The women's gymnastics team moved up a spot in the NCAA regionals, thanks to a sixth place finish at the Pac-10 championships.

The No. 19 Gymcats (5-16, 2-10) finished sixth at the Pac-10 with a score of 195.950. The performance helped UA to the fourth spot in the South Central Region in Columbia, Mo. öö Arizona's 17th consecutive postseason appearance.

Head coach Bill Ryden said he likes the Gymcats' selection, where they match up against No. 1 UCLA, No. 12 Oregon State, No. 13 Iowa, host Missouri and Illinois-Chicago.

"We feel pretty good," Ryden said. "We moved up one spot, we're obviously in a tough regional, though."

The Gymcats' regional foes are very familiar. They lost to the No. 1 Bruins twice, both at Pauley Pavilion, split with the No. 12 Beavers and traveled to Missouri to participate in the Tigers' Cat Classic.

At the Pac-10s, the Gymcats pulled a bit of an upset, avenging a late season loss to Cal by edging the Golden Bears for sixth.

UCLA held off No. 6 Stanford to win the Bruins' second title in a row and 11th overall. No. 3 ASU finished third, followed by No. 11 Washington, the Beavers, Arizona and No. 18 Cal.

Five of the event championships were won with scores of 10.000, further showcasing the conference's talent. Currently all seven Pac-10 teams are ranked in the top 20.

Arizona finished sixth in vault, bars and floor and fifth on beam. Sophomore Monica Bisordi led the team on the floor with a 9.900 and had 38.600 in the all-around.

"We did pretty well, we had a few problems obviously and Monica Bisordi didn't have the best meet," Ryden said.

Individually, Ryden was particularly impressed with senior Nikki Beyschau's performance on the floor, tying a career-high with a 9.875, after having just been brought back on the floor after two years.

The Gymcats' latest in a long line of injuries was sophomore Kristine Harper's ankle.

"It is one thing after another," Ryden said.

The gap between the Pac-10 championships and the NCAA regionals, which are April 12, will definitely help the team, Ryden said.

"For sure," Ryden said. "We will go light this week, this is our first break since the beginning of January."

Ryden has said that, when having to deal with all the team's injuries, that all the Gymcats had to do was make to the postseason, where they are now.

"There are only 36 teams left in the country, it is now back to full life," Ryden said.