Michigan
NCAA Individual Event Finals
Gymnast Lieberman Ends Season at Individual Finals
4/28/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Site: Salt Lake City, Utah (Huntsman Center)
Event: NCAA Championships
U-M Finish: No Team Scoring
Next U-M Event: Season Completed
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- Junior Katie Lieberman (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) of the University of Michigan women's gymnastics team represented the Wolverines on the floor exercise at the 2007 NCAA Individual Event Finals, finishing 18th on Saturday night (April 28).
"I could hear the crowd really getting into it near the end," said Lieberman. "I just tried to think of it as another meet but I was a little nervous, I'm not going to lie. Janae (Cox) from West Virginia and Karin (Wurm) from Arizona helped calm me down a little. It was a lot of fun."
Lieberman competed in the eighth of 18 routines, looking to beat a 9.9250 score put up by Utah Ute and hometown favorite Ashley Postell. Lieberman intended to perform the same routine she had all year with the addition of a punch front on her final pass.
Lieberman began her routine with a solid tumbling pass, sticking her landing and earning a decent round of applause from the crowd. Making her second pass towards the U-M fans, she stuck the landing once again and earned an even bigger hand from the fans. With Lieberman dancing in front of the clapping Maize and Blue fans, the crowd joined in, clapping to the music as Lieberman wrapped up her routine and prepared for her final tumbling pass towards the vault corral. Lieberman took off, drifting slightly to the right and fell for the first time all season, scoring a 9.2375.
Lieberman earned the right to compete in the event finals after tying for fourth place on the floor exercise on Thursday (April 26) at the NCAA Preliminary competition. Her 9.850 was good for a share of fourth and earned Lieberman All-America first team honors for the second time in her career. Lieberman was a 2005 All-America first team honoree on vault and an All-America second team recipient on vault in 2006.
The Wolverines end the 2007 season tied for 11th in the nation after securing their 15th straight bid to the NCAA Championships. Michigan finished the season winning its 15th Big Ten Championships crown, earning four All-Big Ten honors and capturing two individual titles at the conference meet. U-M also boasts three All-Americans, including first teamer Lieberman (floor) and second team honorees sophomore Becky Bernard (Stow, Ohio/Stow-Munroe Falls) (bars) and junior Nellie Kippley (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) (vault).
Final Results
VAULT
1. Courtney Kupets, Georgia 9.9188
2. Annie DiLuzio, Utah 9.8875
3. Emily Parsons, Nebraska 9.8500
4. Brittney Koncak-Schumann, Okla. 9.8500
5. Mandi Rodriguez, Oregon State 9.8375
6. Savannah Evans, Florida 9.8125
7. Tiffany Tolnay, Georgia 9.7938
8. Kiara Redmond, Oklahoma 9.7875
Megan Dowlen, Georgia 9.7875
10. Marcia Newby, Georgia 9.7000
11. Tasha Smith, Oregon State 9.6000
12. Nicolle Ford, Utah 9.5875
13. Nicki Butler, LSU 9.5563
Amanda Castillo, Florida 9.5563
15. Carly Janiga, Stanford 9.4500
UNEVEN BARS
1. Terin Humphrey, Alabama 9.9500
2. Tasha Schwikert, UCLA 9.9125
Courtney Kupets, Georgia 9.9125
4. Kristina Baskett, Utah 9.9000
5. Katie Heenan, Georgia 9.8875
Melanie Sinclair, Florida 9.8875
7. Ashley Postell, Utah 9.8250
8. Daria Bijak, Utah 9.8000
BALANCE BEAM
1. Ashley Postell, Utah 9.9375
2. Grace Taylor, Georgia 9.9000
3. Amanda Castillo, Florida 9.8500
Corey Hartung, Florida 9.8500
Courtney Kupets, Georgia 9.8500
Nicole Ourada, Stanford 9.8500
7. Tabitha Yim, Stanford 9.8375
8. Terin Humphrey, Alabama 9.8000
9. Anna Li, UCLA 9.7875
10. Kelly Phelan, LSU 9.7750
11. Kelly Fee, Stanford 9.7250
12. Melanie Sinclair, Florida 9.6875
13. Tricia Woo, Nebraska 9.6625
14. Kristi Esposito, LSU 9.5875
15. Jessica Lopez, Denver 9.5500
FLOOR EXERCISE
1. Morgan Dennis, Alabama 9.9625
2. Courtney Kupets, Georgia 9.9500
3. Ashley Postell, Utah 9.9250
4. Savannah Evans, Florida 9.9000
Corey Hartung, Florida 9.9000
Emily Parsons, Nebraska 9.9000
Kiara Redmond, Oklahoma 9.9000
8. Carly Janiga, Stanford 9.8875
Tabitha Yim, Stanford 9.8875
10. Tiffany Tolnay, Georgia 9.8625
11. Kelly Phelan, LSU 9.8500
12. Beth Rizzo, Utah 9.8375
13. Janae Cox, West Virginia 9.8250
Karin Wurm, Arizona 9.8250
15. Susan Jackson, LSU 9.7875
16. Jessica Lopez, Denver 9.7375
17. Ashley Reed, Florida 9.2875
18. KATIE LIEBERMAN, U-M 9.2375
N O T E S
• Katie Lieberman is the12th Wolverine in program history to compete on the floor exercise at the individual event finals; the first since 2003. In 2003, Calli Ryals placed fifth among nine competitors on floor in her final collegiate meet, capping a career with seven All-America honors.
• Lieberman earned All-America first team honors on vault as a freshman in 2005 but she injured herself in warm-ups and was unable to compete.
• Lieberman was attempting to win Michigan's first-ever individual national title on the floor exercise. Wolverines have combined for four national titles on bars, one on beam and one in the all-around competition.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
