Weekly Release #13
4/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Upcoming Schedule
Thu-Sat., April 15-17 -- at NCAA Championships (Los Angeles, Calif.)
April 15 -- Team Preliminaries, 7 p.m. PDT
April 16 -- Super Six Team Finals, 7 p.m. PDT
April 17 -- Individual Event Finals, 7 p.m. PDT
Big Ten Champion U-M Off to National Championships
The No. 11-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team (18-7, 10-1 Big Ten) closes the season at the 2004 NCAA Women's Gymnastics National Championships this week (April 15-17) in Los Angeles, Calif. The championships are hosted by the UCLA at Pauley Pavilion. U-M, which is looking for its first women's gymnastics national title, opens the championships in the evening session of the team preliminary competition at 7 p.m. PDT Thursday (April 15). This is Michigan's 12th consecutive trip to the NCAA National Championships and its 13th trip in program history.
Championship Structure
Twelve teams and 12 all-around competitors earned bids to the NCAA National Championships from six NCAA regional competitions. The teams and individuals are split into two sessions for the preliminary team and all-around competition on Thursday (April 15). The top three teams from each session advance to the Super Six team finals at 7 p.m. PDT Friday (April 16) to determine the national champion. The individual all-around champion is determined Thursday, with the highest all-around scorer from the two preliminary sessions winning the title. The top four individual event finishers (plus ties) from Thursday's sessions and individual event qualifiers from the regional competition compete in the Individual Event Finals at 7 p.m. PDT Saturday (April 17).
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.
Wolverines on TV
CSTV is scheduled to broadcast the Big Ten Championships on the following dates (times Eastern): Monday, April 12 (6 p.m.); Tuesday, April 13 (2 a.m., 10 a.m.); Thursday, May 6 (7 p.m.); Friday, May 7 (3 a.m., 11 a.m.).
Additionally, CN8 TV will broadcast the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships on the following dates (times Eastern): Saturday, April 17 (7 p.m.) and Sunday, April 18 (1 p.m.). CN8 is a regional television network that reaches 6 million households in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. Fans living outside of the broadcast area can watch the channel online at www.cn8.com.
CBS Sports will broadcast the 2004 NCAA National Championships on Saturday, May 1, at 1-3 p.m. EDT.
The Field
Michigan is joined in the evening session of the preliminary team and all-around competition by No. 1 Utah, No. 3 LSU, No. 4 UCLA, No. 7 Alabama and No. 10 Arizona State. The six teams in the afternoon session (1 p.m. PDT) are No. 2 Georgia, No. 5 Oklahoma, No. 6 Florida, No. 9 Stanford, No. 11 Nebraska, and No. 19 Iowa. The teams were placed in the sessions based on their finish at the regional championships. Three first-place and three second-place teams were randomly assigned to each session.
Michigan and the NCAA National Championships
This is Michigan's 13th trip to the NCAA National Championships. U-M was first at the national championships in 1982 and has been back for each of the last 12 years (1993-2004).
Individually, Michigan senior/junior Elise Ray (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake HS) enters the meet ranked 12th in the all-around with a Regional Qualifying Score of 39.585 and ranked ninth on balance beam (9.935) and 10th on uneven bars (9.930).
Ray, who missed the 2003 season due to a shoulder injury, was the 2002 NCAA balance beam champion. She was the first U-M gymnast to win an all-around title at the NCAA Championships when she shared the honor with UCLA's Onnie Willis as a freshman in 2001. Beth Wymer (1992-95) won three uneven bars titles from 1993-95 for the Wolverines.
Rotation Order Set for NCAA Championships Preliminary
Michigan opens on floor at the NCAA Championships on Thursday (April 15). The Wolverines will have a bye in the third and sixth rotations. This is the same rotation Michigan drew for the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships.
| Rotation | Vault | Bye 1 | Bars | Beam | Bye 2 | Floor |
| 1 | UCLA | ASU | Utah | LSU | Alabama | MICHIGAN |
| 2 | MICHIGAN | UCLA | ASU | Utah | LSU | Alabama |
| 3 | Alabama | MICHIGAN | UCLA | ASU | Utah | LSU |
| 4 | LSU | Alabama | MICHIGAN | UCLA | ASU | Utah |
| 5 | Utah | LSU | Alabama | MICHIGAN | UCLA | ASU |
| 6 | ASU | Utah | LSU | Alabama | MICHIGAN | UCLA |
Looking for the Big One
The Wolverines enter this year's NCAA Championships looking for the program's first national championship and the second national title by a women's team at U-M (field hockey, 2001). Six times a Michigan women's team has finished as the runner-up, including twice by gymnastics (1995 and 1999).
Against the Field
Michigan has faced three of the other five teams in the evening session of the preliminary competition. The Wolverines defeated then-No. 4 Utah at home on Feb. 14 (196.725-196.350) before falling to then-No. 2 Alabama on March 12 (197.725-197.025) and then-No. 1 UCLA on March 7 (198.375-195.725).
