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The University of Utah Athletics
Kulikowski Wins NCAA Balance Beam Championship.
4/21/2001 12:00 AM | Gymnastics
April 21, 2001
ATHENS, Ga. -
The Ute gymnasts placed fifth as a team at the 2001 NCAA Championships, but they did come away from the event with a gold medal. Theresa Kulikowski, absent from last year's championships with a knee injury, returned the way she exited as a freshman in 1999: as the NCAA balance beam champion. Kulikowski, who scored a 9.938, was one of three Utes who made the six-level awards stand. Freshman Melissa Vituj tied for third with a 9.90 and senior Theresa Wolf tied for sixth with a 9.838. Junior Shannon Bowles also competed on the beam for the Utes, but a fall on her series cost her a chance at the awards stand. Bowles received a 9.262 to place 12th.
Kulikowski's beam championship was the third NCAA title of her short but storied career. She captured the all-around and balance beam titles as a freshman in 1999. A knee injury resulted in a medical hardship last year, giving Kulio a shot at a second sophomore year. She became just the second Ute to win NCAA balance beam championships her freshman and sophomore years. Summer Reid accomplished that feat in 1996-97. She could not defend her 1999 all-around title since she was limited to bars and beam this year while continuing to strengthen her surgically repaired knee.
Kulikowski claimed her beam title against one of the finest fields ever assembled at an NCAA Championships. Among the gymnasts she defeated were 2000 U.S. Olympians Kristen Maloney (who tied for third with Vituj) and Elise Ray (who tied for sixth with Wolf). Yvonne Tousek, a member of the 2000 Canadian Olympic team finished 10th.
Kulikowski added a bronze medal to go with her gold when the uneven bar competition rolled around. Her routine received a 9.90, just behind winner Tousek (9.938) and Onnie Willis (9.912), both of UCLA. Kulio has now placed in the top three at the national championships on every event and the all-around (she won the all-around and beam and was second on vault and floor as a freshman).
Also enjoying a big night on two events was Vituj, a freshman competing in her first NCAA Championships. After tying for third on the balance beam, Vituj moved to the floor exercise, where she tied for eighth with a 9.863. It was a fitting finish to a sensational championships for Vituj, who "hit all eight of her routines.
Wolf, the team's sole senior, represented her "class" well. In addition to placing sixth on the balance beam, she was a first-team All-America all-arounder, placing 10th.
Bowles, while disappointed with her fall off the beam, was marvelous the first two nights of team competition. Her 9.95 on the first night was the best score across both sessions and she had a team-high 9.90 in the Super Six on Friday.
All four Utes were named first-team All-Americans, as well as Deidra Graham, who finished eighth in the all-around on Thursday, but failed to qualify for an individual event championship.
Gymnastics Media Availability | Pre-NCAA Championships
Wednesday, April 15
Utah: 197.500 | Ala.: 197.225 | OSU: 196.375 | DU: 195.950 | Gymnastics Post-Meet Press Conference
Saturday, April 04
Utah: 197.400 vs. UCLA: 197.850 | Gymnastics Post-Meet Press Conference
Sunday, March 15
Utah: 197.650 vs. BYU: 196.550, West Virginia: 195.300 | Gymnastics Post-Meet Press Conference
Sunday, March 08