Newcomer Deiley Named 2003 Most Valuable Performer
5/10/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Freshman Jenny Deiley (Dayton, Minn./Elk River HS) was named the University of Michigan women's gymnastics team's Most Valuable Performer today (Saturday, May 10) at the annual postseason banquet. Deiley, the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Year, is the first newcomer to win the award since Bridget Knaeble was co-Most Valuable Performer in 1998.
| | Deiley |
Deiley's performance in the all-around set the standard for the 2003 season. She tallied a season-high 39.675 against then-No. 4 Nebraska (March 14), which tied for the 10th highest all-around score in program history. Her season average of 39.341 was a team high and entered the record book as the fourth-best all-around season average in school history. She also entered the record book with a school-record 14 all-around scores of 39.000 or better and a school-record streak of 13 consecutive all-around scores of 39.000 or higher, which she can extend next season.
Sophomore Chelsea Kroll (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny HS) was named the team's Most Courageous Gymnast. She fought through injuries to compete on the uneven bars and balance beam for the first time in her career and competed in the all-around in 12 of 16 meets. Kroll came through with one of her best meets of the season at the Big Ten Championships, tying her season highs on the balance beam (9.925) and floor exercise (9.850) on the way to totaling a career-high 39.400 in the all-around to help the Wolverines to their fifth consecutive conference title. She earned Academic All-Big Ten and All-America second team honors.
Sophomore Kara Rosella (Ann Arbor, Mich./Greenhills School) earned the second team award of her career as the 2003 Most Improved Gymnast. Rosella, who earned the Coaches' Award last season, went from performing just seven routines on the balance beam as a freshman walk-on to competing 33 routines in three events during her second year. She competed on the beam in all 16 meets, posting a career-high 9.800 five times. She added a career-high 9.825 on the floor exercise during the first half of the season before cracking the uneven bars lineup in seven of the last nine meets and earning a career-high 9.875 at home against then-No. 4 Nebraska (March 14).
For the second consecutive year, a first-year gymnast earned the Coaches' Award. Freshman Becca Clauson (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall HS) received the honor for her efforts during the season. A three-event competitor, she won a floor exercise title in the second week of the season and went on to collect four vault titles. She tied for second on the balance beam in the NCAA team preliminary competition, making her just the second U-M freshman in school history (Elise Ray, 2001) to earn All-America first team honors and compete in the Individual Event Finals on the balance beam. Clauson, who also earned All-Big Ten second team honors, finished fifth in the NCAA balance beam individual competition.
Junior co-captain Elise Ray (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake HS) received the 10.0 Club Spirit Award. Despite missing the entire season due to injury, Ray was a constant figure on the sidelines cheering on each of her teammates and performed numerous behind-the-scenes tasks to help mold the team chemistry which proved to be a vital part of the team's success during the season. She even donned her warmups to join Clauson on the floor during the NCAA Individual Event Finals to help the freshman through the nerve-racking competition.
Michigan finished the 2003 season in fifth place at the NCAA National Championships, its seventh top-five finish in school history. U-M, which used just eight gymnasts in all but one meet, won its fifth consecutive Big Ten title and was the NCAA Northeast Regional champion. The Wolverines had five gymnasts combine for 10 All-America honors, landed five competitors on the All-Big Ten team and saw six student-athletes named to the Academic All-Big Ten team.
Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
