Michigan
Ohio State
Deiley Leads U-M to Season-Opening Win Over Buckeyes
1/11/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Freshman Jenny Deiley (Dayton, Minn./Elk River HS) won the vault, uneven bars and balance beam on the way to taking first place in the all-around to lead the No. 6-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team to a 196.100-192.175 victory over Ohio State tonight (Saturday, Jan. 11) at Cliff Keen Arena. Senior co-captain Janessa Grieco (Mahopac, N.Y./Carmel HS) and junior Calli Ryals (Elyria, Ohio/Midview HS) tied for first on the floor exercise to give the Wolverines a sweep of the event titles.
| | Deiley's smashing debut included victories in three events plus the all-around. |
Michigan started the evening off well with a 48.850 on the vault, while the Buckeyes posted a 47.875 on the uneven bars. Lauren Mirkovich (Burlingame, Calif./Notre Dame HS) started things off for the Wolverines with a career-high 9.700 in her first competition since missing nearly all of last season due to injury. Freshman Becca Clauson (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) was second and recorded a 9.675 in her first collegiate competition. Ryals and Chelsea Kroll (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny HS) contributed scores of 9.825 and 9.775, respectively, before Deiley closed out the rotation with a team-high 9.875.
The Wolverines shined on the uneven bars, the event on which they struggled the most in 2002, and tallied a 48.900. Their lead over Ohio State increased to 1.750 after the Buckeyes scored 48.125 on the vault. Grieco and Kroll started things off with scores of 9.725 before Ryals posted a 9.775. Once again it was Deiley who set the pace for the Wolverines. She posted her second consecutive team-high score with a 9.850. Mirkovich assisted in the rotation with the second-highest Michigan score, 9.825, in her first career performance on the bars.
The momentum from the bars carried over to the balance beam, where sophomore beam specialist Kara Rosella (Ann Arbor, Mich./Greenhills HS) started the event with a 9.700. Kroll followed with a 9.725, before Clauson posted a 9.825. Continuing her trend of top-notch performances, Deiley led the Wolverines for the third consecutive rotation with a team-high 9.900 on the beam. Ryals closed out the rotation with a 9.850 to give Michigan a 49.000 in the event. During the rotation, the Buckeyes posted a 48.700 on the floor exercise.
The Wolverines moved to the floor for the final rotation and racked up a meet-high 49.350 with fairly inexperience lineup. Rosella earned a 9.775 in her first collegiate floor routine, while the freshman duo of Clauson and Deiley help the Wolverines with scores of 9.875 and 9.850, respectively. Veterans Grieco and Ryals closed out the meet by scoring 9.925 to tie for first place. Ohio State finished the meet with a 47.475 on the balance beam.
Michigan returns to action next Friday (Jan. 17) with a home meet against the No. 11-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers. The competition will begin at 7 p.m. in Cliff Keen Arena.
Final Results
| Team Scores | Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor | Total |
| 1. MICHIGAN | 48.850 | 48.900 | 49.000 | 49.350 | 196.100 |
| 2. Ohio State | 48.125 | 47.875 | 47.475 | 48.700 | 192.175 |
Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores
ALL-AROUND Jenny Deiley 39.475 (1) Calli Ryals 39.375 (2) Chelsea Kroll 38.925 (3) Janessa Grieco 38.625 (5) VAULT Lauren Mirkovich 9.700 Becca Clauson 9.675 Janessa Grieco 9.575 Calli Ryals 9.825 (2) Chelsea Kroll 9.775 (3) Jenny Deiley 9.875 (1) UNEVEN BARS Janessa Grieco 9.725 (t5) Chelsea Kroll 9.725 (t5) Calli Ryals 9.775 (3) Jenny Deiley 9.850 (1) Lauren Mirkovich 9.825 (2) Kara Rosella 8.300 BALANCE BEAM Kara Rosella 9.700 Chelsea Kroll 9.725 (4) Becca Clauson 9.825 (3) Jenny Deiley 9.900 (1) Janessa Grieco 9.400 Calli Ryals 9.850 (2) FLOOR EXERCISE Chelsea Kroll 9.700 Kara Rosella 9.775 Becca Clauson 9.875 (3) Jenny Deiley 9.850 (5) Janessa Grieco 9.925 (t1) Calli Ryals 9.925 (t1) ( ) denotes place in the Top 5
N O T E S
Christine Mantilia (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan HS), Elise Ray (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake HS) and Kallie Steffes (Naperville, Ill./Central HS) all missed tonight's meet due to injury.
Q U O T E S
Freshman Jenny Deiley
On the meet ... "I just went out there and did my best, but I really didn't expect to do this well. I know there are certain things that I did tonight that I know I can improve on. I'm excited for that. I still have a lot of areas where I can improve and get better scores."
Head Coach Bev Plocki
On the meet ... "I was very pleasantly surprised. When I put things down on paper, I thought that if we hit to the best of our ability, I felt we could score around a 196.150. Realistically, with it being the first meet and some of the question marks in the lineup, I figured it would be a high 194 or low 195. So I think that is what I was expecting. This is what these kids do in the gym, so I know that's what they are capable of. It's nice to see them come do the same level of performance under that kind of pressure and competition. To go the first meet of the season and not count a fall and not feel that your lineups are really what you had hoped they would be is a pretty awesome feeling right now."
On Jenny Deiley scoring 39.475 in the all-around ... "We knew that she was going to be capable of that. She has a really laid-back personality, she's a sweetheart, she's extremely coachable and she's a hard worker, but you don't know what pressure is going to do to somebody. To see her come in here and just get better with every event that she did, it's a great way to start her career because she has this to build on."
Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
