Michigan
NCAA Team Prelims and All-Around
Mirkovich, Thuener-Rego Qualify for NCAA Event Finals
4/20/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
CORVALLIS, Ore. -- The University of Michigan fell just short of the program's 10th Super Six berth in their session of the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships Team Prelims, scoring 196.000 for fourth place in the afternoon session Friday (April 20) at Gill Coliseum. Session winner Nebraska (196.325), Alabama (196.250) and Utah (196.175)Â took the top three spots and advanced, while Michigan beat out fifth-place LSU (195.650) and sixth-place Oklahoma (194.725).
Freshman Tatjana Thuener-Rego (Miami, Fla./American School) made a name for herself at her first nationals, earning All-America first team honors on balance beam with a tie for third place in the prelims session (9.850) and taking All-America second team honors on floor exercise with a tie for eighth place (9.850). Joining Thuener-Rego in Saturday's (April 22) Individual Event Finals will be fifth-year senior Lauren Mirkovich (Burlingame, Calif./Notre Dame), who took second place on the uneven bars with a 9.875 to earn All-America first team status for the third time in her career.
Junior Carol McNamara (Hastings, Minn./Hastings) picked up her first All-America honor, garnering second team accolades on the floor exercise with a tie for sixth place (9.875), while senior Becca Clauson (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham) picked up her first All-America honor since 2003, taking second team accolades on floor with a 9.875. Senior Jenny Deiley (Dayton, Minn./Elk River) picked up a pair of All-America second team honors on vault and floor, giving her 10 honors in her collegiate career and moving her into a tie for fourth place on U-M's all-time list, while sophomore Katie Lieberman (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) and freshman Becky Bernard (Stow, Ohio/Stowe-Monroe) also picked up All-America second team honors on bars and vault, respectively.
The Wolverines got things going on bars to begin the afternoon session, scoring 49.100 thanks to four scores of 9.800 or better, while Alabama got off to a fast start with a 49.275 on floor and Utah (48.800) and Oklahoma (48.750) struggled on beam and vault, respectively. Sophomore Nellie Kippley (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) got Michigan's meet off to a solid start with a leadoff 9.675, breaking the ice for the Wolverines. Thuener-Rego followed with a solid routine and a stuck landing to earn a 9.800 in her first performance at nationals, and junior Lindsey Bruck (Marietta, N.Y./Marcellus) scored 9.775 to keep the momentum going. Deiley hit for 9.825 in the next routine, matching her score from regionals, and three-time NCAA regional bars champion Mirkovich nailed a 9.875 routine to bring rookie Bernard up in the anchor spot. Competing in her first nationals and performing just her ninth collegiate bars routine, Bernard stuck a 9.825 routine to wrap up the first rotation.
Michigan remained in the mix with a 48.750 on beam in the second rotation, performing six solid routines and positioning itself for a run at the top three in the second half of the session. Deiley led off with a 9.700 on beam in the second rotation, settling the Wolverines' nerves and setting the table for Kippley's 9.750 in the two-spot. Thuener-Rego nailed a 9.850 routine for her highest score on the apparatus in a month and a half, and Clauson and Bruck scored back-to-back 9.700s in the four and five spots, bringing Bernard up in the anchor once again. Bernard scored 9.750 in just her third collegiate routine, helping Michigan inch up to a 97.850 team score. Alabama countered with a 49.000 on vault, giving it 98.275 overall, while LSU scored 49.300 on floor and Nebraska tallied 49.075 in its first action.
Michigan sat out the third rotation, watching Alabama remain atop the field with a 98.275, followed closely by LSU, which scored 48.900 on vault in the third rotation. Nebraska squeaked ahead of the Wolverines with a 48.825 on beam, putting the Huskers 0.050 points up on the Wolverines, 97.900 to 97.850. Utah faltered on floor, scoring 48.950, and trailed the top four with a score of 47.750, while Oklahoma brought up the rear with 97.675.
