Dion named gymnast of year at NCAA regionals

UIC women’s gymnasts Catherine Dion (left) and Gabrielle May with coaches Peter and Mary Jansson at the 2014 NCAA Gymnastics Regionals.

Catherine Dion took home NCAA Regional Gymnast of the Year honors and was named an alternate for the NCAA Championships after competing at the NCAA Fayetteville Regional Saturday.

Dion, who placed sixth in the all-around, competed alongside teammate Gabrielle May, who took 12th in the all-around competition.

Dion’s best score of the day came on bars, where she tallied 9.725 for ninth place. She recorded scores of 9.700 on vault to  tie for 10th and tied for 11th on floor.

Dion rounded out competition with 9.675 on beam to tie for 10th and contribute to her all-around score of 38.800.

May produced her best score on floor with 9.675 for 12th place, and posted 9.525 on vault. She scored a 9.450 on beam and 9.050 on bars for an all-around total of 37.700.

Utah and UCLA each clinched a spot at nationals after collecting respective scores of 197.300 and 196.600.