Field Announced for Season-Opening Cancun Classic
11/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The field has been set for the 2009 Cancun Gymnastics Classic, and the University of Michigan women's gymnastics team will take on Louisiana State, North Carolina and Boise State in the afternoon session on Friday, Jan. 2. Stanford, Brigham Young, Denver and Oregon State will compete in the late session.
The Wolverines will open their season at the Hilton Golf and Beach Resort in Cancun, Mexico, giving the team some international flavor in its debut meet. The last time the Wolverines competed outside the United States was in 1994 when the team traveled to the Bahamas Sunshine Invitational and defeated Iowa.
All three opponents in the afternoon session advanced to NCAA Regionals in 2008, with LSU qualifying for the Super Six. The Tigers competed at the 2008 Cancun Classic, finishing first in their session, and ended the season fifth in the nation, led by national vault champion Susan Jackson. North Carolina advanced to the NCAA Southeast Regional in 2008, wrapping up its season with a sixth-place finish, while Boise State placed fourth in the South Central Regional.
Michigan returns senior Becky Bernard(Stow, Ohio/Stow-Munroe Falls), a 2008 All-America first teamer on uneven bars, and sophomore Kylee Botterman(New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central), a 2008 first team All-American on bars and second team honoree on vault, as well as six members of the 2008 All-Big Ten team: first team selections Bernard, Botterman and junior Sarah Curtis(Reno, Nev./Reno), and second team picks junior Kelsey Knutson(Ames, Iowa/Ames) and sophomores Kari Pearce(Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) and Trish Wilson(Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley).
Michigan won its 16th Big Ten title en route to its 16th straight NCAA Championships appearance in 2008, posting an eighth-place finish at the national competition.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