Michigan remained in the hunt for the top three with a 49.200 on floor in the fourth rotation, minimizing a great showing by Utah on vault, to sit in a tie for second place with the Utes, 147.050-147.050. Alabama stayed ahead of the pack with a 48.900 on bars, leading all teams with a 147.175 overall score. Bruck was the first of the second-half competitors to begin her routine in the fourth rotation, sticking all three of her passes on floor and energizing the Wolverine fans with a 9.800. In the next routine, Deiley slipped and stepped out of bounds on her first tumbling pass but rallied to post a 9.625. Clauson lifted Wolverine spirits with one of the five highest scores of the afternoon, posting a 9.850 in the third routine, followed by Big Ten floor champion McNamara's 9.875 that had U-M fans high-fiving in the stands and kept the Wolverines in the hunt for a Super Six berth. Big Ten Freshman of the Year Thuener-Rego stepped up in the fifth routine and rode the team's momentum, nailing her first two passes and surviving a stumble on her last to match Clauson's 9.850. Lieberman anchored the rotation, slipping in the same corner as Deiley on her second pass but maintaining her composure to rip off a 9.825 to send Michigan to vault.
With one last chance to place itself in a position to advance to the program's 10th Super Six, Michigan scored 48.950 on vault in the fifth rotation to finish with a 196.000 team score. Mirkovich vaulted first for the Wolverines in their final event, breaking the ice with a 9.675. She was followed by Bruck, who stuck her landing to score 9.750, and McNamara, who energized her teammates in the corral with a 9.825. With Alabama, LSU and Nebraska suffering falls on bars, beam and floor, Deiley hit a clutch 9.850 vault, followed by Thuener-Rego's unfortunate 9.625 after a stumble on the landing. Needing a big score to crack 49.000 on the event, two-time Big Ten vault champion Lieberman nailed a 9.850 vault to give the Wolverines a 48.950 to end their meet.
Michigan could do nothing but watch in the final rotation as Nebraska, Utah and LSU each had a chance to knock the Wolverines off the dais and advance to Super Six. Nebraska needed to post a 48.775 on vault to tie the Wolverines, while Utah needed 48.950 on bars and LSU needed 49.250 on beam. Nebraska began with a 9.500 and 9.750, while Utah hit for back-to-back scores of 9.725 and LSU went 9.725 and 9.800 to keep the Wolverines' hopes alive. Nebraska stuck vaults for 9.825 and 9.850 before Emily Parsons nailed a 9.950 to push Nebraska into the Super Six. Meanwhile, LSU continued to struggle on beam with back-to-back scores of 9.675, but Utah rebounded with a 9.900 and a 9.875 to guarantee at least a 49.000 score and push Michigan out of the top three.
Mirkovich and Thuener-Rego earned berths in the Individual Event Finals on Saturday (April 22) by finishing in the top four (plus ties) in the afternoon prelims session. Mirkovich will compete on bars, while Thuener-Rego will compete on floor.
Final Results
| Team | Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor | Total |
| 1. Nebraska | 49.100 | 49.075 | 48.825 | 49.325 | 196.325 |
| 2. Alabama | 49.000 | 48.900 | 49.075 | 49.275 | 196.250 |
| 3. Utah | 49.300 | 49.125 | 48.800 | 48.950 | 196.175 |
| 4. MICHIGAN | 48.950 | 49.100 | 48.750 | 49.200 | 196.000 |
| 5. LSU | 48.900 | 48.650 | 48.900 | 49.200 | 195.650 |
| 6. Oklahoma | 48.750 | 48.925 | 48.875 | 48.975 | 195.525 |
Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores
VAULT Lauren Mirkovich 9.675 Lindsey Bruck 9.750 Carol McNamara 9.825 Jenny Deiley 9.850 (t7) Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.625 Katie Lieberman 9.850 (t7) UNEVEN BARS Nellie Kippley 9.675 Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.800 Lindsey Bruck 9.775 Jenny Deiley 9.825 (t8) Lauren Mirkovich 9.875 (t2) Becky Bernard 9.825 (t8) BALANCE BEAM Jenny Deiley 9.700 Nellie Kippley 9.750 Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.850 (t3) Becca Clauson 9.700 Lindsey Bruck 9.700 Becky Bernard 9.750 FLOOR EXERCISE Lindsey Bruck 9.800 Jenny Deiley 9.625 Becca Clauson 9.850 (t8) Carol McNamara 9.875 (t6) Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.850 (t8) Katie Lieberman 9.825 ALL-AROUND Tatjana Thuener-Rego 39.125 Lindsey Bruck 39.025 Jenny Deiley 39.000 ( ) denotes place in Top 8
N O T E S
• Lauren Mirkovich (bars) and Tatjana Thuener-Rego (beam) advance to the NCAA Individual Event Finals on Saturday. Each athlete also earns first team All-America honors.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
