Michigan
NCAA Team Preliminaries
Ryals, Deiley Lead Michigan to Berth in NCAA Super Six
4/24/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
LINCOLN, Neb. -- A lack of depth caused the No. 10-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team to face more pressure in regular-season meets than most teams in the country. So when the heat was on in the first session of the NCAA National Championships Team Preliminaries today (Thursday, April 24) at the Devaney Center, it was nothing new for the Wolverines. U-M used the experience to its advantage and tallied a team score of 196.125 to finish third and advance to the Super Six team finals for the eighth time in program history. The Wolverines will join No. 1-ranked UCLA (196.950), No. 5 Alabama (196.775) and the top three teams from the second session of today's team preliminary competition for a shot at the national title at 7 p.m. CDT tomorrow night (Friday, April 25).
| | Ryals' tie for second in the floor exercise earned her a spot in the individual finals. |
After sitting through a bye in the first rotation, the Wolverines performed their first routines on the uneven bars in the second rotation. Mirkovich put together an outstanding routine and posted a team-high 9.825 to lead Michigan to a 48.750 which tied for the third-highest team total in the session. Her effort put her in a tie for eight place and gave her All-America second team honors. Routines with quality handstands, smooth transitions and stuck landings led to a trio of 9.750 scores from Ryals, Deiley and sophomore Kara Rosella (Ann Arbor, Mich./Greenhills School), and senior co-captain Janessa Grieco (Mahopac, N.Y./Carmel HS) also contributed a 9.675 to the team score.
Moving on to its strongest event, the balance beam, Michigan tallied the second-highest beam score in the session and its fourth-highest beam score at the NCAA National Championships with a team score of 49.150. A great flight series and solid landing helped Clauson tie her career high, lead the team and tie for second in the session with a 9.900. The second-place tie placed Clauson on the All-America first team and earned her a berth to the Individual Event Finals on Saturday (April 26). Fellow first-year competitor Deiley landed the second highest U-M score in the rotation with a 9.850 to tie for sixth in the session and earn All-America season team honors. Like the previous event, the Wolverines' score included a trio of identical scores, as Kroll, Grieco and Ryals all earned marks of 9.800. In a reflection of the team's depth on the event, Rosella tied her second-highest score of the year, a 9.750, with the first routine on the apparatus.
With the conclusion of the third rotation, each school had finished two events. With scores of 49.400 on vault and 49.375 on the floor, UCLA led the way with a team score of 98.775. In second place was Alabama, which had a team score of 98.250 after a 49.050 on the uneven bars and a 49.200 on the balance beam. The Wolverines sat in third with a total of 97.900, but Arizona State was close behind with a 97.300. Louisiana State and Iowa were also in the hunt for the third advancing position with scores of 97.075 and 97.000, respectively.
Michigan sat out the fourth rotation with a bye before moving on to the floor exercise. All six competitors performed clean and consistent routines to give the Wolverines a team total of 49.250, a mark which stood as the second-best score in the session and tied U-M's fifth-best floor exercise score in NCAA National Championships competition. Ryals continued her success on the floor with a team-high 9.900 as the final competitor. Ryals' score put her into a tie for second, placed her on the All-America first team and qualified her for a spot in the Individual Event Finals on Saturday. Kroll tied her season high with a 9.850 with the first routine in the rotation, which Deiley matched three routines later. The pair tied for eighth in the session and earned All-America second team honors. Clauson and Grieco each chipped in scores of 9.825 to round out the Wolverines' effort. Like beam, U-M's sixth score was also a quality mark, as Mirkovich tied her second-highest score of the season with a 9.800.
Michigan had a slight advantage over Arizona State and Louisiana State for the third and final advancing spot heading into the final rotation. Much like the floor, the Wolverines put together six solid routines to post a 48.975, the third-best team score in the session. A pair of 9.850 scores by Deiley and Ryals paved the way for the Wolverines, tied for seventh in the session and earned the duo All-America second team honors. Mirkovich helped the team with a career-high 9.800 in the leadoff position. Grieco followed her with a 9.750, while Clauson and Kroll each posted scores of 9.725, one of which was thrown out in the calculation of the team total.
