Thuener-Rego Named Most Valuable at Awards Banquet
4/16/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's gymnastics team announced the winners of its year-end awards at the program's banquet Sunday afternoon (April 15).
Less than 24 hours after advancing to the program's 15th straight NCAA Championships, the team celebrated its student-athletes, coaches, support staff and fans. The program awarded the Most Valuable Performer accolade to sophomore Tatjana Thuener-Rego(Miami, Fla./American School) for the second straight year, while junior Nellie Kippley(St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) took home the Coaches Award for the third time in her collegiate career. Sophomore Huneth Lor(Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) earned the Most Improved Award, and sophomore Becky Bernard(Stow, Ohio/Stow-Munroe Falls) took home the Unsung Hero Award. Senior Lindsey Bruck(Marietta, N.Y./Marcellus) was named the 10.0 Club Spirit Award winner.
Thuener-Rego won the Northeast Regional all-around and floor exercise titles after picking up the balance beam crown at the Big Ten Championships and earning her second All-Big Ten first team honor. Her five all-around titles in 2007 led all Wolverines, while her six uneven bars titles, three vault crowns and three beam awards made her one of the most decorated gymnasts on the squad. Thuener-Rego was co-recipient of the 2006 Most Valuable Performer Award, which she shared with Bruck and Jenny Deiley (2003-06). Thuener-Rego is the eighth Wolverine to earn the team award multiple times and the sixth to do so in back-to-back seasons.
Kippley took home the Coaches Award for the third year in row, becoming the only Wolverine gymnast to accomplish that feat in program history. Kippley competed in the all-around through the first seven meets of the season, winning a pair of titles on floor and one on beam, but an injury suffered midseason at Utah pushed her out of the lineup on a number of events. Despite competing sparingly in the next four meets, Kippley bounced back with runner-up finishes on vault and beam at Big Tens.
Lor went from competing just six routines in her freshman season to starring in the all-around for all but one week in her sophomore campaign. She won her first individual event titles, claiming vault and beam awards, and earned the respect of the conference coaches with a nod on the All-Big Ten second team. She set career highs in every event this season and has come on strongest in the postseason with a runner-up finish in the all-around at Big Tens and a third-place all-around finish at regionals.
Bernard has quietly amassed 10 individual event titles in her sophomore season, trailing only Thuener-Rego in that department. She has competed on three events all season long, winning five bars crowns, three beam titles and a pair of floor awards. Bernard competed in the all-around once this season and scored a 39.300, narrowly missing out on winning the all-around title. She earned a pair of Big Ten Gymnast of the Week laurels and was voted to the All-Big Ten first team. Bernard has come on in the postseason, winning the Big Ten beam title and finishing in the top six on bars, beam and floor at regionals.
Bruck's senior campaign was cut short when she suffered a season-ending injury in the season-opener at West Virginia. The injury was all the more tragic because Bruck had already scored a 9.900 on bars in the meet, winning her first title in her first routine of the year. Despite her injury, Bruck continued to support the team and be one of its most vocal leaders, pushing the Wolverines through Big Tens and regionals with her spirit. Bruck plans to return to U-M for a fifth year and compete in a final full season in 2008.
The program also announced that junior Katie Lieberman(Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) will be the 2007-08 recipient of the Donald R. Shepherd Scholarship for Women's Gymnastics, while Kippley will be the recipient of the 2007-08 Donald R. Shepherd Women's Gymnastics Spirit Scholarship.
Michigan's season is not over yet as the team will make the trip to Salt Lake City, Utah, for the 2007 NCAA Championships (April 26-28). Nationals begin with preliminary competition on Thursday, April 26, with six teams advancing to the Super Six team finals on Friday, April 27. The individual championships conclude the meet on Saturday (April 28).
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
