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Sports
Wednesday, April 14, 2021 — 15
Gabby Wilson’s floor routine is an
excellent encapsulation of who she is
as both an athlete and an advocate.
In her 90 seconds on the mat,
Wilson dives into themes of race that
would have been taboo to speak of,
much less present in competition, as
recently as a decade ago. And, all the
while, she throws in powerful dance
moves and athletically impressive
tumbling passes which only serve to
emphasize the overarching message of
Black power that she seeks to convey.
The sophomore describes her sharp
movements during the second song of
her routine, which is, appropriately, an
instrumental from the Black Panther
soundtrack, as showing how much
more work Black Americans have to do
to be at the same point as white people,
and people in general. She then furthers
her statement as the music transitions
to an excerpt from the Us soundtrack,
another movie which focuses on racial
themes.
“And then the last part is kind of
interesting, because in the movie Us,
everyone has their doppelganger who
is evil,” Wilson said. “And I think for
me, that was something they were
always trying to combat, and I feel like
my doppelganger is what people want
me to be, what they perceive me to be.
I’m constantly trying to combat that
and not let that just be me, and that’s
what I’m showing in that section.”
These two messages, as well as
the general air of self-proclaimed
“confident, beautiful arrogance” and
powerful movements and tumbling
passes that Wilson incorporates into
her routine lend an evocative quality
to her routine that her final pose
hammers home.
She leaves the audience one last
reminder of her routine’s motif as she
thrusts her closed fist toward the sky.
“It’s really symbolic because it’s at
the end of the routine,” Wilson said. “I
feel like if I had it in the middle, it would
kind of be just glazed over, so I really like
that it is literally the last pose. It’s saying,
‘Even though my routine is over, this is a
fight that I’m going to have to fight when
I leave this arena, when I get off the
floor, when I go to school, when I go to
the grocery store.’ So it’s symbolic based
on the fact that this fight isn’t over, even
though my routine is over. It’s still a thing
that we need to be conscious of.”
The moment Wilson makes her
powerful closing statement is in and
of itself a notable signal of progress in
the wider world of sports, but it exists
amid a long and checkered history of
race in gymnastics.
Like nearly every sport at the college
and professional level, gymnastics
presided as a predominantly white
sport for much of its history. Laws
and customs of racial segregation
in the U.S. kept opportunities out of
the hands of Black Americans for
decades, just as they did in every major
sports league in the country. In 1966,
Keith Coleman broke Michigan’s
gymnastics color barrier, but this did
little to move the meter in terms of
sustained diversity.
The sport of gymnastics has a
more troubled history than most;
people of color didn’t reach the
highest level until 1992. It is only then
that Dominique Dawes and Betty
Okino became the first two African-
American women to represent the
United States at the Olympic games.
“I think that gymnastics was
(primarily white) for a really long time
because it is a relatively expensive
sport,” Michigan coach Bev Plocki
said. “It’s the lessons and the training,
the uniforms and all the travel. The
higher level you get the more travel
there is, both across the United States,
and, depending on how good you are,
internationally.”
Things began to change, though,
when Dawes and Okino tore down the
Olympic color barrier.
In
stepping
onto
the
mat
in Barcelona, the pair began a
demographic shift that brought with it
household names like Simone Biles and
Gabby Douglas, as well as a number
of collegiate gymnasts of color, but
has not made as grand of an impact in
percentages as the success of those like
Biles and Douglas would suggest. Social
structures of inertia have thus far kept
gymnastics a predominantly white
sport, and signs of change are only just
starting to appear, as the percentage of
Black collegiate gymnasts has increased
from 4.5% to slightly under 10% in the
last decade.
Despite the slow tides of progress,
though, Wilson credits her presence
to those women of color who have
established themselves in the sport.
“It wasn’t even just like, ‘Okay,
Gabby Douglas went to the Olympics,
so I can win a national championship,’
” Wilson said. “That’s not even how I
thought about it. But it was more so
seeing them do what they’re doing and
being successful at it; I didn’t have a
reason to think that I couldn’t do it.
“I think that’s more so where
empowerment comes from, because I
was the only Black person on my team
several times and for several years
in a row, but even in that, I do think
subconsciously because of gymnasts
like Simone Biles, Dominique Dawes,
Gabby Douglas, I didn’t feel like I didn’t
belong. I didn’t feel like I couldn’t be as
successful as other girls.”
***
Wilson credits those who came
before her for enabling her to reach
the heights that she has — a prominent
figure on a top-five team in Division
I gymnastics — but this humble
statement belies the trailblazing
qualities of what Wilson does with her
position. While most in gymnastics
see the floor exercise as a place for
expression and individualism, Wilson
is among the first, if not the very first,
in the NCAA to incorporate such a
direct and powerful social message
into her routine, according to Plocki.
