Weekly Release #13

This Week: No. 7 Michigan at NCAA National Championships
Thursday-Saturday, April 19-21, Stegeman Coliseum, Athens, Ga.
Thursday, April 19 -- National Team Semifinals (1 p.m.)
Friday, April 20 -- National Team Finals (7 p.m.)
Saturday, April 21 -- Individual Event Finals (7 p.m.)

Wolverines Look for First Title in 10th Trip to Nationals
The seventh-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team (15-7, 9-0 Big Ten) is looking to capture the first national championship in the program's history and the first for a U-M women's team at the 2001 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships this week (April 19-21) in Athens, Ga. The meet is hosted by the University of Georgia with competition taking place at Stegeman Coliseum. The meet opens with the preliminary team and all-around competition on Thursday (April 19) at 1 p.m. Joining Michigan in the session are No. 1 UCLA, No. 4 Alabama, No. 12 Florida, No. 13 Oregon State and No. 19 Oklahoma State.

Championships Web Coverage
Georgia's NCAA Site (including live scoring)
NCAA Championships Site

Watch the Action Next Week
The meet will be televised tape-delayed at 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday, April 29, on CBS. Craig Bolerjack provides play-by-play, while Amanda Borden will add color commentary. Bonnie Bernstein will be reporting from the sideline. Check your local listings for details.

The Championships Structure
Twelve teams and 12 all-around competitors earned bids to the NCAA Championships from the six NCAA regional competitions. The teams and individuals are split into two sessions for the preliminary team and all-around competition on Thursday. The top three teams from each session advance to the Super Six competition on Friday (April 20) at 7 p.m. to determine the national champion. The individual all-around champion is determined Thursday, with the highest all-around scorer during the two preliminary sessions winning the title. The top four individual event finishers in each of Thursday's sessions and any individual event qualifiers from the six regional sites get to compete in the Individual Event Finals on Saturday (April 21) at 7 p.m.

The Field
Michigan is joined in the afternoon session of the preliminary team and all-around competition by No. 1 UCLA, No. 4 Alabama, No. 12 Florida, No. 13 Oregon State and No. 19 Oklahoma State. The six teams in the evening session (7 p.m.) are No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 5 Utah, No. 6 Stanford, No. 9 Arizona State and No. 24 Denver. Three first-place and three second-place teams from the regional championships were randomly assigned to each session.

Familiar Places and Faces
The Wolverines should feel at home when they get to the NCAA Championships. So far this season, Michigan has faced four of the other five teams in the afternoon session and has performed in Stegeman Coliseum in a dual meet with Georgia (Feb. 10). No. 19 Oklahoma is the only team the Wolverines have not competed against in 2001. Michigan fell to Alabama at the Super Six Challenge (Jan. 6), the first meet of the season. The Wolverine defeated Oregon State on Jan. 13 in Ann Arbor. Michigan then hit the road and fell to Florida (Feb. 2). UCLA visited Crisler Arena and narrowly defeated Michigan on March 9.

Looking for the Big One
So far this season, the Wolverines have won their third consecutive Big Ten championship, captured their third consecutive NCAA Regional championship and earned their ninth consecutive trip to the NCAA National Championships. The Wolverines are now looking for the program's first national championship and the first national title by a women's team at U-M. Five times a Michigan women's team has finished as the runner-up, including twice by gymnastics (1995 and 1999).

Friendly Rotation for a Change
After two consecutive meets of starting on the floor exercise and finishing on the beam, the Wolverines will open the preliminary competition on the uneven bars and finish on the vault. Each session is six rotations, with byes before the uneven bars and the floor exercise.

Why the Rotation May Help
The rotation for Michigan should allow the Wolverines to get off to a good start. Michigan starts on its second-best event, the uneven bars. Michigan is ranked sixth in the nation with an RQS of 49.346 in the event. The Wolverines should be warmed up for the balance beam, an event on which they have struggled. They enter the meet ranked 19th in the nation (48.910), with only one other team at the championships ranked lower (Denver, 21st). The floor exercise is a bright spot, as Michigan is ranked fourth in the country. It is the team's best event with an RQS of 49.445. The Wolverines close on the vault, on which they have an RQS of 49.170, good for fifth in the nation.

We Meet Again
Thursday's preliminary meet is the second time for Michigan's Elise Ray (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake HS), captain of the 2000 U.S. Olympic team which competed in Sydney, Australia, to face off against her Olympic teammates from UCLA. Ray and the Wolverines fell to Jamie Dantzscher, Kristen Maloney and the Bruins 197.700-197.125 on March 9 in Ann Arbor.

