April 13, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. -
Whitney Albright and Meaghan Koshman will get the chance to compete at the NCAA South Central Regional Championships on April 14 in Tucson, Ariz.
Head coach Bob Conkling is very pleased that the two gymnasts qualified and believes they will perform well on Saturday.
"I think they are ready. Whitney and Meaghan are fired up," Conkling said. "Prior to the competition we have been working on technical things and using quality over quantity."
Albright will compete in the all-around competition and this trip will be her second time competing at regionals since her freshman year at ISU. Season highs for the senior include a 9.650 on vault, 9.700 on the balance beam, 9.725 on the balance beam and career best tying of 9.700 on the floor exercise. Her season-high all-around score of 38.350 on January 26 against Alaska, tied her for first place. Albright's all-around average for the season was a 37.925.
"For Whitney, I am looking for clean and solid performances," Conkling said. "I want her to go 4-for-4 and hit. It's her last meet ever and I want her to have fun and do the routines we all know she is capable of doing."
This will be the second appearance at regionals for Koshman. In 2006, the sophomore competed on the vault, balance beam and the floor exercise. She has since turned into an all-arounder and recently won the all-around at the Midwest Independent Championships with a 39.025. Her consistent 9.800 on vault has landed her a spot as a vault qualifier at the regional championships. A career-high vault of 9.850 and a 2007 season-high of 9.825 is what Koshman will look to beat on Saturday.
"For Meaghan, I am looking for a big vault with a good landing," Conkling said.
The Regional Championships will begin at 7 p.m. CST.
