Weekly Release #12

Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, April 9 -- at NCAA South Cental Regional Championships (Lincoln, Neb.), 7 p.m. CDT
Thu-Sat., April 21-23 -- at NCAA Championships (Auburn, Ala.)

A Look at the 2005 NCAA South Central Regional Championships
The field for the South Central Regional includes three ranked teams and three at-large bids.

No. 6 Nebraska (14-5 - Big 12 Champions)
No. 8 Michigan (22-2 - Big Ten Champions)
No. 18 Arizona (22-8 - Runner-Up in the PAC-10)
No. 19 Missouri (12-10 - 4th at Big 12 Champ.)
Arizona State (4-13 - 6th at PAC-10 Champ.)
Illinois (19-9 - 5th at Big Ten Championships)

No. 6 Nebraska is undefeated in 57 straight regular-season meets in its home venue at the Devaney Center and captured its seventh Big 12 title in the last nine seasons with a 196.650 two weeks ago in Oklahoma. The Huskers finished 0.050 points ahead of second-place Iowa State.

No. 18 Arizona took second in a field of seven at the PAC-10 Championships, finishing behind UCLA with a score of 195.925. The Wildcats have not advanced past the NCAA regionals since 2002, but have qualified for regional competition in 19-straight seasons.

No. 19 Missouri finished fourth behind Nebraska, Iowa State and Oklahoma with a 194.875 at the Big 12 Championships. "The South Central region is the toughest bracket," Mizzou Head Coach Rob Drass said. Missouri has not advanced to nationals since 1981.

Arizona State took sixth at the PAC-10 Championships with a 192.975. The Sun Devils were chosen ninth in the GymInfo Preseason poll but have failed to score higher than 196.600 all season.

Illinois advances to its second-straight regional, led by Big Ten Coach-of-the-Year Bob Starkell. They finished fifth at the Big Ten Championships ahead of Ohio State and Iowa.

Current Streaks and Upcoming Milestones
Fifth-year senior Elise Ray took sole possession of first place on Michigan's career list for most all-around scores of 39.000+ with her 37th 39.000+ score at the Big Ten Championships ... Sophomore Lindsey Bruck tied for first on the all-time list for most all-around scores of 39.000+ by a sophomore with 11 in 2005. Bruck needs one more all-around score of 39.000+ to move ahead of Beth Amelkovich, who posted 11 39.000+ scores in 1997 ... Bruck also moved into 11th on the all-time list for most career 39.000+ all-around scores with 12 ... Head coach Bev Plocki earned her 150th Big Ten Conference win at the Big Ten Championships, improving to 152-24 in the conference in 16 seasons of coaching. Plocki earned her 300th-career victory in the regular-season finale at Michigan State and is 306-86 in her head coaching career.

Leading In the Gym and in the Classroom
Eight gymnasts earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in the winter session of 2005, second only to men's and women's swimming and diving. All-Big Ten honors are awarded to student-athletes who are sophomores or above and letterwinners and hold a minimum 3.0 grade point average. Sophomore Lindsey Bruck, junior Becca Clauson, junior Jenny Deiley, senior Shanna Duggan, senior Chelsea Kroll, fifth-year senior Elise Ray, senior Kara Rosella, and sophomore Sarrie Rubin headed the list for the Wolverines.

The award was the third for Clauson, Deiley, Kroll and Ray, while Rosella earned the honor for the second time in her career.

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

Vault: Jenny Deiley (8), Katie Lieberman (2), Elise Ray (1).
Bars: Elise Ray (10), Lindsey Bruck (1).
Beam: Elise Ray (5), Lindsey Bruck (4).
Floor: Jenny Deiley (4), Elise Ray (2), Lindsey Bruck (2), Becca Clauson (2), Shanna Duggan (1), Chelsea Kroll (1).
All-Around: Jenny Deiley (3), Elise Ray (3), Lindsey Bruck (2).

Wolverines in the National Rankings
How Michigan ranks in the nation...

Vault: Deiley (12th) and Lieberman (25th).
Bars: Ray (2nd), Deiley (T-18th) and Mirkovich (24th).
Beam: Ray (7th) and Bruck (T-12th).
All-Around: Ray (T-9th), Bruck (13th) and Deiley (14th).

Wolverines No. 8 in the Nation
Michigan is No. 8 in the nation heading into the Big Ten Championships. GymInfo bases its rankings on the Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) for the remainder of the year. Michigan reached its highest ranking of the season (No. 2) from January 31 to February 14.

