The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, December 10, 2019 — 7
Exhibition of potential
Four.
The number of freshmen
on
the
Michigan
women’s
gymnastics team.
Three.
The number of freshmen
who
competed
in
the
Wolverines’ exhibition meet
—
the
Michigan
Quad
in
Crisler Center against Central
Michigan, Western Michigan
and Eastern Michigan.
Two.
The number of Michigan
gymnasts who competed all-
around,
including
freshman
Sierra Brooks.
One.
The place Brooks finished in
the all-around category.
In
the
exhibition,
the
Michigan
freshmen
class
brought its stellar reputation
to the floor. And the beam, and
the bars, and the vault. Three
of the four freshmen — Gabby
Wilson, Nicoletta Koulos and
Brooks — made their collegiate
debut.
An exhibition meet is a
unique experience, allowing
gymnasts to showcase routines
and test things out in a low-
stakes
environment.
There
isn’t always the same level of
pressure to perform, something
the freshmen class capitalized
on.
“I just tried to do as best
I could,” Brooks said. “I just
tried to keep that mentality
throughout the meet. Don’t
try to change anything too
drastically because people are
watching and you’re in Crisler.”
In a team win for the
Wolverines — with a final
score of 195.975 — all four
events were covered by the
three freshmen: Koulos on
floor, Wilson on floor, bars and
vault and Brooks competing
all-around.
Koulos,
despite
multiple falls during her floor
routine, scored a 9.075. She also
did an exhibition on vault, bars
and beam.
“Nicoletta Koulos fell on the
floor and I’m not going to say
that I’m not surprised,” said
Michigan coach Bev Plocki.
“We have pushed her a little
bit. She’s going to be great. I
have no doubt in my mind that
she’s going to be great.”
Wilson’s
performance
on three of four events also
trended in a positive direction.
On vault, she tied with Brooks
for first out of
the
Michigan
competitors,
and
tied
for
second between
the four teams
with a score of
9.825. On floor
and
bars
she
added
valuable
points
to
the
Wolverines’
team-score. She
also did an exhibition on beam.
Brooks was one of two
Michigan
gymnasts
who
competed all-around — the
other was the NCAA national
champion on the beam event,
sophomore
Natalie
Wojcik.
Brooks posted an all-around
score of 39.425 on her way to
being the all-around champion
of the meet. She was also the
bars champion with a score of
9.925.
Overall,
the
freshmen
accounted
for
almost
40
percent of Michigan’s 195.975
points. Out of that 40, Brooks
contributed 50.5 percent of
those points. With the loss
of
two
key
seniors, Olivia
Karas
and
Emma McLean,
the Wolverines
looked
to
replace
their
six lineup spots
with
these
freshman. The
freshmen’s
positive
early
performances
shows
steps
in
the
right
direction in filling those spots.
“I think we did really good,
like, for our first time in
Crisler,” Brooks said. “It was
awesome that everybody was
able to contribute.”
Talented underclassmen lead way in exhibition quad meet win on Saturday, showing what could come this season
An exhibition match is usually
one to give the seniors and
captains a solid pre-season tune-
up. It’s an opportunity to give
the freshman a walkthrough
at Crisler Center for what’s to
come. But they aren’t supposed
to be the ones carrying the team.
The freshmen are supposed to
perform like freshman and the
seniors are supposed to perform
like seniors.
But not for the Michigan
women’s gymnastics team.
In an exhibition quad meet
on Saturday, the underclassmen,
especially
freshman
Sierra
Brooks,
propelled
the
Wolverines to the win.
Michigan competed against
Central
Michigan,
Western
Michigan and Eastern Michigan.
The Wolverines scored 195.975
points and Central Michigan
finished second with a score of
194.500.
“It’s always an exciting time
of the year, but it’s also a difficult
time of year,” said Michigan
coach Bev Plocki. “This falls at
really not the best time of year …
but it just happens to be when it
is. We still have a month. I guess
the good news is we still have a
month.”
Competing
in
her
first
collegiate meet, Brooks was
the all-around champion with
a near-perfect score of 39.425.
One of only two Michigan
gymnasts to compete in all
four events, Brooks highlighted
her performance with her bar
routine, posting a score of 9.925.
“It’s really exciting,” Brooks
said. “I came in, I didn’t try to
like have an overall (day), I just
tried to do as best I could. I just
tried to keep that mentality
throughout the meet, and just
do the routines that I’ve been
doing inside the gym.”
Sophomore Natalie Wojcik
placed
fourth
all-around.
She had an impressive floor
routine, scoring a 9.900. Wojcik
upgraded the difficulty of her
routine midway through last
season, adding a full-on. She
wasn’t able to perfect it last
year and it has since been an
emphasis in practice.
As
the
reigning
national
champion in the beam event,
Wojcik performed strongly in
her beam routine — her favorite
event — scoring a 9.875. This
was not near her best from last
season, but she is working on
shaking off the early season
rust.
