California Golden Bears Athletics

BERKELEY – California women's gymnastics' road to a third NCAA Championships appearance in four seasons continues in Athens, Ga., where the Bears are the fourth seed at the NCAA Athens Regional, the selection committee announced today.
 
The NCAA postseason format is new this year, with each regional site hosting nine teams across a three-day period. The first day – April 4 – consists of a first round "play-in" dual meet between two teams who will vie for a spot in the second round. The second round – set for April 5 – includes eight teams divided into two separate quad meets.
 
The 15^th-ranked Golden Bears join regional No. 1 seed Oklahoma, plus Maryland and the winner of the first round play-in between NC State and New Hampshire in session No. 2 of the second round. Session No. 1 features Georgia (regional No. 2 seed), Kentucky (regional No. 3 seed), Missouri and Iowa State.
 
The top two teams in each second-round quad meet will advance to the four-team regional final – slated for April 6 – in which the top two advancing teams from the final will clinch a spot at the NCAA Championships.
 
At the NCAA Championships, set for April 19-20 in Fort Worth, Texas, eight teams (two from each of the four regional sites) will compete in the semifinals. Each April 19 semifinal features four teams. The top two teams in each semifinal will advance to the "Four on the Floor" championship event on April 20, where the national champion will be crowned.
 
The postseason format previously consisted of six teams at each of six pre-determined regional sites, all competing in one meet at the same time (including byes), with the top two teams at each regional site advancing to the two-day NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship event.
 
Athens is one of four predetermined host sites for regional competition, along with Corvallis, Ore. (Oregon State, Ann Arbor, Mich. (Michigan) and Baton Rouge, La. (Louisiana). Teams in each region were seeded by their Regional Qualifying Score.
 
Cal is seeking its first regional title and third berth to the Championships in school history. The Bears clinched their first team championship berth at nationals in 2016, breaking a 24-year drought for the program. The 2016 season saw the Bears take second at the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional with a 195.925 to advance to the national event, and last year Cal turned in a 196.725 for second place to advance past the NCAA Salt Lake City Regional.
 
This year marks the seventh consecutive season the Bears have qualified for regional competition as a team, and the 24th season overall. Cal has had representation at an NCAA regional 33 times in the 37-year period that the NCAA has sponsored women's gymnastics.
 
Cal is coming off a 196.575 fourth-place finish at the Pac-12 Championships last Saturday, which helped the Bears improve their RQS to move up to No. 15 nationally and earn a seeded spot at NCAA Regional competition.
 
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