Women's Gymnastics Upsets No. 6 Nebraska in Tri Meet

Friday, February 9

Ann Arbor, Mich.

7:30 PM

Michigan

#6 Nebraska, Illinois

2/9/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 8 University of Michigan women's gymnastics team knocked off No. 6 Nebraska and Big Ten rival Illinois on Friday night (Feb. 9), posting its second highest total of the season (195.825) to handily shuck the Huskers (195.350) and defeat the Illini (192.525) in Crisler Arena.

In front 2,117 fans -- the largest crowd of the season -- Michigan made up an early deficit to pass Nebraska in the second rotation and cruise to victory thanks to individual performances by sophomore Tatjana Thuener-Rego (Miami, Fla./American School), junior Nellie Kippley (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) and junior Katie Lieberman (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) and a season high score on the floor exercise. Thuener-Rego sparkled all night, finishing in the top two in three of four events, taking home her fourth uneven bars title in a row and winning the all-around. She scored a career-best 9.900 on bars and totaled a career-high 39.400 in the all-around to dominate the meet.

Kippley's meet grew stronger as the night progressed with a balance beam title and a runner-up finish on floor, while her all-around total was good for second place. Kippley scored a season-best 9.825 to win the beam title and finished with an all-around career best of 39.350.

Lieberman's contribution came early in the vault where she tied a career high with a 9.900 to finish runner-up in the event.

The Wolverines started strong on vault, but trailed Nebraska and its bars total. A pair of falls on beam for the Huskers allowed Michigan to leap frog the favored visitors and punctuate the meet with a season-high 49.225 team score on floor.

Michigan again suffered a key injury in warm-ups, as freshman Maureen Moody (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing) stepped out of the vault line-up at the last second, paving the way for senior Clare Flannery (Ossining, N.Y./School of the Holy Child). Flannery waited in the four spot behind Kippley who stuck a 9.850 vault to equal her career best. Flannery stepped up and nailed a 9.750 vault -- the second highest vault score of her career -- and her highest of the season. Michigan showed heart once again with Thuener-Rego's 9.825 vault in the five spot, followed by Lieberman's show stopping 9.900 -- a season best -- and the best Wolverine vault of the season. The Wolverines' vault total was the second highest of the season (49.125), putting Michigan 0.050 points behind Nebraska after the first rotation, with Illinois in third with a 48.025 on the floor exercise.

In the second rotation, Michigan moved to bars, while the meet-leading Huskers took to the beam. Kippley led off with a 9.800, while Moody returned to the line-up and gutted out her routine in the four spot, scoring a career-best 9.825. Thuener-Rego followed up with a career-best 9.900 to give Michigan a 48.975 team score and 98.100 overall at the midway point. The Huskers started solid with back-to-back 9.800s, but two falls through the final four competitors, including a slip by the nation's number three beam performer, Emily Parsons, gave Nebraska a sub-par 47.700 score and a 96.875 total. Illinois rebounded on vault despite a 0.00 score by Lindsey Smith in the opening performance, scoring 48.425 and totaling 96.450, putting the Illini closely behind the second-place Huskers.

With the Wolverines holding a comfortable lead in the third rotation on beam, Kippley scored a 9.825 in the first performance to set a season best. U-M suffered a scare in the third routine with a fall by sophomore Becky Bernard (Stow, Ohio/Stow-Munroe Falls), but Thuener-Rego steadied the Wolverines with a 9.800, and freshman Kelsey Knutson (Ames, Iowa/Ames) scored a 9.750 in her second collegiate beam routine to keep Michigan ahead of second place Nebraska, 146.600-146.100, and far past the Illini, which headed into the final rotation with a team score of 144.775.

Michigan poured it on in the final rotation on floor, kicking the event off with a pair of 9.825 scores from sophomore Huneth Lor (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) and Lieberman before Kippley wowed the judges with a season-high 9.875. Thuener-Rego matched Kippley's score two routines later, following Bernard's 9.825 in the three spot. Nebraska scored high on vault in its final rotation, but the Husker comeback fell short as Nebraska went to 7-3 on the season.

Michigan welcomes Big Ten rival Penn State to Ann Arbor on Friday (Jan. 16) at 7:30 p.m. for a Maize Out meet at Crisler Arena. Fans are encouraged to wear maize to the event, and crowd members will have the chance to win several valuable prizes.

Team Standings

Team Scores	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	Total
1. MICHIGAN	49.125	48.975	48.500	49.225	195.825
2. Nebraska	49.250	49.175	47.700	49.225	195.350
3. Illinois	48.425	48.325	47.750	48.025	192.525

Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores

VAULT Huneth Lor 9.775 Carol McNamara 9.775 Nellie Kippley 9.850 (t5) Clare Flannery 9.750 Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.825 Katie Lieberman 9.900 (t2)
 UNEVEN BARS Nellie Kippley 9.800 Huneth Lor 9.700 Kelsey Knutson 9.650 Maureen Moody 9.825 (t4) Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.900 (1) Becky Bernard 9.750
 BALANCE BEAM Nellie Kippley 9.825 (1) Huneth Lor 9.525 Becky Bernard 9.275 Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.800 (t2) Kelsey Knutson 9.750 Clare Flannery 9.600
 FLOOR EXERCISE Huneth Lor 9.825 Katie Lieberman 9.825 Nellie Kippley 9.875 (t2) Becky Bernard 9.825 Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.875 (t2) Jaclyn Kramer 9.725
 ALL-AROUND Tatjana Thuener-Rego 39.400 (1) Nellie Kippley 39.350 (2) Huneth Lor 38.825 (5)