STATE COLLEGE, Pa., March 22, 2004 -- The Penn State women's gymnastics team has earned the opportunity to compete in the NCAA Northeast Regional in Rec Hall.

Coach Steve Shephard's squad was one of six teams selected today by the NCAA to compete in the regional on Saturday, April 3 in Rec Hall. The competition will begin at 6:00 p.m. with the top two teams advancing to the NCAA Championships, April 15-17 at UCLA. The top two all-around competitors who are not members of an advancing team also will receive a berth to the national meet.

Four teams ranked in the Gym Info top 20 will be competing in Rec Hall: No. 4 Georgia, No. 9 Iowa State, No. 16 Missouri and No. 19 Michigan. New Hampshire completes the field.

The Nittany Lions are coming off their best performance of the season, finishing second at Saturday's Big Ten Championships, their highest finish since placing second in 2001. Penn State scored a season-high 196.625 and was beaten by Michigan (197.800) for the conference title. Penn State recorded scores of 49.225 on the vault, 48.975 on the bars, 49.075 on the beam and 49.350 on the floor for its score of 196.625.

Prior to the Big Ten meet, junior Kate Stopper (Reinholds, Pa.) and sophomore Meredith Hoover (Dublin, Ohio) picked up second team All-Big Ten honors.

Tickets for the NCAA Northeast Regional are on sale. Reserved seats tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for Penn State students, youth and senior citizens. Fans can call 800-863-3336 or 865-5555 weekdays from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. to purchase reserved seat tickets. General admission tickets will be available at the door the night of the event for $5 (adults) and $3 (youth/students/senior citizens).