Michigan
NCAA Super Six Team Finals
Michigan Finishes as Runner-Up at NCAA Championships
4/23/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Site:Â Salt Lake City, Utah (Huntsman Center)
Event:Â #4 Michigan at NCAA Championships Super Six Team Finals
U-M Team Finish:Â 2nd place of 6 teams (196.550)
Attendance:Â 8,702
Next U-M Match:Â Saturday, April 24 -- at NCAA Championships Individual Finals (Salt Lake City, Utah), 7 p.m. MDT
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- A talented University of Michigan women's gymnastics squad pushed No. 1 Georgia to the limit at the 1999 NCAA Championships Super Six team finals Friday (April 23) only to come up three-tenths of a point short. Michigan matched its best-ever national finish by placing second (196.550) as Georgia won the national title with a score of 196.850 at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on the University of Utah campus.
Michigan was paced by fabulous performances from senior Nikki Peters (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro HS), who tied for top honors on the uneven bars and had marks of 9.900 or higher on each of her three events, and Sarah Cain (Grand Isand, Neb./Grand Island HS), who placed second in the all-around.
Michigan began its quest for the first women's national title in Wolverine history on the balance beam and came through with its second straight solid performance on that event with a mark of 49.000. Seniors Beth Amelkovich (Lombard, Ill./Glenbard East HS) and Lisa Simes (Regina, Saskatchewan/Dunbarton HS) along with junior Cain delivered scores of 9.825 to lead the way for the Wolverines.
Following a bye, Michigan moved to the floor exercise and scored a 49.050 behind a strong 9.900 from senior Peters. Cain also came through with a score of 9.850 to aid the Wolverine cause. After the third rotation, Michigan's running score of 98.050 after two events left it in third place behind Georgia (98.325) and UCLA (98.150).
Michigan closed the gap on UCLA and Georgia with a strong vault score of 49.225. Peters came through her second 9.900 of the meet and she was joined by sophomore Christine Michaud (Mill Valley, Calif./The Branson School), who also scored a 9.900, to pace the Maize and Blue. Michigan's strong showing on the vault pulled the Wolverines into a two-way tie for second with UCLA (147.275). Georgia held a slim margin with a score of 197.600 heading into the final event of the evening. Michigan was to headed to one of its strongest events, the uneven bars, while Georgia was off to the floor exercise.
Michigan and Georgia squared off on the final event and Michigan came through with a score of 49.275 on the uneven bars behind a clutch final performance from Peters, who recorded a 9.950. Only one Wolverine scored less than a 9.800 as Michigan pushed Georgia to the very end. However, Georgia also came up big with a score of 49.250. That tally gave Georgia a 196.850 to edge Michigan's mark of 196.550.
Four Wolverines will compete in the individual event finals Saturday (April 24) after placing in the top four in their events in Thursday's team preliminaries. In action for Michigan will be Peters and Cain on the uneven bars, Peters and sophomore Bridget Knaeble (New Hope, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) on the floor exercise and sophomore Karina Senior (Markham, Ontario/Milliken Mills HS) on the balance beam.
Final Team Standings
TEAM SCORES Vault Bars Beam Floor Total 1. Georgia 49.400 48.925 49.275 49.250 196.850 2. MICHIGAN 49.225 49.275 49.000 49.050 196.550 3. Alabama 49.125 49.150 48.450 49.025 195.950 4. Arizona State 48.600 49.150 48.950 49.200 195.900 5. UCLA 49.175 49.125 48.575 48.975 195.850 6. Nebraska 49.000 48.350 48.475 48.975 194.800
Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores
VAULT Bridget Knaeble 9.750 Sarah-Elizabeth Langford 9.750 Nikki Peters 9.850 (T9) Lisa Simes 9.900 (T3) Christine Michaud 9.900 (T3) Sarah Cain 9.825 UNEVEN BARS Erin McWatt 9.800 Beth Amelkovich 9.800 Lisa Simes 9.350 Bridget Knaeble 9.850 (T8) Sarah Cain 9.875 (T6) Nikki Peters 9.950 (T1) BALANCE BEAM Beth Amelkovich 9.825 Kathy Burke 9.300 Lisa Simes 9.825 Shannon MacKenzie 9.725 Sarah Cain 9.825 Karina Senior 9.800 FLOOR EXERCISE Kathy Burke 9.800 Beth Amelkovich 9.775 Lisa Simes 9.700 Bridget Knaeble 9.725 Sarah Cain 9.850 (T5) Nikki Peters 9.900 (T2) ALL-AROUND Sarah Cain 39.375 (T2) Lisa Simes 38.775 (T12) ( ) denotes place in the top 10
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Bev Plocki
On Michigan's performance ... "I am always proud of my team as long as they do as well as they possibly can and tonight they did just that. We competed extremely well and just lost to a great team in Georgia, so I am very proud of these girls."
On the pressure of the last event, the uneven bars ... "We knew how close the meet was and our girls came through under pressure in a big way. It just so happened that Georgia also came up big on the floor exercise at the same time."
On Michigan coming back from early-season struggles ... "I knew this was a very talented team all along, but we were not performing up to our capabilities early on. However, it just shows the focus and determination of this team and especially a great senior class that we fought back and were on the verge of a national title."
Senior Nikki Peters
On Michigan's overall performance ... "I was really proud of the way we competed tonight all the way until the very end. My last uneven bars routine was a special one and I was glad I nailed it."
N O T E S
• Christine Michaud's vault score of 9.900 matched her career high and set a new postseason career high.
• Michigan's runner-up finish matches its best in school history. The Wolverines also finished second in 1995, when they tied with Alabama.
• Nikki Peters scored a 9.900 or higher on each of her three events in her final collegiate team meet.
• Michigan's 1999 preliminaries score of 196.575 and its finals mark of 196.550 are its two best team totals ever at the NCAA Championships.
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
