Dec. 9, 2011

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Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Arena)
Event: Maize & Blue Intrasquad
Score: Blue 9, Maize 7
Attendance: 599
Next U-M Event: Friday, Jan. 13 -- vs. Ohio State (Crisler Arena), 6 p.m.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team unveiled the 2012 squad at its annual Maize & Blue Intrasquad on Friday (Dec. 9), with the Blue team prevailing, 9-7, over the Maize squad inside the newly renovated Crisler Arena. The score was tied 6-6 heading into the final floor competition, but Blue won three of the four head-to-head routines to win the competition.

The event, which was emceed by former Wolverine and 2011 NCAA All-Around champion Kylee Botterman, split the squad into two teams -- the Maize team and the Blue team. The Maize team featured freshmen Annette Miele (Easton, Pa./Easton Area) and Sachi Sugiyama (Keller, Texas/Keller) making their Crisler Arena debut, as well as sophomores Stephanie Colbert (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) and Shelby Gies (Pennington, N.J./Hopewell Valley Central) and junior Katie Zurales (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South). The Blue team was comprised of juniors Natalie Beilstein(Butler, Pa./Knoch) and Brittnee Martinez (Colorado Springs, Colo./Doherty), and sophomores Reema Zakharia (Miami, Fla./Coral Gables Senior High), Joanna Sampson (Willow Grove, Pa./Upper Moreland), Kristin Nagle (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington) and Teresa Arthur (Tulsa, Okla./Bishop Kelley).

The exhibition meet was scored by a panel of celebrity judges, including the hosts of the Michigan Insider on WTKA 1050, Sam Webb and Ira Weintraub, and University of Michigan football players Denard Robinson, Mike Martin and Ryan Van Bergen.

The Wolverines officially open the 2012 season on Friday, Jan. 13, when they welcome No. 18 Ohio State to Crisler Arena. The meet will begin at 6 p.m.

Q U O T E S

Michigan Head Coach Bev Plocki
On the purpose of the intrasquad and what it means to the team ... "We just do this to try and get out some of the preseason jitters. We have a very young team this year, and a lot of athletes who are doing a lot more events than they have in the past. Several of those athletes that did floor routines hadn't done those in years. We made a lot of those mistakes tonight, but hopefully we just got those out of the way. We'll go back to the gym and perfect those. I can definitely see that the base is there for some really quality gymnastics. We just have to work on the consistency and confidence."

On who impressed the most tonight ... "That's a hard question for me to answer because I thought there were a lot of good things tonight, and there were even some things when someone made a mistake, but it was still a major obstacle that they've overcome. I would have to say Katie Zurales impressed me overall the most. Her freshman and sophomore year, she had injuries that held her out of the lineup, and last year, she competed on vault and balance beam, and this year, she's going to do the all-around. She's had a couple surgeries, but has worked her way back from all that. She's healthy, and I think she'll be an impact performer for us in the all-around."

On the newly renovated Crisler Arena and the atmosphere for gymnastics ... "This is a lot of fun. This arena looks amazing. David Brandon has done such incredible things all over our campus, but this arena looks beautiful. The video boards are going to be absolutely outstanding for gymnastics and our fans' ability to follow the scores of the meet, so we are really excited about it."

U-M Junior Natalie Beilstein
On her team's performance ... "I felt really good. I think our team did really well. It's the first time we were getting out there in front of our crowds. We had a few wobbles and falls, but we'll go back to the gym and clean those up. We'll get a lot better as the season progresses."

On taking a leadership role with a young team ... "All of us need to keep a positive attitude, no matter what happens. I fell on beam, and had a mishap on my last pass on floor, but you can't let any of those things bother you. You've got to tell the underclassmen the same thing. Keeping up the positive energy is one of the big things I think my role will help out this year."

U-M Junior Katie Zurales
On her team's performance ... "I think we did well. We showed what we have been doing in practice. Obviously some nerves and jitters that showed, but we're getting there, and we're ready for the season."

Contact: Brad Rudner (734) 763-4423