Michigan
Michigan State
Michigan Tops Michigan State, Secures Challenge Cup
3/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The ninth-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team closed out its regular season with a convincing 196.950-194.725 victory over in-state rival Michigan State Friday night (March 17) at Crisler Arena, building momentum for the upcoming Big Ten Championships. The win also gave U-M the Challenge Cup for the 2005-06 winter session, with the Wolverines earning a 3.5-2.5 victory in the series with their rivals.
Fifth-year senior Lauren Mirkovich (Burlingame, Calif./Notre Dame) won her sixth uneven bars title of the season with a 9.900 on Senior Night, while junior Lindsey Bruck (Marietta, N.Y./Marcellus) finished in the top five on bars, balance beam and the floor exercise and took home the beam and all-around titles.
Michigan earned its second highest team score of the year by posting event scores of 49.000 or better in all four rotations. The Wolverines led the Spartans throughout the entire meet and cemented the victory with a 49.400 on floor to finish the regular season with a 12-2-1 mark and a flawless 4-0 conference record.
In the first rotation on vault, sophomore Katie Lieberman (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) hit for 9.900 in the final routine to win her fourth vault title of the season and post a season-high score. In the second rotation, Mirkovich posted her sixth score of 9.900 or better to win the 13th uneven bars title of her collegiate career and help Michigan take a 98.500-97.950 edge in the meet.
U-M had a fall on beam in the third rotation, but Bruck stuck the sixth routine of the rotation with a 9.900 to help the Wolverines post a 49.050, and Michigan fired off three 9.900 scores in the final rotation on floor thanks to clutch performances from senior Jenny Deiley (Dayton, Minn./Elk River), junior Carol McNamara (Hastings, Minn./Hastings) and freshman Tatjana Thuener-Rego (Miami, Fla./American School), who all shared the floor crown. Thuener-Rego also finished runner-up in the all-around, while Deiley took third.
Michigan travels to East Lansing, Mich., on Saturday (March 25) for the Big Ten Championships, looking to win its eighth straight conference crown. The meet begins at 6 p.m. at Jenison Field House.
Team Standings
| Team Scores | Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor | Total |
| 1. MICHIGAN | 49.250 | 49.250 | 49.050 | 49.400 | 196.950 |
| 2. Michigan State | 49.175 | 48.775 | 48.225 | 48.550 | 194.725 |
Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores
VAULT Lauren Mirkovich 9.700 Lindsey Bruck 9.825 Carol McNamara 9.875 (t2) Jenny Deiley 9.875 (t2) Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.775 Katie Lieberman 9.900 (1) UNEVEN BARS Nellie Kippley 9.850 (t2) Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.850 (t2) Lindsey Bruck 9.825 (t4) Jenny Deiley 9.550 Lauren Mirkovich 9.900 (1) Becky Bernard 9.825 (t4) BALANCE BEAM Nellie Kippley 9.800 (t3) Jenny Deiley 9.800 (t3) Becca Clauson 9.175 Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.775 (t5) Becky Bernard 9.775 (t5) Lindsey Bruck 9.900 (1) FLOOR EXERCISE Lindsey Bruck 9.825 (t5) Jenny Deiley 9.900 (t1) Becca Clauson 9.750 Carol McNamara 9.900 (t1) Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.900 (t1) Katie Lieberman 9.875 (4) ALL-AROUND Lindsey Bruck 39.375 (1) Tatjana Thuener-Rego 39.300 (2) Jenny Deiley 39.125 (3) ( ) denotes place in the Top 5
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Bev Plocki
On the meet ... "We got up for Georgia and we needed to get up for this meet. We wanted to improve our RQS and our national ranking going into regionals, and this meet could go a long way to improving our seeding. Going into Big Tens we think we helped some of our athletes gain some confidence and go into the postseason on a high note."
On senior Jenny Deiley ... "With the exception of bars she had a great meet. It was a great Senior Night for her. The team is right where we want it to be right now, and our seniors are a big part of that."
U-M Senior Jenny Deiley
On the meet ... "Senior Night is always emotional. It is my last regular-season meet and I wanted to end on a high note. I wish I could have done better on bars but I'm happy with my performance tonight."
On her floor performance ... "We love competing on floor and I love competing back-to-back with Becca (Clauson). We've been doing this together for a long time and we feed off each other's energy.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
