Kiaku and Slonim Head to the 2018 NCAA Columbus Regional

MUNCIE, Ind.,-- MUNCIE, Ind. -- Last year Ball State sent three athletes named as alternates for the 2017 NCAA Regionals hosted by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Kaitlyn Menzione was an alternate in the all-around competition whilst Sarah Ebeyer was an alternate on vault and Baylee Bell held the alternate position on beam. This year Ball State freshman Tia Kiaku is headed to the NCAA Regionals. Kiaku earned an individual bid to compete in the floor exercise. Additionally, Ball State's Bri Slonim qualified as an alternate on vault.

All regionals will be conducted Saturday, April 7, with start times of 6 p.m. EST at Ohio State's St. John Arena.

Kiaku, from Apex, North Carolina, posted scores of 9.8 or better on the floor in nine of Ball State's 12 meets this season. She recorded a season-best 9.9 on two occasions – Feb. 25 at Northern Illinois and March 10 at Western Michigan. After a third-place finish at the MAC Championships, Kiaku had a regional qualifying score (RQS) of 9.875.

Slonim, a sophomore from Verona, Wisconsin, scored 9.8 or higher on vault in seven of Ball State's final nine meets this season. She managed a career-best score of 9.875 in the Jan. 28 meet against Kent State. Slonim had an RQS of 9.815.

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 20-21, hosted by the University of Missouri and the St. Louis Sports Commission.

For tickets and information regarding the National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championships, log on to the NCAA ticket portal.

For fans unable to attend the 2018 NCAA Regional competition in Columbus, please refer to the links above to the Live stream hosted by the BTN Plus/BTN2Go for free.

Columbus Regional (Central) (Ohio State University, host) – April 7 (6 p.m.)

Teams
1. UCLA
2. Arkansas
3. Boise St.
4. Ohio St.
5. Pittsburgh
6. Kent St.

All-Around Competitors
1. Jovannah East, Bowling Green
2. Lea Mitchell, Michigan St.
3. Emili Dobronics, Eastern Mich.
4. Morgan Spence, Western Mich.
Alt. – Rachael Underwood, Western Mich.

Individual Event Specialists
Vault – Rachael Underwood, Western Mich.
Vault – Lauren DeMeno, Bowling Green
Alt. – Bri Slonim, Ball St.
Uneven Bars – Hailee Westney, Michigan St.
Uneven Bars – Kendall Valentin, Eastern Mich.
Alt. – Lacey Rubin, Eastern Mich.
Balance Beam – Laura Mitchell, Bowling Green
Balance Beam – India McPeak, Bowling Green
Alt. – Kendall Valentin, Eastern Mich.
Floor Exercise – Rachael Underwood, Western Mich.
Floor Exercise – Tia Kiaku, Ball St.
Alt. – Kayla Rose, Bowling Green

Kiaku and Slonim Head to the 2018 NCAA Columbus Regional

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