Michigan
Minnesota
Wolverines Come Up Huge on Beam to Defeat Gophers
1/19/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- After struggling on the balance beam all last season and the first two meets of this season, the No. 9-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team put together a clutch performance Saturday evening (Jan. 19) to defeat No. 5 Minnesota 195.125-195.025 in front of 1,715 fans at the Sports Pavilion.
With the score tied after three rotations, the Wolverines hit on five of six routines, including a first-place score of 9.900 by Elise Ray (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake HS) and second-place score of 9.825 by Calli Ryals (Elyria, Ohio/Midview HS), to win the meet by one-tenth of a point and post the team's highest score of the season.
Ryals won the all-around for the second consecutive week, with a career-high 39.275. Her efforts helped the team extend its Big Ten Conference win streak to 28 consecutive victories over league opponents.
The meet started roughly as freshman all-around competitor Kallie Steffes (Naperville, Ill./Central HS) fell on the uneven bars. However, seniors Shannon MacKenzie (Midland, Mich./Midland HS), Jodie Rosenberg (West Bloomfield, Mich./West Bloomfield HS) and Amy Kuczera (Bloomingdale, Ill./Lake Park HS) all put together solid routines to keep the Wolverines in the meet. Each senior improved by one-half a tenth as the trio posted scores of 9.625, 9.675 and 9.725, respectively. Sophomore Ryals kept the scores moving upward with a 9.800 and finished fifth. Ray closed out the rotation with a 9.825 and was fourth overall. Michigan tallied a team score of 48.650 on the uneven bars, while Minnesota posted a 48.800 on the uneven bars.
Michigan (3-2, 1-0 Big Ten) made it through the vault with a score of 48.725. MacKenzie posted a 9.725 before Steffes got back on track and earned a 9.700 with her vault. Ryals scored a 9.750 in the fourth slot. Senior Melissa Peterson (Shawnee, Kan./Shawnee Mission West HS) put up a team-high 9.800 on the event to finish second before junior co-captain Janessa Grieco (Mahopac, N.Y./Carmel HS) closed out the rotation with a 9.750 and finished tied for fourth.
After two rotations, the Wolverines found themselves trailing the Gophers 97.375-97.650. Although the score for the vault was higher than the bars, it wasn't enough to close the gap because of a 48.850 on the uneven bars by Minnesota.
It was the seniors leading the way again on the floor as Peterson scored her second 9.800 of the meet. Rosenberg followed her and earned a 9.850 to finish second. Steffes missed the landing on a tumbling pass for a 9.425, but Grieco help get things back on track with a 9.750. Ryals closed out the rotation with a season- and team-high 9.900 to win the floor exercise.
With the solid rotation, the Wolverines were able to close the gap and tie the Gophers at 146.100-146.100 after three rotations because Minnesota suffered two falls on the beam and totaled 48.450 on the event.
In the most pressure-packed rotation, Michigan needed to overcome its previous trouble on the beam for any shot at defeating Minnesota. The event started with a season-high 9.775 by Grieco, which freshman Kara Rosella (Ann Arbor, Mich./Greenhills HS) followed by posting a career-high 9.725. Peterson also posted a season-high score with a 9.800, which tied for third place. MacKenzie fell twice and scored 8.625, but the team bounced back as Ryals posted a season-high 9.825 and finished second. Ray closed out the routine with an impressive 9.900 routine to win the event and give the Wolverines' their highest event score of the evening, a 49.025.
Michigan is on the road again next weekend when it travels to Columbus, Ohio, for a meet against Ohio State at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26.
Final Results
| Team Scores | Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor | Total |
| 1. MICHIGAN | 48.725 | 48.650 | 49.025 | 48.725 | 195.125 |
| 2. Minnesota | 48.800 | 48.850 | 48.450 | 48.925 | 195.025 |
Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores
ALL-AROUND Calli Ryals 39.275 (1) Shannon MacKenzie 37.050 (4) VAULT Jodie Rosenberg 9.650 Shannon MacKenzie 9.725 Kallie Steffes 9.700 Calli Ryals 9.750 (t4) Melissa Peterson 9.800 (2) Janessa Grieco 9.750 (t4) UNEVEN BARS Kallie Steffes 8.950 Shannon MacKenzie 9.625 Jodie Rosenberg 9.675 Amy Kuczera 9.725 Calli Ryals 9.800 (5) Elise Ray 9.825 (4) BALANCE BEAM Janessa Grieco 9.775 Kara Rosella 9.725 Melissa Peterson 9.800 (t3) Shannon MacKenzie 8.625 Calli Ryals 9.825 (2) Elise Ray 9.900 (1) FLOOR EXERCISE Shannon MacKenzie 9.075 Melissa Peterson 9.800 (5) Jodie Rosenberg 9.850 (2) Kallie Steffes 9.425 Janessa Grieco 9.750 Calli Ryals 9.900 (1) ( ) denotes place in the Top 5
N O T E S
Tonight's meet nearly didn't happen because of a broken water pipe at the Sports Pavilion. Between 5,000 and 10,000 gallons of water flooded an equipment room and spilled onto the floor. Fortunately, the vault runway served as a dam and prevented the water from reaching any other event, especially the floor exercise area.
Shannon MacKenzie participated in her first career all-around this evening. MacKenzie, a beam specialist during her first three seasons, competed vault a few times last season and has added the uneven bars and floor exercise this year.
Michigan has 28 consecutive victories over Big Ten teams. The last time a conference opponent defeated the Wolverines was Jan. 15, 1999, when Minnesota won 193.550-193.050 at Cliff Keen Arena.
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Bev Plocki
On winning on beam ... "I am so proud of our team for a lot of reasons, but it was really big for them to come out strong and win the meet on the beam. We are a good beam team, but we haven't performed with the same confidence and composure that we have in the gym. So I am really proud of them to come out and show the effort and determination to put together a great rotation."
Sophomore Calli Ryals
On the meet ... "It was really nerve-racking, but it was very exciting. We are going to see them again, so it was good to have a solid meet tonight. What I am really proud of, though, is going into the last rotation tied and being able to win. That was a really good test of our performance on beam."
Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