Twelve Consecutive for the Wolverines
Michigan's trip to the 2004 NCAA Championships is its 12th consecutive appearance at the national championships. U-M qualified for its first NCAA Women's Gymnastics National 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 it 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 12 NCAA Championships.
Ray Looking for Third Title
Elise Ray, who missed the 2003 NCAA Championships due to a shoulder injury, has won an NCAA title in each of the years she has competed (all-around, 2001; balance beam, 2002). With an individual title this year, Ray would tie the school record for NCAA event titles. Beth Wymer won three consecutive uneven bars titles from 1993-95.
Last Year at the NCAA Championships
Michigan qualified to the 2003 NCAA National Championships Super Six Team Finals at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Neb., and walked away with a score of 196.050 and a fifth-place finish. Junior All-American Calli Ryals (Elyria, Ohio/Midview HS) paced the team with a all-around score of 39.500, which tied the second-highest U-M all-around score in NCAA competition and tied for sixth in the meet. Freshman Jenny Deiley (Dayton, Minn./Elk River HS) earned a 39.375, which placed her in a tie for 10th place. In the individual event finals, Ryals finished fifth on floor and freshman Becca Clauson (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham HS) finished fifth on beam. Five Wolverines combined to earn 10 All-America honors, including first-team efforts by Ryals (floor), Deiley (all-around) and Clauson (beam).
Looking Back at the NCAA Northest Regional Championships
No. 19-ranked Michigan earned its 12th straight trip to the NCAA national meet with a second-place finish at the Northeast Regional Championships held April 2 at Penn State's Rec Hall in State College, Pa. Elise Ray was spectacular once again, earning the all-around title (39.700) as well as event titles on uneven bars and balance beam. Though the Wolverines entered the meet seeded fourth, they defeated two higher-ranked teams (No. 9 Iowa State and No. 16 Missouri) in close competition that came down to the final rotation. Both Iowa State and Penn State were in the hunt for a top-two finish but came up short on vault and balance beam, respectively. Georgia (197.525) finished on top, followed by Michigan (196.375), Iowa State (196.150) and Penn State (196.075). Michigan's total included a 49.425 on beam, its final event, its highest total on the event in a regional meet.
Looking Back at the Big Ten Championships
Michigan claimed its 13th Big Ten Conference team title March 20 at the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis, Minn. The Wolverines won with a 197.800 team total, just shades off its Big Ten record of 197.850 set in 2000. Led by all-around champion Elise Ray, the Wolverines set or tied team season-high scores on vault (49.275), bars (49.625) and floor (49.500) to compile the second-highest team total in school history. Ray was spectacular, posting a 39.800 all-around score that included a perfect 10.0 for first place on the uneven bars, a 9.95 for first on the balance beam, a 9.95 for a share of first on the floor exercise and a 9.90 on vault. Calli Ryals tied for second on the bars (9.95), while Becca Clauson and Lindsey Bruck (Marietta, N.Y./Marcellus HS) tied for second on the beam (9.900). Michigan's score of 49.625 on bars is the squad's highest all-time total on the event.
Wolverines Dominate Big Ten
Seven different Wolverines earned top-four finishes at the Big Ten Championships (March 20). In addition to Elise Ray's all-around, bars, beam, and floor titles, Lindsey Bruck and Lauren Mirkovich (Burlingame, Calif./Notre Dame HS) tied for fourth on bars, while Becca Clauson, Jenny Deiley and Chelsea Kroll (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny HS) tied for fourth on floor. Carol McNamara (Hastings, Minn./Hastings HS) shared third on vault with Ray.
Ray Among Nation's Top All-Around Gymnasts
Elise Ray has consistently earned top all-around scores this season. Her all-around Regional Qualifying Score of 39.585 ties for the 12th-best in the NCAA, and second-best in the Big Ten.
Ray's Records
With her 10.0 on the uneven bars at the Big Ten Championships, Elise Ray became just the second U-M gymnast to record a perfect score in three different events (Beth Wymer is the first). No U-M gymnast has scored a perfect 10.0 in each of the four events. Both Ray and Wymer have earned perfect scores on the vault, uneven bars and floor exercise. However, Ray is the only U-M gymnast to have perfect 10s on three events and a 9.975 in the fourth event.
Beaming
Michigan's score of 49.475 on beam at Nebraska (Jan. 11) ties for the second-highest in school history on the event. The highest, 49.525, came at the 2000 Big Ten Championships
Best on Bars
Michigan's score of 49.625 at the Big Ten Championships (March 20) is an all-time best. The previous record, 49.550, was set in 1997 at the Magical Classic. Led by Elise Ray's perfect score, four Wolverines posted scores of 9.900 or better, including Lindsey Bruck's career-high 9.900, Calli Ryals' career-high (tie) 9.950, and Lauren Mirkovich's season-high (tie) 9.900. Jenny Deiley's 9.875 rounded out the counting scores for the Wolverines.
Contact: Jessica Steyers (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