Because
this
was
an
exhibition meet, all teams were
allowed to compete with six
gymnasts in addition to two
exhibition players. Unlike a
regular-season meet, regardless
of the two exhibition scores the
first six gymnasts in the lineup
were scored. Plocki capitalized
on this opportunity and entered
eight gymnasts in each event.
“We tried to treat it for the
most part like a regular meet,”
Plocki said. “This is a great
dry run for our athletes, for
our event staff, for everybody.
In a regular meet, we would
probably only put our lineup in
one exhibition.”
Regardless of the win, like
any beginning of the season, the
meet was not flawless.
“As a team, we have been
working a lot on landings and
just cleaning up any little small
thing we can,” Wojcik said.
The
Wolverines
started
strong in their first rotation
on vault. But the pressure of
competing in Crisler Center for
the first time this season, and for
the freshman first time in their
careers, slowly set in during the
beam and floor events.
“It’s
just
being
able
to
compete beam in a pressure
situation without giving in to
some of the negative thoughts
that go through your head and
being nervous,” Plocki said.
“Those routines we will make
over and over and over again in
the gym.”
The biggest mistakes came
during these last two events.
Four gymnasts fell off the
beam during their routines, all
managing to get back on and
finish their routine. During the
floor event, freshman Nicoletta
Koulos fell during her last pass
through. Plocki attributed this
to Koulos’ ongoing recovery
from several knee injuries.
“(We will) be able to get
everything ready to go into
that first real meet and be able
to clean up some of those little
mistakes we had today,” Plocki
said.
Coming out of this meet,
Plocki is confident that, if her
team stays healthy, it will have
considerable depth and be able
to rotate gymnasts in their
lineup to keep them fresh and
healthy and improve as the
season progresses. One might
look at Michigan’s season last
year and see minimal if any
room for improvement.
But not for the Michigan
women’s gymnastics team.
“There’s
always
room
to
improve,” Plocki said. “If you
are
not
trying
to
improve
you’re falling behind because
everybody else is improving.”
ABBIE TELGENHOF
Daily Sports Writer
LILY ISRAEL
Daily Sports Writer
Wagner gains confidence with
performance against Hawkeyes
The game’s result was no longer
in doubt.
With a 14-point buffer and
just over a minute remaining, the
Michigan men’s basketball team
was assured its first Big Ten win of
the season over Iowa.
Off a long defensive rebound,
though, even with no need to
push the ball in transition, two
Wolverines saw an opportunity
anyway.
After sending an outlet pass to
sophomore guard David DeJulius,
freshman wing Franz Wagner
hightailed down the floor. The
Hawkeyes were retreating a little
too casually for their own good,
and Wagner was about to take full
advantage. Almost telepathically,
DeJulius read the situation and
hoisted a pinpoint alley-oop from
30 feet out.
Wagner finished it off with a
two-handed flush.
The
crowd
inside
Crisler
Center erupted, the Michigan
bench jumped to its feet in
excitement and Wagner strolled
away smiling ear-to-ear. The fact
that the sequence increased the
Wolverines’ lead to 16 points was
trivial. What the slam meant in the
grand scheme of things was much
more meaningful.
The 103-91 win over Iowa
pushed Michigan to 8-1 on the
season. For Wagner, though, Friday
night was just his fifth college
game. The heralded freshman,
who
played
professionally
in
Germany last season, was forced to
sit out the first month of the season
after fracturing his wrist.
When he returned to action,
he was thrown right into the fire,
starting all three games of the
Battle 4 Atlantis — against Iowa
State, No. 17 North Carolina and
No. 6 Gonzaga — and playing
30 minutes against top-ranked
Louisville.
Despite showing positive flashes
in all four games, Wagner also
looked a step slow. Offensively, he
shot 28.5 percent from behind the
arc and 36 percent overall. It was
even more glaring on the defensive
end, where Wagner had some
missed assignments, and at times,
let his guard down.
This was especially true against
the Cardinals. Wagner was given
the tall task of guarding their
leading scorer, Jordan Nwora, and
struggled to contain him.
“I think against Louisville, off
the ball, I played good defense,”
Wagner
said
last
Thursday.
“Maybe I could’ve communicated
a little more. On the ball, I can
definitely do a better job. He’s a
really good player though and you
have to give him credit.”
Against Iowa, Wagner seemed
to turn a corner on both ends.
He looked aggressive on offense,
scoring 18 and getting to the foul
line 10 times. Defensively, he held
the Hawkeyes’ second leading
scorer, Joe Wieskamp, to just seven
points on 2-of-6 shooting.
“Franz
gave
us
great
production,” said Michigan coach
Juwan Howard. “It was great that
he played with a lot of confidence
— not saying he didn’t play with a
lot of confidence before. But, when
you see the ball go through the
basket a few times, it gives you a
gratifying feeling.”
While it was Wagner’s best
performance of the season, it
wasn’t necessarily unexpected.
Despite a somewhat slow start and
the occasional miscue, Wagner has
gradually gained confidence with
each and every game. The latest
showing against the Hawkeyes
was merely a glimpse of what his
teammates and coaches had raved
about over the summer.
