36 | JUNE 9 • 2022
and William & Mary in addition
to U-M. They were all great, but
overwhelming,
” Wooten said.
“You’re given so much informa-
tion and you meet so many peo-
ple when you go on those visits.
“My conversation with Alan at
Potbelly was relaxing because he
was so genuine. We talked about
a lot of things, including what
it meant to buy into the team
culture on the U-M gymnastics
team. That’s important because
you spend a lot of time with the
guys on your team.
”
Gerdov said he thinks he
connected quickly with Wooten
because they’re both “super
invested” in gymnastics and close
with their family, and they love
music.
“We’ve had some tests of our
friendship since we met, but each
time we’ve come out stronger,
”
Gerdov said.
The two can’t remember when
they found out each was Jewish.
“I know it didn’t come up right
away,
” Wooten said. “It probably
happened sometime when Alan
was talking to me about his fam-
ily, which he loves. There’s no
doubt being Jewish — and proba-
bly being the only Jewish guys on
our team — has brought us closer
together.
”
In addition to being Jewish
gymnasts with similar outside
interests, Gerdov and Wooten
share another common bond.
They’re each 5-foot-10 and weigh
about 170 pounds.
It was about a year ago when
each received an email from
the U-M men’s gymnastics
coach informing them about an
opportunity to compete in the
Maccabiah Games, which also is
known as the “Jewish Olympics.
”
Held every four years, this
year’s Maccabiah Games is
expected to include 10,000 ath-
letes from more than 80 countries
in 47 sports.
“I called Adam after getting
that email about the Maccabiah
Games and said, ‘Let’s do this,
’
no matter what hoops we have to
jump through,
” Gerdov said.
“
Alan was really determined to
make it happen,
” Wooten said. “I
couldn’t say no.
”
TEAM USA
An initial hoop for Gerdov and
Wooten was creating tryout
videos on Google Drive. There
were no in-person tryouts for
this year’s Team USA Maccabiah
Games men’s gymnastics squad
because of pandemic restric-
tions.
Gerdov said he did videos of
gymnastic events he hadn’t done
since high school to show his
versatility.
There are only five members
of the Team USA men’s gymnas-
tics squad. Four will compete
in each event in the Maccabiah
Games gymnastics venue in Tel
Aviv, with the top three scores
counting.
Gerdov and Wooten found
TOP: Alan Gerdov and his grandmother Faina Borshchukova.
ABOVE: A happy Adam Wooten celebrates after a still rings routine.
Help Beam Them to Israel
Gymnasts Alan Gerdov and Adam Wooten each needs to
raise $8,500 to compete for Team USA this summer at the
Maccabiah Games in Israel.
They would appreciate donations, which can be sent to
PayPal at paypal.me/MaccabiahFundraising.
Gerdov can be reached at agerdov@umich.edu, (847)
714-6508 or on his Instagram account, @agerdov.
ALAN GERDOV
DENNIS KENNEDY
continued from page 35
SPORTS
ON THE COVER