Michigan
NCAA Northeast Regional
Wolverines Earn Bid to NCAA Championships in a Thriller
4/6/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- The April snow showers in Happy Valley foreshadowed what was to come at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships tonight (Saturday, April 6) at Penn State's Rec Hall. The crazy weather prefaced a crazy meet in which the fifth-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team, the highest ranked team at the regional, had to fight for every tenth just to qualify for its 11th NCAA National Championships, which will be held April 18-20 at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
| | Ray |
After the Wolverines posted a 49.100 on the vault for a team score of 195.600, the fate of the 2002 season was in the hands of the Hawkeyes on the floor exercise. Iowa, which had been leading the meet the entire night, struggled on the floor and tallied a 48.775 for a team total of 195.475, finishing third to the Wolverines and first-place Nebraska (196.925), who both qualified for the NCAA Championships by finishing in the top two.
The Wolverines' effort was anchored by Elise Ray (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake HS), who won the balance beam (9.900) and tied for first on the vault (9.925) en route to sharing the all-around title (39.450) with Iowa's Alexis Maday.
Michigan opened the meet with a bye before competing on the uneven bars in the second rotation. The Wolverines opened the meet with a 9.550 by Christine Mantilia (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan HS) and a 9.500 by Shannon MacKenzie (Midland, Mich./Midland HS) before Cami Singer (Monument, Colo./Lewis Palmer HS) posted a 9.650. Amy Kuczera (Bloomingdale, Ill./Lake Park HS) kept the scores rising with a 9.725 for her routine. After a fall by Calli Ryals (Elyria, Ohio/Midview HS), Ray turned in the Wolverines' top score of the event with a 9.775. The low-scoring event resulted in a 48.200 for U-M, but consistent scoring kept the low total from hurting the final standings.
Michigan tallied a 49.150 on the balance beam in the third rotation, which started well with Janessa Grieco (Mahopac, N.Y./Carmel HS) posting a 9.850, just one-quarter of a tenth less than her season high. Freshman beam specialist Kara Rosella (Ann Arbor, Mich./Greenhills HS) stepped in for injured senior Melissa Peterson (Shawnee, Kan./Shawnee Mission West HS) and tied her career high with a 9.775. MacKenzie posted a 9.825 and Ryals earned a 9.800 leading into a solid performance by Ray, who earned a 9.900.
The Wolverines needed a solid floor rotation to put then in the hunt for a bid. It started out roughly with a fall by freshman Kallie Steffes (Naperville, Ill./Central HS) but smoothed out quickly with a 9.825 by Jodie Rosenberg (West Bloomfield, Mich./West Bloomfield HS). Freshman Chelsea Kroll (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny HS) gave the team a 9.775 before Ray came through with a 9.850. Her performance set up Grieco, who earned a 9.825, and Ryals posted a first-place 9.900 in the final spot to give Michigan a 49.175 on the floor exercise.
Michigan's vault rotation included scores of 9.800 by Grieco, Steffes and MacKenzie. The team score also included a 9.775 by Ryals and a first-place 9.925 by Ray.
The Wolverines will travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Tuesday, April 16, to prepare for the NCAA Team Preliminaries on Thursday, April 18.
Final Results
| Team Scores | Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor | Total |
| 1. Nebraska | 49.400 | 48.725 | 48.675 | 49.125 | 195.925 |
| 2. MICHIGAN | 49.100 | 48.200 | 49.125 | 49.175 | 195.600 |
| 3. Iowa | 48.875 | 48.775 | 49.050 | 48.775 | 195.475 |
| 4. George Washington | 48.375 | 47.900 | 47.725 | 48.675 | 192.675 |
| 5. Penn State | 48.275 | 48.250 | 47.600 | 48.100 | 192.225 |
| 6. Pittsburgh | 48.475 | 45.725 | 48.250 | 48.525 | 190.975 |
Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores
ALL-AROUND Elise Ray 39.450 (t1) Calli Ryals 38.750 VAULT Janessa Grieco 9.800 Kallie Steffes 9.800 Calli Ryals 9.775 Shannon MacKenzie 9.800 Elise Ray 9.925 (t1) Chelsea Kroll 9.675 UNEVEN BARS Christine Mantilia 9.550 Shannon MacKenzie 9.500 Cami Singer 9.650 Amy Kuczera 9.725 Calli Ryals 9.275 Elise Ray 9.775 (t5) BALANCE BEAM Janessa Grieco 9.825 (t4) Kara Rosella 9.775 Amy Kuczera 9.250 Shannon MacKenzie 9.825 (t4) Calli Ryals 9.800 Elise Ray 9.900 (1) FLOOR EXERCISE Kallie Steffes 9.250 Jodie Rosenberg 9.825 Chelsea Kroll 9.775 Elise Ray 9.850 (t5) Janessa Grieco 9.825 Calli Ryals 9.900 (t1) ( ) denotes place in the Top 5
N O T E S
Michigan last finished second at a regional championship at the 1998 Central Region Championships in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Michigan is scheduled to move into its new Donald R. Shepherd Women's Gymnastics Training Center on Monday (April 8).
Sophomore Calli Ryals and Penn State's Katie Rowland were named the NCAA Northeast Region co-Gymnasts of the Year at the banquet Friday.
Four Wolverines -- Janessa Grieco, Amy Kuczera, Shannon MacKenzie and Jodie Rosenberg -- have been recognized by the Big Ten Conference on its winter Academic All-Conference Team, announced Thursday (April4) by the league office.
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Bev Plocki
On the when she realized how close the meet was ... "From the first rotation, I knew it was going to be a very close meet. We didn't do our job on bars, so we couldn't complain (about the low scores). I am grateful that we have the opportunity to fix the errors because Iowa was competing out of their minds. They are a fabulous team that has really peaked at the right time. I couldn't have complained if they went and we stayed home because they had a great meet tonight."
On going into the vault ... "I didn't know exactly, but I had a pretty good idea it was close. I just knew we had to have great vaults."
Sophomore Elise Ray
On what she goes through during a meet ... "I really cheer for my teammates, but I also have to focus on what I need to do. I know that I have to do my best for the team, but when I'm not out there competing I just cheer and support my teammates much as I can."
On winning the all-around title ... "It really means a lot because it helped the team. The team comes first and I really mean that. As far as winning tonight, I think it's more fun to share a title, so it was great to be up there with Alexis (Maday of Iowa)."
On her goals heading into the national championships ... "Our goal as a team is to win a national championship. We really have to take the week and a half we have and give it our all to improve. Personally, I don't set any expectations for myself because I don't like that pressure. I just want to go out and do the best I can."
Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
