Wolverines Place Fifth in NCAA Team Prelims Session

Thursday, April 15

Los Angeles, Calif.

7:00 PM PT

Michigan

NCAA Team Preliminaries

4/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The No. 11-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team finished fifth in its session of the NCAA Championships Team Preliminaries tonight (Thursday, April 15) at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion. Competing in the second of two sessions, the Wolverines put together a solid effort on floor exercise and vault but lost their momentum on the uneven bars and balance beam, where errors held the team score to 196.500 and fifth place. UCLA (197.675) placed first, while Alabama (197.325) and Utah (196.975) also qualified to Saturday's Super Six Team Finals.

Bruck's 9.875 balance beam score earned her a spot in the Individual Event Finals.

Senior/junior Elise Ray (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake HS) put together a fourth-place all-around effort, including two Individual Event Final berths on uneven bars (9.925) and balance beam (9.900), while freshman Lindsey Bruck's (Marietta, N.Y./Marcellus HS) 9.875 on beam qualified her into the event finals as well.

Bruck led off for the Wolviners on their first event, floor. With a huge smile on her face, Bruck landing her three tumbling passes (double pike, whip-half to front-full, and consecutive front layouts) without a hitch to post a leadoff 9.825. Junior Chelsea Kroll (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny HS) had a slight bounce out of her opening double pike but stuck her double tuck and consecutive front layouts cold, earning a 9.800. Sophomore Becca Clauson (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham HS) played to the judges -- and the crowd -- using eye contact and expression for a 9.825.

Sophomore Jenny Deiley (Dayton, Minn./Elk River HS) used a double tuck, Rudi, and front-full to front layout along with her signature form and flow for a 9.850. Senior Calli Ryals (Elyria, Ohio/Midview HS) returned to the floor lineup after a two-meet hiatus due to injury. Her modern choreography and solid tumbling passes (2 1/2 twist to punch front, double pike, and whip-1/2 to front-full) were good enough to match Deiley's score. Ray anchored with a 9.875. After the first rotation, Michigan (49.225) stood in third behind Utah (49.350) and UCLA (49.350).

Clauson led off with a handspring front pike vault, scoring 9.675. Senior Christine Mantilia (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan HS) followed with a 9.775 for her Yurchenko 1/2 to front layout. Freshman Carol McNamara (Hastings, Minn./Hastings HS) took at tiny step on her Yurchenko-full, earning a 9.800. Ray had a small slide back on her Yurchenko-full, but it was nearly perfect in the air and earned a 9.875 score. Deiley bettered Ray's effort with a completely stuck Yurchenko full, meriting a 9.900 score. Junior Lauren Mirkovich (Burlingame, Calif./Notre Dame HS) had one tiny step back on a piked barani that had great height and distance for a 9.850, which increased Michigan's event total to 49.200. After the second rotation, Michigan (98.375) was a hair behind Utah (98.450).

After sitting out the third rotation on a bye, Michigan resumed competition on the uneven bars. Leadoff gymnast Kroll attacked every handstand in her routine for a 9.800. Bruck powered through a piked Jaeger release move and a double front dismount, but tiny steps on her landing held her score to just 9.700. Deiley swung smoothly, displaying quick-thinking skills when she improvised a transition skill. A large step on her double layout dismount kept her score a 9.750.

Mirkovich had a flawless routine going, including a unique Gienger release facing the low bar, until the dismount. Again, steps on the landing resulted in a 9.700 score. Ryals got things back on track with her smooth, flowing swing (giant full to Tkatchev) highlighted by a stuck double layout dismount and a 9.850 score. Ray continued her string of impeccable bar performances and stuck full-twisting double layout dismounts for a 9.925 score, one of the highest of the competition. Despite the landing errors, Michigan's uneven bar event total was 49.025.

Michigan moved to the balance beam for its final event. Kroll, again performing in the leadoff position, had little wobbles on her back handspring, layout series and her front handspring but stuck her gainer back pike dismount for a 9.775. Bruck hit her entire set, including her back handspring, layout series and two back handsprings to 1 1/2 twist dismount for a 9.875. Clauson suffered a fall on her back handspring to consecutive layouts but came back strong with a stuck landing on her front full dismount to post a 9.225. Deiley had small wobbles throughout her routine, earning a 9.750. Ryals followed with a 9.800 score, while Ray capped off an outstanding all-around effort with a 9.900 on beam, which tied for the highest score on the event.

Michigan's 196.500 team score placed the team fifth in the evening session and eighth overall. Ray (bars, beam) and Bruck (beam) will compete in the Individual Event Finals on Saturday at 7 p.m. PDT.

Final Results

Team Scores	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	Total
1. UCLA	49.350	49.650	49.225	49.450	197.675
2. Alabama	49.400	49.450	49.025	49.450	197.325
3. Utah	49.275	49.350	49.100	49.200	196.925
4. Louisiana State	49.300	49.275	48.775	49.300	196.650
5. MICHIGAN	49.150	49.025	49.100	49.225	196.500
6. Arizona State	49.300	48.950	48.925	49.150	196.325

Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores

ALL-AROUND Elise Ray 39.575 (t4)* Jenny Deiley 39.250 VAULT Becca Clauson 9.675 Christine Mantilia 9.725 Carol McNamara 9.800 Elise Ray 9.875 Jenny Deiley 9.900 (t5) Lauren Mirkovich 9.850 UNEVEN BARS Chelsea Kroll 9.800 Lindsey Bruck 9.700 Jenny Deiley 9.750 Lauren Mirkovich 9.700 Calli Ryals 9.850 Elise Ray 9.925 (t4) BALANCE BEAM Chelsea Kroll 9.775 Lindsey Bruck 9.875 (t4) Becca Clauson 9.225 Jenny Deiley 9.750 Calli Ryals 9.800 Elise Ray 9.900 (t1) FLOOR EXERCISE Lindsey Bruck 9.825 Chelsea Kroll 9.800 Becca Clauson 9.825 Jenny Deiley 9.850 Calli Ryals 9.850 Elise Ray 9.875 ( ) denotes place in session's Top 8 for events * denotes overall place in Top 8 for all-around

Q U O T E S

Michigan Head Coach Bev Plocki
On the team's performance ... "Overall, we did well. This is the national championships, and you have to be great. I thought that we did the best job that we could on floor and vault. We had a lot of momentum going into bars, but we just didn't keep it going."

U-M Assistant Coach Scott Sherman
On the team's performance ... "Good teams make their routines. Great teams make their routines and and stick their landings. We didn't stick our landings."

All-American Lindsey Bruck
On her beam routine ... "I'm kind of shocked right now. I'm really excited because it was fun out there and I can't wait to go out and do it again. I did well, but doing even better would be great."

N O T E S

Elise Ray (all-around, bars, beam) and Lindsey Bruck (beam) earned first-team All-America honors by finishing in the top four (plus ties) in their session. They both qualified to compete in Saturday's Individual Event Finals.

Jenny Deiley earned second-team All-America honors (for fifth through eighth place, plus ties) by virtue of her 9.900 vault score which tied her for fifth in the session.

Contact: Jessica Steyers (734) 763-4423