Weekly Release #7
2/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
This Week: No. 13 Michigan at No. 23 West Virginia, vs. Maryland
Sunday, Feb. 22 - at No. 23 West Virginia with Maryland (Morgantown, W.Va.), 1 p.m.
Next Week: No. 2 Georgia Visits Crisler Arena
Friday, Feb. 27 - vs. Georgia (Crisler Arena), 8 p.m.
Next Up for the Wolverines
After three straight home meets, the No. 13-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team (7-2, 3-1 Big Ten) heads to Morgantown, W.Va., this week to face No. 23 West Virginia and Maryland at 1 p.m. Sunday (Feb. 22) at the WVU Coliseum. The meet marks a reunion of sorts for U-M head coach Bev Plocki, a 1987 graduate of West Virginia who was coached by Moutaineers head coach Linda Burdette. In addition, Plocki coached Maryland assistant Wendy Marshall, a six-time first team All-American at U-M (1993-96).
Got Results
Visit mgoblue.com for the fastest and most reliable results from all of Michigan's competitions this season. In addition to results and event recaps, weekly releases, news releases, photos and other information can be found at mgoblue.com.
A Look at No. 23 West Virginia
West Virginia (7-3-1) opened its season by placing third at a tri-meet (Jan. 9) before defeating N.C. State and Ohio State at home (Jan. 18). West Virginia then tied Pitt and defeated Denver (Jan. 23), only to narrowly fall to Penn State (Jan. 31). On Feb. 8, the Moutaineers earned their season-high score (196.725) in a home victory against Cornell. This score is also the fifth-highest team total in school history. West Virginia is led by head coach Linda Burdette, who is in her 28th year with the Mountaineers. WVU on the Web ... www.msnsportsnet.com.
A Look at Maryland
Maryland (6-6) opened its season with losses to Ohio State and Pittsburgh (Jan. 10), Denver (Jan. 17), and North Carolina (Jan. 24). The Terrapins defeated George Washington (Feb. 11), placed second at the Governor's Cup (Feb. 7) and took first at quadrangular with Towson, James Madison and Temple (Jan. 31). Last weekend, Maryland posted its season-high score (196.325) in a loss against then-No. 9 Iowa. The Terrapins are coached by Bob Nelligan, who is in his 26th season at the helm of the program. Maryland on the Web ... www.umterps.com.
Last Year Against West Virginia
Michigan used a fourth-rotation comeback to defeat West Virginia and Kent State last season (Feb. 8). U-M finished the night with a team score of 195.400. West Virginia, which had been leading after three solid rotations, had a difficult time on the balance beam and placed second with a team total of 195.225. Individually, the Wolverines swept all four events and the all-around. Jenny Deiley (Dayton, Minn./Elk River HS) captured her second all-around title of the season with a career-high 39.525. Deiley won the uneven bars (9.900) and tied for first with Becca Clauson (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall HS) on the vault (9.900). Calli Ryals (Elyria, Ohio/Midview HS) tied for first on the floor exercise (9.925). Ryals also finished tied for second on the uneven bars (9.875) and tied for third on the vault (9.850) to finish second in the all-around (39.425).
Last Weekend Against Utah
Elise Ray (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake HS) and Calli Ryals posted back-to-back floor exercise scores of 9.925 in the final rotation to lead then-No. 12 Michigan to a 196.725-196.350 upset of then-No. 4 Utah on Saturday (Feb. 14) in Crisler Arena. The Wolverines trailed the Utes by 0.350 going into the final rotation, but U-M posted a 49.400 on the floor while Utah was scoring 48.675 on the balance beam. Ryals, who won the uneven bars and tied for second on the floor, claimed her first all-around title of the season, with Ray finishing runner-up. Michigan's win kept the Utes winless (0-4) in Crisler Arena.
| Place, School | Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor | Total |
| 1. MICHIGAN | 49.275 | 49.100 | 48.950 | 49.400 | 196.725 |
| 2. Utah | 48.950 | 49.350 | 48.675 | 49.375 | 196.350 |
Wolverines in the Rankings
Michigan's score of 196.725 against Utah (Feb. 14) drops the squad one spot into the No. 13 position in the latest GymInfo rankings (Feb. 16) with a 196.162 average. Alabama remains the top-ranked team with a season-average score of 197.254. This week marks the final time this season that the season-average scores will be used to rank the teams. Starting next week, teams will be ranked by their regional qualifying scores (RQS).
What is a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS)
A team's regional qualifying score is based on the six highest team totals, three of which must be from away competitions. After dropping the highest score, the remaining five are averaged to determine the regional qualifying score.
A Sneak Peak
Currently, U-M's RQS stands at 195.970, but this figure includes the squad's season-low score of 194.650 (at Minnesota, Jan. 17). Besting this mark against West Virginia would enable Michigan to drop this score and increase its RQS.
Ray, Ryals Among Nation's Top 20 All-Around Gymnasts
Calli Ryals and Elise Ray have consistently earned top all-around scores this season. Their season-average all-around scores of 39.383 and 39.354, respectively, are the 14th and 18th best in the NCAA. UCLA's Kate Richardson remains in the No. 1 spot with a season-average score of 39.735.
Crowding Crisler
Back-to-back record crowds saw Michigan beat intrastate rival Michigan State (Jan 31) and take the State of Michigan Classic (Feb. 6). The attendance of 3,903 for Michigan State is the largest crowd to attend a U-M dual gymnastics meet, eclipsing the previous mark of 3,854 set in 2001 vs. UCLA (March 9). The State of Michigan Classic attendance of 4,089 is the third-largest all-time and highest regular-season crowd. These attendance figures bested last season's highest home meet attendance by more than 1,000 and more than doubled the 2003 average home attendance.
Call It a Comeback
Prior to this year, senior Christine Mantilia (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan HS) had only competed twice on floor and once on vault. Last year, she missed the entire season with an ACL injury. At the State of Michigan Classic (Feb. 6), Mantilia earned identical scores of 9.825 on each event, her career highs.
Making Her Mark
Freshman Lindsey Bruck (Marietta, N.Y./Marcellus HS) has been a solid addition to the Wolverine lineups on beam and floor. This season, she has earned three scores of 9.900 or higher on beam, winning the event title twice. On floor, she has scored 9.850 or higher four times.
Coming Through When It Counts
When junior co-captain Chelsea Kroll (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny HS) was forced to sit due to minor injury against Utah, junior Kara Rosella (Ann Arbor, Mich./Greenhills HS) stepped in on bars and beam. On bars, Rosella came through under pressure, where she posted a 9.725 in her first performance of the season. Rosella performed in the leadoff position on beam, earning a 9.775.
Competing Against the Best
The Wolverines will face all of last year's Super Six NCAA Championships teams during the regular season. The Wolverines faced Nebraska on Jan. 11 and Utah on Feb. 14. The squad travels to UCLA (March 7) and will host Georgia (Feb. 27) and Alabama (March 12).
Kroll and Ray Selected as Captains
Chelsea Kroll and Elise Ray will serve as co-captains for the 2004 Wolverine squad. Ray was a co-captain in 2003.
Contact: Jessica Steyers (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
