Pritchard and Klug Win Event Titles at NCAA Gym Regional
April 7, 2001
Lincoln, NE - Washington senior Mandi Klug and freshman Emily Pritchard both won event championships, but it was not enough as the 15th-ranked Huskies placed fifth at the NCAA South Central Regional Championship and failed to qualify for the NCAA Championships. Poor showings on bars and beam cost the Huskies any chance of qualifying for the NCAA Championships.
Klug (Clarkston, Wash.) scored 9.900 to win the beam while Pritchard (Buckley, Wash.) took top honors on bars with a 9.900 score. Pritchard was second in the all-around with a score of 39.350. Both gymnasts qualify for the NCAA event championships April 21 in Athens, Ga.
Host Nebraska won the regional with a score of 196.200 Second-place finisher Oklahoma also advanced to the NCAA Championships with a score of 195.225. Arizona was third at 194.825, Penn State was fourth at 194.775, the Huskies fifth at 194.050 and Illinois State was sixth at 191.725.
"It was disappointing that we did not do better as a team, but I am very proud of Mandi and Emily," said Husky coach Bob Levesque. "To win an event championship at this level is quite an accomplishment. Emily has had the best season ever by a freshman at Washington, so her second-place finish in the all-around really capped off a great year for her."
The Huskies jumped out to the early lead in the meet by scoring 49.125 on vault. Only Oklahoma, competing on floor, equaled Washington's mark during the first round of scoring. Pritchard and senior Lanna Apisukh led Washington in the event with a pair of 9.85 scores that tied them for fourth in the final event results. It marked the sixth straight meet the Huskies scored better than 49.000 on vault.
Washington fell out of contention for a NCAA berth when the Huskies experienced a series of miscues on bars during their second rotation, the third overall during the meet. Washington scored just 47.775 on the event, the lowest total of the season. Apisukh, who had not suffered a fall on bars all season, experienced one during her routine for a score of 9.175. The Huskies also had two scores of 9.125 and had to count one toward their team total. Pritchard, competing fifth for Washington, became the first gymnast at the meet to score a 9.9 and it held up for top honors on the event.
"It was by far the worst we have performed on bars all season," said Levesque. "We just picked the wrong night to have a really bad meet."
During its next rotation, Washington had two falls on beam to end any hopes the Huskies harbored of a comeback. Tanya Powers fell on our mount and Apisukh suffered her second fall of the meet during her routine. Both gymnasts finished with scores of 9.125. Pritchard continued her assault on the all-around title with a solid score of 9.850 while senior Mandi Klug recorded a 9.9, to win the event.
The Huskies finished on floor exercise with a score of 49.050. Apisukh and Klug posted scores of 9.900 to tie for fourth in the event.
Nebraska freshman Tami Harris narrowly beat out Pritchard for the all-around title with a score of 39.400. She also tied for first place on floor with a score of 9.925. Harris was the only multi-event winner during the meet.
Team Scores:
Vault Bars Beam Floor Total
Nebraska 49.050 49.050 48.625 49.475 196.200
Oklahoma 49.100 48.775 48.200 49.150 195.225
Arizona 48.925 48.825 48.000 49.075 194.825
Penn State 49.100 48.425 48.100 49.150 194.775
Washington 49.125 47.775 48.500 49.050 194.450
Illinois State 48.275 47.450 47.500 48.500 191.725
All-Around: 1. Tami Harris (NU) 39.400, 2. Emily Pritchard (UW) 39.350, 3. Kara Fry (UA) 39.275, 4. Katie McAvoy (PSU) 39.250, 5. Kasie Tamayo (UO) 39.150. Other Husky Finishers: 8. Stacy Wong 38.900, 15. Lanna Apisukh 38.050.
Vault: 1t. Alecia Ingram (NU) Mariana Goncalves (OU) and Katie McAvoy (PSU) 9.875, 4t. Lanna Apisukh (UW), Emily Pritchard (UW), Tami Harris (NU), Carla Demartini (OU) and Richelle Simpson (PSU) 9.850. Other Husky Finishers: 9t. Stacy Wong 9.825, 14t. Molly Seaman and Tanya Powers 9.800 and 32. Mandi Klug 9.700.
Bars: 1. Emily Pritchard (UW) 9.900, 2t. Tami Harris (NU), Randi Liljenquist (UA) and Stacy Wong (UW) 9.875, 5. Katie Rowland (PSU) 9.850. Other Husky Finishers: 19t. Kim Claussen 9.700, 33t. Lanna Apisukh 9.175, 34t. Daniela Medlin and Tanya Powers 9.125.
Beam: 1. Mandi Klug (UW) 9.900, 2t. Emily Pritchard (UW), Stacy Wong (UW), Alecia Ingram (NU), Bree Dority (NU), Cheryl Rubinger (UIC), Maria Taylor (PSU) 9.850. Other Husky Finishers: 9t. Molly Seaman 9.775, 34t. Tanya Powers and Lanna Apisukh 9.125
Floor: 1t. Tami Harris (NU) and Randi Liljenquist (UA) and Katie Rowland (PSU) 9.925, 4t. Lanna Apisukh (UW) and Mandi Klug (UW), Bree Dority (NU), Jess Wertz (NU) 9.900. Other Husky Finishers: 15t. Molly Seaman 9.825, 27t. Emily Pritchard 9.750, 34t. Amy Metcalf 9.675 and 40. Stacy Wong 9.350
