Ray Helps Michigan Advance to NCAA Championships

Saturday, April 3

State College, Pa.

6:00 PM

Michigan

NCAA Northeast Regional

4/3/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- The No. 19-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team earned its 12th-straight trip to the NCAA national meet tonight (Saturday, April 3) with a second-place finish at the Northeast Regional Championships held at Penn State's Rec Hall. U-M's Elise Ray (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake HS) was spectacular once again, earning the all-around title (39.700) as well as event titles on uneven bars and balance beam.

Ray's 9.950 on the balance beam helped the Wolverines to a 49.425 on the apparatus.

Though the Wolverines entered the meet seeded fourth, they defeated two higher-ranked teams (No. 9 Iowa State and No. 16 Missouri) in close competition that came down to the final rotation. Both Iowa State and Penn State were in the hunt for a top-two finish but came up short on vault and balance beam, respectively. Georgia (197.525) finished on top, followed by Michigan (196.375), Iowa State (196.150) and Penn State (196.075). Michigan's total included a 49.425 on beam, its final event, its highest total on the event in a regional meet.

U-M started on the floor exercise, and Carol McNamara (Hastings, Minn./Hastings HS) led off with three clean tumbling passes (2 1/2 twist, double tuck, and a front layout, front layout combination) to score a 9.800. Fellow freshman Lindsey Bruck (Marietta, N.Y./Marcellus HS) continued her consistent record on floor with a strong effort (double pike, whip 1/2 to front layout full, a front layout, front layout combination). Junior co-captain Chelsea Kroll (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny HS), competing only her third floor routine this year, had a strong routine going until her second tumbling pass. A low landing on her double tuck forced her to take a step forward, holding her score to 9.750.

Sophomore Becca Clauson (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham HS) recovered well for the Wolverines, nailing her tumbling passes (double pike, double tuck, and front layout full to front tuck) with no obvious errors, resulting in a 9.850. Sophomore Jenny Deiley (Dayton, Minn./Elk River HS) followed with a clean routine (double tuck, Rudi, front layout full to front layout), marred only by a short landing on her final pass. Still, her clean form and expressive dance garnered a 9.800. Ray closed out the rotation for the Wolverines with three clean tumbling passes (2 1/2 twist, whip 1/2 to Rudi, double full to immediate Shushanova) and fluid dance, good for a 9.875. After one rotation, the Wolverines were in second place behind Georgia.

In the second rotation, Michigan moved to vault. Senior Christine Mantilia (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan HS) led off with a Yurchenko layout Arabian, with a step forward on the landing, holding her score for 9.775. McNamara (9.800), Ryals (9.825), Ray (9.900), and Deiley (9.900) each performed Yurchenko full vaults with good body position and clean form, each building off the previous gymnast's score. Junior Lauren Mirkovich (Burlingame, Calif./Notre Dame HS) anchored the event with a 9.825 for a stuck landing on her handspring front pike vault. Michigan's vault total, 49.250, brought its total score to 98.400, good for third place behind Georgia (98.750) and Penn State (98.625).

After sitting out with a bye, the Wolverines re-entered the competition on bars. Though the Wolverines amassed a school-record 49.650 at the Big Ten Championships (March 20), they could not repeat that performance, mustering only a 48.550. Kroll led off with a clean 9.750 routine, including a giant full to Tkatchev combination and a toe-front pike dismount with a half twist. Bruck suffered a fall on her Jaeger release move, holding her score to 9.100. Deiley got things back on track with a clean routine, swinging through a rare stalder-blind, front giant-healy, Jaeger sequence and sticking her double layout dismount.

Ryals nearly duplicated her performance from the previous meet, garnering a 9.900 score to continue U-M's momentum on the event. Ray closed the rotation with a near-perfect 9.975, nailing her difficult hop-full, hop-full sequence and sticking her full twisting double layout dismount. Still, U-M was forced to count a fall, holding the squad's event total to 48.550. After three events, Michigan had a 146.950 total, third behind Georgia's 148.225 and Penn State's 147.050.

