National Collegiate Women's Bowling Championship

Dates and site: The inaugural championship will be April 8-10 at Emerald Bowl in Houston.

Field: Eight teams.

Selection date: March 24.

Top contenders: Central Missouri State, Maryland-Eastern Shore, Fairleigh Dickinson, Southern, Virginia State, Nebraska, New Jersey City, Sacred Heart and Winston-Salem State are among the top teams in the nation.

Championship notes: Before the National Collegiate Women's Bowling Championship, intercollegiate teams participated in the Intercollegiate Bowling Championships (IBC), which are administered by College Bowling USA. Among the 42 NCAA institutions that now sponsor bowling, 13 of those schools have participated in College Bowling USA sectional championships competition and six NCAA schools have earned berths in the IBC ... The Jennies of Central Missouri State demonstrated why they are the 2003 defending IBC national champions early in February when the team rolled the first perfect game in NCAA bowling ... Nebraska is led by Shannon Pluhowsky, the first female to collect three straight U.S. Amateur Championships (2002-04).

National Collegiate Men's Gymnastics Championships

Dates and sites: The national qualifying meet is April 2 at Illinois. The finals also will conducted at Illinois April 3-4.

Field: The top 10 teams in addition to the conference champions from the Big Ten and the ECAC, the top six all-around competitors who are not members of a selected team, and the top six individuals per event who are not members of a selected team or have not already been selected in the all-around will compete in the national qualifying meet. Three teams and the top three all-around competitors not on one of the qualifying teams, plus the top three individuals in each event not already qualified on a team or as an all-around competitor will advance from each qualifying session to the championship. Not more than 12 competitors may represent any one institution in any one session of the NCAA championship.

Selection date: March 23.

2003 team champion: Oklahoma.

Top team contenders: Illinois, Oklahoma, California, Penn State, Iowa and Ohio State.

Championships notes: The Sooners lost several key members from last year's roster, but are still looking strong as they seek their third straight team title. They recently broke their own NCAA scoring record, posting a 225.200 in a defeat of then-top-ranked Illinois, which had a score of 221.875 in a March 7 match-up ... This year's championships will have an Olympic feel as gymnasts perform on a platform for the first time in an NCAA championship ... The men's championship dates back to 1938. That year, Chicago won the team title, with Illinois coming in second. They have been held every year since then, except from 1943 through 1947.

Gymnastics Championships

Dates and sites: Regionals take place April 2 or 3 in six locations: Oregon State (West), Denver (North Central), Arizona (South Central), LSU (Central), Penn State (Northeast) and North Carolina State (Southeast). The finals are April 15-17 at UCLA.

Field: The championships will consist of 12 teams and 12 all-around competitors (who are not on a qualifying team) and event specialists. Regional competition consisting of six teams, five all-around competitors (who are not on a qualifying team) and one individual specialist per event will be conducted in each of the six regions to determine the participants in the national championship. The top two teams and the top two all-around competitors (who are not on an advancing team) from each region will receive an automatic berth to the national championships. In addition, the event winners at the regional championships advance to the national championships (in that event only) if they are not part of a qualifying team or the all-around qualifiers.

Selection date: April 4.

2003 team champion: UCLA.

Top team contenders: UCLA, Georgia, Stanford, Utah, Alabama, LSU.

Championships notes: UCLA is looking for its second consecutive team title and its fourth title since 2000. The Bruins were ranked No. 1 as of March 8 and teammates Jeannette Antolin and Kate Richardson were ranked first and second, respectively, in the same poll. Richardson won the balance beam at last year's event ... This year's event will have an Olympic feel, as the events will take place on a platform, such as that used during international competition ... Only four institutions have ever won the women's team championship, which dates back to 1982. They are Utah, Georgia, Alabama and UCLA.