Labat, Topp Selected To Compete At NCAA Gymnastics Regionals

NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State gymnastics standouts Angelica Labat and Cameron Topp were selected to compete in the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Regional in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, when the full bracket was announced live by the NCAA committee on Monday. The NCAA Regional will take place April 1-3 at Coleman Coliseum on the campus of the University of Alabama.

Labat will be competing individually in the all-around, while Topp will be competing on the floor exercise. The Redbirds will rotate along with Iowa State, a team they competed against twice during the 2021 season. This marks the first time since the 2013 season that Illinois State has had a pair of regional qualifiers, when Kim Genereux and Sami King were selected to compete in the all-around competition in Norman, Oklahoma.

"To have Angelica and Cammie qualify for NCAA Regionals is very exciting for the program," ISU head coach Bob Conkling said. "I'm so glad Cammie will get this opportunity as a senior, because we think she was either in or close to being in last year before things were shut down. Cammie is a leader and has had a great final season, posting career bests down the stretch and her floor routine deserves to be seen in a regional. Angelica is extremely competitive, talented and incredible on all four events, so for her to get this opportunity as a sophomore will be tremendous for her growth as a gymnast and great experience for the rest of her career."

The top 36 teams based on national qualifying score (NQS) were selected for regional competition. The committee also selected the top 12 all-around competitors and top 16 event specialists not competing as part of a team based on national qualifying scores and placed them geographically into one of the four regional sites, keeping individuals from the same team together. 

The 2021 Midwest Independent Conference Gymnast of the Year, Labat currently ranks No. 47 overall in the Road To Nationals individual all-around rankings with a NQS of 39.244. A four-time MIC Gymnast of the Week honoree in 2021, the Chesapeake, Virginia, native took home the all-around crown at the 2021 MIC Championships with a score of 39.175. She also tied for fourth overall on vault (9.825) to take home All-MIC First Team honors and took home second team honors on bars (9.800), beam (9.800) and floor (9.750). On March 7, Labat posted a career-best all-around score of 39.400 in a quad-meet with Central Michigan, Lindenwood and Northern Illinois.

Topp, the 2019 MIC Champion on the floor, earned All-MIC First Team honors in 2021 thanks to a 9.850 score at the MIC Championship last weekend. The Martin, Michigan, native heads into the NCAA Regional in a tie for No. 61 individually on the floor with a NQS of 9.894. That was aided by scores of 9.850 or above in each of her last four meets that included a 9.900 in a tri-meet on March 12 and a career-high score of 9.925 in the quad-meet with Central Michigan, Lindenwood and Northern Illinois on March 7.

For the first time in ESPN history, the four NCAA regional competitions will be available live on ESPN3 with coverage of every gymnast and apparatus. Coverage will be available on ESPN3 for Days 2 and 3 of each competition, April 2-3.

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