Final Results
| Team Scores | Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor | Total |
| 1. UCLA | 49.400 | 49.375 | 48.800 | 49.375 | 196.950 |
| 2. Alabama | 49.375 | 49.050 | 49.200 | 49.150 | 196.775 |
| 3. MICHIGAN | 48.975 | 48.750 | 49.150 | 49.250 | 196.125 |
| 4. Arizona State | 48.600 | 48.325 | 48.275 | 49.025 | 194.225 |
| 5. Louisiana State | 48.325 | 48.750 | 48.400 | 48.525 | 194.000 |
| 6. Iowa | 48.250 | 48.025 | 48.800 | 48.750 | 193.825 |
Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores
ALL-AROUND Jenny Deiley 39.300 (t4) Calli Ryals 39.300 (t4) Janessa Grieco 39.050 Chelsea Kroll 38.800 VAULT Lauren Mirkovich 9.800 Janessa Grieco 9.750 Becca Clauson 9.725 Calli Ryals 9.850 (t7) Chelsea Kroll 9.725 Jenny Deiley 9.850 (t7) UNEVEN BARS Janessa Grieco 9.675 Chelsea Kroll 9.425 Calli Ryals 9.750 Jenny Deiley 9.750 Lauren Mirkovich 9.825 (t8) Kara Rosella 9.750 BALANCE BEAM Kara Rosella 9.750 Chelsea Kroll 9.800 Jenny Deiley 9.850 (t6) Becca Clauson 9.900 (t2) Janessa Grieco 9.800 Calli Ryals 9.800 FLOOR EXERCISE Chelsea Kroll 9.850 (t8) Lauren Mirkovich 9.800 Becca Clauson 9.825 Jenny Deiley 9.850 (t8) Janessa Grieco 9.825 Calli Ryals 9.900 (t2) ( ) denotes place in the Top 8
N O T E S
No. 2 Nebraska, No. 4 Georgia and No. 8 Utah, the top three teams from the evening session of the team preliminaries, make up the rest of the six-team field for the NCAA Super Six Team Finals tomorrow night (Friday, April 25). The evening session also featured No. 6 Stanford, No. 9 Florida and No. 17 Auburn.
Five Wolverines combined to earn 10 All-America honors. Calli Ryals (all-around, floor exercise), Jenny Deiley (all-around) and Becca Clauson (balance beam) earned All-America first team honors by finishing among the top four (including ties) in their respective events. Deiley (vault, balance beam, floor exercise), Chelsea Kroll (floor exercise), Lauren Mirkovich (uneven bars) and Ryals (vault) each brought home All-America second team honors by finishing in fifth through eighth place (including ties) in their respective events.
Becca Clauson (balance beam) and Calli Ryals (floor exercise) qualified for the Individual Event Finals at 7 p.m. CDT Saturday (April 26) by finishing among the top four (including ties) in the respective events.
Jenny Deiley's all-around score of 39.300 gives her sole possession of the Michigan record for most all-around scores of 39.000 or higher in a single season (13), moving her out of a tie for first with Beth Wymer (12). Deiley also holds the record for most all-around scores of 39.000 or higher by a freshman (13) and the most consecutive all-around scores of 39.000 or higher (12).
Becca Clauson's score of 9.900 on the balance beam tied the fourth-highest U-M balance beam score at the NCAA National Championships. Calli Ryals' score of 9.900 on the floor exercise tied the seventh-highest U-M floor exercise score at the NCAA National Championship.
In an effort to differentiate between below average, average and above average routines, scoring tends to be much tighter at the NCAA National Championships than regular-season events. The quantity of gymnasts and the high level of skill requires a wider range of scores than most meets.
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Bev Plocki
On the advancing to the Super Six Team Finals ... "Well, considering where we started in January, we're extremely excited to be here and going for another night of competition. I have never been more proud of a team than I am of the team that we have this year. Their skin is thick, and they have persevered through a great deal this season. They have stepped up when they needed to. We're pretty much a freshman and sophomore-led team, in terms of the number of routines on the floor. I just couldn't be more proud of their performances. We still have room to improve for tomorrow night. I think it's going to be a very exciting competition. Our goal at the beginning of every year is to be competing at the final night for a chance to win the national championship. In September, we were very confident about that; in January, we were very concerned about that. Right now, it's just a wonderful feeling to be moving on to tomorrow night and give these young ladies a chance and opportunity to go out there and compete with the best teams in the country and see what happens."
Senior Co-Captain Janessa Grieco
On advancing to the finals with just seven gymnasts competing ... "I think it's amazing and a true testament to our team this year. There aren't many teams that can go out there with seven people and put everyone on an event. It's been amazing, and it's been inspiring to be on a team like that. When we go out tomorrow, we're just going to put everything out there and see what happens. We're going to have a good time."
Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
