Molly Sullivan came close to qualifying for NCAA Regionals in each of the last three years, but her bubble has burst each time. This year, she qualified with ease and tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Penn State she will compete for a spot in the NCAA Championships. Thirty-six teams and an additional 36 individuals qualified to compete at six regional sites around the country. Sullivan is the second-seeded individual gymnast at Penn State as a result of her Regional Qualifying Score of 38.0125 in all-around competition. The schools competing in the region are the host and sixth-ranked Nittany Lions, ninth-ranked Arizona State, New Hampshire, Pittsburgh, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Two of those teams will advance to the National Championships at Utah April 22-24. The clear favorites to advance are Penn State and Arizona State. Sullivan will be competing for a spot at Utah against the five other individual gymnasts as well as the gymnasts on all the teams which fail to qualify for the NCAA Championships. Sullivan has competed against three of the other individual gymnasts already this year -- Temple junior Melissa Gramiak, Yale sophomore Katie Kleiner and Yale junior Betty Ky. This will be the first time Sullivan competes against the top gymnasts from schools such as Penn State and Pittsburgh, however. In order to advance, the two-time Ivy Classic individual champion will have to place first in one of the four events: beam, floor, bars or vault. It will not be an easy accomplishment. "I think that floor's her best bet to win," Penn coach Tom Kovic said. "It's her strongest event and she can really contend with the best in it." Sullivan added a twist to her first tumbling pass on the floor in order to increase the difficulty level of her routine and increase her scoring potential. The Georgia native set a school and ECAC record at the ECAC Championships on March 27 when she scored a 9.90 in the event. It will likely require an even higher score to win the floor exercise tomorrow. Last year's senior tri-captain Kathleen Gunn also qualified for the NCAA Regionals and finished ninth in the all-around without winning an event. According to Kovic, Sullivan also has a strong chance of finishing in the top 10. Sullivan does not seem particularly concerned about her score at tomorrow's meet, however. "I'm just really excited to be going there," Sullivan said. "I'm hoping this will be the most fun I've ever had at a meet." Sullivan should have an even more enjoyable time since she will be joined by her teammates, who were able to arrange transportation and will join her in Happy Valley tomorrow. Sullivan hopes to put on a show for them as she attempts to prolong her final season two more weeks.
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