Tribe Gymnasts Perform at NCAA Regional

Tricia Long Competes As All-Arounder, Stevie Waldman Peforms on Bars

04/14/07 11:45PM

Morgantown, W.Va. - William and Mary junior gymnasts Tricia Long (Humble, Texas) and Stevie Waldman (Downingtown, Pa.) competed at the 2007 NCAA Southeast Regional Saturday night at West Virginia, and the duo represented the Tribe well among an elite field of national caliber gymnasts and All-Americans.

Long qualified for the event as an all-arounder for the second time in her career, having also competed at Regionals as a freshman in 2005. Waldman made her first trip to a Regional, competing on bars. The event marked the first time since 2004 that W&M had two individuals compete at the NCAA Regional meet.

Competing against a strong field and quality performances, Long was her usual solid, consistent self in each event, recording an all-around total of 37.675 to place 20th overall. She scored a 9.450 on vault, notched a 9.475 on bars and continued her terrific year on beam and floor, posting marks of 9.300 and 9.450, respectively in each event. Long held the team’s top qualifying scores in both beam and floor entering the competition.

Waldman, who held the region’s 20th best qualifying score on bars and second-best in the ECAC, also continued her standout season in the event with a 9.650 to place 28th. Waldman has been the team’s most consistent performer on bars this season, having registered scores of 9.650, or higher, on eight different occasions, including Saturday night.

No. 2 seed UCLA won the event with 195.975 points and No. 1 seed LSU claimed second with 195.950 points to receive the two bids to advance to NCAA Nationals in Salt Lake City, Utah. West Virginia placed third with 194.775 points, followed by Auburn (193.950), NC State (193.950) and North Carolina (193.875). The 2007 NCAA Southeast Regional was staged before a crowd of 3,074 at the WVU Coliseum, the third largest in the building’s history for a gymnastics meet.

Both Long and Waldman will return to action with their teammates on Thursday, as the Tribe heads to the USAG Collegiate Nationals at Seattle Pacific.

Complete Regional Results (.htm).