Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Wolverines Roll to Third Straight Big Ten Championship
3/24/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The seventh-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team dominated the rest of the teams in the Big Ten Conference and scored 197.150 to capture it third consecutive Big Ten championship on Saturday (March 24) in Crisler Arena. The host Wolverines, who have nine Big Ten titles in the last 10 years, posted the top team score in each of the four events, had three individuals take home event titles and placed nine members on the All-Big Ten team.
No. 10-ranked Penn State (196.425) finished second while No. 15 Minnesota (195.750) was third in the seven-team event. Iowa freshman Alexis Maday won the all-around (39.650), tied the Big Ten Championships floor exercise record (9.975) and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Penn State's Katie Rowland was voted Gymnast of the Year, and Ohio State's Larry Cox and Iowa's Mike Lorenzen shared Coach of the Year honors.
Leading the way for the Wolverines were seniors Bridget Knaeble (New Hope, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) and Christine Michaud (Mill Valley, Calif./The Branson School). Knaeble tied her career high on the uneven bars (9.975) to win the event. Michaud, a vault specialist, tied her career high of 9.950 to tie for first with Iowa's Stephanie Gran. Michigan had another specialist capture an event title, as junior Shannon MacKenzie (Midland, Mich./Midland HS) tied her career best with a 9.925 to win the balance beam.
Michigan (15-7, 9-0 Big Ten) had nine athletes in 12 events receive recognition as members of the All-Big Ten team. Standing out among the team was sophomore Janessa Grieco (Mahopac, N.Y./Carmel HS), who earned all-conference honors on the vault, balance beam and floor exercise. Only Iowa freshman Alexis Maday, the winner of the all-around competition, earned more honors (vault, uneven bars, floor exercise and all-around).
After drawing a bye in the first rotation, the Wolverines opened in the second rotation with a 49.575 on the floor exercise, the second highest score in the program's history. The mark also tied their highest Big Ten Championship floor exercise score, matching last season's performance. The effort was made possible after Jodie Rosenberg (West Bloomfield, Mich./West Bloomfield HS) and Grieco led off the rotation by tying their career highs with scores of 9.875 and 9.925, respectively. Senior tied her career high and finished tied for second with teammate Elise Ray (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake HS), as both scored 9.950, the second highest score recorded by a Wolverine on the floor exercise at a Big Ten Championship meet.
After sitting through another bye, Michigan moved to the vault for the fourth rotation and scored 49.300. Michaud led the Wolverines, tying her career high with her third consecutive 9.950 and fourth in the last five meets. Her efforts earned her a tie for first place. Also tying her career high on the apparatus was Ray, who scored a 9.825. Beam specialist MacKenzie set a new vault career high with a 9.775, and Grieco tied for third with a 9.925 vault.
The Wolverines had their last bye in the fifth rotation and then progressed to the uneven bars for the sixth rotation. After freshman Calli Ryals (Elyria, Ohio/Midview HS) opened the rotation with a 9.700, both Cami Singer (Monument, Colo./Lewis Palmer HS), the defending champion on the uneven bars, and Amy Kuczera (Bloomingdale, Ill./Lake Park HS) scored 9.900. For Singer, the score set a new season high, while the score tied Kuczera's career high. Knaeble and Ray also tied their career highs on the event. Ray scored a 9.950 to finish second to Knaeble, who posted her third 9.975 of the season.
Moving on to the final rotation, the Wolverines found themselves on their weakest event of the year, the balance beam. However, Michigan gymnasts swept the top three spots and the Wolverines scored the highest beam team score of the competition (48.850). MacKenzie tied her career high and won the event with a 9.925, the second highest score recorded by a Wolverine on the balance beam at a Big Ten Championship meet. Her score also put her in first place overall on the event by half of a 10th over teammates Grieco and Ryals, who tied for second with scores of 9.875.
Michigan has the luxury of knowing that it will be in Ann Arbor for the NCAA Region 5 Championships since the Wolverines are hosting the event for the first time since 1997. Joining Michigan for the regional competition on Saturday, April 7, at 6 p.m. will be two other teams ranked among the top 18 in the nation and then the top three remaining teams from the Northeast Region. The pairings will be announced on Monday (March 26).
Final Results
| Team Scores | Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor | Total |
| 1. MICHIGAN | 49.300 | 49.425 | 48.850 | 49.575 | 197.150 |
| 2. Penn State | 49.050 | 49.250 | 48.775 | 49.350 | 196.425 |
| 3. Minnesota | 49.225 | 49.125 | 48.200 | 49.200 | 195.750 |
| 4. Ohio State | 49.075 | 48.650 | 48.525 | 49.175 | 195.425 |
| 5. Iowa | 49.000 | 48.875 | 48.300 | 49.225 | 195.400 |
| 6. Michigan State | 48.600 | 48.650 | 48.100 | 48.625 | 193.975 |
| 7. Illinois | 48.225 | 48.675 | 47.575 | 48.900 | 193.375 |
Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores
ALL-AROUND Elise Ray 39.075 (5) Karina Senior 38.250 VAULT Bridget Knaeble 9.825 Shannon MacKenzie 9.775 Karina Senior 9.775 Elise Ray 9.825 Janessa Grieco 9.925 (T3) Christine Michaud 9.950 (T1) UNEVEN BARS Calli Ryals 9.700 Cami Singer 9.900 (T4) Amy Kuczera 9.900 (T4) Karina Senior 9.375 Bridget Knaeble 9.975 (1) Elise Ray 9.950 (2) BALANCE BEAM Janessa Grieco 9.875 (T2) Calli Ryals 9.875 (T2) Melissa Peterson 9.825 Karina Senior 9.125 Shannon MacKenzie 9.925 (1) Elise Ray 9.350 FLOOR EXERCISE Jodie Rosenberg 9.875 Janessa Grieco 9.925 (T4) Calli Ryals 9.875 Karina Senior 9.950 (T2) Bridget Knaeble 9.850 Elise Ray 9.950 (T2) ( ) denotes place in the Top 5
N O T E S
Michigan gymnasts on the 2001 All-Big Ten team (top six on each event and top three all-around gymnasts) are:
Christine Michaud, vault
Janessa Grieco, vault, balance beam, floor exercise
Bridget Knaeble, uneven bars
Elise Ray, uneven bars, floor exercise
Amy Kuczera, uneven bars
Cami Singer, uneven bars
Shannon MacKenzie, balance beam
Calli Ryals, balance beam
Karina Senior, floor exercise
Eleven Michigan gymnasts set or tied career highs throughout the meet.
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Bev Plocki
On winning the Big Ten championship ... "It was just awesome. To do it here in front of our wonderful fans was just great. We started out on fire and then did very well on the vault and uneven bars. We didn't have the strongest finish, but we were still able to do what we intended -- win the Big Ten championship."
Freshman Elise Ray
On winning the Big Ten compared to her Olympic experience ... "It was just totally different than the Olympics. It is so much fun to win a team event. Being at home makes it even better. I just loved every minute of it out here tonight."
Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
