Stories to Follow this Weekend: Six top Six NCAA Teams and the Power of Pink

Six top six divison 1 NCAA gymnastics teams will be featured on Gymnastike this weekend in a total of eleven meet coverages! Three of the meets not only showcase great gymnastics but also support a great cause in raising funds and awareness to combat breast cancer. Your complete guide on how and what to follow this weekend is below.    Defending Champions vs Recent #1 - #6 Bama hosts #5 Arkansas in the Power of Pink Meet  Friday night The Alabama gymnastics team hosts SEC rival Arkansas Friday, Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. in Coleman Coliseum in the eighth annual Power of Pink meet. Head coach Sarah Patterson's Power of Pink initiative helps raise awareness in the fight against breast cancer. You can expect a sold out crowd and a highly competitive event, coming down to the final routines of the night! The Tide is coming into the event undefeated on the season. In Alabama's last home meet against the Florida Gators, the Tide posted the third highest score in the nation this year with a 197.725, while the Razorbacks posted a school-record 197.225 against LSU earlier in the season. Gymnastike intern Ben Smith will give you inside access to the big event. - Arkansas at Alabama video channel - Video on the Power of Pink at Alabama - Live Results (7:30pm CST)     Nation's Top Team Heads to Ann Arbor - #1 Utah at #21 Michigan Friday night The Utes are on a hot streak, ranked No. 1 in the nation for the third straight week. Michigan battled back from a rough start to the season to post a season-high score of 195.825 last weekend at Nebraska. Though these teams represent different conferences, Michigan and Utah have competed head to head every year since 2002. Utah leads the overall series. Gymnastike intern Tori Kane will showcase the event. - Utah at Michigan video channel - Live results (6pm EST)     Midwest Twisters Harley Invite  Friday - Sunday For the second straight year, Gymnastike will be providing video coverage of Wisconsin's largest gymnastics meet, the Hals Harley Invite hosted by the Midwest Twisters gymnastics club! This is the 10 year anniversary of the event for men and women, levels 4 through 10. Jason MacDonald will be on hand to give you an all-access view of this great meet.  - Harley Invite video channel - Meet website   Big 12 Battle: #3 Oklahoma at #16 Missouri Friday night The third ranked Sooners are fresh their third score of 197-plus this season and a 9.95 floor performance for Megan Ferguson last weekend at the Perfect 10 Challenge. Missouri suffered their very first loss of the season to UCLA and Boise State at the Chicago Style last weekend, but senior Mary Burke came up big with the all around title and was even awarded Gymnastike Stick of the Week. Along with Burke and Ferguson, gymnasts to watch are current Big 12 Gymnast of the Week Taylor Spears and Missouri's freshman standout, Rachel Updike.  - OU at Missouri video channel - Live Results (6:30pm CST)     Division 3 Action: #6 Wisconsin-Whitewater, #10 Wisconsin-Stout, #11 Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and #12 Hamline Friday night Held in Milwaukee in conjunction with the Harley Invite club meet, four division 3 collegiate teams will face off, Wisconsin's own Whitewater, Stout, and Oshkosh, and Hamline from Minnesota. This meet includes two of the nation's top 8 division 3 all arounders, #6 Courtney Benson of Hamline and #7 Brittany DeZiel of Wisconsin-Stout.  - Harley Invite video channel     Gym Dogs hope to hit Potential in Pink - #27 Kentucky at #4 Georgia Saturday afternoon The 10-time National Champion Georgia Gym Dogs will face their first non top 20 opponent of the season, the University of Kentucky during their annual Pink Out meet. They've had a good start to the season, but coach Jay Clark feels they still have not hit their full potential. Competing against a lower ranked opponent will free them up to compete with a nothing to loose attitude, so we could see some big gymnastics. Kentucky, under a new coaching staff led by Tim Garrison, posted a season-best team score of 195.05 two weeks ago. Gymnastike intern Elizabeth Grimsley will provide the coverage.  - Kentucky at Georgia video channel  - Georgia meet preview by Grimsley     Pink on the East Coast - #22 West Virginia, Rutgers, and William & Mary at #31 Maryland Saturday night The Maryland gymnastics team welcomes EAGL-rivals Rutgers and No. 22 West Virginia, and William and Mary to the Comcast Center for its annual Pink Meet set for Saturday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. West Virginia is currently undefeated in the EAGL this season and aim to keep it that way this weekend. The Mountaineers take to the road after scoring 195.175, their third 195.0-plus score of the season, in an upset win over No. 13 Auburn. Meet coverage by Christine Miller.  - Maryland quad meet video channel     Men in the Big 10 - #8 Nebraska at #6 Minnesota The Minnesota men will host the Huskers for the first time since their move to the Big 10 Conference. This will be the first time these two teams face off this season. Gymnastike intern Ryan Pandl will provide video coverage of the competition.  - Nebraska at Minnesota video channel     Michigan Men's Tri Meet - Ohio State, SUNY Brockport, at #7 Michigan Ohio State got off to a firing start this season with a big win at the Windy City. The Buckeyes have only competed one other time this season which kept them out of the rankings this week, but they sat at #4 last week. The team is ready to get back out there against Big 10 rival Michigan, and Brockport will get a taste of the always exciting Big 10 competitions. US Senior national team members Sam Mikulak and Adrian De Los Angeles will lead the Wolverines as they hope to not only top the Buckeyes but improve their team ranking. Gymnastike intern Tori Kane will provide video coverage of the event. - OSU, SUNY Brockport at Michigan video channel - Live Results (7pm EST)      Busy Weekend for the Owls - SCSU at Yale Saturday afternoon Yale hosts division 2 team Southern Connecticut State University in the first of their two meets this weekend, and David Pendrys will provide coverage of both. SCSU boasts two ECAC honors this week, junior Rebecca Brady was selected as the Gymnast of the Week, while Meghan Cole was named the Rookie of the Week. The Yale Bulldogs have posted season-high team scores the past two weekends, improving on a 190.275 two weekends ago with a 190.4 last weekend at the Bulldog Invitational. This will serve as senior day for Yale. - SCSU at Yale video channel     SCSU Senior Day - West Chester and Springfield at SCSU Sunday afternoon The SCSU seniors will compete in their home arena for the final time on Sunday as they host division 2 foe West Chester and the nation's #4 ranked division 3 team, Springfield. It will be a tough turnaround for the Owls, competing on back to back days. - West Chester and Springfield at SCSU video channel

Feb 17, 2012