Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Ray Leads U-M to Sixth Straight Big Ten Championship
3/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Site: Minneapolis, Minn. (Sports Pavilion)
Event: Big Ten Championships
U-M Team Finish: 1st Place of 7 Teams (197.800)
Next U-M Event: Saturday or Sunday, April 2-3 -- at NCAA Regional (Site TBA)
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The No. 19-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team claimed its 13th Big Ten Conference team title tonight (Saturday, March 20) at the Sports Pavilion. The Wolverines won with a 197.800 team total, just shades off their Big Ten record of 197.850 set in 2000. Led by all-around champion Elise Ray (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake HS), the Wolverines set or tied team season-high scores on vault (49.275), bars (49.625) and floor (49.500) to compile the second-highest team total in school history.
After sitting out the first rotation on a bye, the Wolverines began the competition on vault. Sophomore Becca Clauson (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham HS) led off for the Wolverines, earning a season-high 9.850 score. Senior Christine Mantilia (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan HS) followed with a solid 9.800 contribution. Freshman Carol McNamara (Hastings, Minn./Hastings HS) earned a season-high 9.900 for her stuck landing, a score Ray matched. Sophomore Jenny Deiley (Elk River, Minn./Elk River HS) added a 9.825, while junior Lauren Mirkovich (Burlingame, Calif./Notre Dame HS) landed her vault for a 9.800 score, tying her career high. The Wolverines event total on vault, 49.275, tied the squad's season best.
In the third rotation, the Wolverines used four season- or career-high scores to total the highest uneven bars score in U-M history, 49.625. Junior Chelsea Kroll (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny HS) led off, scoring 9.775. Freshman Lindsey Bruck (Marietta, N.Y./Marcellus HS) earned a season-high 9.900, a score nearly matched by Deiley, who scored 9.875. Mirkovich added a season-high 9.900, setting up Calli Ryals' (Elyria, Ohio/Midview HS) season-high 9.950. Ray, whose previous best on the event was 9.975, demonstrated a flawless routine to score a career-high 10.000.
The Wolverines sat out the fourth rotation on a bye and moved to beam in the fifth rotation. Kroll started things off with a solid 9.850. Bruck, second up, contributed a 9.900. Clauson tied her career-high score with a 9.900, while Deiley added a 9.800. Ray, competing in the fifth position, earned a 9.950, while junior Kara Rosella (Ann Arbor, Mich./Greenhills HS) closed the rotation with a 9.600. The Wolverines' event total of 49.400, the fourth-highest event total in U-M history, kept the team solidly in contention for the title.
The Wolverines had their final bye of the evening in the fifth rotation and re-entered competition in the final rotation on floor. McNamara and Bruck started things off with identical socres of 9.850. Kroll, Clauson, and Deiley posted idential 9.900 scores, each setting or tying a season high. Ray, competing in the final position, posted a season-high 9.950 score to seal the win for the Wolverines. Penn State edged Iowa in the final rotation to finish second, 196.625-196.500.
The Wolverines must wait for its NCAA Regional Championships assignment, to be announced after the completion of all of the conference championships. Regional competition is scheduled for April 2 or 3.
Final Results
| Team Scores | Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor | Total |
| 1. MICHIGAN | 49.275 | 49.625 | 49.400 | 49.500 | 197.800 |
| 2. Penn State | 49.225 | 48.975 | 49.075 | 49.350 | 196.625 |
| 3. Iowa | 49.400 | 49.175 | 48.575 | 49.350 | 196.500 |
| 4. Minnesota | 48.950 | 49.250 | 48.850 | 49.275 | 196.325 |
| 5. Michigan State | 48.775 | 49.050 | 48.975 | 49.225 | 196.025 |
| 6. Illinois | 48.550 | 48.725 | 49.175 | 48.950 | 195.400 |
| 7. Ohio State | 48.675 | 48.725 | 48.075 | 48.975 | 194.450 |
Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores
ALL-AROUND Elise Ray 39.800 (1) Jenny Deiley 39.300 (3) VAULT Becca Clauson 9.850 Christine Mantilia 9.800 Carol McNamara 9.900 (3t) Elise Ray 9.900 (3t) Jenny Deiley 9.825 Lauren Mirkovich 9.800 UNEVEN BARS Chelsea Kroll 9.775 Lindsey Bruck 9.900 (4t) Jenny Deiley 9.875 Lauren Mirkovich 9.900 (4t) Calli Ryals 9.950 (2) Elise Ray 10.000 (1) BALANCE BEAM Chelsea Kroll 9.850 Lindsey Bruck 9.900 (2t) Becca Clauson 9.900 (2t) Jenny Deiley 9.800 Elise Ray 9.950 (1) Kara Rosella 9.600 FLOOR EXERCISE Carol McNamara 9.850 Lindsey Bruck 9.850 Chelsea Kroll 9.900 (4t) Becca Clauson 9.900 (4t) Jenny Deiley 9.900 (4t) Elise Ray 9.950 (1t) ( ) denotes place in the Top 5
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Bev Plocki
On the team's performance ... "We finally put together the meet I knew we were capable of. I certainly thing that this will propel us into the rest of the postseason. I'm so happy for everyone; it was a total, total team effort."
All-Around Champion Elise Ray
On the team's performance ... "It was absolutely incredible, especially since we've struggled so much as a team this year. It's been some people on, some people off, but we absolutely put everything together, 24 for 24. We just dug deep and found the fire within all of us."
N O T E S
• Elise Ray and Calli Ryals were named to the All-Big Ten Conference first team at last night's Big Ten banquet. Lindsey Bruck, Becca Clauson, and Jenny Deiley were named to the All Big-Ten Conference second team.
• Michigan's total of 49.625 on bars is an all-time event high. This total bested the previous high of 49.550 set in 1997 at the Magical Classic.
• Elise Ray's score of 10.00 on bars is her first perfect score on the event and the third perfect score in her career.
• Elise Ray's all-around total of 39.800 is her second-highest to date. It also ranks second-highest in all-time U-M history.
• Bev Plocki was named Big Ten co-Coach of the Year, along with Michigan State's Kathie Klages and Iowa's Mike Lorenzen.
Contact: Jessica Steyers (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
