Wolverines Take Sixth Place at NCAA Championships

Saturday, April 16

Cleveland, Ohio

4:00 PM

Michigan

NCAA Super Six Team Finals

4/16/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics

April 16, 2011

• Notes | Complete Results | Photo Gallery

Site: Cleveland, Ohio (Wolstein Center)
Event: NCAA Super Six Team Finals
U-M Team Finish: 6th of 6 Teams (196.425)
Record: No. 6 U-M (26-11)
Attendance: 4,573
Next U-M Event: Sunday, April 17 -- at NCAA Individual Event Finals (Cleveland, Ohio), 1 p.m.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The University of Michigan women's gymnastics team completed each of its goals in the 2011 season -- winning Big Tens, winning regionals, advancing to the NCAA Championships and competing in the Super Six -- but a sixth-place (196.425) Super Six result concluded the Wolverines' campaign one step short Saturday evening (April 16) at the Wolstein Center.

The Wolverines put together three solid events -- posting the night's highest uneven bars score (49.375), the third-best floor exercise total (49.225) and the season's sixth-best vault score (49.300) -- but two falls on balance beam in the third rotation took the squad out of contention. Despite counting a fall, Michigan finished just 0.075 points behind fifth-place Utah (196.500) and three-tenths shy of fourth-place Nebraska (196.725). Alabama captured the national title (197.650) with UCLA finishing runner-up (197.375) and Oklahoma taking third (197.250).

The NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships will air on CBS on Saturday, May 14, at 3 p.m. ET.

In her final collegiate team meet, senior Kylee Botterman (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) pushed her legendary season one notch higher, finishing with the night's best all-around total (39.575) -- 0.050 better than her national-title effort in the semifinals -- and took third on floor exercise (9.900) and fifth on balance beam (9.850). She added a 9.900 on vault and another 9.900 on the uneven bars, the only event in which she failed to qualify for Sunday's Individual Event Finals.

Fellow senior Trish Wilson (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) was the best gymnast in the nation on the bars once again, taking first and tying a career high with 9.950. Fifth-year senior Sarah Curtis (Reno, Nev./Reno) had her best overall meet of the year, posting a season-best 39.300 in the all-around and moving into a tie for first place in Michigan gymnastics history for the most career all-around scores of 39.000 or better. Curtis tied a season high with a 9.875 on beam while going 9.850 on bars and 9.825 on vault.

Fifth-year senior Jordan Sexton (Weddington, N.C./Weddington) and senior Kari Pearce (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) also wrapped up their collegiate careers, with Sexton competing on bars, beam and floor and Pearce competing on vault to close out her final campaign.

The Wolverines waited in the wings on bye for the first rotation before hitting the ground running in rotation two on bars. Michigan continued to peak when it counted, matching its score from Friday's semifinal session -- a season-best 49.375 -- highlighted by Wilson's electrifying career-high 9.950 and Botterman's 9.900. Sophomore Brittnee Martinez (Colorado Springs, Colo./Doherty) anchored the lineup with her second highest score of the year, a 9.875, while Curtis scored a 9.850 in her final collegiate bars routine.

Moving to beam in the third rotation, the Wolverines knew their work was cut out for them. Neither Utah (49.025) nor Nebraska (48.875) had sizzled on the event, and Michigan knew it would need to hit for a national title. Freshman Shelby Gies (Pennington, N.J./Hopewell Valley Central) led off with steady 9.800, and Curtis nailed a season-best 9.850 with the third performance with a near-perfect roundoff double tuck dismount. However, Michigan took a fall in the fourth routine and counted it with a fall in the anchor position, negating a solid 9.850 for Botterman in the five spot.

Michigan sat out the fourth rotation trailing the field at the halfway point but with hope on the horizon with U-M's two strongest events -- floor and vault -- upcoming. The Wolverines started slow on floor before freshman Reema Zakharia (Miami, Fla./Coral Gables Senior High) got things rolling with a 9.850, sophomore Natalie Beilstein (Butler, Pa./Knoch) pushed the limit to 9.875, and Botterman brought it home with a 9.900, giving Michigan a 49.225 team score and a fighting chance at the podium.

In the sixth and final rotation on vault, needing a 49.600 to catch Nebraska and needing to outscore Utah's bars squad by 0.150, Michigan went for broke. Freshman Joanna Sampson (Willow Grove, Pa./Upper Moreland) hit for 9.850 with Michigan's third vault, and sophomore Katie Zurales (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South) nailed a 9.875 to help the momentum. Beilstein wrapped up her sophomore campaign with a 9.850 in the next performance, and Botterman nailed yet another 9.900 vault to give Michigan a 49.300 total -- not enough to catch Nebraska and 0.075 shy of matching Utah.

