Michigan
Georgia
Michigan Has Four-Meet Win Streak Snapped by Georgia
2/11/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Arena)
Score: #2 Georgia 196.725, #3 Michigan 195.700
Records: Michigan (10-3, 3-0 Big Ten), Georgia (11-1, 4-1 SEC)
Attendance: 2,388
Next U-M Meet: Saturday, Feb. 19 -- at Georgia (Athens, Ga.), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The third-ranked Michigan women's gymnastics team lost another close meet to second-ranked Georgia on Friday night (Feb. 11) at Crisler Arena. Despite an early lead after the first rotation, the Wolverines could not pull away from the Bulldogs and Georgia eventually pulled out a 196.725-195.700 victory. The loss is Michigan's first in five meets, with its only three losses this season coming to No. 2 Georgia (twice) and No. 1 Alabama.
Michigan took an early, yet minuscule, lead after it eased through its first rotation on the vault. Led by senior Sarah Cain (Grand Island, Neb./Grand Island HS) and her season-best score of 9.975, the Wolverines accumulated a vault score of 49.350 while Georgia was posting a 49.250 on the uneven bars. Cain's 9.975 on the vault was good for a first-place finish. Cain was followed up on the vault by Christine Michaud (Mill Valley, Calif./The Branson School), who tied for third with a 9.875.
The Wolverines moved on to the uneven bars and lost their 0.100 lead as they amassed a 49.075 and the Bulldogs scored 49.300 on the vault. Junior Bridget Knaeble (New Hope, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) led the Wolverines as she tied her season best of 9.900, which placed her in a tie for first. Freshman Tara Tagliarino (Tampa, Fla./H.B. Plant HS) followed on Knaeble's heels with a 9.875, which put her in fourth place.
Going into the third rotation behind Georgia by 0.125, Michigan struggled on the balance beam as it compiled a 48.475 on the event and concluded the rotation with a 0.875 deficit. Sophomore Shannon MacKenzie (Midland, Mich./Midland HS) led the Wolverines with her third-place 9.850. Karina Senior (Markham, Ontario/Milliken Mills HS) followed close behind to match her season-best score with a 9.825 to take fourth place on the event.
Entering the final rotation on the floor, freshman Jodie Rosenberg (West Bloomfield, Mich./West Bloomfield HS) reinstated Michigan's momentum with her score of 9.850 on the Wolverines' leadoff floor routine. Rosenberg's explosion triggered a career best by Melissa Peterson (Shawnee, Kan./Shawnee Mission West HS) as she and Senior tied for second place on the event with scores of 9.875. However, Michigan could muster just a 48.800 team score on the floor as Georgia pulled out the 196.725-195.700 win.
Michigan will try to steal its first-ever win against Georgia in a rematch next Saturday (Feb. 19) at 7 p.m. at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Ga.
Final Results
TEAM SCORES Vault Bars Beam Floor Total 1. Georgia 49.300 49.250 49.100 49.075 196.725 2. Michigan 49.350 49.075 48.475 48.800 195.700
Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores
ALL-AROUND Sarah Cain 38.475 (2) VAULT Bridget Knaeble 9.700 Janessa Grieco 9.850 Sarah-Elizabeth Langford 9.825 Karina Senior 9.825 Christine Michaud 9.875 (T3) Sarah Cain 9.975 (1) UNEVEN BARS Kate Nellans 9.800 Amy Kuczera 9.775 Cami Singer 9.075 Tara Tagliarino 9.875 (4) Bridget Knaeble 9.900 (T1) Sarah Cain 9.725 BALANCE BEAM Janessa Grieco 9.650 Kate Nellans 9.725 Shannon MacKenzie 9.850 (3) Karina Senior 9.825 (4) Melissa Peterson 9.350 Sarah Cain 9.425 FLOOR EXERCISE Jodie Rosenberg 9.850 Melissa Peterson 9.875 (T2) Bridget Knaeble 9.825 Janessa Grieco 9.375 Karina Senior 9.875 (T2) Sarah Cain 9.350 ( ) denotes place in the Top 5
NOTES
• Sarah Cain's 9.975 on the vault was a team and personal season high, passing her 9.950 set against Kentucky (1/28/00). Cain leads the Wolverines on the horse, averaging 9.875 going into the meet.
• The Wolverines' final vault score of 49.350 was also a team season high, surpassing their 49.300 set against Kentucky on Jan. 28.
• Michigan's four-meet streak of winning all four events came to an end as the Wolverines won just the vault.
• Karina Senior recorded her career best on the vault (9.825). Freshman Janessa Grieco (Mahopac, N.Y./Carmel HS) also registered her career best on the vault (9.850).
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Bev Plocki
On the meet in general ... "I am disappointed because I do not feel we gave our best performance tonight. We came in pumped up and with a lot of adrenaline, which maybe worked to our disadvantage."
On the falls on the balance beam ... "If you compete in an intense meet like this and you are a little bit nervous, you will take your hit on the balance beam, but what bothered me more was for us to count two falls on the floor exercise. That is very uncharacteristic of this team, because we have delivered excellent floor routines all season."
Players Mentioned
