Wolverines' Depth Helps Pull Out Victory at West Virginia

Sunday, February 17

Morgantown, W.Va.

2:00 PM

Michigan

196.100

195.975

West Virginia

Wolverines' Depth Helps Pull Out Victory at West Virginia

2/17/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- The depth of the sixth-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team was put to a test today (Sunday, Feb. 17) as it took contributions from everyone in the lineup to defeat West Virginia 196.100-195.975 at the WVU Coliseum. Elise Ray (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake HS) won the uneven bars, balance beam and her second consecutive all-around, but it took scores from 11 of the 12 gymnasts to get the win.

Kroll

The Wolverines opened the meet with a season-low 48.600 on the uneven bars and fell behind the Mountaineers, who tallied a 49.075 on vault. U-M's rotation began with season-high scores of 9.800 by Christine Mantilia (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan HS) and Shannon MacKenzie (Midland, Mich./Midland HS) and tied for fifth place. Michigan had a rough time with the middle of the lineup as Cami Singer (Monument, Colo./Lewis Palmer HS) had a strong routine going until she fell backward on her landing and posted a score of 9.325. The fall didn't affect Amy Kuczera (Bloomingdale, Ill./Lake Park HS), who earned a 9.750, but U-M had to count Singer's score after a head cold got the best of Calli Ryals (Elyria, Ohio/Midview HS) and she fell near the beginning of her routine, scoring just 9.100. The rotation ended well with Ray closing the set with a first-place score of 9.925.

The vault was considerably better for Michigan. The squad posted a 49.225, the second-best total of the season, but still trailed WVU 98.100-97.825. Freshman Kallie Steffes (Naperville, Ill./Central HS) led off with a 9.800. Ray followed with a career-high 9.925 to take second in the event. Ryals recovered from her fall on bars and scored a 9.750, and Janessa Grieco (Mahopac, N.Y./Carmel HS) earned a 9.800 to keep the momentum going. In a highlight of the evening, freshman Chelsea Kroll (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny HS) won the vault with a 9.950, the highest vault score by a Wolverine this season. The score earned plenty of applause as the crowd included a number of friends and family who made the hour-long drive from Pittsburgh to see her compete in her second collegiate competition.

Michigan took their first lead of the meet, 147.175-146.475, after the third rotation. The Wolverines posted a 49.350 on the floor exercise, their third-highest score of the season, while the Mountaineers had to count two falls on beam and totaled just 48.375.

Melissa Peterson (Shawnee, Kan./Shawnee Mission West HS) opened the floor rotation with a 9.850, just one-quarter of a tenth shy of her season and career best. However, landings were an issues for the team today, as Steffes earned a 9.675 after extra steps on at least one tumbling pass and Ray posted a 9.825. As with previous rotations, the team recovered quickly. Grieco earned a 9.925 as the fifth competitor, and Ryals closed the floor with a 9.900.

Grieco started things off well in the final rotation with another strong balance beam performance, tying her season high with a score of 9.875. Freshman Kara Rosella (Ann Arbor, Mich./Greenhills HS) entered the lineup at the last minute after Kuczera's back kept her from competing. Rosella stepped in and earned a 9.100, which included a fall. Trouble with her mount and a step on her dismount hurt Peterson, who was also suffering from a cold, but she still scored 9.850 with her routine. MacKenzie also fell on beam, but she posted a 9.350 and allowed the team to drop Rosella's mark.

With West Virginia in the process of earning a 49.500 on the floor exercise, Michigan needed some big scores to close out the beam. Ryals came through with a 9.925, tying her career high, in the fifth spot. Ray then closed the meet with a 9.950 to give Michigan a 48.925 on the beam and a victory over the Mountaineers.

The Wolverines return home to host No. 2 Utah at 7:30 p.m. on Friday (Feb. 22) at Crisler Arena.

Final Results

Team Scores	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	Total
1. MICHIGAN	49.225	48.600	48.925	49.350	196.100
2. West Virginia	49.075	49.025	48.375	49.500	195.975

Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores

ALL-AROUND Elise Ray 39.625 (1) Calli Ryals 38.675 VAULT Kallie Steffes 9.800 Elise Ray 9.925 (2) Calli Ryals 9.750 Janessa Grieco 9.800 Chelsea Kroll 9.950 (1) Christine Mantilia 9.150 UNEVEN BARS Christine Mantilia 9.800 (t5) Shannon MacKenzie 9.800 (t5) Cami Singer 9.325 Amy Kuczera 9.750 Calli Ryals 9.100 Elise Ray 9.925 (1) BALANCE BEAM Janessa Grieco 9.875 (t5) Kara Rosella 9.150 Melissa Peterson 9.800 Shannon MacKenzie 9.375 Calli Ryals 9.925 (t2) Elise Ray 9.950 (1) FLOOR EXERCISE Melissa Peterson 9.850 Jodie Rosenberg 9.850 Kallie Steffes 9.675 Elise Ray 9.825 Janessa Grieco 9.925 (t3) Calli Ryals 9.900 (t5) ( ) denotes place in the Top 5

Q U O T E S

Head Coach Bev Plocki
On the meet ... "It's good to get a win, but I am really disappointed in our performance today. We had a chance to get a good road score, but we didn't take advantage of it. Some kids pulled out some good routines despite not feeling well. Melissa Peterson wasn't feeling well, but she came through with good routines on the beam and floor. Chelsea Kroll was just awesome on vault. It's just disturbing to come off such a high and not capitalize on it today. I can't expect them to be perfect, but we can't have the mental mistakes that we did today."

Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423