April 13, 2000; BOISE, Idaho - Just half a point kept the Penn State women's gymnastics team from its first-ever "Super Six" appearance as the Nittany Lions finished fourth in their session and seventh overall at the 2000 NCAA Gymnastics Championships in Boise on Thursday night. The seventh place finish was the Lions' best finish since 1992, when Penn State finished fourth.

Making its sixth consecutive NCAA appearance, Penn State had 195.350. The top three teams- UCLA (197.250), Nebraska (196.000), and Michigan (195.925)- advance to Friday's "Super Six" team competition to crown the national champion. Following PSU were fifth-place Iowa State (195.325) and West Virginia (194.175).

"We had a very good meet," Nittany Lion head coach Steve Shephard said. "We hit 23 of our 24 routines. I thought our team showed a lot of character and heart. It was a great team effort overall."

Individually, junior Gemma Cuff (Loughborough, England) captured first-team All-America honors in the floor exercise with her third-place finish with a 9.900. She also earned second-team All-America honors on the uneven bars with her eighth-place tie (9.800) and in the all-around (39.175). Cuff will compete in Saturday's individual event championships on floor exercise.

"I'm disappointed we didn't make it (to the Super Six) as a team," Cuff said. "The individual stuff is a bonus, but it would have topped off our season as a team."

On vault, freshman Katie Rowland (Georgetown, Ont.) paced the squad with a 9.800 to tie at No. 15 overall. On uneven bars, the top PSU finisher was Cuff with a 9.800, good for an eighth-place tie. On the balance beam, senior Nikki Smith (Mira Loma, Calif.) recorded a team-high 9.825 to place 10th. On the floor exercise, every Nittany Lion had a 9.800 or better, paced by Cuff's 9.900.

In the opening session, defending national champion Georgia (196.775) paced the six squads to advance to the Super Six. Joining the Gym Dogs were Utah (196.125) and Alabama (196.075).

All events will be held at Boise State University's Pavilion Arena.

Fans wishing to watch the events unfold live can access the BSU website for live scores at www.broncosports.com/g2k/

Final team results will be available at www.ncaachampionships.com

CBS will televise the National Championship on a tape-delayed basis, airing at 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday, April 23.

 NCAA WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP Pavilion Arena, Boise, Idaho Thursday, April 13: SESSION I RESULTS Vault Bars Beam Floor TOTAL 1. **Georgia 49.425 49.050 48.950 49.350 196.775 2. **Utah 48.925 48.925 49.050 49.225 196.125 3. **Alabama 49.100 49.200 48.650 49.125 196.075 4. Louisiana State 49.000 48.850 48.175 48.925 194.950 5. Oregon State 48.825 48.325 48.550 49.050 194.750 6. Brigham Young 48.875 48.575 48.325 48.725 194.500 **advance to Friday's "Super Six" team competition SESSION II RESULTS Vault Bars Beam Floor TOTAL 1. ** UCLA 49.525 49.300 49.050 49.375 197.250 2. ** Nebraska 49.050 48.425 49.100 49.425 196.000 3. ** Michigan 49.450 49.025 48.150 49.300 195.925 4. PENN STATE 48.800 48.550 48.825 49.175 195.350 5. Iowa State 48.850 48.700 48.800 48.975 195.325 6. West Virginia 48.775 48.475 48.175 48.750 194.175 **advance to Friday's "Super Six" team competition PENN STATE INDIVIDUAL EVENT RESULTS VAULT: 1- Katie McAvoy 9.750 2- Leslie Bair 9.725 3- Katie Rowland 9.800 4- Nikki Smith 9.650 5- Gemma Cuff 9.775 6- Heather Duggan 9.750 Team Vault score: 48.800 UNEVEN BARS: 1- Jennifer Drilling 8.800 2- Katie McAvoy 9.650 3- Katie Rowland 9.600 4- Maria Taylor 9.750 5- Gemma Cuff 9.800 6- Nikki Smith 9.750 Team Bars score: 48.550 BALANCE BEAM: 1- Katie McAvoy 9.725 2- Gemma Cuff 9.700 3- Katie Rowland 9.725 4- Ashley Wilson 9.775 5- Maria Taylor 9.775 6- Nikki Smith 9.825 Team Beam score: 48.825 FLOOR EXERCISE: 1- Leslie Bair 9.800 2- Katie Rowland 9.800 3- Ashley Wilson 9.800 4- Nikki Smith 9.850 5- Gemma Cuff 9.900 6- Heather Duggan 9.825 Team Floor score: 49.175 ALL-AROUND: Gemma Cuff 39.175 Katie Rowland 38.925 Nikki Smith 39.075 TEAM TOTAL SCORE: 195.350 (all times are MOUNTAIN) Friday, April 14: Super Six, 7 p.m. MDT Saturday, April 15: Individual Event Finals, 7 p.m. MDT