Nine Consecutive for the Wolverines
Michigan's trip to the 2001 NCAA Championships makes it nine consecutive appearances at the national championships for the Maize and Blue. Michigan qualified for its first NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships in 1982, but then went on a hiatus until 1993. Since its return to the NCAA Championships in 1993 under then fourth-year head coach Bev Plocki, Michigan has made to the championships each year. The Wolverines are one only five programs (Alabama, Georgia, UCLA and Utah) to have appeared in each of the last nine NCAA Championships.

Michigan at the NCAA Championships

Year	Place	Score	Site
1982	10th	136.900	Salt Lake City, Utah
1993	9th	193.125	Corvallis, Ore.
1994	4th	195.150	Salt Lake City, Utah
1995	T-2nd	196.425	Athens, Ga.
1996	6th	196.375	Tuscaloosa, Ala.
1997	4th	196.500	Gainesville, Fla.
1998	8th	195.425	Los Angeles, Calif.
1999	2nd	196.550	Salt Lake City, Utah
2000	6th	195.725	Boise, Idaho

Wolverines Looking to Improve on Last Year's Finish
The Wolverines are one of seven teams making a return trip to the NCAA Championships. The Wolverines finished sixth at the 2000 national championships, scoring 195.725 in the Super Six competition. The Wolverines were ranked No. 1 entering the meet, but struggled on the balance beam and were not able to recover. Despite the sixth-place finish, Sarah Cain (1997-2000) went out in style with an all-around mark of 39.500 and hit eight-for-eight in the preliminary and Super Six rounds.

2000 NCAA Final Team Standings

Place, School	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	Total
1. UCLA	49.450	49.350	49.125	49.375	197.300
2. Utah	49.400	49.000	49.075	49.350	196.875
3. Georgia	49.475	49.025	48.800	49.500	196.800
4. Nebraska	49.150	49.250	48.975	49.350	196.725
5. Alabama	49.275	49.150	48.925	49.150	196.500
6. MICHIGAN	49.375	48.975	48.100	49.275	195.725

Michigan Eyes Seventh Super Six
The Wolverines enter the NCAA Championships looking for their seventh Super Six Finals appearance in school history and seventh in the last eight seasons. The Wolverines are one of just four teams to have qualified for the Super Six Team Finals in at least five of the last six seasons, with Georgia, Alabama and UCLA being the other three. Michigan has failed to qualify for the Super Six just twice in its seven NCAA Championships appearances in the 1990s, with the Wolverines placing ninth in 1993 and eighth in 1998.

Five All-Americans Back for the Wolverines
Michigan's lineup has five athletes who earned All-America honors last year. Returning first-team All-Americans are Janessa Grieco (Mahopac, N.Y./Carmel HS) and Christine Michaud (Mill Valley, Calif./The Branson School) on vault and Shannon MacKenzie (Midland, Mich./Midland HS) on the balance beam. Bridget Knaeble (New Hope, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) and Karina Senior (Markham, Ontario/Milliken Mills) earned second-team honors on the uneven bars and floor exercise, respectively, at the NCAA Championships last season.

Wolverines Capture Third Consecutive Regional Crown
The Wolverines qualified for the national meet by winning the NCAA Northeast Region Championships on Saturday (April 7), posting a team score of 197.225 to tie their second-highest score of the season and win their third consecutive regional title. No. 6 Stanford also earned a team bid to the national championships, finishing second with a score of 196.725. Leading the way for the Wolverines was senior Bridget Knaeble, whose all-around score of 39.525 matched her career high and was enough to earn her a tie for first with Stanford's Lindsay Wing.

2001 NCAA Northeast Regional Standings

Place, School	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	Total
1. MICHIGAN	49.250	49.450	49.225	49.300	197.225
2. Stanford	49.300	49.175	49.000	49.250	196.725
3. Louisiana State	49.100	49.250	48.900	49.050	196.300
4. New Hampshire	48.050	48.675	48.550	48.950	194.225
5. Rhode Island	47.825	46.300	47.900	47.050	189.075
6. Massachusetts	47.775	46.550	46.550	47.650	188.525

Individual Event Champs
In addition to a tie for first in the all-around, senior Bridget Knaeble tied teammate Elise Ray for first on the uneven bars at the NCAA Northeast Region Championships. Also capturing a share of an event title was senior Christine Michaud, who tied for first on the vault.

Extending the Conference Streak
With nine wins over conference opponents this season, Michigan increased its Big Ten winning streak to 27 consecutive victories over conference opponents. The last time a Big Ten school defeated the Wolverines was Jan. 15, 1999, when Minnesota won 193.050-193.550 at Cliff Keen Arena.

