University of Wisconsin-La Crosse will strive for a second consecutive first-place finish at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Women’s Gymnastics Championship at UW-Oshkosh’s Kolf Sports Center on March 9.  This year’s championship will mark the 40th assembling of league foes. 

The Eagles claimed their league-leading 21st championship in program history last season with a score of 187.700.  UW-Whitewater placed second with 185.500, UW-Eau Claire third with 183.025, Winona State University (Minn.) fourth with 181.300, UW-Stout fifth with 180.650, Hamline University (Minn.) sixth with 180.600, UW-Oshkosh seventh with 176.175 and Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) eighth with 172.450.

The conference meet will also serve as the West Region qualifier for the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) Championship that will be held at UW-Whitewater March 22-23.  The top three teams from the WIAC event, along with several qualified gymnasts, will advance to the NCGA meet.

UW-Whitewater is the top-ranked team in the NCGA with an average score of 188.338. UW-La Crosse and Winona State are tied for fourth place at 185.375. Also in the top-10 are #6 UW-Stout at 185.088 and #9 UW-Eau Claire at 183.706. Hamline comes in 11th at 182.956, followed by UW-Oshkosh in 12th at 182.425 and Gustavus Adolphus 13th at 176.119.

Four of the nation's top five all-around gymnasts hail from the West Region. Hamline's Courtney Benson ranks second with an average score of 37.65, along with UW-Stout's Brittany DeZiel third at 37.606, UW-Stout's Katherine Prouty fourth at 37.55 and UW-La Crosse's Christa Booman fifth at 37.313.

On the vault, Prouty ranks third at 9.60 and Benson lists fifth at 9.569. The uneven bars feature top-ranked Katie Thompson (9.594) of UW-Whitewater and fourth-ranked Danielle Thenell (9.563) of Winona State.

Booman stands second nationally with her balance beam average of 9.581, while UW-Whitewater's Siri Wischmann is fourth at 9.563. The leading floor exercise performer in this region is Katie Palluck (UW-La Crosse), who ranks eighth at 9.631.

This year’s championship features seven individuals that are aiming for a second conference title.  UW-La Crosse junior Morgan Shene is the defending champion in the all-around competition, while teammate and classmate Christa Booman will attempt to defend her title in the uneven bars.

Hamline University junior Courtney Benson earned the floor exercise a season ago, while UW-Stout sophomore Katherine Prouty was victorious in the vault and UW-Whitewater junior Allyse Dieringer will look for back-to-back first-place finishes in the balance beam.

UW-Eau Claire senior Danielle Schulzetenberg won the balance beam in 2010, while Winona State University junior Jena Jondahl captured the vault at the 2011 championship.

The top-six finishers in each event receive All-Conference designation.

This year’s championship features student-athletes that represent an incredible 27 different states and one from Quebec, Canada.  Following is the breakdown by state:  Minnesota (59); Wisconsin (23); Illinois (18); Colorado (6); Missouri (6); Tennessee (6); Michigan (5); Georgia (4); Florida (3); Ohio (3); Oregon (3); Mississippi (2); New Hampshire (2); South Dakota (2); Alaska (1); California (1); Indiana (1); Iowa (1); Massachusetts (1); Nebraska (1); New Jersey (1); North Carolina (1); North Dakota (1); Texas (1); Utah (1); Virginia (1); and Washington (1).

UW-Oshkosh owns the second-most WIAC championships with 14. UW-Whitewater won its two crowns during 2010 and 2011.