2018 WIAC Women's Gymnastics Championship/NCGA West Regional Preview

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will aim for back-to-back titles at the 2018 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Women’s Gymnastics Championship/National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) West Regional (presented by Culver’s) at Gustavus Adolphus College’s (Minn.) Lund Center on March 4. This year’s championship will mark the 45th gathering of league squads.
 
The Warhawks posted the fifth first-place finish in program history a season ago with a score of 191.850 to exceed UW-La Crosse’s second-place score of 189.700. UW-Stout finished third with 188.750, Winona State University (Minn.) fourth with 186.750, UW-Eau Claire fifth with 186.525, UW-Oshkosh sixth with 185.900, Gustavus Adolphus College seventh with 185.625 and Hamline University eighth with 183.775.
 
The conference meet will also serve as the West Region qualifier for the NCGA championship that will be held March 23-24 and hosted by Springfield College (Mass.). The top three teams from the WIAC event, along with qualified gymnasts, will advance to the NCGA meet.
 
NCAA Division III SAS rankings distributed on Feb. 26 include the following conference squads: UW-La Crosse second; UW-Whitewater fourth; UW-Oshkosh eighth; UW-Stout ninth; Winona State 10th; UW-Eau Claire 11th; Hamline 12th; and Gustavus Adolphus 13th.
 
This year’s championship features six gymnasts that have claimed titles at previous WIAC championships. UW-Whitewater’s Lisa O’Donnell is the defending champion in the all-around and vault, while teammate Kate Mierow was victorious in the balance beam at the 2015 championship.
 
At the 2016 championship, UW-La Crosse claimed four individual titles as Samantha Wiekamp won the all-around and vault. Leah Spankowski and Amy Enright had first-place finishes in the balance beam and uneven bars, respectively. Enright also captured the uneven bars crown in 2015.
 
UW-Oshkosh’s Baylee Tkaczuk will strive for back-to-back first-place scores in the balance beam.
 
The WIAC Honor Roll from this season includes the following top two performances – in the vault: UW-La Crosse’s Dani Barmore (9.775); UW-Stout’s Shaquilla Payne (9.750); and UW-Whitewater’s Lauren Marshall (9.750).
 
In the uneven bars: UW-Oshkosh’s Baylee Tkaczuk (9.825); UW-La Crosse’s Amy Enright (9.700); UW-La Crosse’s Brooke Kachinsky (9.700); and UW-Whitewater’s Lisa O’Donnell (9.700).
 
In the balance beam: UW-La Crosse’s Jessica Ahrens (9.775); UW-La Crosse’s Sam Weyker (9.750); UW-Oshkosh’s Paige Mayhew (9.750); UW-Stout’s Brooke Terry (9.750); UW-Whitewater’s Kate Mierow (9.750); and Winona State’s Eboni Jackson (9.750).
 
In the floor exercise: UW-La Crosse’s Sam Weyker (9.800) and UW-Oshkosh’s Bailey Finin (9.800).
 
In the all-around: UW-Eau Claire’s Tori Erickson (38.400) and Winona State’s Eboni Jackson (38.325).
 
Gustavus Adolphus’ Amanda Malo has produced strong scores in the all-around and floor exercise, while Hamline’s Sydney Tribbet has been the team’s top scorer in the vault.
 
This year’s competition features student-athletes that represent 28 different states and one each from Canada and Sweden. Following is the breakdown by state:  Minnesota (38); Illinois (17); Wisconsin (14); Michigan (9); Colorado (6); Iowa (5); North Dakota (4); Arizona (3); California (3); Ohio (3); Washington (3); Florida (2); Georgia (2); North Carolina (2); Oklahoma (2); Oregon (2): South Dakota (2); Texas (2); Alabama (1); Idaho (1); Maine (1); Missouri (1); Nebraska (1); New Mexico (1); New York (1); Pennsylvania (1); South Carolina (1); and Virginia (1).
 
The top six finishers in each event receive All-Conference designation.
 

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