First-Time Winners Carry Wolverines Past No. 12 Minnesota

Friday, January 17

Ann Arbor, Mich.

7:00 PM

Michigan

194.700

191.850

Minnesota

First-Time Winners Carry Wolverines Past No. 12 Minnesota

1/17/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Senior co-captain Janessa Grieco (Mahopac, N.Y./Carmel HS) captured first place on the balance beam (9.825) and her first career all-around title with a personal-best 39.275 to lead the No. 7-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team to a 194.700-191.850 victory over the No. 12-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers tonight (Friday, Jan. 17) at Cliff Keen Arena. Sophomore Lauren Mirkovich (Burlingame, Calif./Notre Dame HS) and freshman Becca Clauson (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall HS) also made their way to the top of the podium for the first time, as they brought home titles in the uneven bars (9.850) and the floor exercise (9.900), respectively, to help the Wolverines to their 40th consecutive victory over a Big Ten Conference opponent.

Grieco's all-around score of 39.275 easily eclipsed her previous best (39.050).

The night did not start the way most of the 1,504 fans anticipated. Michigan posted a 48.975 on the vault, but the Gophers struggled on the uneven bars and finished the rotation with a 47.350. U-M's score started off well with a personal-best 9.775 by Mirkovich. She was followed by sophomore Kallie Steffes (Naperville, Ill./Central HS), who was making her first appearance in the lineup after sitting out last week against Ohio State (Jan. 11) with an injury. Steffes posted a 9.700 to set up Grieco's second-place score of 9.825. Junior Calli Ryals (Elyria, Ohio/Midview HS) followed Grieco and landed a 9.850 to win the event. Sophomore Chelsea Kroll (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny HS) kept the momentum going with a 9.925 to tie Grieco for second.

Michigan's lead expanded to nearly three points at 97.900-95.125 after the second rotation. After Grieco, Kroll and Ryals each posted scores of 9.750, freshman Jenny Deiley (Dayton, Minn./Elk River HS) upped the ante with a personal-best 9.825. The score did not hold for long as Mirkovich stepped up and hit the best routine of her career. She won the first event title of her career with a 9.850, while Deiley's score would be good for second.

U-M had to count a fall for the first time this season during the balance beam rotation. Despite the setback, Michigan added 48.150 to give the Maize and Blue a score of 146.050 after three rotations. Minnesota finished the third rotation with its highest score of the night, 48.475, to tally a 143.375 after three rotations. Kroll and Clauson posted career-best scores of 9.750 and 9.725, respectively, but it was Grieco who stole the show with a first-place 9.825 on the apparatus.

The Wolverines' struggles on the beam carried over to a slow start on the floor exercise, but Clauson righted the ship with a first-place, personal-best 9.900 in the third slot. Deiley followed with a career-high 9.850, which was good for fourth place. Grieco was fifth in the rotation and put up a 9.875 to grab second place. Michigan finished night with a 48.650 on the floor exercise and a 194.700-191.850 victory in the meet.

The Wolverines take to the road for the first time this season when they compete at Georgia on Friday (Jan. 24) in Athens, Ga.

N O T E S

Elise Ray (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake HS) did not compete for the second consecutive meet due to a shoulder injury.

Jenny Deiley, Janessa Grieco, Chelsea Kroll and Calli Ryals have each finished among the top five in eight of 10 events this season.

Q U O T E S

Head Coach Bev Plocki
On the score ... "I'm not disappointed because this is about where I thought we would be with the lineups we are fielding and the young, inexperienced mistakes. We came out last week and competed so well that you start to expect that. I think that we know what we are capable of because of last week, and I think we know that we are capable of doing even better than that."

On the improvement from last week ... "Some individuals showed places of improvement over last week, so I think that what we have to carry into next weekend is that we take the confidence and consistency from week one and add the improvement from week two. We know we are capable of another level and that is what we have to aspire to."

On the freshmen ... "The freshmen just continue to impress me. Instead of letting [two falls on the floor] get to her, [Becca Clauson] came out, stepped it up and got us right back on track again. That's an experienced competitor."

On leadership ... "I would expect Calli Ryals and Janessa Grieco be our leaders out there and then have Jenny [Deiley] jump up and be in the pack of three. Calli and Janessa are our veteran performers and I expect them to be up there every time."

Final Results

Team Scores	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	Total
1. MICHIGAN	48.975	48.850	48.150	48.650	194.700
2. Minnesota	47.775	47.300	48.250	48.875	191.850

Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores

ALL-AROUND Janessa Grieco 39.275 (1) Calli Ryals 38.700 (2) Jenny Deiley 38.650 (3) Chelsea Kroll 38.550 (4) VAULT Lauren Mirkovich 9.775 (t4) Kallie Steffes 9.700 Janessa Grieco 9.825 (t2) Calli Ryals 9.850 (1) Chelsea Kroll 9.825 (t2) Jenny Deiley 9.650 UNEVEN BARS Janessa Grieco 9.750 (t4) Chelsea Kroll 9.750 (t4) Calli Ryals 9.750 (t4) Jenny Deiley 9.825 (t2) Lauren Mirkovich 9.850 (1) Kara Rosella 8.000 BALANCE BEAM Kara Rosella 9.525 Chelsea Kroll 9.750 (4) Becca Clauson 9.725 (5) Jenny Deiley 9.325 Janessa Grieco 9.825 (1) Calli Ryals 9.300 FLOOR EXERCISE Chelsea Kroll 9.225 Kara Rosella 9.000 Becca Clauson 9.900 (1) Jenny Deiley 9.850 (t4) Janessa Grieco 9.875 (t2) Calli Ryals 9.800 ( ) denotes place in the Top 5