Michigan
Denver
Thuener-Rego Shines in Michigan Triumph Over Denver
3/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
DENVER, Colo. -- Led by freshman Tatjana Thuener-Rego's (Miami, Fla./American School) title-winning performance of 39.350 in the all-around, the 11th-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team downed No. 18 Denver 196.050-195.250 Saturday night (March 4) at Hamilton Gymnasium to close out its final regular-season road trip.
Thuener-Rego captured her first collegiate all-around title thanks to a title-winning performance on balance beam (9.875), a runner-up finish on uneven bars (9.800), and fourth-place finishes on vault (9.825) and the floor exercise (9.850).
Fifth-year senior Lauren Mirkovich (Burlingame, Calif./Notre Dame) was stellar on bars, winning the 12th bars title of her career and posting her seventh score of 9.850 or better in the last eight meets, while sophomore Katie Lieberman (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) shared the vault crown with a 9.875 to capture her third title on the event this year. Sophomore Nellie Kippley (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) shared the beam title with Thuener-Rego, posting a 9.875 to capture her second beam title in a row.
Junior Lindsey Bruck (Marietta, N.Y./Marcellus) finished in the top five in each event except floor to post a 39.225 for third in the all-around competition, while senior Jenny Deiley (Dayton, Minn./Elk River) scored 39.050 for fourth in the all-around.
The Wolverines had their struggles on bars, posting the second lowest score of the season, but rebounded with their second highest score of the year on vault to take a .200 lead heading into the third rotation. Michigan posted a 49.125 on floor -- the third best total this season -- thanks to four scores of 9.800 or higher to up its lead to .900 as Denver counted a fall on beam.
In the final rotation, Denver solidified its result with a 49.225 on floor, but Michigan countered with a season-high 49.125 on beam to clinch the meet and improve to 11-1-1 on the season. Kippley and Thuener-Rego nailed back-to-back routines of 9.875 in the third and fourth performances, and Bruck put the period at the end of the sentence with a 9.825 for the Wolverines.
Michigan returns home for its final two home regular-season meets, starting with defending national champion and current No. 1 Georgia on Saturday (March 11) at 7:30 p.m.
Team Standings
| Team Scores | Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor | Total |
| 1. MICHIGAN | 49.025 | 48.775 | 49.125 | 49.125 | 196.050 |
| 2. Denver | 48.950 | 48.650 | 48.425 | 49.225 | 195.250 |
Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores
VAULT Lauren Mirkovich 9.750 Lindsey Bruck 9.800 (5) Carol McNamara 9.750 Jenny Deiley 9.775 Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.825 (4) Katie Lieberman 9.875 (t1) UNEVEN BARS Nellie Kippley 9.000 Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.800 (t2) Lindsey Bruck 9.775 (t4) Jenny Deiley 9.725 Lauren Mirkovich 9.850 (1) Becky Bernard 9.625 BALANCE BEAM Carol McNamara 9.750 Jenny Deiley 9.800 Nellie Kippley 9.875 (t1) Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.875 (t1) Becca Clauson 9.750 Lindsey Bruck 9.825 (t4) FLOOR EXERCISE Nellie Kippley 9.750 Carol McNamara 9.875 (3) Lindsey Bruck 9.825 Jenny Deiley 9.775 Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.850 (t4) Katie Lieberman 9.800 ALL-AROUND Tatjana Thuener-Rego 39.350 (1) Lindsey Bruck 39.225 (3) Jenny Deiley 39.075 (4) ( ) denotes place in the Top 5
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
