Michigan
Kentucky
Weekly Release #4: vs. Kentucky
1/25/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Upcoming Schedule
Meet #4:Â No. 6 Michigan vs. Kentucky
Friday, Jan. 28, 7 p.m., Cliff Keen Arena, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Series:Â Michigan leads 6-0
Meet #5:Â No. 6 Michigan at State of Michigan Classic
(vs. Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, Michigan State and Western Michigan)
Sunday, Feb. 6, 2 p.m., Kalamazoo, Mich.
Series:Â Michigan leads EMU 22-2; Michigan leads WMU 23-4; Michigan leads CMU 20-4; MSU leads Michigan 28-22.
Michigan Faces Fourth SEC Opponent of 2000
The University of Michigan women's gymnastics team, which is 5-2 on the season, hosts Kentucky on Friday (Jan. 28, 7 p.m.) at Cliff Keen Arena. Kentucky is the fourth Southeastern Conference team Michigan has faced already in 2000. The Wolverines dumped Kentucky on the road in 1999 with a 195.525-189.975 win over the then-No. 21 Wildcats. Michigan's dual meet vs. Kentucky will be its third dual meet of the season.
About Kentucky ...
Kentucky is 1-1 on the season, with a loss at No. 10 LSU (192.250-194.625) and a win over Auburn (193.425-192.875) ... Kristin Hoeferlin notched Kentucky's top all-around score of 2000 with a mark of 39.050 in the win over Auburn ... The Wildcats' top event in 2000 has been the uneven bars with an average of 48.550 ... Kentucky's top team scores are: vault (48.550), bars (48.650), beam (47.725) and floor (48.500) ... Jessie Lamp owns Kentucky's top event score of the year with a 9.875 on the uneven bars ... Kentucky on the web: www.ukathletics.com
Michigan Breaks Out in Win Over Michigan State
Michigan defeated its fifth top 25 team of the season with a 196.750-192.850 win over No. 21 Michigan State (Jan. 20) in the Wolverines' home opener. Michigan set season bests on all four events, including a team event season-high 49.325 on the floor exercise. Michigan also excelled on the balance beam for the second straight week, with its best mark (49.300) in two years on that event. Buoyed by wins on the floor exercise (9.900) and the uneven bars (9.900), senior Sarah Cain (Grand Island, Neb./Grand Island HS) went on to victory in the all-around (39.500).
Career High for All-American MacKenzie
Sophomore Shannon MacKenzie (Midland, Mich./Midland HS), a 1999 second team All-American on the balance beam, highlighted Michigan's season-best team beam score of 49.300 with a career-high 9.925 in the win over Michigan State (Jan. 20). MacKenzie's previous career high of 9.850 came at the 1999 NCAA Championships in the preliminary round.
More Career Highs
Sophomore Jodie Rosenberg (West Bloomfield, Mich./West Bloomfield HS) continues to be one of Michigan's most steady performers on the floor exercise. Rosenberg, who did not compete as a freshman, registered a career-high 9.875 and placed fifth on the floor exercise in the win over Michigan State. Freshman Tara Tagliarino (Tampa, Fla./H.B. Plant HS) delivered the best performance on the uneven bars of her young career with a 9.875 in the win over Michigan State to place second in that event.
Michaud Wins the Vault
Junior vaulting specialist Christine Michaud (Mill Valley, Calif./The Branson School) won the vault competition by herself for the second time in her career with a mark of 9.825 in the win over Michigan State (Jan. 20). Michaud's last vault win by herself was in 1998 when she recorded a 9.850 vs. Utah.
Grieco Continues to Shine
Michigan freshman Janessa Grieco (Mahopac, N.Y./Carmel HS), who notched a 9.900 on the floor exercise in the first routine of her collegiate career at the Super Six Challenge (Jan. 8), set career bests on the vault and balance beam in the win over Michigan State (Jan. 20). Grieco tied for second on the vault with a mark of 9.800, while placing third on the balance beam with a score of 9.875 against Michigan State. Grieco finished off the evening with her third straight top-five finish on the floor exercise (9.850) and owns the top Michigan average on the floor exercise (9.858) after the first three meets of the season.
Cain Wins Second Consecutive All-Around
Senior tri-captain Sarah Cain delivered her best performance of the season in Michigan's win over Michigan State (Jan. 20). Cain placed in the top two in all four events on her way to a second straight win in the all-around (39.500). Included in her top two finishes was a first-place finish on the uneven bars (9.900) and a first-place tie with teammate Karina Senior (Markham, Ont./Milliken Mills HS) on the floor exercise (9.900). Cain also tied for second on the vault (9.800) and placed runner-up on the balance beam with a personal season-high 9.900.
Senior Finds Groove on the Floor
Michigan junior Karina Senior, who did not compete in the all-around for the first time this season vs. Michigan State, continued to excel on the floor exercise. After setting a career-best 9.875 and winning the floor exercise for the first time in her career at Minnesota (Jan. 15), Senior came back one week later in the win over Michigan State with a 9.900 to tie teammate Sarah Cain for first on the floor. Senior also placed in the top five on the balance beam for the second time this season with a mark of 9.775.
