Weekly Release #9

Upcoming Schedule
Friday, March 11 -- at Georgia (Athens, Ga.), 7:30 p.m.
Friday, March 18 -- at Michigan State (East Lansing, Mich.), 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 26 -- at Big Ten Championships (Iowa City, Iowa), 6:00 p.m.

A Look at Michigan's Trip to No. 8 Georgia
The No. 7-ranked Michigan women's gymnastics team (15-1) makes its second-to-last regular-season road trip of the season, visiting No. 8 Georgia (12-4) on Friday (March 11) at 7:30 p.m. at Stegeman Colimseum.

Michigan fell from fifth to seventh in the polls despite putting up the nation's second-best score of the year and the second-best score in Michigan women's gymnastics history. Georgia remains steady at No. 8 after a victory over N.C. State last weekend.

Comcast Sports Southeast will broadcast the meet, which will air on tape delay in the Southeast Michigan sometime in the following week. Details will be announced when they become available. Melissa Moskau will handle play-by-play for the broadcast, while former Georgia gymnast Sierra Sapunar will provide color commentary. Georgia also offers live video streaming at georgiadogs.com.

Comcast Sports Local Announces More Televised Meets
Michigan's meet at Michigan State on March 18 will be televised and aired on tape delay by Comcast Sports Local making it the third meet this season to be televised by Comcast. The Big Ten Championships will air on CSTV with details to be announced later next week.

Current Streaks and Upcoming Milestones
Bev Plocki needs one win to record the 300th victory of her career ... Lindsey Bruck has posted eight straight all-around scores of 39.000+, while Jenny Deiley has posted seven straight all-around scores of 39.000+ ... Elise Ray is second in Michigan history for most all-around scores of 39.000 or better. She needs one more 39.000+ all-around scores to tie for first-place ... Michigan has scored 196.000 or more in its last eight meets ... The Wolverines are 8-1 against top-25 teams in 2005.

Title Watch
A running tally of Michigan's leading title winners in 2005...

Vault: Jenny Deiley (6), Katie Lieberman (1), Elise Ray (1).
Bars: Elise Ray (8), Lindsey Bruck (1).
Beam: Lindsey Bruck (4), Elise Ray (4).
Floor: Jenny Deiley (3), Elise Ray (2), Lindsey Bruck (1), Becca Clauson (1), Chelsea Kroll (1).
All-Around: Jenny Deiley (3), Lindsey Bruck (2), Elise Ray (1).

Wolverines No. 7 in the Nation
Michigan is No. 7 in the nation after dropping from No. 5 despite a season-high 197.800. GymInfo bases its rankings on the Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) for the remainder of the year.

The Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) Unmasked
A team's regional qualifying score is based on the six highest team totals, three of which must be from away competitions. After dropping the highest score, the remaining five are averaged to determine the regional qualifying score.

197.800 Sets Records For Wolverines
Michigan's 197.800 against Iowa (3/4) was the second-best score in the nation this season (next to UCLA's 197.850) and tied for the second-highest score in U-M gymnastics history. The Wolverines scored a 197.800 at the 2004 Big Ten Championships and had a 197.850 at the 2000 Big Ten Championships.

Ray Gets Her 25th Bars Titles
Fifth-year senior Elise Ray captured the 25th uneven bars title of her career against Iowa (3/4) with a 9.950. Ray has eight bars titles in nine meets in 2005 and has won 11 of the last 12 titles dating back to the 2004 Big Ten Championships. She has also posted 18 scores of 9.900 or better in the last 20 meets - giving her just two sub-9.900 marks in the last 411 days.

Ray Earns First Outright Sweep in Her Career
Fifth-year senior Elise Ray claimed her first outright sweep of the podiums, winning the vault, bars, beam, floor and all-around titles vs. West Virginia (Feb. 18).

