Michigan Falls at No. 2-Ranked Georgia in First Road Meet

Friday, January 24

Athens, Ga.

7:30 PM

Michigan

195.750

197.200

Georgia

Michigan Falls at No. 2-Ranked Georgia in First Road Meet

1/24/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics

ATHENS, Ga. -- Junior Calli Ryals (Elyria, Ohio/Midview HS) was second in the all-around (39.325) and freshman Becca Clauson (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall HS) posted three career-high scores (vault, 9.850; balance beam, 9.850; and floor exercise, 9.925), but it was not enough for the No. 9-ranked Michigan women's gymnastics team to upset No. 2 Georgia tonight (Friday, Jan. 24) at the Stegeman Coliseum. The Bulldogs won three of four events to capture a 197.200-195.750 victory over the Wolverines.

Ryals' season-high 9.950 in the floor exercise helped the Wolverines to their top score of the season in that event.

Michigan opened the meet on the uneven bars and tallied a 48.800. Co-captain Janessa Grieco (Mahopac, N.Y./Carmel HS) started things off with a 9.725, and Chelsea Kroll (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny HS) matched Grieco's score with a 9.725 of her own before Ryals posted a 9.825. Deiley followed that performance with a 9.800. After Lauren Mirkovich (Burlingame, Calif./Notre Dame HS) suffered a fall, sophomore Erica Rubin (Chatsworth, Calif./Harvard Westlake HS) stepped up and earned a 9.725 in her first career routine on any event. During the rotation, Georgia totaled a 49.300 on the vault.

Switching events for the second rotation, Michigan looked to gain some ground on the vault. After a fall in the first spot, Michigan posted three consecutive scores of 9.850. Grieco's season-high 9.850 got U-M back on track before freshman Clauson added a career-high 9.850 and Ryals tied her season high with a 9.850. In the fifth spot, Kroll added a 9.800 before trouble hit in the final spot. Jenny Deiley (Dayton, Minn./Elk River HS) suffered a fall which had to be counted, giving Michigan a 48.550 on the apparatus, while Georgia tallied a 49.525 on the uneven bars to take a 98.825-97.400 lead.

Moving on to the floor exercise in the third rotation, U-M added a season-high 49.450 to its team score and closed the gap to 0.725 at 147.575-146.850. Kroll kicked off the floor rotation with season-high 9.825, and three consecutive career-high scores gave Michigan a big boost on the floor. Sophomore Kara Rosella (Ann Arbor, Mich./Greenhills HS) earned the highest score of her career on any event with a 9.825. The freshman duo of Clauson and Deiley kept the momentum going with career-high scores of 9.925 and 9.875, respectively. Grieco was fifth and earned a 9.825 to set up Ryals on the floor. She did not disappoint, posting a season-high 9.950 to tie for second as the Wolverines' final competitor in the rotation.

Rosella started the final rotation with another career high, posting a 9.800 on the balance beam. Following a fall, Clauson righted the ship with a 9.850, her third career-high score of the meet. A missed landing by Deiley resulted in a 9.750, but Grieco nailed a 9.825 to tie her season high. Ryals closed out the meet for the Wolverines with a 9.700 to give them a 48.900 on the beam and a 195.750 team score. Georgia closed the evening with a meet-high 49.625 on the floor for a team score of 197.200.

Michigan travels to the second stop on its string of three straight road meet with a contest against No. 4 Alabama next Friday (Jan. 31) in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The meet with the Crimson Tide, the defending national champions, is slated to start at 7 p.m. CST.

Final Results

Team Scores	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	Total
1. Georgia	49.300	49.525	48.750	49.625	197.200
2. MICHIGAN	48.600	48.800	48.900	49.450	195.750

Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores

ALL-AROUND Calli Ryals 39.325 (2) Janessa Grieco 39.275 (3) Jenny Deiley 38.650 (t4) Chelsea Kroll 38.650 (t4) VAULT Lauren Mirkovich 9.250 Janessa Grieco 9.850 (t4) Becca Clauson 9.850 (t4) Calli Ryals 9.850 (t4) Chelsea Kroll 9.800 Jenny Deiley 9.250 UNEVEN BARS Janessa Grieco 9.725 Chelsea Kroll 9.725 Calli Ryals 9.825 Jenny Deiley 9.800 Lauren Mirkovich 9.350 Erica Rubin 9.725 BALANCE BEAM Kara Rosella 9.800 Chelsea Kroll 9.300 Becca Clauson 9.850 (t2) Jenny Deiley 9.725 Janessa Grieco 9.825 (t4) Calli Ryals 9.700 FLOOR EXERCISE Chelsea Kroll 9.825 Kara Rosella 9.825 Becca Clauson 9.925 (5) Jenny Deiley 9.875 Janessa Grieco 9.875 Calli Ryals 9.950 (t2) ( ) denotes place in the Top 5

N O T E S

Janessa Grieco, Big Ten co-Athlete of the Week last week after setting a career high in the all-around against Minnesota, matched her career best with a 39.275 all-around score that was good for third place at Georgia.

Michigan holds an all-time record of 2-28 against Georgia. The Wolverines are 1-14 in dual meets with the Bulldogs.

Michigan competed with just seven of its 12 scholarship student-athletes. Of the five out of the lineup, Elise Ray (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake HS) and Kallie Steffes (Naperville, Ill./Central HS), who are out with injuries, are expected to return.

Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423