Michigan's team season is complete, but four Wolverines will compete for individual national titles at the NCAA Individual Event Finals Sunday (April 17) at 1 p.m. to wrap up nationals. Botterman and Zurales will compete on vault against 14 other gymnasts, while Wilson and Martinez will vie for a national title on bars against 13 other competitors. Botterman will also compete on beam against a field of nine top-flight gymnasts and on floor against 11 opponents.

Team Standings	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	Total
1. Alabama	49.575	49.275	49.350	49.300	197.650
2. UCLA	49.500	49.325	49.200	49.350	197.375
3. Oklahoma	49.350	49.300	49.425	49.175	197.250
4. Nebraska	49.350	49.300	48.875	49.200	196.725
5. Utah	49.200	49.225	49.025	49.050	196.500
6. MICHIGAN	49.300	49.375	48.525	49.225	196.425

Event-by-Event U-M Individual Scores

VaultKari Pearce          9.650Sarah Curtis         9.825Joanna Sampson       9.850Katie Zurales        9.875Natalie Beilstein    9.850Kylee Botterman         9.900 Uneven BarsShelby Gies          9.675Sarah Curtis         9.850Jordan Sexton        9.800Kylee Botterman      9.900Trish Wilson         9.950 (t1)Brittnee Martinez    9.875 Balance BeamShelby Gies          9.800Joanna Sampson       9.725Sarah Curtis         9.850Jordan Sexton        9.275Kylee Botterman      9.850 (t5)Katie Zurales        9.050 Floor ExerciseSarah Curtis         9.775Joanna Sampson       9.800Jordan Sexton        9.250Reema Zakharia       9.850Natalie Beilstein    9.875Kylee Botterman      9.900 (t3) All-AroundKylee Botterman     39.575 (1)Sarah Curtis        39.300

• Previous Results: NCAA Semifinals

N O T E S

Team Notes

• Michigan wraps up its 10th Super Six Finals in program history with a sixth-place finish. U-M has finished sixth three times at the Super Six finals -- the last time in 2000. The Wolverines have three fifth-place finishes, two fourth-place finishes, one third-place showing and a pair of runner-up finishes.

• Michigan's 49.375 on bars was the highest score for any Super Six team on the event. It also matched the team's season high, equaling U-M's total in the semifinal session on Friday.

Individual Super Six Notes

• Three Wolverines competed in their final collegiate meets on Saturday. Fifth-year seniors Sarah Curtis and Jordan Sexton wrapped up sensational five-year careers, while senior Kari Pearce went out in style competing in the final event at Super Six. A pair of Wolverine seniors -- Kylee Botterman and Trish Wilson -- will compete one final time at Sunday's Individual Event Finals.

• Sarah Curtis graduates with the honor of sharing the record for most 39.000+ all-around scores in Michigan gymnastics history, equaling Wolverine legend Elise Ray (2001-05) in the final meet of Curtis' career. Curtis tallied 40 all-around scores of 39.000 or better in her career -- nine as a sophomore, 11 as a junior, 11 as a senior and nine as a fifth-year senior.

• In the only event she won't compete at Sunday's Individual Event Finals, Kylee Botterman nailed a 9.900 bars routine -- her second-best score all year.

• Trish Wilson hit the best bars routine of her life, scoring a career-high 9.950 to equal her performance at the 2009 Big Ten Championships. She will compete the last bars routine of her collegiate career at Sunday's Individual Event Finals.

• Kylee Botterman posted her second best all-around score of 2011 (39.575) and finished first in the all-around competition for the 13th time in 14 meets this season.

• Sarah Curtis tied a season high on beam with a 9.875.

Looking Ahead to Individual Event Finals

• Four Wolverines will compete at Individual Event Finals on Sunday (April 17) for individual national titles -- Kylee Botterman (vault, beam, floor), Brittnee Martinez (bars), Trish Wilson (bars) and Katie Zurales (vault).

• Kylee Botterman has a chance at a rare triple crown: Big Ten, regional and national titles on floor exercise. Only two Wolverines have ever achieved a triple crown in an event. Elise Ray (2001-05) pulled off a pair of triple crowns, sweeping all three bars titles in 2004 and all three beam titles in 2002, while Beth Wymer (1992-95) held all three trophies on bars in 1993.

Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423