Wolverines Upset Utah, Run Win Streak to Eight Meets

Friday, February 22

Ann Arbor, Mich.

7:30 PM

Michigan

197.025

196.175

Utah

2/22/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The fifth-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team beat No. 2 Utah at its own game tonight (Friday, Feb. 22) in front of 1,306 fans at Crisler Arena to win its eighth consecutive meet and stretch its dual meet record to a perfect 7-0 this season. The Wolverines posted the second-best score in school history (49.475) on the balance beam, the event in which Utah is ranked No. 1 in the nation, to pull off a 197.025-196.175 victory over the Utes.

Ray

On the way to tying her career high in the all-around (39.650) and winning her third consecutive all-around title, Elise Ray (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake HS) finished first on the vault and uneven bars to lead the Wolverines.

Michigan's balance beam score came on the strength of four consecutive scores of 9.900 or higher. After junior co-captain Janessa Grieco (Mahopac, N.Y./Carmel HS) opened the third rotation with a 9.825, Amy Kuczera (Bloomingdale, Ill./Lake Park HS) posted a 9.850, the lowest counted score. In the third spot, Melissa Peterson (Shawnee, Kan./Shawnee Mission West HS) earned a 9.900, her highest score in four meets, to tie for third. Senior Shannon MacKenzie (Midland, Mich./Midland HS) then tied her career high with a 9.925, good for second place. Calli Ryals (Elyria, Ohio/Midview HS) and Ray finished the rotation with back-to-back scores of 9.900 to tie Peterson for third.

Michigan (12-2) opened the meet with an early 49.175-48.650 lead after the first rotation. Four of the U-M gymnasts earned top-five scores on the vault, including freshman Kallie Steffes (Naperville, Ill./Central HS), who was the first to land a placing score when she posted a 9.825 in the leadoff spot. Ray followed Steffes with a first-place 9.900. The Wolverines kept moving along with another 9.825, this time by Ryals. Grieco scored 9.800, and Chelsea Kroll (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny HS), winner of the vault last week at West Virginia (Feb. 17), rounded out the rotation with a 9.825 to tie Steffes and Ryals.

The Wolverines lost some of their lead after a 48.950 on the uneven bars but still held a 98.125-97.725 lead after the second rotation. U-M struggled early as Christine Mantilia (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan HS) started with a 9.700 and MacKenzie earned a 9.675. Kuczera got things going with a 9.750, and the rotation closed with a one-two punch by Ryals and Ray. As the fifth competitor, Ryals scored 9.875 to capture second place and Ray closed the rotation with a near-perfect, first-place score of 9.950.

Michigan jumped out to a 147.600-146.900 after its beam rotation and needed to post a solid floor exercise score to hold off the Utes, the nation's best balance beam team, in the final rotation. Three scores of 9.900 or higher by the Wolverines and a score of 49.275 on the beam by Utah, slightly below its average of 49.287, helped Michigan maintain the lead for the win.

In the floor rotation, Peterson led off with a 9.825. Senior co-captain Jodie Rosenberg (West Bloomfield, Mich./West Bloomfield HS) tied her career high with a 9.875 in the second spot. Ray and Ryals each posted scores of 9.900, which tied Ray's season high, and Grieco earned a 9.925, just one-quarter of a tenth shy of her season and career best on the floor.

Michigan gets a three days off for spring break before returning to the gym for practice on Tuesday (Feb. 26). The team's next meet is Sunday, March 3, when the Wolverines visit Los Angeles, Calif., for the UCLA Invitational. The meet, slated for a 2 p.m. PST start, also includes Big Ten rival Minnesota and California State-Fullerton.

Final Results

Team Scores	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	Total
1. MICHIGAN	49.175	48.950	49.475	49.425	197.025
2. Utah	49.075	48.650	49.275	49.175	196.175

Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores

ALL-AROUND Elise Ray 39.650 (1) Calli Ryals 39.500 (2) VAULT Kallie Steffes 9.825 (t4) Elise Ray 9.900 (1) Calli Ryals 9.825 (t4) Janessa Grieco 9.800 Melissa Peterson 9.375 Chelsea Kroll 9.825 (t4) UNEVEN BARS Christine Mantilia 9.700 Shannon MacKenzie 9.675 Cami Singer 9.350 Amy Kuczera 9.750 Calli Ryals 9.875 (2) Elise Ray 9.950 (1) BALANCE BEAM Janessa Grieco 9.825 Amy Kuczera 9.850 Melissa Peterson 9.900 (t3) Shannon MacKenzie 9.925 (2) Calli Ryals 9.900 (t3) Elise Ray 9.900 (t3) FLOOR EXERCISE Melissa Peterson 9.825 Jodie Rosenberg 9.875 Kallie Steffes 9.375 Elise Ray 9.900 (t4) Janessa Grieco 9.925 (t2) Calli Ryals 9.900 (t4) ( ) denotes place in the Top 5

N O T E S

Tonight's meet featured two of the last four NCAA all-around champions. Utah junior Theresa Kulikowski won the national title in 1999 as a freshman, and Michigan's Elise Ray was the NCAA co-champion in the all-around last season as a freshman.

In addition to the season-high balance beam score, Michigan posted its second-best team score (197.025) and its third-best scores of the season on the vault (49.175) and floor exercise (49.425).

Sophomore Elise Ray moved into a tie for fifth (Wendy Marshall, 1993-96) on the U-M list for most all-around scores of 39.000 or higher with 14 in one-plus seasons. She has reached her total in the 16th meet she has competed in the all-around.

Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423