Weekly Release #1: at Super Six Challenge

Upcoming Schedule

Meet #1: No. 4 Michigan at Super Six Challenge
(at No. 1 Georgia, vs. No. 2 Alabama, vs. No. 3 UCLA,
vs. No. 6 Nebraska, vs. No. 9 Florida)
Stegeman Coliseum, Athens, Ga.
Saturday, Jan. 8, 6:30 p.m.
Series: Georgia leads U-M 8-0, Alabama leads U-M 1-0, Nebraska leads U-M 3-1, Florida leads U-M 4-3, UCLA tied with U-M 3-3

Meet #2: No. 4 Michigan at No. 14 Minnesota
Sport Facility, Minneapolis, Minn.
Saturday, Jan. 15, 7 p.m. CST
Series: Minnesota leads 18-13

Michigan Opens Season at Super Six Challenge
The Michigan women's gymnastics team begins the 2000 season right where it left off in 1999, competing against the elite teams in the nation on national television. Michigan, which finished last season as national runner-up at the NCAA Championships, travels to Athens, Ga., on Saturday (Jan. 8) for a six-team meet featuring five of last season's Super Six finalists and six of the top 10 teams in the country in 1999.

Runner-up Michigan will be competing against defending national champion Georgia, third-place finisher Alabama, fifth-place finisher UCLA, sixth-place finisher Nebraska and 10th-place finisher Florida. The meet will be televised by ESPN and aired twice on a tape-delay basis. The meet will air Sunday, Jan. 16 (3 p.m.) on ESPN2 and again a week later on Sunday, Jan. 23 (2 p.m.) on ESPN.

About Alabama ...
Alabama is coming off a 1999 season in which it finished second in the Southeastern Conference behind Georgia and third at the NCAA Championships behind Michigan and Georgia ... The Crimson Tide is the preseason second-ranked team in the nation ... Alabama returns 12 letterwinners, including sophomore Andree Pickens, who was a five-time first team All-American in 1999.

About Florida ...
Florida reached the 1999 NCAA Championships but did not qualify for the Super Six finals and tied for 10th with Stanford ... Michigan and Florida opened up the 1999 season against each other and the Wolverines came away with a 193.300-190.275 victory ... Florida returns seven letterwinners from a team that finished 13-10 in 1999 ... Florida returns its top gymnast from 1999 in Chrissy Van Fleet, who earned second team All-America honors on three events.

About Georgia ...
Georgia is the two-time defending national champion and the preseason top-ranked team in the nation ... Michigan and Georgia met twice in dual meets in 1999 with Georgia winning both contests, 197.200-196.375 at Georgia and 197.800-195.400 at Michigan ... Georgia returns four All-Americans from its 1999 squad and is on a 29-meet unbeaten streak.

About Nebraska ...
Nebraska earned a berth in the 1999 Super Six finals and finished sixth in the nation ... Michigan out-dueled Nebraska 196.750-196.325 for the 1999 NCAA Region III Championship ... Nebraska head coach Dan Kendig was the 1999 NCAA Coach of the Year ... Nebraska's top gymnast is Heather Brink, who finished fifth in the all-around at the 1999 NCAA Championships ... Nebraska is the preseason sixth-ranked team according the GymInfo Preseason Coaches Poll.

About UCLA ...
UCLA enters the 2000 season as the third-ranked team in the GymInfo Preseason Coaches Poll ... UCLA qualified for the Super Six finals at the 1999 NCAA Championships and finished fifth ... Heidi Moneymaker returns for the Bruins after placing third in the all-around ... Michigan and UCLA met one time in 1999, with Michigan earning the 197.400-195.700 victory.

Wolverines Tabbed No. 4 and No. 5 in Preseason Polls
Michigan enters the 2000 campaign as one of the top five teams in America according to a pair of preseason polls. The National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches for Women (NACGC/W) preseason poll pegs the Maize and Blue as the No. 4 team in the country. Michigan is one of only five teams to receive first-place votes, with the Wolverines garnering five. Sports Illustrated for Women put out a preseason top 10 and placed the Wolverines fifth despite graduating five gymnasts from the 1999 squad with finished second in the country.

