Michigan Women's Gymnastics

from MgoBlue.com
http://www.mgoblue.com/gymnastics-w/article.aspx?id=135378

Wolverines Fall Short of Super Six Bid

April 24, 2008
Site: Athens, Ga. (Stegeman Coliseum)
Event: NCAA Championships Preliminaries
U-M Team Finish: 5th Place of 6 Teams (196.075)
Attendance: 8,650
Next U-M Event: Saturday, April 26 -- at NCAA Individual Event Finals (Athens, Ga.)

ATHENS, Ga. -- The University of Michigan women's gymnastics team had its season come to an end with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships Preliminaries, with the Wolverines putting up a score of 196.075 in the evening session Thursday night (April 24).

The silver lining was the performances of freshman Kylee Botterman (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) and junior Becky Bernard (Stow, Ohio/Stow-Munroe Falls) who each earned First Team All-America honors on the uneven bars, punching their tickets to Saturday's NCAA Individual Event Finals (April 26). Botterman also earned Second Team All-America honors on vault. Bernard and Botterman each scored 9.900 on bars, tying for fourth place with nine other gymnasts. Botterman's 9.875 on vault was good for a share of eighth place and earned her double All-America honors.

The host Georgia Gym Dogs won the session with a score of 197.625 to lead the top three teams which each advance to Friday's national championship meet. Utah scored 196.950 for second and Stanford took third with a 196.900. UCLA finished fourth (196.725) and Denver took sixth (194.200). Michigan finishes the year tied for eighth place in the nation with Oklahoma, which scored 196.075 in the afternoon session. Florida, Alabama and LSU advanced to the Super Six in the afternoon session.

After opening introductions, Michigan waited in its locker room on bye in the first rotation while Denver, UCLA, Stanford and Georgia kicked off the evening session. Stanford set the tone on floor, Michigan's first event in the second rotation, by posting a 49.175, while Denver went 48.625 on vault, UCLA scored 49.475 on bars and the Gym Dogs totaled 49.350 on the beam.

Michigan began its quest for a national title on floor with freshman Kari Pearce (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron). Pearce stumbled on her final pass and scored a 9.225, followed by senior captain Nellie Kippley's (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) 9.775. Senior Katie Lieberman (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) put up the Wolverines' highest score in the young meet, going 9.825 in the three spot, with sophomore Sarah Curtis (Reno, Nev./Reno) matching with a 9.825 in the four hole. Fifth/senior Lindsey Bruck (Marietta, N.Y./Marcellus) made it a three-of-a-kind with her own 9.825. In the final U-M performance of the rotation, Botterman capped floor with a 9.850 in her first routine at nationals to give Michigan a solid 49.100 after one event. Meanwhile, on vault, Stanford 49.200, while Utah kicked off its meet on bars with a 49.300. UCLA rotated to beam and scored 48.800, counting a fall to negate its hot start on bars and put its Super Six hopes in serious jeopardy.

In the third rotation, Michigan moved to vault and Pearce got the call once again to lead off for the Wolverines. Pearce vaulted into the teeth of the crowd noise generated by the Gym Dog fans during Georgia's opening floor exercise routine, scoring a 9.750 in her first vault at nationals. Veteran Bruck followed with a 9.800 which was followed by a 9.650 from Curtis. Lieberman scored a 9.775 with the fourth vault, followed by junior Tatjana Thuener-Rego's (Miami, Fla./American School) 9.750. Anchoring once again, Botterman nailed a 9.875 vault to post the highest total through three teams and three individual qualifiers. Michigan's 48.950 kept them in the hunt with half the meet remaining. On the other events, Denver scored 48.850 on bars, putting them at the back of the pack, while Utah went 49.050 on beam and Georgia scored 49.400 on floor to take full control of the meet.

Michigan sat out the fourth rotation on bye before bars, waiting and watching Georgia score 49.375 on vault, Stanford go 49.325 on bars, Denver scored 47.950 on beam and UCLA total 49.200 on floor. With more than half of the meet in the can, Georgia remained well ahead of the field with a logjam of Michigan, Utah, UCLA and Stanford for second and third place. Two of Georgia's vaulters surpassed Botterman's 9.875, but her chances of a shot at an individual event title remained good with just two teams left to vault.