Wolverines Lead the Way in All-Conference Selections
Michigan had a school- and Big Ten-record nine gymnasts earn All-Big Ten honors at the conference championships by finishing in the top six in an event. That group is the largest from any team in a single year in conference history. Since the inception of the award in 1984, Michigan has also had one group of eight (2000) and two groups of seven (1999 and 1997) earn All-Big Ten honors, while the next largest group of honorees from another school is six (Ohio State in 1985 and Penn State in 2000).

Michigan's All-Big Ten Selections
Six of last year's eight All-Big Ten team members -- Janessa Grieco, Bridget Knaeble, Shannon MacKenzie, Christine Michaud, Karina Senior and Cami Singer (Monument, Colo./Lewis Palmer HS) -- repeated the honor this season by placing among the top six in an event. Amy Kuczera (Bloomingdale, Ill./Lake Park HS), Elise Ray and Calli Ryals (Elyria, Ohio/Midview HS) also earned All-Big Ten honors.

Eight Wolverines Named to Academic All-Conference Team
Eight Wolverines have been named to the Academic All-Conference team. Seniors Bridget Knaeble and Christine Michaud both earned their third Big Ten academic honor, the most one can earn since freshmen are not eligible. Also honored with Academic All-Big Ten honors were Janessa Grieco, Amy Kuczera, Shannon MacKenzie, Erin McWatt (Livonia, Mich./Adlai E. Stevenson HS), Jodie Rosenberg (West Bloomfield, Mich./West Bloomfield HS) and Tara Tagliarino (Tampa, Fla./H.B. Plant HS). This is the second selection for Kuczera, MacKenzie, McWatt and Rosenberg, while Grieco and Tagliarino are being honored for the first time.

Three Gymnasts Nationally Ranked
Three Wolverines are ranked (by Regional Qualifying Score) among the nation's best gymnasts. Elise Ray is tied for eighth on the uneven bars (9.935), tied for 12th in the floor exercise (9.930) and tied for 12th in the all-around (39.425). Bridget Knaeble is 11th on the uneven bars (9.930), while Christine Michaud is tied for fifth (9.915) in the nation on the vault.

Top Performances
Freshman Elise Ray is 10 meets into her career and is already rewriting the record books, especially in the category of top season averages. Heading into the NCAA Championships, Ray is on pace to record Michigan's highest season average (minimum seven performances) in the uneven bars and the second highest on the floor exercise. Ray is averaging 9.923 on the bars; Beth Wymer (1992-95) holds the current mark of 9.891 set in 1995. On the floor exercise, Ray is averaging 9.873 this season; Heather Kabnick (1995-98) has the current mark of 9.879 set in 1997. In the all-around, Ray has an average of 39.298 and is on pace to finish with the third highest average in the program's history. Sarah Cain set the highest season average in the all-around (39.385) last year.

Top Performances II
In addition to Elise Ray, others are looking to finish among Michigan's top performers. On the uneven bars, Bridget Knaeble is on track to finish the season second all-time to Ray with an average of 9.900. On the floor exercise, if Ray maintains her pace, Janessa Grieco's season average (9.867) would be third all-time at U-M. On the beam, Shannon MacKenzie is on pace to finish second all-time with her current average of 9.802; Beth Wymer (1992-95) set the top average of 9.814 in 1994.

Ray in the Books Again
Just a freshman, Elise Ray is already tied for eighth all-time -- with teammate Bridget Knaeble -- for most all-around 39.000s in a career with nine. She has just one all-around score less than 39.000 in her 10 career meets. Beth Wymer (1992-95) and Sarah Cain (1997-2000) each had 34 scores of 39.000 or higher in their careers. For most 39.000s in a season, Ray is tied for third with nine; and for most consecutive all-around scores of 39.000 or higher, she is for third with eight.

Tri-Captains
The 2001 Michigan women's gymnastics team has tri-captains leading the squad. Seniors Bridget Knaeble and Christine Michaud are joined by junior Jodie Rosenberg. Knaeble was a tri-captain in 2000 as a junior as well.

GymInfo National Rankings (4/2/01)
(by Regional Qualifying Score)

 1. UCLA 197.640 2. Georgia 197.510 3. Nebraska 197.285 4. Alabama 197.285 5. Utah 197.205 6. Stanford 197.050 7. MICHIGAN 196.800 8. Iowa State 196.650 9. Arizona State 196.490 10. Penn State 196.420 11. Brigham Young 196.395 12. Florida 196.310 13. Oregon State 196.175 14. Iowa 196.090 15. Washington 195.960 16. Minnesota 195.925 17. West Virginia 195.900 18. Louisiana State 195.800 19. Oklahoma 195.765 20. Kent State 195.740 21. Ohio State 195.735 22. Maryland 195.495 23. Arizona 195.415 24. Denver 195.385 25. Illinois State 195.270

Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423