May 23, 2001

When five seniors graduated from a team that missed going to the 2000 NCAA Championships by 0.025 points -- the smallest margin possible -- many thought the chances of even nearing a repeat performance were slim. When All-American Jenny Ebdon (Marietta, Ga. / Walton HS) went down with an ACL tear on February 10, many more likely thought the season was finished.

Instead, the opposite happened, as third-year head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart led the Pioneers to their first-ever appearance at the NCAA National Championships, becoming the first small private school in NCAA history to qualify. The Pioneers pulled the feat by finishing second at the NCAA North Central Regional Championships to qualify as one of the top 12 teams to Nationals, which took place April 19-21 in Athens, Ga.

Freshman Ashley Shible (Palm Harbor, Fla. / East Lake HS), who broke Ebdon's school record in the all-around the night the All-American went down, earned All-America honors of her own by tying for seventh place on the vault at the NCAA Championships. She becomes the first Pioneer gymnast to earn All-America honors in her freshman year since Heather Earl and Heidi Sjordal in 1983.

In addition to Shible's exploits at Nationals, she led the way for the Pioneers by winning the NCAA North Central Region all-around title. She scored a four-event total of 39.200 points to earn her seventh all-around title of the season and 23rd overall. Over the course of the season, Shible broke the all-around school record three times, then earned the first perfect 10.0 vault in school history on Feb. 10, nailing a unique vault that is named after her.

As a team, the Pioneers broke school records for overall score (196.625) and apparatus marks on the uneven bars (49.400) and floor exercise (49.425). Kutcher-Rinehart will return 10 gymnasts -- two seniors, four junior and four sophomores -- in addition to welcoming an outstanding class of four freshman recruits to the University for the 2002 season.