Michigan
Southern Utah
Bernard Leads U-M Past Thunderbirds in Home Opener
1/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 10 University of Michigan women's gymnastics team discovered some new bright stars in their gymnastics galaxy, using three shining individual event titles from sophomore Becky Bernard (Stow, Ohio/Stow-Munroe Falls) to down No. 19 Southern Utah 194.775-188.625 Friday night (Jan. 19) in Crisler Arena.
With All-America senior Lindsey Bruck (Marietta, N.Y./Marcellus) out due to injury, Bernard won titles on the uneven bars (9.875), balance beam (9.825) and floor exercise (9.825), while sophomore teammate Huneth Lor (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) and freshman Sarah Curtis (Reno, Nev./Reno) also shone brightly with breakout nights. Lor won the vault title (9.725), took third on beam (9.675)and finished second in the all-around competition (38.400), while Curtis finished runner-up on vault (9.700), tied for third on bars (9.775) and finished third in the all-around (38.325).
Junior Nellie Kippley (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) shared the floor title with Bernard, posting a 9.825, and finished runner-up on beam (9.775), while sophomore Tatjana Thuener-Rego (Miami, Fla./American School) shared the bars title with Bernard with a 9.875 and took third on beam (9.725).
Neither team dazzled the vault judges, who scored tightly, but thanks to Lor's event-winning 9.725 and Curtis' runner-up 9.700, Michigan took the event 48.225-47.550. Lor's crown was the first of collegiate career and helped her begin her first all-around competition with a bang. In her first action of the season, senior Carol McNamara (Hastings, Minn./Hastings) hit for 9.675, good for third place, while junior Katie Lieberman's (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) 9.600 was good for fifth.
Michigan made its move in the second rotation on bars, posting its second 49.025 team score in as many meets, led by title-tying scores of 9.875 from Bernard and Thuener-Rego. Thuener-Rego scored a career-best 9.875 with the second-to-last routine of the rotation, followed by Bernard's 9.875 in the anchor spot. The bars title was the second in as many meets for Bernard and gave her three bars titles in her collegiate career, while the crown was the first of Thuener-Rego's collegiate career. Freshmen Maureen Moody (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing) and Curtis scored back-to-back 9.775s in the heart of the order to help Michigan crack the 49.000 mark as a team and lead 97.250-95.175 at the midway point.
In the third rotation, Bernard hit for 9.825 in the fourth routine of the rotation, overcoming a fall in the routine before her to equal her career high and help Michigan post a 48.700. Kippley led off the event with a 9.775, good for runner-up, while senior Clare Flannery (Ossining, N.Y./School of the Holy Child) anchored the rotation with a 9.700 in the first beam routine of her collegiate career, taking fourth place.
With a comfortable lead heading into the final rotation and the floor exercise, Michigan strutted its way to a 48.825 team score, placing five of its six performers among the top five finishers on the event. Bernard won her third title in as many events with a career-best 9.825, sharing the crown with Kippley, who earned her first individual crown of the season. Lor finished third with a personal-best 9.775 in the leadoff spot, while Thuener-Rego and Curtis tied for fifth place with matching scores of 9.700.
Thuener-Rego's performance was especially impressive under the circumstances. She began her routine to the strains of her floor music, but a few seconds into her performance a music malfunction occurred, leaving her to improvise and continue in relative silence. Her teammates and the crowd rose to the occasion, clapping their hands and stomping their feet as she completed her tumbling passes and led up to her finale. On her final tumbling pass the crowd roared inside Crisler, helping Thuener-Rego stick her landing and score a season high on the event.
Michigan will host Denver on Friday (Jan. 26) at 7:30 p.m. in Crisler Arena. The meet will be the team's annual K-grams Night, benefitting K-grams, a mentoring and learning program that pairs up college and elementary school students through a suite of programs.
Team Standings
| Team Scores | Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor | Total |
| 1. MICHIGAN | 48.225 | 49.025 | 48.700 | 48.825 | 194.775 |
| 2. Southern Utah | 47.550 | 47.625 | 46.250 | 47.200 | 188.625 |
Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores
VAULT Maureen Moody 9.525 Huneth Lor 9.725 (1) Carol McNamara 9.675 (t3) Nellie Kippley 8.225 Sarah Curtis 9.700 (2) Katie Lieberman 9.600 (5) UNEVEN BARS Nellie Kippley 9.725 (5) Huneth Lor 9.225 Maureen Moody 9.775 (t3) Sarah Curtis 9.775 (t3) Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.875 (t1) Becky Bernard 9.875 (t1) BALANCE BEAM Nellie Kippley 9.775 (2) Huneth Lor 9.675 (5) Sarah Curtis 9.150 Becky Bernard 9.825 (1) Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.725 (3) Clare Flannery 9.700 (4) FLOOR EXERCISE Huneth Lor 9.775 (3) Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.700 (t5) Sarah Curtis 9.700 (t5) Becky Bernard 9.825 (t1) Nellie Kippley 9.825 (t1) Jaclyn Kramer 9.600 ALL-AROUND Huneth Lor 38.400 (2) Sarah Curtis 38.325 (3) Nellie Kippley 37.550 (5) ( ) denotes place in the Top 5
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
