ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ursinus College gymnastics team is going back to nationals. The Bears notched a team score of 188.750, their second-best of the season, to place second at the NCGA East Regional Championship hosted by Ithaca College and book their spot in the NCGA Championships later this month.

Brockport State ran away with the team title with a score of 191.875, followed by Ursinus and Cortland State (188.425); those three programs earned automatic berths to nationals, which will be held March 18 (team) and 19 (individual) at Brockport. Springfield (187.525) finished fourth, Ithaca (186.475) was fifth, and Rhode Island College (181.075) placed sixth to round out the field.

In addition to punching their ticket to nationals for the fourth consecutive season, the Bears – who captured their first regional title a year ago – qualified seven gymnasts for the NCGA individual competition by virtue of standout performances both in Sunday's regional and throughout the regular season.

Junior Vanessa Scalora, who came in ranked eighth in the country on bars, scored a 9.600 to be crowned the regional champion. She was half a point better than Cortland's Meghan Cobb in second. Fellow junior Jillian Casarella, ranked 10^th in the NCGA, tied for third with a 9.525. Junior Lauren Chavis, rated fourth in the country, placed 18^th with a 9.250, but qualified for nationals thanks to her season-long average of 9.6188 entering Sunday's competition.

Sophomore Katherine Norris wowed the crowd with a career-best 9.775 on the beam, making her the co-champion alongside Brockport's Candis Kowalik and Lily Jagodzinski and sending her on to nationals. Classmate Amanda Palladino recorded a score of 9.700 to place sixth and secure her spot in the individual competition.

Sophomore Monique Brooks dazzled once again on the floor, where she entered with the seventh-highest scoring average in the nation. Brooks logged a 9.800 to place third, while Steffenhagen's 9.725 was good for a tie for sixth overall. Ursinus put together a brilliant floor rotation that resulted in a season-best 47.925.

Sophomore Kelsey Stewart and Brooks paced the Bears with matching tallies of 9.450 on the vault, which landed them in a tie for 13^th overall. Classmate Alexandra Puryear was 21^st on a 9.325.  

Puryear finished 11^th on bars (9.350), and Stewart was 15^th with a 9.250.

Brooks tied for eighth on the beam with a score of 9.650, and Stewart (9.500) finished 15^th on the floor. Freshman Jillian Falduto scored a season-high 9.450 on the floor exercise, tied with sophomore Sydney Eckert for 19^th place.

Ursinus will use the next week and a half to prepare for the NCGA team competition, which will take place Friday, March 18 at Brockport. The Bears tied for second at last year's championships.

The individual championships will be held the following day. Brooks, Casarella, Palladino, Scalora, and Steffenhagen will vie for repeat All-American status.