8 — Friday, April 19, 2019
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan prepares for nationals
In order to be the best, you
have to compete against the best.
The best teams can thrive
under pressure. And thrive when
it is super close.
Can’t break steel.
Bev Plocki has been giving
her team of 14 gymnasts these
nuggets of wisdom all season,
and for the thirty years she’s been
Michigan’s women’s gymnastics
coach.
But this year is something
different. This group of gymnasts
is different. This season has
been so different. So the nuggets
of
wisdom,
naturally,
mean
something different.
The Wolverines have been
through hell and back. Riddled
with coaching scandals, injuries,
and some less-than-stellar scores
throughout the past few months,
they have been in the spotlight
and a topic of conversation
throughout
the
gymnastics
world.
However, as of late, Michigan
has been making waves for all
the right reasons. After tying
for second place at the Missouri
Quad Meet on Feb. 15, a meet
they were highly favored to win,
the Wolverines bounced back
to convincingly win the Big
Ten Championship. And then,
riding the momentum of their
conference title, marginally beat a
talented Alabama team to qualify
for the National Championship.
And this was no easy feat.
The NCAA changed the format
of nationals at the beginning
of
the
season,
consequently
allowing four less teams to
advance to the championship
round. There is an initial duel
meet to determine the last team
in to compete at regionals, and
then there are two sessions of
four teams competing on the
first day. The top two teams from
each of those sessions advance
to compete in the regional final
the following day, and the top
two teams from the regional
competition advance to nationals.
Michigan, ranked seventh in
the country, is now one of the
eight teams that performed at
the caliber that allowed them
to advance from their regional
competitions to compete on the
biggest stage. The Wolverines are
ready. And they know it.
“I think the biggest thing for
us is going to be believing that we
belong,” said junior captain Lexi
Funk. “Because, you know, it was
a big deal for us to get to nationals,
especially because they changed
the format and there’s less teams
that get to go. But there’s no
reason that we don’t belong at
nationals. There’s no reason that
we can’t qualify to the final day.
There’s no reason we can’t win.”
Though
the
2018-2019
season isn’t over yet, Michigan
has already outperformed its
previous season. The Wolverines
had a solid record, then won the
Big Ten Championship, but failed
to qualify for nationals.
So, as a team that thrives in the
face of adversity and missteps,
they made sure that wouldn’t
happen again and — in this team’s
fashion — have found the silver
lining in the dark clouds from the
past.
“Since we didn’t make it to
nationals last year, we’re already
a step ahead of where we were
last year,” said Funk. “So I think
I just want to go into nationals
giving nothing but 110 percent
and just enjoying all of the
experiences that come along with
it. … We’ve had such a good team
chemistry this year and this is
our last meet all together, so I
think just enjoying each other’s
company and just ending it with a
bang. That’s all we can ask to do.”
Along with a stacked roster
of accomplished athletes that
continue to impress with every
next competition, Michigan has
one outstanding quality that has
given it the ability to outshine the
ups and downs of the season: its
chemistry.
“It makes all the difference
having that kind of a team
dynamic,” Funk said. “… When
you’re competing, you’re up on
that event all by yourself. And I
look around on floor while I’m
dancing and I see my team doing
my choreography with me on the
sidelines. It’s comforting to see
that my teammates are having
fun with me and they want me
to do well so that we can all
do well together. And I think
you can see the great dynamic
that we have in the meets — we
obviously say that, but I think
you can see that in our actions …
it’s indescribable.”
SHIRA ZISHOLTZ
Daily Sports Writer
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
The Michigan women’s gymnastics team qualified for nationals last week.
Read more online at
MichiganDaily.com