Three Share Team MVP Award at Postseason Banquet
4/30/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's gymnastics team celebrated its season at its annual banquet Saturday (April 30) at Weber's Restaurant and Hotel. A number of Wolverines were feted at the event, including fifth-year senior Elise Ray (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake), junior Jenny Deiley (Dayton, Minn./Elk River) and sophomore Lindsey Bruck (Marietta, N.Y./Marcellus), who each shared Most Valuable Performer honors. Bruck also took home Most Improved hardware.
Ray became Michigan's all-time leader in All-America honors, picking up a pair of 2005 All-America first team accolades on the uneven bars and balance beam and a second team citation in the all-around competition, giving her 14 honors in all. She moved into first place on the school's all-time list for most all-around scores of 39.000 or better, earning her 40th career score of 39.000-plus at the NCAA Super Six. Ray finished runner-up on beam at the NCAA Individual Event Finals and 13th in the nation on bars and earned NCAA Northeast Regional and Big Ten Conference Gymnast of the Year honors. She ends her collegiate career as the Big Ten career leader in Gymnast of the Week awards, earning nine laurels in four seasons.
Deiley qualified for her first NCAA Individual Event Finals, finishing eighth in the country on vault and picking up her eighth NCAA All-America honor. Deiley's All-America first team honor on vault and All-America second team honor on bars and in the all-around move her into a tie for fifth place on Michigan's all-time list. She earned All-Big Ten first team honors in 2005 and was the conference's co-champion on vault, sharing the crown with freshman teammate Katie Lieberman (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest).
Bruck earned her second All-America honor with a top-eight showing on bars and set a U-M record for most all-around scores of 39.000 or better by a sophomore with 13, the second-most single-season 39.000-plus all-around scores in program history. Bruck was an All-Big Ten first team selection and earned Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honors twice in 2005.
Junior Becca Clauson (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) earned Most Courageous honors after being voted to the All-Big Ten second team and sharing the conference floor exercise title at the Big Ten Championships despite being hampered with injuries all season. Clauson capped her season with a 9.900 on floor at the NCAA Super Six.
Freshman Nellie Kippley (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) earned the Coaches Award. Kippley, who led off on floor and bars for the bulk of the season, posted her best bars score of the season at the NCAA Super Six with a 9.850. She competed on floor in every meet in 2005 and sat out on bars just twice while also filling in on beam for five meets in the middle of the season.
Senior Chelsea Kroll (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) earned the 10.0 Spirit Club Award, presented by 10.0 Club president Amy Hietala. Kroll won her first career floor title in the season opener to begin her senior year with a bang, but she suffered a season-ending injury a week later at Ohio State.
The Wolverines earned their 13th consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships in 2005, finishing fifth in the nation and boasting five All-Americans -- the second most All-Americans of any program in the country. Michigan won its 14th Big Ten championship and its record seventh in a row, and the Wolverines captured their seventh NCAA regional crown.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
