Michigan
Iowa
Knaeble Leads U-M to Sweep of Big Ten Opponents
1/19/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The 11th-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team scored a season-high 196.200 in sweeping its three-way meet with No. 21 Iowa (194.100) and No. 9 Minnesota (193.675) on Friday (Jan. 19). Many of the 2,143 fans -- the second largest attendance for a meet in Cliff Keen Arena -- came to see the collegiate debut of Michigan's Elise Ray (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake HS), who finished second in the all-around competition.
The Wolverines (5-3, 3-0 Big Ten) finished first in each event on their way to the team title. Senior Bridget Knaeble (New Hope, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) captured the uneven bars with a 9.900 and tied teammate Calli Ryals (Elyria, Ohio/Midview HS) for the floor exercise title with a score of 9.925. Shannon MacKenzie (Midland, Mich./Midland HS) won the balance beam with a 9.900 and Janessa Grieco (Mahopac, N.Y./Carmel HS) won the vault with a 9.850.
In her debut as a collegiate gymnast, Ray finished second in the all-around competition with a score of 39.175, including a second-place score of 9.875 on the bars. Iowa's Alexis Maday won the all-around with a 39.250.
Michigan hits the road for a dual meet against Kentucky on Friday (Jan. 26) at 7:30 p.m. in Lexington's Memorial Coliseum.
N O T E S
The Super Six Challenge will be shown Sunday (Jan. 21) at 3 p.m. EST on ESPN. Michigan finished fourth in the season-opening meet.
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Bev Plocki
On the meet ... "It was a good measuring stick. The crowd really helped tonight. It was just awesome. When you pack 2,100 fans into an arena built for 1,800 people, it leads to a ton of excitement and lots of energy."
Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
