Feb. 1, 2003

Recap

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UTAH VS. MINNESOTA

Feb. 1, 2003

Meet begins at 7:12 p.m. CST


TEAM TOTALS

1. Utah 196.400

2. Minnesota 194.750

MINNESOTA                  UTAH
VAULT                       VAULT
Erin Murphy        9.725    Kylee Wagner        9.650
Jenny Alf          9.575    Gritt Hofmann       9.700
Mary Skokut        9.425    Veronique Leclerc   9.775
Leigh Dixon        9.775    Kristen Riffanacht  9.750
Laura Johnson      9.775    Melissa Vituj       9.875
Carolyn Yernberg   9.850    Annabeth Eberle     9.900
VT: 48.700; Running: 48.700 VT: 49.000; Running: 98.050


Kylee Wagner looked good in the air and had just a slight hop on her landing. Gritt Hofmann also had a slight hop on her landing after getting over the vault cleanly. Veronique Leclerc stepped it up a level with the best vault of the front half of the lineup. Kristen Riffanacht showed tremendous power and amplitude, with only a tiny hop on her landing marring the routine. Great vault by Melissa Vituj. Looked great in the air and stuck the landing. I'd have given it a 9.90. Annabeth Eberle was big time on vault. High and straight in the air and stuck the landing. I liked it for better than the 9.90, but it might have been due to my vantage point.

BARS BARS Erin Murphy 9.775 Kristen Riffanacht 9.175 Leigh Dixon 9.850 Annabeth Eberle 9.900 Laura Johnson 9.250 Kim Allan 9.925 Alicia Opsahl 9.850 Melissa Vituj 9.425 Kelly Watson 9.000 Veronique Leclerc 9.800 Mary Skokut 9.950 Theresa Kulikowski 10.00!!! UB:48.675; Running: 97.375 UB: 49.050; Running: 49.050


Freshman Kristen Riffanacht opened Utah's competition with a fall off of the uneven bars. It was Riffanacht's first fall of the year. Annabeth Eberle left out her hop full but a big Tkatchev brought oohs and ahs from the crowd, as did a nice stick on the landing. Kim Allan swung the bars well throughout her routine and caught tons of air before totally sticking her double layout dismount. In a rare occurance, Melissa Vituj fell off of the bars. It was Vituj's first fall of the year on any event. Veronique Leclerc was clean throughout her routine until a step on her dismount. WELCOME BACK KULIO! Theresa Kulikowski, in her first appearance of the year, was duly rewarded with a 10.0 after a flawless routine. It was hard to believe she had only recently returned to practice due to a dislocated rib. It was the first 10.0 ever scored in the Sports Pavilion.

BEAM BEAM Laura Johnson 9.725 Kylee Wagner 9.800 Maria Opsahl 9.100 Kim Allan 9.600 Kelly Watson 9.375 Gritt Hofmann 9.900 Mary Skokut 9.900 Annabeth Eberle 9.900 Alicia Opsahl 9.100 Theresa Kulikowski 9.600 Jenny Alf 9.825 Melissa Vituj 9.900 BB:47.925; Running: 145.300 BB: 49.100; Running: 196.400


Kylee Wagner went virtually wobble-less until a small step on her dismount.>
Kim Allan got dinged really hard on a crooked splash down on the beam.
Gritt Hofmann had the place buzzing with a sensational beam routine that scored a career-best 9.90. That .10 was hard to see. Annabeth Eberle attacked the beam and covered well for a couple of potential scares. Theresa Kulikowski had the building in awe until she had to hang on to the beam at the end of her series. Her 9.60 score indicated she'd have gotten another 10.0 without the mishap. Melissa Vituj finished up strong with a clean routine with no apparent errors.

FLOOR FLOOR Laura Johnson 9.675 Natalie Nicoloff 9.775 Maria Opsahl 9.825 Kylee Wagner 9.750 Mary Skokut 9.875 Kristen Riffanacht 9.875 Alicia Opsahl 9.900 Veronique Leclerc 9.200 Carolyn Yernberg 9.925 Annabeth Eberle 9.925 Jenny Alf 9.925 Melissa Vituj 9.925 FX:49.450; Running: 194.750 FX: 49.250; Running: 147.300


Natalie Nicoloff started things off well on floor with a pretty routine other than a step out of her first landing. She did not go out of bounds. Kylee Wagner, in perhaps her best floor routine of the year, would have received a 9.85 were it not for a step out of bounds on her first pass coming off the double pike. Kristen Riffanacht finished her evening with a career-best 9.875 routine on floor that displayed her power and control. Veronique Leclerc struggled throughout her routine and fell on her last pass. Annabeth Eberle was marvelous on floor for a second straight week. Her tumbling was huge and her dance beautiful. Melissa Vituj won the Minnesota crowd's heart with her routine, in which she winked at one section, resulting in a big cheer. A tiny skid on her third pass was all that prevented an even higher score for Vituj.