All-Americans Return
Of the six Wolverines to earn 1999 All-America honors, four return for the 2000 season. Senior tri-captain Sarah Cain (Grand Island, Neb./Grand Island HS), an eight-time All-American, returns after earning 1999 All-America honors on the uneven bars, floor exercise and in the all-around. Other returning All-Americans are junior tri-captain Bridget Knaeble (New Hope, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) (floor exercise), junior Karina Senior (Markham, Ontario/Milliken Mills HS) (balance beam) and sophomore Shannon MacKenzie (Midland, Mich./Midland HS) (balance beam).

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

Maize and Blue Face Challenging Schedule
As has become the norm for the Michigan gymnastics program under head coach Bev Plocki, the Wolverines battle several of the nation's elite teams throughout their schedule in 2000. Including the Super Six Challenge, where Michigan will face five of the top nine teams in the NACGC/W preseason poll, Michigan goes up against top 25 teams in eight of its 11 regular-season meets in 2000. Michigan faces No. 1 Georgia in a pair of dual meets in addition to the Super Six Challenge, while also traveling to No. 3 UCLA and hosting No. 9 Florida. Michigan also goes on the road for a meet at No. 14 Minnesota and No. 16 Arizona, while hosting No. 18 Maryland.

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 (W. Bowdoin, Maine/Mount Ararat HS). Cain was a tri-captain in 1999 as a junior as well.

Michigan's Best?
During Bev Plocki's 10-year stint at the helm of the Michigan women's gymnastics program, the Wolverines have claimed seven Big Ten titles and two NCAA Regional crowns, qualified for the NCAA Championships seven times and earned a Super Six Finals berth six times. Of all that success, Plocki's 1999 Wolverines may have the best argument for being Michigan's best team.

The 1999 Wolverines were the first Michigan team to win the Big Ten title, the NCAA Regional championship and finish as national runner-up at the NCAA Championships. In addition, the Wolverines had six different gymnasts earn first or second team All-America honors, which is tied for most in Michigan history with the 1997 squad. Michigan's 10 total All-America citations is second best in school history behind the 1995 team, which also finished as national runner-up, tied with Alabama.

Senior Ready to Step Up
Junior Karina Senior, a first team All-American on the balance beam in 1999, could be ready to take her skills to the next level. "Karina is an athlete who has had a fire light under her this year," said Bev Plocki. "She has competed on the balance beam in the past and in isolated instances on the uneven bars and the floor exercise, so we expect her to compete in our lineup on all three of those events."

Plocki went on to say, "Senior has also learned a new vault that could allow her to become an all-arounder and she has the ability level to be a first team All-American for us in at least three events."

Freshmen Ready to Contribute
Head coach Bev Plocki is equally excited about one of the strongest freshman classes in her 11 years at Michigan. Janessa Grieco (Mahopac, N.Y./Carmel HS) is expected to provide immediate contributions according to Plocki. "I expect Janessa to come in and make an immediate impact, she has the potential to be in the all-around and she will definitely be on our floor exercise lineup."

Joining Grieco as potential all-arounders from the freshman class are Tara Tagliarino (Tampa, Fla./H.B. Plant HS) and Cami Singer (Monument, Colo./Lewis Palmer HS). "Tagliarino has the potential to be an all-arounder for us, but it is one of those things where I see it in practice and now I want to see how she competes in a meet setting," said Plocki. "Singer has a fantastic uneven bar routine and is looking very strong on the balance beam, so if she improves on the vault and floor exercise she could be an all-arounder as well."

Lenna Doolan (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax HS) is another talented Michigan freshman, but her contributions may have to wait a little longer as the result of wrist surgery a month before school began in September.

GymInfo Preseason Coaches Poll

 1. Georgia (17)           854
 2. Alabama (7)            825
 3. UCLA (6)               816
 4. MICHIGAN (5)           806
 5. Utah (1)               770
 6. Nebraska               680
 7. Arizona State          644
 8. Penn State             590
 9. Florida                584
10. Louisiana State        584
11. Stanford               577
12. Oregon State           431
13. North Carolina State   354
14. Minnesota              345
15. Denver                 315
16. Arizona                283
17. West Virginia          276
18. Maryland               264
19. Washington             250
20. Ohio State             245
21. Utah State             241
22. Iowa State             189
23. Brigham Young          108
24. Auburn                  97
25. Oklahoma                70