In the fifth rotation, Michigan moved to one of its strongest events, bars, steady senior Bruck scored a 9.850 in the leadoff role with sophomore Maureen Moody (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing) following her captain's lead with her own 9.850. Curtis scored a third 9.850 for U-M, followed by Thuener-Rego's 9.875 and junior Becky Bernard's (Stow, Ohio/Stow-Munroe Falls) awesome 9.900, tentatively punching her ticket for Saturday. Botterman anchored her third event, matching Bernard's 9.900 to tentatively join her teammate in Saturday's individual event finals. Unfortunately for Botterman, UCLA and an individual competitor from Auburn pushed her 9.875 out of the top four, ending her hopes of seeking an individual title on vault. Michigan's 49.375 put it in the mix with the rest of the Super Six hopefuls. Stanford took its turn on beam, concluding its meet with a 49.200 for a 196.900 final team score. Utah took to the floor for a 49.200, with UCLA wrapping up its meet with a 49.250 on vault, for a team total of 196.725.

Heading into the final rotation, Stanford (196.900) led all teams which had completed all four events, followed by UCLA (196.725). Georgia placed itself well ahead of all programs with just one event remaining, virtually punching its ticket to the Super Six, while Denver lagged with almost no chance of advancing. The fight among the remaining teams came down to Michigan, Utah, UCLA and Stanford. Michigan trailed Utah by 0.125 with the Utes on vault, while U-M needed to post a 49.475 on beam to equal Stanford and a 49.300 to equal UCLA.

With Michigan needing a stellar beam series, junior Huneth Lor (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) scored a 9.650 to start things off. Senior Megan Moore (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester Adams) scored a 9.750 in her first and last routine at nationals, followed by sophomore Jordan Sexton's (Weddington, N.C./Weddington) 9.175. Curtis went 9.725 and Bernard scored a 9.775, leaving Bruck with one final chance to extend her storied gymnastics career by scoring high enough to advance individually to Saturday. She performed a solid routine, save for one bobble, finishing with a 9.750.

Michigan's season is over, but Botterman and Bernard will compete for individual national championships on Saturday (April 26) in the NCAA Individual Event Finals. The competition will feature the top gymnasts in the nation in their respective events and will start at 6 p.m. in Stegeman Coliseum.
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N O T E S

• Michigan earns its 16th top-10 finish at nationals, tying for eighth with Oklahoma.

• Becky Bernard and Kylee Botterman each earned All-America first team honors for their 9.900s on bars, advancing to Saturday's individual event finals. Lauren Mirkovich (2006) was the last Wolverine to compete on bars at individual event finals. The last time Michigan had two athletes compete in the same event at individual event finals was in 2005 when Mirkovich and Elise Ray both took a shot at the uneven bars title.

• Botterman becomes Michigan's 32nd All-American. Bernard and Botterman become the 22nd and 23rd Wolverine First Team All-Americans and just the sixth and seventh first teamers on bars. Botterman also becomes the 28th Wolverine in program history to earn second team All-America honors.

• Five Wolverines competed at nationals for the first time in their careers (freshmen Kylee Botterman and Kari Pearce, sophomores Sarah Curtis and Jordan Sexton and senior Megan Moore).
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Team Standings

Team Scores Vault Bars Beam Floor Total
1. Georgia 49.375 49.500 49.350 49.400 197.625
2. Utah 49.400 49.300 49.050 49.200 196.950
3. Stanford 49.200 49.325 49.200 49.175 196.900
4. UCLA 49.250 49.475 48.800 49.200 196.725
5. MICHIGAN 48.950 49.375 48.650 49.100 196.075
6. Denver 48.625 48.850 47.950 48.775 194.200

Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores
VAULT
Kari Pearce 9.750
Lindsey Bruck 9.800
Sarah Curtis 9.650
Katie Lieberman 9.775
Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.750
Kylee Botterman 9.875 (t8)

UNEVEN BARS
Lindsey Bruck 9.850
Maureen Moody 9.850
Sarah Curtis 9.850
Tatjana Thuener-Rego 9.875
Becky Bernard 9.900 (t4)
Kylee Botterman 9.900 (t4)

BALANCE BEAM
Huneth Lor 9.650
Megan Moore 9.750
Jordan Sexton 9.175
Sarah Curtis 9.725
Becky Bernard 9.775
Lindsey Bruck 9.750

FLOOR EXERCISE
Kari Pearce 9.225
Nellie Kippley 9.775
Katie Lieberman 9.825
Sarah Curtis 9.825
Lindsey Bruck 9.825
Kylee Botterman 9.850

ALL-AROUND
Lindsey Bruck 39.225
Sarah Curtis 39.050

( ) denotes place in the Top 8

Top four finishers earn first team All-America
and fifth through eighth place earn second team
All-America honors