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 set a Big Ten record for the most consecutive Big Ten titles with its seventh in-a-row at the 2005 Big Ten Conference Championships. The Wolverines held the previous record, winning six titles in-a-row from 1992-97 and from 1998-2004. U-M has 14 Big Ten titles, the most in Big Ten history.

Ray Claims Michigan Immortality in the All-Around
Fifth-year senior Elise Ray's 39.500 all-around score at the Big Ten Championships (3/26) moved her into first place on the all-time list of most career 39.000+ all-around scores, passing former Wolverine Sarah Cain (1997-2000). Ray has 37 all-around scores, passing Cain (36) and three-time national champion Beth Wymer (34). Ray is tied for ninth in the nation in the all-around competition (39.405), despite competing in just eight all-around competitions this season.

Ray Owns the Uneven Bars - Gets Her 27th Title and 10th of 2005
Fifth-year senior Elise Ray captured the 27th uneven bars title of her career at Michigan State (3/18) with a 9.950. Ray has 10 bars titles in 12 meets in 2005 and has won 13 of the last 15 titles dating back to the 2004 Big Ten Championships. She has also posted 21 scores of 9.900 or better in the last 23 meets - giving her just two sub-9.900 marks in the last 440 days. Ray ranks second in the nation on bars (9.935).

Bruck Consistently Excellent in the All-Around
Sophomore Lindsey Bruck has posted 11 straight all-around scores of 39.000 or better in the last 12 meets, taking a pair of all-around titles and finishing runner-up six times, including a second-place finish at the 2005 Big Ten Championships. Bruck ranks 13th in the nation in the all-around (39.395). Bruck is tied for fifth on the all-time list for most all-around scores of 39.000+ in a single season, needing one more to climb into a tie for fourth place. She is already tied atop the all-time list for most all-around scores of 39.000+ for a sophomore.

Plocki Wins 300th
Head coach Bev Plocki captured her 300th-career victory at Michigan State (3/18) and added six wins at the Big Ten Championships to improve to 306-86 in 16 season as a head coach at Michigan.

Plocki Gets 150th Big Ten Conference Wins
Head coach Bev Plocki earned her 150th-career Big Ten victory at the 2005 Big Ten Championships, improving to 152-24 in 16 seasons of Big Ten competition. Plocki is 96-8 against the Big Ten in the last 10 years and 150-14 in the last 15 seasons of competition.

A Record of 22-2 - Not too Shabby
Michigan's 22-2 record (13-0 in the Big Ten) ranks among the best in Michigan women's gymnastics history. The Wolverines completed their eighth undefeated conference season and their .917 winning percentage is the third-best since 1995's 24-2 (.923) season and the best-ever finish in 1994 (27-1, .964).

Michigan vs. the Top 25
The Wolverines are 10-2 against top-25 teams in 2005.

Wins Over Top 25 Teams (ranking/current ranking)
1/7 - Nebraska (10/6)
1/15 - Minnesota (19/20)
1/15 - Maryland (15/na)
1/21 - Penn State (20/11)
2/4 - UCLA (3/2)
2/6 - Michigan State (16/na)
2/6 - Central Michigan (20/14)
2/12 - Michigan State (24/na)
3/26 - Penn State (11/11)
3/26 - Minnesota (22/20)

Losses To Top 25 Teams
1/28 - Utah (2/1)
3/11 - Georgia (8/5)

Michigan Running Away With Big Ten Weekly Awards
U-M earned a Big Ten record seven weekly honors (tying Iowa's seven honors in 2004), led by three citations for fifth-year senior Elise Ray and two awards for junior Jenny Deiley and sophomore Lindsey Bruck. With her final Big Ten Gymnast of the week award, Ray earned a Big Ten record ninth weekly citation for her career, moving ahead of Iowa's Alexis Maday, who had eight honors in her career.

197.800 Sets Records For Wolverines
Michigan's 197.800 against Iowa (3/4) was the fourth-best score in the nation this season 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.

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.

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 11 meets. Bruck finished sixth on beam at the 2004 NCAA Championship. She has six beam titles in her career and her RQS (9.890) is currently tied for 12th in the nation.

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 - sharing the Big Ten Championships vault title - while her RQS is 25th in the country (9.880). She has posted 12-straight scores of 9.800 or better and has two titles and 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). Duggan captured her first career floor title at Michigan State (3/18) in the regular-season finale. While with Central Michigan, Duggan was the 2002 MAC vault champion and finished second on vault at the 2002 NCAA Central Regionals.

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

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.

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.