National Collegiate Women’s Bowling Championship

Dates and site: The finals are April 13-15 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. Prairie View A&M is hosting the event.

Field: Eight at-large teams participate in a double-elimination format.

Selection date: March 29.

2005 champion: Nebraska.

Top contenders: The top 10 teams listed in the most recent National Tenpin Coaches Association poll are Nebraska, Fairleigh Dickinson, Central Missouri State, New Jersey City, Vanderbilt, Alabama A&M, Bethune-Cookman, Maryland-Eastern Shore, Arkansas State and Southern.

Championship notes: Top-ranked Nebraska won its seventh tournament of the season March 19 when the Cornhuskers captured the Vanderbilt Invitational over Central Missouri State and the host Commodores. Alabama A&M and Arkansas State completed a strong field that may serve as a preview of the national championship. Sophomore Lindsay Baker and juniors Amanda Burgoyne and Adrienne Miller lead the Cornhuskers, who have won each of the first two NCAA titles in the sport. Central Missouri State sophomore Bryanna Caldwell posted the best average (231) in the Vanderbilt event. She was named rookie of the year last year among Divisions II and III competitors. Tina Peak and Kim Wirth also return for the Jennies, who lost to Nebraska in last year’s final match.

National Collegiate Men’s Gymnastics Championships

Dates and sites: The national qualifying meet is April 6 in the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma. The finals also are at Oklahoma April 7-8.

Field: The top 10 teams in addition to the conference champions from the Big Ten and ECAC compete in the national qualifying meet. Also, 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. 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. No more than 12 competitors may represent any one institution in any one session of the NCAA championship.

Selection date: March 28.

2005 team champion: Oklahoma.

Top team contenders: Oklahoma, Stanford, Ohio State, Illinois.

Championships notes: Oklahoma’s Jonathan Horton was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Gymnast of the Week three times this season ... Stanford ranks first in the nation in average score for the floor exercise (36.800) and high bar (37.200) ... Ohio State went 7-0 against Big Ten competition this year ... Illinois scored 220.000 points in a dual meet against Army on March 11, which is the highest team score in the nation this season.

National Collegiate Women’s Gymnastics Championships

Dates and sites: Regionals are April 7 or 8 at six locations: Louisiana State (Central); Iowa State (North Central); Michigan (Northeast); Arkansas (South Central); Georgia (Southeast); Stanford (West). The finals are April 20-22 at Oregon State.

Field: The championships 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 9.

2005 team champion: Georgia.

Top team contenders: Georgia, Utah, Florida, Iowa State.

Championships notes: Georgia completed its sixth undefeated and untied season in program history. Georgia won NCAA championships three of the previous five times it has accomplished that feat ... Utah went 5-1 in road dual meets this season ... Florida scored a team total of 197.325, which ranks as the fifth-highest in school history, in a March 17 dual meet against Utah ... Iowa State ended Nebraska’s 60-match home winning streak March 5. The Cyclones were the first visiting team to beat the Cornhuskers in the Bob Devaney Center since 1993.