And this makes a great deal of sense
when one looks at what Wilson does
when she is off the mat.
In talking about Wilson’s off-the-
mat actions, both Plocki and assistant
coach and floor routine choreographer
Maile’ana Kanewa-Hermelyn rush
to praise a video Wilson recorded
talking about current racial issues in
the United States.
“I am so proud of not only Gabby,
but Sierra (Brooks) and many other
members of our team, as well, for
some of the statements they’ve made,”
Plocki said. “But, in particular, Gabby
made an incredible video that I just
thought was unbelievably outstanding.
She did it all on her own, and it was an
incredible message.”
Beyond even this high praise,
Plocki’s decision to nominate Wilson
to serve as a representative on the
NCAA
Diversity
Committee
for
Women’s
Gymnastics
signifies
Wilson’s commitment to social justice.
The nomination occurred this past
summer, during heightened tensions in
the wake of George Floyd’s death. Such
a situation clearly called for thoughtful,
insightful voices to take the NCAA
forward on a better path as the United
States experienced a racial reckoning.
Wilson did not disappoint.
“The feedback that I’ve gotten from
my other coaching colleagues that are
on that committee is that she’s been
unbelievable as one of the student-
athlete representatives,” Plocki said.
“And so I really applaud her and I’m
very, very proud of her for the stance that
she’s taken and the thoughtfulness and
the passion that she’s put into all of this.”
The way Plocki sees it, this comes
as no surprise.
Wilson raises the Black Power
fist at the end of her floor routine
because she is an advocate, through
and through. And while she would be
quick to point out that she is one in a
growing line of Black women carving
out their place in gymnastics, she goes
to extraordinary lengths, both on and
off the mat, to see that place expand.
In 2020, Gabby Wilson was one of
just 102 Black female gymnasts among
a total of 1,087 competitors, but she
delivers a message true to herself in
hopes of inspiring other women of
color to feel confident in expressing
themselves through gymnastics.
***
Wilson’s actions off the mat
certainly exist in the larger trend of
athlete and student-athlete pushes for
social justice, but her actions on the
mat lie within a greater trend as well.
According to Plocki, the range
of expression available to student-
athletes in their floor routines has
widely expanded in recent years.
Remembering a time when all
routine music was played by an
in-house pianist, Plocki explains that
the relatively recent introduction
of full instrumentals has broadened
the musical selections available to
student-athletes in a way that allows
for diversity of messages as well. In a
bygone time where piano music was
the only option available to gymnasts,
Wilson’s routine would not have been
possible, but modern liberty over music
choice allows her to make a statement.
“In college, it’s a lot about
entertainment,
but
also
about
being a role model and spreading
really positive messages,” Kanewa-
Hermelyn said. “I think it’s awesome
that they don’t have to do it in an
interview, to talk about what the
message they’re trying to get across or
the statement they’re trying to make.
They don’t have to do that verbally,
they can do it through their dancing
and their emotion.”
As the saying goes, actions speak
louder than words.
“It’s
not
just
dance,
it’s
a
performance,”
Kanewa-Hermelyn
said. “It is a message and it is their own.
It’s their voice.”
And in cases like these where the
messages can reaffirm somebody’s
value of and belief in themself, they
can have powerful effects.
“I think you see a lot of hype around
that on social media with different
routines from different universities
really spreading positive messages,”
Kanewa-Hermelyn said. “They give
the younger gymnasts and the younger
athletes something to look up to and
look forward to to be able to create their
vision of what they’re going to want to
be one day as a college gymnast.”
***
As college gymnastics becomes a
more and more diverse space, routines
like Wilson’s give further push to that
trend by staking a claim for people of
different backgrounds in the landscape
of gymnastics. People of more and
more backgrounds will see a place for
themselves in the sport as they have
role models to look up to that represent
their experience and show them the
power of being themselves.
And in that way, when Wilson
thrusts her fist into the air in each
of Michigan’s meets, she does for a
younger generation of Black American
gymnasts the same thing that Dawes,
Douglas and Biles did for her.
JACOB COHEN
Daily Sports Writer
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Michigan sophomore Gabby Wilson is using her floor routine to speak to who
she is as a Black woman.
The Michigan softball team has been
predictable.
Most games are headlined by star
pitchers Alex Storako and Meghan
Beaubien. And while the Wolverines often
squeak out a win with just enough runs
to outscore their opponent, the offense
isn’t normally something to marvel over.
Batters make contact and get on base, but
there is rarely the power to send them
across home plate. It’s been the same story
for years.
But this weekend, the offense proved it
had it in them. It outscored Ohio State by a
margin of 23-4 across a slate of four games
in which No. 23 Michigan took three of
four from the Buckeyes.
