Titans To Compete At WIAC Championship

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse will strive for a second consecutive first-place finish at the 2015 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Women's Gymnastics Championship at Hamline University (Minn.) on March 15.  This year's championship marks the 42nd gathering of league teams.
 
The Eagles collected the 23rd conference title in program archives a season ago with a score of 188.200 to nip UW-Whitewater's second-place mark of 188.075.  UW-Oshkosh placed third with a score of 185.575, Hamline fourth with 185.525, Winona State University (Minn.) fifth with 185.225, UW-Stout sixth with 184.350, UW-Eau Claire seventh with 184.250 and Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) eighth with 177.800.
 
The conference meet will also serve as the West Region qualifier for the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) championship that will be hosted by UW-La Crosse March 27-28.  The top three teams from the WIAC event, along with qualified individual gymnasts, will advance to the NCGA meet.
 
NCAA Division III SAS rankings distributed on March 2 include the following WIAC entrants:  UW-Whitewater third; UW-La Crosse fifth; Winona State sixth; UW-Oshkosh eighth; UW-Eau Claire 10th; Hamline 11th; UW-Stout 12th; and Gustavus Adolphus 13th.
 
This year's championship features four individuals that have claimed conference titles at previous championships.  UW-La Crosse junior Sheree Romesburg has posted consecutive first-place finishes in the floor exercise and could become the first individual in league history to win the event three straight times since UW-Oshkosh's Mary Leivian (1986-88).  Romesburg is also the defending champion in the vault.
 
UW-Whitewater sophomore Katie Fiorilli was victorious in the all-around a season ago, while UW-Oshkosh senior Leane Blais won the balance beam in 2013.
 
This year's championship features student-athletes that represent 26 different states and two from Canada.  Following is the breakdown by state:  Minnesota (49); Wisconsin (23); Illinois (18); Tennessee (6); Missouri (5); Georgia (4); North Dakota (4); Arizona (3); Colorado (3); Florida (3); Iowa (3); Michigan (3); Virginia (3); Indiana (2); Nebraska (2); New Hampshire (2); North Carolina (2); Ohio (2); Oklahoma (2); Pennsylvania (2); South Dakota (2); Washington (2); Alabama (1); California (1); Oregon (1); and South Carolina (1).
 
The top-six finishers in each event receive All-Conference designation.