Ball State University Athletics
Gymnastics Team Sending Three to NCAA Central Regional
April 10, 2010 | Gymnastics
Ball State's gymnastics team has had three individuals -- Tiffany Brodbeck, Brittney Emmons and Bibiana Rodriguez -- qualify to compete at the NCAA Central Regional in Lexington, Ky., Saturday.
The 2010 National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championships regional selections were announced by the NCAA.
Six teams, five all-around competitors (who are not on a qualifying team) and one individual event specialist per event were named to each of the six regions.
At the Central Regional, Alabama, Nebraska, Illinois, Kentucky, Central Michigan and Michigan State were the six teams to qualify.
Brodbeck will compete on the floor, Rodriguez will compete on the bars and Emmons will compete in the all-around. In addition, Katelyn Busacker was selected as an alternate on the bars.
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 Gainesville, Fla., April 22-24. In addition, the event winners at the regional championships will advance to the national championships in that event if they are not a part of a qualifying team or the all-around qualifiers.
Emmons and Rodriguez will be making their second straight regional appearance, while Brodbeck has qualified in her freshman season. Rodriguez is coming off a second place performance at the Mid-American Conference Championships. Emmons posted team high scores on vault, floor and in the all-around. The sophomore's all-around score, 38.850, led to her selection to the All-MAC Second Team. Brodbeck posted a 9.725 on the floor, the team's second best performance.
Under the direction of head coach Nadalie Walsh, the 2010 Cardinals tallied six wins, the most for the school since the 2003 season. In addition, Ball State's three regional selections last season marked the first time any gymnast had advanced since the 2003 campaign. With the three qualifiers in 2010, this marks the first time in school history three Ball State gymnasts have advanced to regionals in back-to-back seasons.
Players Mentioned