Wolverines vs. SEC
For the fourth time this season Michigan will face a team from the Southeastern Conference when Kentucky comes to Ann Arbor, on Friday (Jan. 28, 7 p.m.). Michigan lost close calls vs. then-No. 1 Georgia and then-No. 2 Alabama at the Super Six Challenge (Jan. 8), but did defeat then-No. 9 Florida in the same meet. Michigan still faces No. 5 Georgia in dual meets on two more occasions this season and hosts Florida in the last meet of the season for a total of seven matchups vs. SEC schools in 2000. Michigan's schedule and results vs. the SEC in 2000:
| 1/8 | at No. 1 Georgia | L (194.925-195.500) |
| 1/8 | vs. No. 2 Alabama | L (194.925-195.750) |
| 1/8 | vs. No. 9 Florida | W (194.925-193.225) |
| 1/28 | vs. Kentucky | |
| 2/11 | vs. No. 6 Georgia | |
| 2/19 | at No. 6 Georgia | |
| 3/11 | vs. No. 22 Florida |
Strong Wolverine Balancing Act
The balance beam, which was has been Michigan's achilles heel in the past, has been a Wolverine strength thus far in 2000. After struggling to a 48.075 on the beam at the Super Six Challenge (Jan. 8) in the season opener, Michigan has scored a 49.000 or better for two straight meets on the beam. Michigan notched a 49.025 on the beam in the win over Minnesota (Jan. 15), which at the time was the second highest score in the nation on that event. Proving that was not fluke, Michigan came back with the third highest beam score in school history (49.300) in the win over Michigan State (Jan. 20). Michigan's 49.300 on the beam was its best score on that event since recording a 49.375 vs. Michigan State in 1998. The top five all-time Michigan scores on the balance beam:
| 49.375 | 1998 vs. Michigan State |
| 49.350 | 1996 vs. Utah |
| 49.300 | 2000 vs. Michigan State |
| 49.275 | 1995 vs. North Carolina State, Massachusetts, Penn State |
| 49.250 | 1998 vs. Massachusetts |
Michigan Owns Wildcats
Michigan will be looking for its seventh win over Kentucky in seven meetings in a series which began with a Michigan win in a meet at Eastern Michigan in 1984. The Michigan-Kentucky series:
| 1999 at Kentucky | 195.525-189.975 |
| 1998 at Michigan | 196.800-191.600 |
| 1997 at Michigan | 195.975-195.100 |
| 1995 at Kentucky | 195.475-193.350 |
| 1994 at Michigan | 195.350-192.275 |
| 1984 at Eastern Michigan | 174.550-169.450 |
Knaeble Back in Vault, Floor Lineup
After competing on just the uneven bars in the first two meets this season, junior All-American Bridget Knaeble (New Hope, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) made her 2000 debuts on the vault and floor exercise in the win over Michigan State (Jan. 20). Knaeble placed fourth on the vault (9.775), while scoring a 9.650 on the floor exercise, an event in which she was a 1999 first team All-American. Knaeble placed second on the uneven bars (9.875) and owns Michigan's second-best season average (9.833) on that event.
Cain Moving Up the Charts
Sarah Cain's eight All-America citations ties her for third on Michigan's all-time list with Heather Kabnick (1995-98). Wendy Marshall (1993-96) is second on the list with 10 All-America honors, while Beth Wymer (1992-95) heads the list with 14 All-America honors earned.
| 1. | Beth Wymer (1992-95) | 14 |
| 2. | Wendy Marshall (1993-96) | 10 |
| 3. | Sarah Cain (1997-present) | 8 |
| Heather Kabnick (1995-98) | 8 | |
| 5. | Nikki Peters (1996-99) | 6 |
Tri-Captains
The 2000 University of Michigan women's gymnastics team has tri-captains leading the squad. Senior Sarah Cain is joined by juniors Bridget Knaeble and Brianne Fuller (West Bowdoin, Maine/Mount Ararat HS). Cain was a tri-captain in 1999 as a junior as well.
NACGC/W TOP 25 (Jan. 18)
RANK, TEAM HIGH SCORE
1. UCLA 196.300
2. Alabama 195.750
3. Nebraska 195.650
Utah 195.650
5. Georgia 195.400
6. MICHIGAN 195.175
7. Minnesota 194.800
8. New Hampshire 194.700
Arizona State 194.700
10. Louisiana State 194.625
11. Iowa State 194.475
12. Boise State 194.275
13. Cal State-Fullerton 193.800
Penn State 193.800
15. Maryland 193.550
16. Ball State 193.475
17. Washington 193.375
18. Denver 193.300
19. Stanford 193.275
20. Towson 193.225
21. Michigan State 193.125
22. Florida 193.025
23. Arizona 192.675
24. Southern Utah 192.575
25. Auburn 192.450
Tracking Michigan in the Rankings
Preseason 7th Jan. 11 3rd Jan. 18 6th
Players Mentioned
