Blue gymnasts produce big scores on vault

With the impending showdown against arch-rival Michigan State looming on the horizon, the No. 6 Michigan women's gymnastics team has the week to prepare itself for the Big Ten and NCAA Championships.

As the season has progressed, it has become clear that the vault is Michigan's strongest event.

So strong, in fact, that Michigan has four nationally ranked vaulters.

Junior Sarah Cain is Michigan's highest-ranked vaulter at No. 6 in the country

Cain is followed by senior Lisa Simes, who made a huge jump this week from a tie for 25th all the way to her current spot at No. 10 after a strong weekend performance.

LOUIS BROWN/Daily The Michigan women's gymnastics team will face intrastate rival Michigan State before heading off to the Big Ten and NCAA Championships.

"I'm really excited to have my last performance be such a good one," Simes said. "It was just a bonus."

Simes and Cain are joined in the national rankings by sophomore Christine Michaud who is ranked 14th, and senior Nikki Peters, who is tied for 23th.

This plethora of individually ranked athletes has led Wolverines to an average score of 49.125, which is good enough for second in the nation.

Just this past weekend, in victories over UCLA and Rutgers the Wolverines posted a vault score of 49.575, topped only by a perfect 10 score obtained by Cain.

The score of 49.575 marked the highest score obtained in any event this season.

It also had the historical significance of being the 6th highest vault score in school history.

As the season winds down and the team looks towards Michigan State and the NCAA Championships, it's safe to say that these women can vault.

And undoubtedly, the Wolverines will be excited about their chances.

"We'll be there, with bells on." Nikki Peters said.

The meet with the Spartans this Saturday night in East Lansing will be the Wolverines' final dual meet before the Big Ten Championships.

03-17-99