burleson have combined for eight beam titles this year and have each scored a 9.925 (Burleson twice, Goings three times). Zoey Schaefer and Malory Rose each have one beam title on the year, however Rose will not compete at Nationals due to an injury sustained at Regionals. Maya Washington, Michaela Nelson, and Janae Janik have all produced solid scores on beam this year.

Floor (No. 12) – The GymDawgs have been steady on floor all year long. Their highest score on floor this year is a 49.400, which came against Arizona earlier this season. Washington is averaging just below a 49.200 on floor and have had three scores over a 49.300. The Huskies have six individual floor titles this year coming from Duranczyk (one title), Burleson (two titles), Kristyn Hoffa (one title), and Yacalis (two titles). Burleson holds the GymDawgs highest score of the year with a 9.95. Schaefer and Maya Washington have competed on floor all year long.

Washington Notes:

The GymDawgs have three seniors on the 2017 squad - Kaitlyn Duranczyk, Janae Janik, and Alexandra Yacalis. Senior Jessica Nesis serving as a student coach for the GymDawgs this season.
UW's freshman class consists of five gymnasts: Madison Copiak (Calgary, AB), Michaela Nelson (Montgomery Village, MD), Evanni Roberson (Puyallup, WA), Haley Roy (Tacoma, WA), and Maya Washington (San Jose, CA)
UW head coach Elise Ray is in her 1st season as head coach with the Huskies. She won Pac-12 Gymnastics Head Coach of the Year in 2017.
The Huskies added assistant coaches Caleb Phillips and Chad Wiest to their 2017 coaching staff. Phillips spent the last seven seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Iowa, while Wiest spent three years as an assistant at the University of Illinois.
The Huskies tied for third place at the 2017 Pac-12 Championships with a 197.100. The GymDawgs' season-high score in 2017 was a 197.175, recorded against Arizona.
Washington had a team GPA of 3.55, the highest of any sport team on campus for the second quarter in a row.