UW-L Wins WIAC Championship/NCGA Regional

For Immediate Release: Thursday, March 8, 2007

La Crosse, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse gymnastics team won its 11th straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championship and fifth consecutive National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) West Regional Thursday night in Mitchell Hall. The Eagles scored a conference and regional meet record 187.700 points. UW-Oshkosh finished second with 182.675 and Hamline University (Minn.) third with 180.975. UW-L, UW-Oshkosh and Hamline advance to the NCGA Championships March 23 at UW-Whitewater.

UW-Whitewater placed fourth (180.200) Thursday night while UW-Eau Claire and Winona State University (Minn.) tied for fifth (177.675). Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) finished seventh (177.050) and UW-Stout eighth (176.650).

Gabi Hooper captured the vault for UW-L Thursday with a NCGA West Regional record score of 9.675. Jackie LaFleur of UW-La Crosse, Brittany Moore of Gustavus Adolphus, Teresa Phipps of UW-Oshkosh and Danielle Crinzi of UW-Whitewater all tied for second with a score of 9.550. Hamline's Katie Davis and Alex Hughes along with UW-Eau Claire's Anna Sutherland tied for sixth on the vault (9.500).

Phipps won the uneven bars with a regional record score of 9.600 while Katie Krenz of UW-L was second at 9.525. Ann Fitzsimmons of UW-L placed third (9.400) on the uneven bars with Crinzi finishing fourth (9.325), UW-L's Kasey Clausen fifth (9.300) and Hamline's Kristen Weniger sixth (9.275).

UW-L's Erin Sommer took the balance beam crown with a score of 9.525 while Hooper was second at 9.500. Theresa Lynch of UW-Eau Claire finished third (9.450) with Brynn Stenslie of Hamline fourth (9.375). UW-L's Fitzsimmons and Winona State's Alexandra Nugent tied for fifth on the beam (9.350).

Hooper also captured the floor exercise for UW-L, tying the regional record with a 9.725. UW-L's Kelsey Matula finished second (9.575) and the Eagles' Mackenzie Howard tied for third (9.550) with Crinzi. UW-Stout's Meghan Hargens placed fifth on the floor (9.500) while UW-Oshkosh's Rachel Morrison and Phipps tied for sixth (9.475).

Phipps set a WIAC and West Regional record in winning the all-around at 37.875. Crinzi was second (37.225) with Hargens third (36.950), Nugent fourth (36.900), Weninger fifth (36.775) and UW-Whitewater's Ashley George sixth (36.500).

The top-six individuals in each event earn All-WIAC honors.

Hamline's Doug Byrnes was selected the WIAC Coach of the Year for the second time in his career (2005) while UW-La Crosse's Katie Krenz was named the Judy Kruckman WIAC Scholar-Athlete.