Michigan Posts Season High in Quad Meet Sweep

Saturday, January 29

Ann Arbor, Mich.

6:00 PM

Michigan

Michigan Quad Meet

1/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics

Jan. 29, 2011

• Complete Results | Photo Gallery
• Postmeet Video: Jordan Sexton & Kylee Botterman

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Arena)
U-M Team Finish: 1st of 4 Teams (195.875)
Records: U-M (8-1, 4-1 Big Ten), Kent State (6-1-1), Maryland (5-3), Illinois-Chicago (2-6)
Attendance: 3,178
Next U-M Meet: Saturday, Feb. 5 -- at New Hampshire (Durham, N.C.), 4 p.m.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 8-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team defeated its highest ranked opponent of the year and swept the rest of the competition at the Michigan Quad with a 195.875 score, besting No. 11 Kent State (194.675), Maryland (193.800) and Illinois-Chicago (189.875) on Saturday night (Jan. 29) at Crisler Arena.

A big part of the victory was senior Kylee Botterman (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central), who outdid herself by winning three event titles and taking the all-around crown for the fourth consecutive meet. Botterman outscored 23 other gymnasts on balance beam (9.875) and the floor exercise (9.900) while sharing the uneven bars title (9.925). She set season highs on bars and floor and matched her season high on beam, while her all-around total (39.525) was her second highest of the season.

Teammate and fifth-year senior Jordan Sexton (Weddington, N.C./Weddington) was right behind Botterman much of the way, taking runner-up on beam (9.825) and third-place on bars (9.875) with a season-best score. Other notable Wolverines included freshman Reema Zakharia (Miami, Fla./Coral Gables Senior High), who anchored the floor rotation with a 9.875 in her first collegiate routine, and freshman Shelby Gies (Pennington, N.J./Hopewell Valley Central), who scored a career high for third place on beam (9.800).

The Wolverines led from the start, scoring 49.000 on vault and rebounding from last week's disappointing showing on bars with a 49.200 to take a comfortable lead at the midway point. Michigan's bogeyman, the balance beam, popped its head up in the third rotation when the Wolverines counted a fall, but U-M put its stamp on the meet with an inspiring 49.150 on floor to post the team's highest total this season.

Michigan opened the meet on the tightly scored vault -- just one score exceeded 9.825 all evening -- managing a pair of 9.825 performances from Botterman and sophomore Natalie Beilstein (Butler, Pa./Knoch). The team rotated to bars, where fifth-year senior Sarah Curtis (Reno, Nev./Reno) broke open the scoring with a 9.850 in the third routine, before Sexton pushed the bar to 9.875 with a near flawless landing and Botterman set the night's highest score with a superbly executed 9.925.

On to beam, Michigan's first performer fell, but freshman Joanna Sampson (Willow Grove, Pa./Upper Moreland) righted the ship with a collegiate-best 9.750 followed by Gies' 9.800 and Sexton's 9.825. The second-to-last Wolverine fell as well, leaving Botterman last in the lineup with added pressure, as the senior captain completed the best routine of the night, a 9.875.

Finally on floor, Beilstein got things rocking in the four-spot with the highest score of the night -- a 9.850 -- but Botterman nailed a pike full-in on her first pass, wowing the judges for a 9.900 routine. Zakharia ended the evening with her first collegiate floor routine, stumbling a little on her first pass but more than making up for it with a 9.875 finish.

Michigan gets back on the road, heading to Durham, N.H., to face New Hampshire on Saturday (Feb. 5) at 4 p.m. in Lundholm Gymnasium. The Wildcats are listed 27th in the most recent GymInfo poll.

Team Standings	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	Total
Michigan	49.000	49.200	48.525	49.150	195.875
Kent State	48.925	49.275	47.850	48.625	194.675
Maryland	48.300	48.850	48.225	48.775	193.800
UIC	47.150	47.875	47.600	47.250	189.875

Event-by-Event U-M Individual Scores

VaultSarah Curtis         9.800 (5)Joanna Sampson       9.775Katie Zurales        9.775Natalie Beilstein    9.825 (t2)Kylee Botterman      9.825 (t2)Kari Pearce          9.750 Uneven BarsNatalie Beilstein    9.750Shelby Gies          9.800Sarah Curtis         9.850Jordan Sexton        9.875 (t3)Kylee Botterman      9.925 (t1)Kari Pearce          9.100 Balance BeamSarah Curtis         9.275Joanna Sampson       9.750 (t5)Shelby Gies          9.800 (t3)Jordan Sexton        9.825 (2)Natalie Beilstein    8.400Kylee Botterman      9.875 (1) Floor ExerciseStephanie Colbert    9.725Sarah Curtis         9.775Jordan Sexton        9.750Natalie Beilstein    9.850 (3)Kylee Botterman      9.900 (1)Reema Zakharia       9.875 (2) All-AroundKylee Botterman     39.525 (1)Sarah Curtis        38.700 (t4)Natalie Beilstein   37.825

N O T E S

• Michigan has not lost to a team in Crisler Arena in more than two years. Michigan's last loss in Ann Arbor was on March 22, 2008, to Utah.

• Kylee Botterman has 13 individual titles through four weeks of gymnastics, including all-around crowns in every meet she has competed in. Botterman finished somewhere other than first on vault for the first time all year, taking runner-up honors.

• Jordan Sexton scored a season-best 9.875 on bars.

• Reema Zakharia scored a collegiate-best 9.875 in her very first floor routine.

• Shelby Gies and Joanna Sampson had collegiate bests on beam, scoring 9.800 and 9.750, respectively.

• The 11th-ranked Kent State Golden Flashes are the highest ranked opponent Michigan has faced all season.

Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423