“Every game I feel better out
there,” Wagner said. “It takes a
little time, but I felt good out there
today.”
Added Howard: “Like I tell
Franz, you just gotta stick to the
process. Because it’s tough for a guy
to only have one practice and come
in and play three games in a row. It
wears on you, and then when see
that your shot is flat or you shoot
an air ball or you miss a layup or
you travel, you can get down on
yourself. That’s something we
don’t want him to do because he’s
a big part of our team.”
Howard never wavered from
his decision to start Wagner as
soon as he was ready. He gives a
solid Michigan roster even more
of a scoring threat going forward
and valuable minutes at a sorely-
needed spot.
In the closing minutes of the
game, knowing what the moment
had meant to him, Howard gave
Wagner a high-five and some
encouragement near the sideline.
“He just asked me if that felt
good,” Wagner said. “It was after
that dunk and I said, ‘Yeah.’
“... It felt good hanging on the
rim again.”
In win over ‘Cuse, Michigan shows
lessons learned from early season
The Wolverines were in a
familiar situation.
Midway through the fourth
quarter of its Thursday matchup
against
Syracuse,
the
game
seemed to be slipping away from
Michigan — just as it had in the
Nov. 23 loss to Notre Dame.
Sophomore
forward
Naz
Hillmon forced a turnover and
drew a foul on a converted layup
in transition early in the fourth
quarter to cut the Syracuse lead
to four, and it looked as though
the momentum had shifted to
the Wolverines. But Hillmon
missed the free throw, and the
Orange made 3-pointers on their
next two possessions. Suddenly,
Michigan trailed by 10 — its
largest deficit of the game.
Just as they had against the
Fighting Irish, the Wolverines
got anxious, leading to turnovers
and missed shots. In that game,
Michigan made just one field
goal and turned the ball over six
times over the first 6:30 of the
fourth quarter, during which
Notre Dame went on a 12-3 run.
Thursday, the Wolverines missed
all three of their attempted
field goals and committed two
turnovers over the two-minute
stretch after Syracuse extended
the lead to 10. The Orange had
the game firmly in hand.
Against the Fighting Irish,
Michigan did little to adjust. It
continued to sit back in a zone,
and Notre Dame continued to
break it. The Wolverines looked
demoralized as the Fighting
Irish continued to score with
ease.
“We couldn’t get a defensive
stop or consecutive defensive
stops,”
said
junior
forward
Hailey Brown after the loss.
“When you’re not making shots,
even though you’re getting the
right shots, if you’re not getting
stops it’s hard to win that way.”
Michigan coach Kim Barnes
Arico and the players showed
Thursday that they had learned
their lesson. With just under six
minutes left in the game, the
Wolverines unveiled a stifling
full-court press. They had shown
this look from time to time
throughout their past few games
— even for a few possessions in
the first half against Syracuse
— but they had never looked as
energized in the formation as
they had down the stretch of
Thursday’s game.
Michigan’s press forced six
turnovers, and the Wolverines
finished the quarter on a 14-5
run to force overtime. Michigan
continued to press in overtime
and forced five Orange turnovers,
leading to an 84-76 win.
This defensive switch was the
clear turning point in the game,
but the Wolverines would not
have been able to consistently
press
without
taking
care
of the ball. In the loss to the
Fighting Irish, Michigan had
seven turnovers in the fourth
quarter. The Wolverines were
constantly playing in transition,
so they couldn’t get set in a full-
court press even if they wanted
to. Since that game, they have
worked hard to improve their
ball security.
“We have a bunch of practice
guys that come in every day
and we have been doing drill
after drill of high pressure, high
pressure, high pressure,” Barnes
Arico
said.
“People
double-
teaming you. Six players against
five of us, putting us in uneven
numbers. Four of us against
three. Just trying to simulate
facing
long,
pressure-type
teams.”
Against
Syracuse,
the
Wolverines only turned the ball
over twice in the 10 minutes after
they began to press. As Michigan
began to come back, the Orange
switched to a full-court press of
their own, but the Wolverines
didn’t get flustered. Sophomore
point guard Amy Dilk never tried
to force the ball up the court on
her own. She made smart, quick
passes to avoid traps and get the
ball past half court with relative
ease.
“We had four (turnovers) in
the second half against a team
that picks up and pressures the
way that they do,” Barnes Arico
said. “I thought Amy Dilk was
phenomenal. When you have to
go against pressure 94 feet for 40
minutes, that’s pretty tough to
do. She handled it exceptionally
well.”
The loss to Notre Dame was
a clear wake-up call for the
Wolverines, and they showed
what they learned from it in a
similar game against Syracuse.
MADELINE HINKLEY/Daily
Freshman Sierra Brooks placed first in the all-around competition during Saturday’s exhibition meet win for Michigan.
CONNOR BRENNAN
Daily Sports Writer
JACK KINGSLEY
Daily Sports Writer
I think we did
really good,
like, for our first
time at Crisler.
ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Freshman wing Franz Wagner scored 18 points on Friday against Iowa.
OLIVIA CELL/Daily
Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico was glad her team cut down on turnovers.