Record Crowds
Michigan recorded the highest attendance in U-M gymnastics history against No. 3 UCLA when 5,039 fans packing Crisler Arena (2/4). 4,376 fans witnessed Michigan's win over No. 20 Penn State (2/21) - the fourth-best crowd in gymnastics history - and the second highest attendance for a regular-season meet. 19.508 fans witnessed Michigan women's gymnastics this season at Crisler Arena - an average of 3,902 fans per meet.

Ray Set to Claim Michigan Immortality in the All-Around
Fifth-year senior Elise Ray needs one all-around score of 39.000 or better to tie for first on the all-time list of most career 39.000+ all-around scores. Ray has 35 all-around scored of 39.000 or better, one shy of Sarah Cain who finished her career with 36. Ray passes three-time national champion Beth Wymer (34) earlier this season to move into second place on the list.

Plocki One Win From 300 Career Victories
Head coach Bev Plocki is one win shy of her 300th career victory (299-85). Plocki also has 145 Big Ten Conference victories, five shy of 150.

Michigan Putting Up Record Scores on Vault, Bars and Beam
U-M's 49.525 score on beam at the State of Michigan Classic (2/6) tied for the best score in program history (the other mark was a 49.525 on beam at the 2000 Big Ten Championship). Michigan's 49.475 on vault vs. Iowa (3/4) is the second-best score all-time next to U-M's 49.825 vs. Utah State in 1996. U-M also posted a 49.525 against Iowa (3/4), tying for the third-best score in program history.

Wolverines in the National Rankings
Michigan has four competitors among the top 25 in the nation in three events and the all-around.
Vault: Jenny Deiley (T-11th) Katie Lieberman (T-25th)
Bars: Elise Ray (1st) and Jenny Deiley (T-21st)
Beam: Elise Ray (9th) Lindsey Bruck (T-13th)
All-Around: Jenny Deiley (4th), Lindsey Bruck (9th)

Dominating the Big Ten Across the Board
Michigan has a gymnast at the top of every event in the Big Ten as well as the all-around competition.
Vault: Jenny Deiley (1st), Katie Lieberman (2nd), Elise Ray (3rd), Lindsey Bruck (6th)
Bars: Elise Ray (1st), Jenny Deiley (4th), Lauren Mirkovich (5th), Lindsey Bruck (6th).
Beam: Elise Ray (1st), Lindsey Bruck (2nd), Becca Clauson (5th), Shanna Duggan (7th), Jenny Deiley (8th).
Floor: Jenny Deiley (T-1st), Lindsey Bruck (4th), Becca Clauson (6th), Shanna Duggan (10th).
All-Around: Jenny Deiley (1st), Lindsey Bruck (2nd).

Michigan Running Away With Big Ten Weekly Awards
Fifth-year senior Elise Ray and sophomore Lindsey Bruck have each picked up a pair of Big Ten Gymnast of the Week awards this season, giving Michigan four of the first seven conference citations this year. Iowa holds the record for most weekly citations in a season, garnering seven in 2004, while Ray is tied for most weekly awards in a career at eight (equalling Iowa's Alexis Maday).

Big Time Victory Over Big Ten Rival Iowa
Michigan's margin of victory (3.525) over Iowa was the Wolverines' widest margin of victory since U-M beat Northern Illinois by 3.825 points on Feb. 14, 2003.

All-American Bruck Rules the Beam
Sophomore Lindsey Bruck picked up right where she left off after earning All-America first team honors on beam in 2004 with a pair of beam titles in the first two meets of the season and four titles in nine meets. Bruck finished sixth on beam at the 2004 NCAA Championship. She has six beam titles in her career and her RQS (9.875) is currently tied for 13th in the nation and second in the Big Ten.

Freshman Lieberman Among the Nation's Best Vaulters
Freshman Katie Lieberman won her first vault title at the Ohio State Quad, posting a 9.875 and finishing ahead of 20 other athletes. Lieberman is the seventh-best freshman vaulter in the nation, with her RQS tied for 25th in the country (9.865) and second in the Big Ten. She has posted nine-straight scores of 9.800 or better and has four runner-up honors this season.

