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

