Michigan
NCAA Super Six Team Finals
Michigan Finishes Third at NCAA Super Six Team Finals
4/20/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
ATHENS, Ga. -- In a terrific battle between three of the nation's elite programs, the University of Michigan women's gymnastics team recorded its best NCAA Championships score ever (197.275) but it still was not enough as the Wolverines finished third to defending champion UCLA (197.575) and host Georgia (197.400) in the NCAA Super Six Team Finals on Friday (April 20) in front of 8,245 fans at Stegeman Coliseum.
Wolverine freshman Elise Ray (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake HS), who tied for the NCAA all-around championship the previous night, backed up her title by scoring 39.625, the highest all-around score ever by a U-M gymnast at the NCAA Championships. U-M scored at least 49.250 in each event and had the top uneven bars score (49.275) of the night.
After a bye in the first rotation, the Wolverines opened the meet with a strong performance on the uneven bars and tied the third highest score in U-M NCAA Championships history with a 49.275. Freshman Christine Mantilia (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan HS) led off for the Wolverines and posted a 9.775. Calli Ryals (Elyria, Ohio/Midview HS) and Cami Singer (Monument, Colo./Lewis Palmer HS) each earned scores of 9.800 before seniors Karina Senior (Markham, Ontario/Milliken HS) and Bridget Knaeble (New Hope, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) scored 9.850 and 9.875, respectively, to set the table for Ray. Anchoring the event, Ray tied her career high and the second highest U-M uneven bars score at an NCAA Championships by posting a near-perfect 9.950 to place second in the event.
Moving on to the balance beam, an event on which the team struggled all season, the Wolverines overcame a fall by their second competitor and posted their highest score on the event (49.250) in U-M NCAA Championships history. Janessa Grieco (Mahopac, N.Y./Carmel HS) opened the event with a 9.850, which Melissa Peterson (Shawnee, Kan./Shawnee Mission West HS) matched in the third slot. To close out the event, beam specialist Shannon MacKenzie (Midland, Mich./Midland HS) and Ray each posted a 9.875.
At the meet's midpoint, UCLA had jumped out to an impressive score of 98.875 with marks of 49.425 on the floor exercise and 49.450 on vault, and the Bruins had a comfortable 0.350 lead over Michigan and Georgia, which sat at 98.525. While Michigan sat through its second bye, UCLA appeared to open the door for a possible Wolverine comeback as the Bruins only managed a 49.125 on the uneven bars. Meanwhile, Georgia rolled up a 49.375 on the floor exercise to pull within 0.100 of UCLA, 148.000-147.900, heading into the fifth rotation.
After sitting through a second bye, Knaeble led the Wolverines on the floor exercise with a 9.950 to finish fourth in the event. She tied Nikki Peters for the third highest score by a Wolverine on the floor exercise at the NCAA Championships. It also helped the team post an event score of 49.375, matching the highest floor score for Michigan at an NCAA Championship. In addition to Knaeble's outstanding score, Ray scored a 9.900 and junior tri-captain Jodie Rosenberg (West Bloomfield, Mich./West Bloomfield HS) opened the rotation with a 9.850, tying her career postseason high on the floor.
With their 49.375 on the floor, the Wolverines kept pace with the host Bulldogs, who were one spot ahead of Michigan in the rotation order. While U-M was on the floor in the fifth rotation, Georgia was putting some pressure on UCLA as it closed out its events with a 49.500 on the vault, but the Bruins responded with a clutch effort on the balance beam. UCLA counted no score lower than 9.900 and all but guaranteed its second straight title with a phenomenal 49.575 on the beam.
The Wolverines entered the final rotation in third place, needing a near-impossible 49.675 on the vault to tie UCLA and a 49.500 to match Georgia, and although Michigan was not able to put up those numbers, it did cement its third-place standing with a solid 49.375. As the fourth and fifth vaulters, Grieco and Ray each scored 9.900. For Ray, the mark set a career high, while it tied Grieco's postseason high. Then, on the final routine of her career, senior Christine Michaud (Mill Valley, Calif./The Branson School) tied her career high and finished in a three-way tie for second on the vault by scoring 9.950.