Shanna Duggan - True Blue Through and Through
Senior transfer Shanna Duggan opened her Wolverine career with a second-place finish on vault in the season opener against No. 10 Nebraska, posting her best vault score since the 2003 season. Since then, she has tied career bests on beam (9.900 at State of Michigan Classic) and on floor (9.900 vs. Iowa), holding U-M's second-best average on floor (9.811) and third-best average on beam (9.768). While with Central Michigan, Duggan was the 2002 MAC vault champion and finished second on vault at the 2002 NCAA Central Regionals.

NCAA Longevity
Michigan is one of only five programs in the nation to qualify for each of the last 12 NCAA Championships. U-M advanced to its 12th straight and 13th overall NCAA Championship in 2004, taking eighth.

Big Ten Title Streaks
Michigan tied a Big Ten record with its sixth consecutive conference title in 2004. The previous record was set by Michigan from 1992-97. The Wolverines have 13 Big Ten titles to their credit.

All-American Kroll Suffers Season-Ending Injury
Senior Chelsea Kroll started her senior season in style by winning her first-career floor title, tying a career-best with a 9.900 vs. No. 10 Nebraska (Jan. 7) in the season opener but suffered a season-ending injury in touch warm-ups at the Ohio State Quad (Jan. 15). Kroll earned All-America second team honors on beam in 2003.

GymInfo Rankings Explained
The GymInfo ranking changes its criteria as the season progresses. The Jan. 10 to Jan. 17 rankings are based on highest score. From Jan. 24 to Feb. 14, the rankings shift, based on total season average. Then, from Feb. 21 on, the GymInfo rankings are based on the regional qualifying score (RQS).

Wolverines Seventh in Preseason Poll
Michigan earned a seventh-place ranking in the GymInfo Preseaon Coaches Poll, earning 479 points. UCLA topped the list with 608 points and 15 first-place votes, while Georgia was second with 565 points and three first-place votes and Stanford was third with 554 and four first-place votes.

Competing Against the Best
Michigan will face seven teams ranked in the GymInfo Preseason Coaches Poll, including preseason No. 1 UCLA (Feb. 4), preseason No. 2 Georgia (March 11) and preseason No. 5 Utah (Jan. 28). No. 10 Nebraska (Jan. 7), No. 17 Iowa (March 4), No. 19 Penn State (Jan. 21) and No. 23 West Virginia (Feb. 18) round out the ranked schedule.

Four New Faces for 2005
Freshmen Lindsay Bourdon, Nellie Kippley, Katie Lieberman and Megan Moore will wear the Maize and Blue for the Wolverines this season.

Six All-Americans Return for 2004
Seniors Chelsea Kroll, Lauren Mirkovich and Elise Ray, juniors Jenny Deiley and Becca Clauson and sophomore Lindsey Bruck are Michigan's six returning All-Americans. Ray earned 2004 All-America honors on beam, bars and in the all-around, taking a national title on bars, while Deiley earned All-America accolades on vault and Bruck earned All-America honors on beam. Clauson, Kroll and Mirkovich earned All-America honors in 2003 on beam, floor and bars, respectively.

Four of Five All-Big Ten Selections Back in 2005
Four of last year's five U-M All-Big Ten team members -- Lindsey Bruck, Becca Clauson, Jenny Deiley and Elise Ray -- return for the 2005 season. Ray returns as the Big Ten bars, beam, vault and all-around champion, sharing co-champion status on vault.

Seven Wolverines Named Academic All-Conference in 2004
Seven Wolverines were named to the Academic All-Big Ten Conference team for their efforts in the 2003-04 school year. Becca Clauson, Jenny Deiley, Chelsea Kroll, Elise Ray, Kara Rosella, Sarrie Rubin and Alison Rudisi earned Academic All-Conference honors.