Michigan
Southern Utah
Wolverines Gut Out Tough Road Win at Southern Utah
2/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The eighth-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team overcame the absence of some of its top performers by relying on career performances from sophomore Nellie Kippley (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) and key efforts from the rest of the squad as the Wolverines gutted out a 195.150-194.125 victory over No. 22 Southern Utah Friday night (Feb. 24) at the Centrum Arena.
Kippley put on a clutch performance in three events, setting a career high and winning the first individual event title of her career on the balance beam with a 9.925, while equaling a season high on the uneven bars with a 9.800. Junior Lindsey Bruck (Marietta, N.Y./Marcellus) put on another solid performance, tying for the all-around crown with a 38.975 while finishing among the top five in every event except beam. Freshman Tatjana Thuener-Rego (Miami, Fla./American School) took home her third career floor exercise title after posting a 9.825.
Senior Jenny Deiley (Dayton, Minn./Elk River) did not compete in the all-around for the first time since Feb. 27, 2004, and senior Becca Clauson (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham) was not in the lineup on beam and floor, taking away the second-best floor performer in the Big Ten Conference this season.
Despite these absences, Michigan made up lost ground after a first-rotation deficit to lead after vault and bars were complete and rolled to a win with a 48.925 on floor in the third rotation. The Wolverines dipped below 49.000 for the first time all year on bars but posted the second highest score of the year on beam (48.950) and the third highest on vault (48.875).
The Wolverines return to action next week when they wrap up the regular-season road schedule with a trip to current No. 16 Denver on Saturday (March 4) at 6 p.m MST.
Team Standings
| Team Scores | Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor | Total |
| 1. MICHIGAN | 48.875 | 48.400 | 48.950 | 48.925 | 195.150 |
| 2. Southern Utah | 48.700 | 48.650 | 48.175 | 48.600 | 194.125 |
Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores
VAULT Carol McNamara 9.775 (4) Lindsey Bruck 9.750 (t5) Jenny Deiley 9.750 (t5) Katie Lieberman 9.800 (t2) Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.800 (t2) Lauren Mirkovich 9.400 UNEVEN BARS Nellie Kippley 9.800 (t2) Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.600 Lindsey Bruck 9.775 (4) Jenny Deiley 9.700 Lauren Mirkovich 9.050 Becky Bernard 9.525 BALANCE BEAM Carol McNamara 9.775 (3) Jenny Deiley 9.850 (2) Nellie Kippley 9.925 (1) Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.725 (t4) Huneth Lor 9.150 Lindsey Bruck 9.675 FLOOR EXERCISE Nellie Kippley 9.750 Carol McNamara 9.800 (t2) Lindsey Bruck 9.775 (t4) Huneth Lor 9.725 Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.825 (1) Katie Lieberman 9.775 (t4) ALL-AROUND Lindsey Bruck 38.975 (t1) Tatjana Thuener-Rego 38.950 (3) ( ) denotes place in the Top 5
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