Michigan rotated to beam for its final competitive event. Though Kroll, first up, fell on her flight series (flip flop, layout) the remainder of the competitors calmly shrugged off the pressure to compile the highest beam total in a regional meet in school history (49.525). Bruck nailed every element in her difficult set (front tuck mount, flip flop layout) for a 9.825. Clauson continued her string of consistent beam performances, refusing to wobble on her difficult flip flop to consecutive layout series. Deiley stayed wobble-free for a 9.850.

Ryals, returning to the beam lineup after an injury, earned a 9.925 after sticking her difficult routine (flip flop layout, wolf jump to back tuck, double tuck dismount). Ray closed out the meet with a 9.950 for a flawless routine which included a double turn -- a skill performed only by Ray in the entire meet.

With a bye on the final event, Michigan was forced to wait while Penn State and Iowa State, both within striking distance, competed during the final rotation. Neither school could surpass Michigan, though Iowa State came within three tenths.

Michigan's top-two finish qualified the squad to the NCAA National Championships in Los Angeles, Calif. Preliminary competition begins April 15, with the Super Six team finals on April 16 and individual event finals on April 17.

Final Results

Team Scores	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	Total
1. Georgia	49.475	49.300	49.350	49.400	197.525
2. MICHIGAN	49.250	48.550	49.425	49.150	196.375
3. Iowa State	49.275	48.475	49.075	49.325	196.150
4. Penn State	49.500	48.425	49.025	49.125	196.075
5. Missouri	49.250	47.050	49.025	49.075	194.400
6. New Hampshire	49.050	48.300	47.950	48.825	194.125

Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores

ALL-AROUND Elise Ray 39.700 (1) Jenny Deiley 39.350 (5) VAULT Christine Mantilia 9.775 Carol McNamara 9.800 Calli Ryals 9.825 Elise Ray 9.900 (t5) Jenny Deiley 9.900 (t5) Lauren Mirkovich 9.825 UNEVEN BARS Chelsea Kroll 9.750 Lindsey Bruck 9.100 Jenny Deiley 9.800 Lauren Mirkovich 9.125 Calli Ryals 9.900 (4) Elise Ray 9.975 (1) BALANCE BEAM Chelsea Kroll 9.200 Lindsey Bruck 9.825 Becca Clauson 9.875 (t6) Jenny Deiley 9.850 Calli Ryals 9.925 (t2) Elise Ray 9.950 (1) FLOOR EXERCISE Carol McNamara 9.800 Lindsey Bruck 9.825 Chelsea Kroll 9.750 Becca Clauson 9.850 Jenny Deiley 9.800 Elise Ray 9.875 (t6) ( ) denotes place in the Top 5

Q U O T E S

Michigan Head Coach Bev Plocki
On the team's performance ... "My first reaction is just, 'Wow, I'm excited to be going.' But for as fun as our Big Ten meet was, this was just sheer torture. We had a very difficult rotation; ending on beam is one of the most difficult rotations to draw. I just felt like Penn State was on a roll and looking great, and I was doubting whether or not we were going to pull it out. I'm so proud of our beam squad, because when they had to hit, they did. When every single athlete needed to be totally on, they were."

N O T E S

Michigan and the University of Georgia earned invites to the NCAA National Championships, to be held April 15-17 in Los Angeles, Calif.

Elise Ray was named the Northeast Region Gymnast of the Year. This is only the second time a U-M gymnast has recieved this honor (Calli Ryals tied with Penn State's Katie Rowland in 2002).

Michigan's 49.425 beam event total is the squad's record on beam in an NCAA Regional Championships. This bested the previous total of 49.300 from 2003.

Elise Ray's 9.975 on bars ties the U-M second-highest all-time bars score in a Regional Championships.

Elise Ray's 9.950 on beam ties the U-M highest all-time beam score in Regional Championships, while Calli Ryals' 9.925 ties for the fourth highest regional beam score.

Elise Ray's all-around total of 39.700 is the highest ever for a U-M gymnast at an NCAA regional meet. It also ties the 10th-highest all-around score in school history.

Contact: Jessica Steyers (734) 763-4423