Michigan Rallies in Final Rotation to Win Three-Team Meet

Saturday, February 8

Ann Arbor, Mich.

7:00 PM

Michigan

195.400

194.925

Kent State

Michigan Rallies in Final Rotation to Win Three-Team Meet

2/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Event: #11 Michigan hosts #19 Kent State and West Virginia
U-M Team Finish: 1st Place of 3 Teams (195.400)
Records: U-M (6-4, 2-1 Big Ten)
Attendance: 1,034
Next U-M Event: Friday, Feb. 14 -- vs. Northern Illinois (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 11-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team hosted the No. 19-ranked Kent State Golden Flashes and the West Virginia Mountaineers today (Saturday, Feb. 8) at Cliff Keen Arena. It was a close competition, as all three teams were in the running for first place heading into the final rotation. The Michigan women thrilled the crowd of 1,034 fans with poised and polished performances on the floor exercise to move from third place after three rotations into the lead after the final rotation. U-M finished the night with a team score total of 195.400. West Virginia, which had been leading after three solid rotations, had a difficult time on the balance beam and placed second with a team total of 195.225. Kent State, which also performed well throughout the evening, struggled on the uneven bars to finish third with a team total of 194.925.

Ryals' 9.925 floor exercise score aided the comeback.

Individually, the Wolverines swept all four events and the all-around. Freshman Jenny Deiley (Dayton, Minn./Elk River HS) captured her second all-around title of the season with a career-high 39.525, besting her previous career-high score by one-half of a tenth. Deiley won the uneven bars (9.900) and tied for first with fellow freshman Becca Clauson (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall HS) on the vault (9.900). Senior co-captain Janessa Grieco (Mahopac, N.Y./Carmel HS) won the balance beam (9.925) and tied junior Calli Ryals (Elyria, Ohio/Midview HS) for first on the floor exercise (9.925). Ryals also finished tied for second on the uneven bars (9.875) and tied for third on the vault (9.850) to finish second in the all-around (39.425).

The evening started out a little shakily as Lauren Mirkovich (Burlingame, Calif./Notre Dame HS) under-rotated her vault and had to put down her hands. However, Michigan's next five gymnasts did not appear affected and performed solidly to accumulate a season-high team total of 49.350. Grieco, Ryals and Chelsea Kroll (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny HS) all tied their season-high scores of 9.850 to share third place on the podium. Meanwhile, Clauson and Deiley performed two great vaults, both earning 9.900 to take a share of first place. Deiley's score was a career high on vault.

Michigan (6-4, 2-1 Big Ten) headed to the bars for the second rotation in first place with Kent State (48.850) and West Virginia (48.950) close behind. Kent State had consistent routines on the balance beam, while West Virginia was in high spirits on the floor exercise until the final performance when exhibition competitor Carrie Nagle had a painful fall in the middle of her routine and had to walk off the floor without finishing.

Deiley's season-high 9.900 earned her first on the bars.

In the second rotation, four of Michigan's gymnasts found themselves having to re-mount the bars in order to complete their routines. Each gymnast proved her mental toughness as they finished their routines with poise and precision. U-M was able to exhibit its strength in two routines; Deiley's score of 9.900 and Ryals' 9.875 put them in first and second place, respectively. Deiley's score was her second career high of the night, while Ryals tied her highest score of the season.

Halfway through the competition, Michigan found itself in third place with 96.700, while Kent State had taken the lead with 97.875 after some well-choreographed performances on the floor exercise. West Virginia was in second with a team score of 97.825.

The Wolverines bounced back on the balance beam. All six performers remained on the beam with strong and steady performances, earning a 49.300, the best beam score of the season. Kara Rosella (Ann Arbor, Mich./Greenhills) started the team off with a solid 9.600. Clauson followed with a 9.875, and Deiley earned a 9.825 as the third competitor. Grieco earned her best score of the season, and the best score of the competition, with a 9.925. Ryals had some slight balance checks during her routine which resulted in a 9.775, but Kroll finished up the rotation with a career-best 9.900, placing her second on the podium.

After three rotations, Michigan pulled back to within one point of the lead. Still in third place, Michigan carried a 146.000 into the final rotation, while West Virginia had a 146.850 and Kent State had a 146.450 after three events. Impressive to note, Carrie Nagle came back to compete the uneven bars after her fall on the floor exercise.

Entering the final rotation of the evening, Michigan needed to perform exceptionally well and receive some help from the other two teams in order to finish in the lead. Michigan put together its second-best set of routines of the season, tallying a 49.400 on the floor exercise. Rosella and Clauson both earned 9.800, starting the team off well. Deiley had her third career high of the night, earning a 9.900 for third place. Grieco tied her season best of 9.925 with a beautiful routine which Ryals matched for a share of first place. Knoll posted a 9.850, her highest score of the season, as the sixth competitor, and Mirkovich performed on the floor exercise for the first time in her career and earned a solid 9.775 in her exhibition routine.

For Michigan's next meet, the Wolverines host Northern Illinois on Valentine's Day (Friday, Feb. 14). The meet is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in Cliff Keen Arena.

Final Results

Team Scores	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	Total
1. MICHIGAN	49.350	47.350	49.300	49.400	195.400
2. West Virginia	48.875	49.025	48.375	48.950	195.225
3. Kent State	48.575	48.475	48.850	49.025	194.925

Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores

ALL-AROUND Jenny Deiley 39.525 (1) Calli Ryals 39.425 (2) Janessa Grieco 38.975 (5) Chelsea Kroll 38.525 VAULT Lauren Mirkovich 9.300 Janessa Grieco 9.850 (t3) Becca Clauson 9.900 (t1) Calli Ryals 9.850 (t3) Chelsea Kroll 9.850 (t3) Jenny Deiley 9.900 (t1) UNEVEN BARS Janessa Grieco 9.275 Chelsea Kroll 8.925 Calli Ryals 9.875 (t2) Jenny Deiley 9.900 (1) Lauren Mirkovich 9.200 Erica Rubin 9.100 BALANCE BEAM Kara Rosella 9.600 Becca Clauson 9.875 (t4) Jenny Deiley 9.825 Janessa Grieco 9.925 (1) Calli Ryals 9.775 Chelsea Kroll 9.900 (t2) FLOOR EXERCISE Kara Rosella 9.800 Becca Clauson 9.800 Jenny Deiley 9.900 (3) Janessa Grieco 9.925 (t1) Calli Ryals 9.925 (t1) Chelsea Kroll 9.850 ( ) denotes place in the Top 5

N O T E S

Junior co-captain Elise Ray (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake HS) missed tonight's meet, her fifth consecutive, after re-injuring her shoulder during the week at practice. Sophomore Kallie Steffes (Naperville, Ill./Central HS) also missed the meet due to injury.

Q U O T E S

Head Coach Bev Plocki
On the team's ability to rebound after the bar routines ... "I was concerned about getting them mentally regrouped after their bar performances. We rebounded from a very bad event and had three tremendous events. There's a lot to take out of this meet to be very excited about. Last Sunday we got into a hole and we continued to spin downward. We worked on this all week. We stressed that if you have a problem on bars, you have to go to beam with a new light. You have to attack the event. That's what they did, so I'm very excited."

Senior Co-Captain Janessa Grieco
On the team after their bar performance ... "We don't talk about winning but focus on one event at a time. Beam and floor are two of our best events, so we tried to stay mentally strong, and we did."

Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423