Three Mountaineers Prepped for NCAA Regional Championships
April 01, 2026 04:41 PM | Gymnastics
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Three individuals of the West Virginia University gymnastics team prepare to compete as individual event specialists at the 2026 NCAA Baton Rouge Regional Championships on Thursday, April 2, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Junior Amber Lowe will compete on balance beam, while sophomores Sophia Rice and Emerson Smith will compete on vault and floor exercise, respectively. The Mountaineers will compete in Session II of the Second Round on Thursday, competing with No. 2 LSU, No. 15 Clemson, Auburn and the winner of a Frist Round dual meet between Air Force and Nebraska.
West Virginia's individuals will begin on floor exercise and rotate in Olympic order with the winners of the dual meet between Air Force and Nebraska.
Thursday's action will be streamed live on ESPN+, while live stats for the meet are available at WVUsports.com.
Lowe earns her first individual qualification as an event specialist, qualifying as a beam specialist with a 9.855 National Qualifying Score. A native of Acworth, Georgia, Lowe is ranked No. 9 in the Big 12 Conference and No. 18 in the southeast region on beam. She reached a career-high score of 9.9 on the event in a quad meet at Towson on March 1, marking her first score of 9.9 or higher on any event.
Rice qualified as an individual event specialist on vault for the second consecutive season, boasting a 9.83 NQS on the event. She is ranked No. 13 in the conference and No. 23 in the region this season. A Morgantown native, Rice reached a season high of 9.875 at Utah on March 7, while her career high on vault is an impressive 9.975.
Hailing from Westerville, Ohio, Smith also received her first event specialist qualification, posting a 9.87 NQS on floor this season. She ranks No. 13 in the Big 12 and No. 22 in the region on floor exercise, reaching a season high of 9.9 twice this season. Smith also owns a career high of 9.925 on floor.
The top two teams and the top all-around competitor (who is not on an advancing team) from each regional will receive an automatic berth to the national championships. In addition, the top event specialist at each regional site who is not part of an advancing team or all-around competitor will advance to the national championships in that event only.
The national championships will take place April 16-18, in Fort Worth, Texas, at Dickies Arena.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUGymnastics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Junior Amber Lowe will compete on balance beam, while sophomores Sophia Rice and Emerson Smith will compete on vault and floor exercise, respectively. The Mountaineers will compete in Session II of the Second Round on Thursday, competing with No. 2 LSU, No. 15 Clemson, Auburn and the winner of a Frist Round dual meet between Air Force and Nebraska.
West Virginia's individuals will begin on floor exercise and rotate in Olympic order with the winners of the dual meet between Air Force and Nebraska.
Thursday's action will be streamed live on ESPN+, while live stats for the meet are available at WVUsports.com.
Lowe earns her first individual qualification as an event specialist, qualifying as a beam specialist with a 9.855 National Qualifying Score. A native of Acworth, Georgia, Lowe is ranked No. 9 in the Big 12 Conference and No. 18 in the southeast region on beam. She reached a career-high score of 9.9 on the event in a quad meet at Towson on March 1, marking her first score of 9.9 or higher on any event.
Rice qualified as an individual event specialist on vault for the second consecutive season, boasting a 9.83 NQS on the event. She is ranked No. 13 in the conference and No. 23 in the region this season. A Morgantown native, Rice reached a season high of 9.875 at Utah on March 7, while her career high on vault is an impressive 9.975.
Hailing from Westerville, Ohio, Smith also received her first event specialist qualification, posting a 9.87 NQS on floor this season. She ranks No. 13 in the Big 12 and No. 22 in the region on floor exercise, reaching a season high of 9.9 twice this season. Smith also owns a career high of 9.925 on floor.
The top two teams and the top all-around competitor (who is not on an advancing team) from each regional will receive an automatic berth to the national championships. In addition, the top event specialist at each regional site who is not part of an advancing team or all-around competitor will advance to the national championships in that event only.
The national championships will take place April 16-18, in Fort Worth, Texas, at Dickies Arena.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUGymnastics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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