Michigan
Penn State
Penn State Upsets No. 9 Wolverines in Crisler Arena
2/16/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 9 University of Michigan women's gymnastics team suffered its first comeback upset at Crisler Arena in more than five seasons, leading for two rotations but counting a fall on the balance beam to fall to No. 19 Penn State 195.900-195.525 Friday (Feb. 16).
The Wolverines dominated the meet through the halfway point, led by a pair of 9.900 scores from sophomore Tatjana Thuener-Rego (Miami, Fla./American School). But a pair of falls on beam ate up U-M's advantage and allowed the Nittany Lions to cruise into the lead. Michigan fared well in the final rotation, but Penn State fought off an early fall to protect its lead and win the meet.
Thuener-Rego ended the night with the vault, uneven bars, beam and all-around competition crowns, scoring career-high 9.900s on vault and bars and a 9.825 on beam. The bars title was the fifth in a row for Thuener-Rego, who was named co-Big Ten Gymnast of the Week earlier in the week. Junior Nellie Kippley (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) finished runner-up in the all-around with a 39.150, taking runner-up on floor with a career-best 9.875 and tying for fourth on beam with a 9.775. Sophomore Becky Bernard (Stow, Ohio/Stow-Munroe Falls) turned out a solid performance on bars and floor. She scored a 9.900 to share the individual crown with Thuener-Rego on bars and notched a career-high 9.850 on floor.
Michigan kicked off the meet with its third highest vault total of the year -- a 49.100 -- to take an early .225 lead over Penn State, which scored 48.875 on bars. Sophomore Huneth Lor (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) began with a 9.775, followed by senior Carol McNamara's (Hastings, Minn./Hastings) season-best 9.850 in the second Wolverine vault. In the five hole, Thuener-Rego set a career-high and tied the best Wolverine vault score of the year with a 9.900, while junior Katie Lieberman (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) landed a 9.825 vault to close out the rotation.
Michigan widened its lead to .350 with a 49.150 score on bars, thanks to back-to-back 9.900s from Thuener-Rego and Bernard. Lor hit for her second-best bars score of the season -- a 9.775 -- in the second routine, followed two gymnasts later by Moody's 9.825, tying a career best. Thuener-Rego stepped up next, looking to win her fifth-straight bars title, and brought the crowd to its feet with a 9.900 -- tying her career high. Not to be outshined, Bernard stepped up and nailed her own 9.900, tying a season high to earn her third bars title of the season and fourth of her career.
Michigan suffered a pair of critical falls on beam in the third rotation, while Penn State roared on floor to turn the meet around, putting the visitor's in the driver's seat with a 0.475 lead over the home Wolverines. Kippley led off beam with an impressive 9.775, but Michigan suffered a fall in the third routine to put the Wolverine lead in jeopardy with another slip. Thuener-Rego scored a 9.825 in the fourth position, but Michigan took its second fall on a dismount in the next routine to open the door for the Nittany Lion comeback. Senior Clare Flannery (Ossining, N.Y./School of the Holy Child) stabilized the squad again with a 9.700, but the damage was done as U-M scored a season-low 48.350.
Needing an awe-inspiring performance on floor -- or a series of Nittany Lion miscues on beam -- in the final rotation, Lor led off floor with a 9.700 in the first routine, followed by a 9.775 from Lieberman to get the Wolverines off to a good start. On the other side of the arena, Penn State tallied a pair of solid scores until, in the third routine, a Nittany Lion suffered a fall, giving U-M a glimmer of hope. Kippley tied a career best with a 9.875 in the Wolverines' third routine, while Penn State steadied itself with a 9.750 on beam. Next up for the Wolverines, Bernard nailed a career-best 9.850, but the Nittany Lions stayed on the beam to score a 9.800 with just one performer remaining. Freshman Jaclyn Kramer (West Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills) scored a 9.725 in the next-to-last performance on floor, but Penn State finished with a 9.725 in its final routine to avert disaster and lock up the meet.
Michigan hits the road for the first of three straight road meets, travelling to Salt Lake City, Utah -- site of the 2007 NCAA National Championships -- to face the No. 4 Utah Utes on Friday (Feb. 23) at 7 p.m. MST.
Team Standings
| Team Scores | Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor | Total |
| 1. Penn State | 49.025 | 48.875 | 48.825 | 49.175 | 195.900 |
| 2. MICHIGAN | 49.100 | 49.150 | 48.350 | 48.925 | 195.525 |
Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores
VAULT Huneth Lor 9.775 Carol McNamara 9.850 Nellie Kippley 9.750 Maureen Moody 9.750 Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.900 (1) Katie Lieberman 9.825 (t4)
UNEVEN BARS Nellie Kippley 9.750 Huneth Lor 9.775 Kelsey Knutson 9.725 Maureen Moody 9.825 (t3) Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.900 (t1) Becky Bernard 9.900 (t1)
BALANCE BEAM Nellie Kippley 9.775 (t4) Huneth Lor 9.725 Becky Bernard 9.250 Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.825 (t1) Kelsey Knutson 9.325 Clare Flannery 9.700
FLOOR EXERCISE Huneth Lor 9.700 Katie Lieberman 9.775 Nellie Kippley 9.875 (t2)
Becky Bernard 9.850 (t4)
Jaclyn Kramer 9.725 Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.625
ALL-AROUND Tatjana Thuener-Rego 39.250 (1) Nellie Kippley 39.150 (2) Huneth Lor 38.975 (3)
( ) denotes place in the Top 5
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
