'M' women eye No. 1 ranking By Richard Haddad Daily Sports Writer The Michigan women's gymnastics team continues to set precedents for excellence. And it continues to exceed its precedents the very next time on the mats. Coming off of a meet against Michigan State, in which the Wolverines earned the highest score in the nation this year, they bettered the score and set the bar a little bit higher against No. 17 Kentucky Friday night. In posting the fourth-best team score in school history by tallying a 197.5-192.05 victory, No. 3 Michigan set season highs in all four events and thoroughly dominated the competition, taking both first and second place in each event. "I told the team before we walked out here tonight, we're not out here to beat Kentucky, we're out here to continue to improve our performances," Michigan coach Bev Plocki said. "That's all we need to be concerned with, and let the outcome take care of itself. We cannot control what the other team is doing. We can only continue to strive to be better individually, and by doing that, it makes our team better." The Wolverines achieved what they were striving for. Michigan set nine individual career highs and eight more season highs, including Karina Senior's three personal bests and an all-around score of 39.35 to shatter her previous mark. "It's taken me awhile to get everything together, and I feel like it's finally all coming together," Senior said. "Bars have been really rough for me, so (posting a 9.875) was a huge lift off my chest. I'm feeling confident now." Senior captain Sarah Cain led the Wolverines to victory once again, recording season highs in all four events and the all-around (39.700) for a third consecutive all-around title. Cain's near-flawless execution of a difficult vault in the opening event gave the unfortunate GymKats a hint of things to come and an early deficit to surmount. The uneven bars showed even greater dominance, as the six Wolverine competitors captured the event's top six places. Cain and freshman Tara Tagliarino tied for first place, and the overmatched Kentucky squad fell even further behind. "Fell" is an appropriate expression; the GymKats were plagued by falls throughout the night, while in contrast, Michigan suffered only one setback. Despite the lone fall's occurrence on the balance beam, the Wolverines managed to tie their third-best balance beam score of all time for the second straight week, recording a 49.300. Missy Peterson's first appearance on the apparatus this season proved successful, as the sophomore took first place with a career-best of 9.95. "I've been working my butt off in practice because I've been wanting to prove to my coach that I know I can do this beam routine," an ecstatic Peterson said afterwards. "To hit it like I did, I just attribute to the fact that I've been working really hard for it." While the beam was an Achilles heel for the Wolverines earlier in the season, to Plocki's delight, it has blossomed into a strength. "It's totally about being confident, and totally about being in control of what we're doing," she said. "I'm thrilled to see that we've hit beam three weeks in a row, because the beam is one of those events that can kill you if you let down your guard." The floor exercise provided another showcase for the Wolverines and a chance to reward the 1,265 fans in attendance. Sweeping the top six spots again, Michigan put an exclamation point on the entertainment standpoint of the night. Jodie Rosenberg's routine fired up the crowd and spurred nearly all in attendance to stand up and clap rhythmically. Janessa Grieco lived up to the moniker of "meet-baby" bestowed by Plocki, confidently strutting, beaming at the conclusion of a career-best 9.925. The GymKats' floor exercise, on the other hand, was aesthetically plagued as sporadic cat roars and meows were a staple of Kentucky's musical palette. "My athletes draw energy from the crowd," Plocki said. "I think that's key to our success, to be able to see a packed arena. I won't be happy until we pack Crisler." Michigan's next home meet is against Georgia at Crisler Arena. Based on Friday's results, Plocki's dream of performing in front of a sold-out crowd will come closer to reality. been really rough for me, so (posting a 9.785) was a huge lift off my chest. I'm feeling really confident now." Senior captain Sarah Cain led the Wolverines, recording season highs in all four events and the all-around (39.7) for a third consecutive all-around title. Cain's near-flawless execution of a difficult vault in the opening event gave the unfortunate GymKats a hint of things to come and an early deficit to surmount. Six Wolverine competitors captured the uneven bars top six places. Cain and freshman Tara Tagliarino tied for first place, while the overmatched Kentucky squad fell even further behind. "Fell" is an appropriate expression; the GymKats were plagued by falls throughout the night, while in contrast, Michigan suffered only one setback. Despite the lone fall's occurrence on the balance beam, the Wolverines managed to tie their third-best balance beam score of all time for the second straight week, recording a 49.3. Missy Peterson's first appearance on the apparatus this season proved successful, as the sophomore took first place with a career-best of 9.95. "I've been working my butt off in practice because I've been wanting to prove to my coach that I know I can do this beam routine," an ecstatic Peterson said. While the beam was an Achilles heel for the Wolverines earlier in the season, to Plocki's delight, it has blossomed into a strength. "It's totally about being confident, and totally about being in control of what we're doing," she said. "I'm thrilled to see that we've hit beam three weeks in a row, because the beam is one of those events that can kill you." The floor exercise provided another showcase for the Wolverines and a chance to reward the 1,265 fans in attendance. Sweeping the top six spots again, Michigan put an exclamation point on the entertainment standpoint of the night. Jodie Rosenberg's routine fired up the crowd and spurred nearly all in attendance to stand up and clap rhythmically. Janessa Grieco lived up to the moniker of "meet-baby" bestowed by Plocki, confidently strutting, beaming at the conclusion of a career-best 9.925. The GymKats' floor exercise, on the other hand, was aesthetically plagued as sporadic cat roars and meows were a staple of Kentucky's musical palette. "My athletes draw energy from the crowd," Plocki said. "I think that's key to our success, to see a packed arena. I won't be happy until we pack Crisler." Based on Friday's results, Plocki's dream of performing in front of a sold-out crowd will come closer to reality. Sam Hollenshead/Daily Sophomore Amy Kuczera scored a 9.725 on the bars as No. 3 Michigan trounced Kentucky, 197.5-192.05. Originally on page 1B in the 1-31-2000 issue of the Daily.