With the team season over, the only remaining competition for 2001 is the individual event finals tomorrow (Saturday, April 21) at 7 p.m. Ray will participate on the uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise, while Senior and Grieco will participate on the vault for a chance at an NCAA event title.
Final Results
| Team Scores | Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor | Total |
| 1. UCLA | 49.450 | 49.125 | 49.575 | 49.425 | 197.575 |
| 2. Georgia | 49.500 | 49.250 | 49.275 | 49.375 | 197.400 |
| 3. MICHIGAN | 49.375 | 49.275 | 49.250 | 49.375 | 197.275 |
| 4. Alabama | 48.975 | 49.100 | 49.175 | 49.300 | 196.550 |
| 5. Nebraska | 49.050 | 49.150 | 48.650 | 49.175 | 196.025 |
| 5. Utah | 48.900 | 49.150 | 48.675 | 49.300 | 196.025 |
Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores
ALL-AROUND Elise Ray 39.625 (2) Bridget Knaeble 39.400 (4) VAULT Bridget Knaeble 9.800 Shannon MacKenzie 9.725 Karina Senior 9.825 Elise Ray 9.900 (T5) Janessa Grieco 9.900 (T5) Chrissy Michaud 9.950 (T2) UNEVEN BARS Christine Mantilia 9.775 Calli Ryals 9.800 Cami Singer 9.800 Karina Senior 9.850 Bridget Knaeble 9.875 Elise Ray 9.950 (2) BALANCE BEAM Janessa Grieco 9.850 Calli Ryals 9.100 Missy Peterson 9.850 Bridget Knaeble 9.800 Shannon MacKenzie 9.875 Elise Ray 9.875 FLOOR EXERCISE Jodie Rosenberg 9.850 Janessa Grieco 9.850 Calli Ryals 9.850 Karina Senior 9.800 Bridget Knaeble 9.925 (4) Elise Ray 9.900 (T5) ( ) denotes place in the Top 5
Thursday Results (Team Preliminary Session I)
N O T E S
The Wolverines' score of 197.275 is the highest team score ever posted by Michigan at the NCAA Championships, smashing by 0.700 the previous mark of 196.575 from the 1999 preliminaries.
The third-place finish is the the Wolverines' third-best showing at the national championships, behind runner-up finishes in 1995 (tie) and 1999.
In Saturday's individual event finals, Elise Ray will compete seventh out of 11 competitors on the uneven bars, third out of 12 on the beam and fourth out of 13 on the floor exercise. UCLA's Jamie Dantzscher, an Olympic teammate and close friend of Ray, competes just before her on bars and floor. On the vault, Janessa Grieco is second, and Karina Senior is eighth out of nine qualifiers.
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Bev Plocki
On the third-place finish ... "I couldn't be more proud of this team. All season, we have been ranked about seventh, and so it was nice to peak at the right time. They could not have performed better than they did tonight. We faced some adversity on the beam, but they got right back in it and finished strong."
Senior Tri-Captain Bridget Knaeble
On finishing her career tonight ... "It was really sad and very exciting all at once. It was nice to go out with a great finish tonight. The fans were just great, and it was really fun to look up there and see all those yellow shirts."
Senior Karina Senior
On the meet ... "Everyone did so well tonight. I am very, very happy. There is always that tiny part of you that wonders 'What if' but we can't worry about that now."
Freshman Elise Ray
On the meet ... "In the pep talk before the meet, we were reminded that we had nothing to lose and everything to gain. We were so relaxed out there, and it was so much fun."
On setting the U-M NCAA Championships all-around record ... "I couldn't have done half as well as I did without my teammates. This is college, and it's all about the team now. The individual stuff is just bonus. It is just so much fun. I have NEVER had as much fun with gymnastics as I did out there tonight."
Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
