STATE COLLEGE, Pa., April 3, 2003 - The Penn State women's gymnastics team will travel to the University of Michigan for the 2003 NCAA Northeast Regional Championships on Saturday, April 12, at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich beginning at 6:00 p.m. Arizona State earned the top seed in the region, with the host Wolverines slated as the second seed and Iowa State the third seed. New Hampshire, Penn State and Pittsburgh round out the remaining three seeds.

Six teams, five all-around competitors (who are not on a qualifying team) and one individual event specialist per event were named to each of the six regions. The top two teams and the top two all-around competitors (who are not on an advancing team) from each regional will receive an automatic berth to the national championships in Lincoln, Nebraska, April 24-26, hosted by the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

In addition, the event winners at the regional championships will advance to the national championships (in that event only) if they are not part of a qualifying team or the all-around qualifiers.

Penn State is coming off a third place finish at the 2003 Big Ten Championships after recording its highest team score of the season (196.650). Senior Katie Rowland (Georgetown, Ontario), who was named the Big Ten Gymnast of the Year, captured the individual all-around and vault titles with scores of 39.625 and 10.000, respectively.

Senior Katie McAvoy (Winnipeg, Manitoba) tied for second on the vault, scoring a 9.900. She also scored a 9.875 on the bars, placing seventh and finishing 15th overall in the individual all-around with a score of 38.900. Sophomore Kate Stopper (Reinholds, Pa.) set a career-high on the beam with a 9.900, good for fourth place.

Tickets for the Northeast Regional are $8 for reserved lower bowl (blue) seats and $5 for general admission upper bowl (yellow) seats and are available online at MGoBlue.com or in person at the Michigan Athletic Ticket Office.

Please visit Penn State's official athletics website, www.GoPSUsports.com for more information on the Penn State women's gymnastics team.