U-M Ends Regular Season With Win Over Maryland

Friday, March 23

Ann Arbor, Mich.

7:30 PM

Michigan

196.075

190.975

Maryland

3/23/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- On Senior Night in front of the largest home crowd of the season, the No. 11 University of Michigan women's gymnastics team put up its third-highest home score of the season with a 196.075-190.975 victory over Maryland in the regular-season finale Friday (March 23) at Crisler Arena.

Becky Bernard grabbed event titles on bars (9.950) and floor (9.900) to lead U-M over Maryland.

The Wolverines dominated the first two events, placing five Wolverines among the top six finishers on vault, and tallying the six highest totals of the night on bars to set season-high scores in each event. Michigan's beam rotation set the squad up for a season-high score, but a fall counted on the final pass of the final routine of the final rotation on floor dropped the Wolverines' overall total.

Sophomore Becky Bernard (Stow, Ohio/Stow-Munroe Falls) sparkled with event titles on bars (9.950) and floor (9.900) while taking runner-up on beam (9.850). Junior Katie Lieberman (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) took the vault crown (9.900) and took runner-up on floor (9.850), while freshman Maureen Moody (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing) won her first collegiate title with a 9.900 on vault. Sophomore Huneth Lor (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) won her first beam crown with a 9.875.

Michigan opened Senior Night with its highest vault score of the season, tallying a 49.300 despite incurring a fall in the middle of the rotation. Senior Carol McNamara (Hastings, Minn./Hastings) hit a season-best 9.875 vault in the two-spot, while Moody snagged a career-best 9.900 with her vault in the four spot. Sophomore Tatjana Thuener-Rego (Miami, Fla./American School) matched McNamara's 9.875 with the fifth vault, and Lieberman tied her career high with a 9.900 of her own to close out the rotation. The Terps looked shaky on bars in their half of the rotation, counting four falls to finish with a score of 46.450.

The Wolverines followed their season-best showing on vault with a season-best performance on bars, tallying 49.275 to sweep the podium. Lieberman and Lor hit back-to-back 9.775s before freshman Kelsey Knutson (Ames, Iowa/Ames) and Moody went back-to-back with 9.825s. U-M saved the best for last with Thuener-Rego's career-best tying 9.900 followed by Bernard's career-best tying 9.950. Maryland stabilized with a 49.550 on vault, but the Wolverines opened a chasm of a lead heading into the second half of the meet.

Michigan continued its torrid pace with a strong showing on beam in the third rotation, using a career-best 9.875 from Lor and a 9.850 from Bernard to post a total of 48.925. Freshman Kelsey Knutson (Ames, Iowa/Ames) and junior Nellie Kippley (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) added matching 9.750s to the cause, leading the Wolverines to the brink of a season-high score. Maryland furthered its cause with a 48.050 team score on floor but still trailed by a wide margin.

Senior Night ended on a sour note when the Wolverines counted a fall with their final routine on floor, taking a 48.575 on the event to finish with the fifth-best score of the season instead of the best. Freshman Jaclyn Kramer (West Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills) led off with a 9.750 followed by McNamara's 9.775 and Bernard's career-best tying 9.900 to start the rotation. The Wolverines suffered a fall in the four spot but rallied with a 9.850 from Lieberman before a fall on the final pass of the final routine ended the night on a sigh.

Michigan competes in the Big Ten Championships Saturday, March 31, on the campus of Penn State University at 6 p.m. The Wolverines will look to win their 14th Big Ten title in the last 16 seasons.

Team Standings

Team Scores	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	Total
1. MICHIGAN	49.300	49.275	48.925	48.575	196.075
2. Maryland	48.550	46.450	47.925	48.050	190.975

Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores

VAULT Huneth Lor 9.750 Carol McNamara 9.875 (t3) Nellie Kippley 9.325 Maureen Moody 9.900 (t1)
 Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.875 (t3) Katie Lieberman 9.900 (t1) UNEVEN BARS Katie Lieberman 9.775 (t5) Huneth Lor 9.775 (t5) Kelsey Knutson 9.825 (t3) Maureen Moody 9.825 (t3) Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.900 (2) Becky Bernard 9.950 (1) BALANCE BEAM Nellie Kippley 9.750 (t5)
 Huneth Lor 9.875 (1) Kelsey Knutson 9.750 (t5) Becky Bernard 9.850 (2) Clare Flannery 9.700 Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.675 FLOOR EXERCISE Jaclyn Kramer 9.750 (5) Carol McNamara 9.775 (4) Becky Bernard 9.900 (1)
 Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.175 Katie Lieberman 9.850 (2) 
 Huneth Lor 9.300 ALL-AROUND Huneth Lor 38.700 (2)
 Tatjana Thuener-Rego 38.625 (3) ( ) denotes place in the Top 5