Those runs weren’t scored on bloops
in the gap, sacrifice bunts nor standard
singles, rather a majority of them came
via homeruns. The Wolverines launched
seven homers over the course of the series
in Columbus, which is half of the total
homeruns the team has hit this season.
“Well, you know, hitting is contagious
so once you bust it open, I mean, it was
just kind of like a domino effect after that,”
senior first baseman Lou Allan said. “I
think that we just were really focusing on
trying to hit the ball hard, and that was the
whole kind of what the game plan was. We
wanted to hit the ball as hard as we could,
and really focus on that.”
The team certainly struck with power,
with Allan at the forefront. She hit one over
the fence all three days of the series and in
three out of the four games. Allan walked
away with four hits and five RBIs on the
weekend, bringing her OPS up to .976 on
the year, second behind junior outfielder
Lexie Blair.
Blair had a strong weekend herself,
nabbing at least one hit in each game of
the series, extending her hitting streak
to 20 games — all of this year’s games —
including her own homer on Sunday.
The biggest hit in the series came in the
most lopsided game, one where Michigan
found itself winning 11-0 with three total
homeruns. The hit was delivered by senior
infielder Taylor Bump, who launched the
ball far past the fence and into the wall of
the building adjacent to the field.Bump has
been banking on this type of a weekend
for a while now, putting her faith in her
teammates to come through.
“Our Strong Girls, and I’m one of them,
we’re supposed to hit the ball far and that’s
expected from us. We’re supposed to hit
the ball hard,” Bump said two weeks ago.
On who the “Strong Girls” are on the
team, Bump had more than just a few
names:
“Lou Allan, Hannah Carson, Lexie Blair,
Keke Tholl, who is a young freshman, but
can hit, she can hit for some power. Sierra
Kersten, obviously, can drive the ball. Haley
Hoogenraad can get a hold of the ball. Juju
(Julia) can get a hold of the ball too.”
As for homeruns this weekend, Allan?
Check. Blair? Check. Sophomore infielder
Julia Jimenez? Check.
Junior catcher Carson walked away
with two doubles on the weekend, and
Kersten walked away with a double as
well. All in all, the “Strong Girls” showed
up to hit.
It wasn’t all home runs and power
hitting, though, as Michigan lost Saturday
afternoon is a less-than-stellar showing.
“That game was on the offense. Because
Meghan pitched her heart out,” Michigan
coach Carol Hutchins said.
Still, this past weekend was an
improvement for the Wolverines, whose
key to success going forward just might be
a group of really strong girls.
NICHOLAS STOLL
Daily Sports Writer
Through her floor routine, Wilson finds her passion and voice
Michigan’s ‘Strong Girls’ power through road series
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Michigan first basewoman Lou Allan showed her
power over the weekend.
Redshirt junior outfielder Danny Zimmerman stepped
into the box and uncorked a missile over the wall in left
field for a three-run home run. Zimmerman broke open the
inning, plating three of the nine runs scored in the frame.
The No. 25 Michigan baseball team routed Ohio State
behind a balanced and explosive offense.
The Wolverines recorded 17 hits in total, and nearly the
entire lineup contributed to the damage. Eleven different
batters reached base, with 10 of them recording a hit and
11 of them scoring.
“There were just a lot of guys having quality at-bats,”
Michigan coach Erik Bakich said. “Our offense is very
capable of exploding for a lot of runs.”
Graduate transfer infielder Christian Molfetta led
the way offensively, collecting a walk to go with three
hits, including a solo blast to left field in the fifth inning.
Graduate transfer catcher Griffin Mazur also notched two
hits and a walk. Zimmerman pinch-hit for sophomore
infielder Ted Burton in the fifth inning and lifted the team
with a walk and two hits, including his three-run shot in
the eighth inning.
“We’ve had a lot of big innings throughout the year and
that was our biggest one so far,” Bakich said. “The guys
were just finding ways to get on base. Not trying to do
too much, just guys getting on and running the bases, one
quality at-bat after the next.”
The Wolverines also got significant production from the
bottom of the order, with sophomore outfielder Clark Elliott
picking up two hits and a walk and sophomore outfielder
Tito Flores getting a hit and a walk. Junior infielder Riley
Bertram also recorded a hit and a walk and Flores recorded
a sacrifice fly while Bertram laid down a sacrifice bunt.
“We’re trying to just pass the baton, string quality at-bats
together and good things will happen,” Zimmerman said.
“Just trying to hit the ball hard, get on base, stuff like that.
And that’s exactly what we did.”
Redshirt sophomore outfielder Jordon Rogers also got
in on the action, notching two hits and a walk. Graduate
transfer Benjamin Sems, who later left the game with an
injury, came up with a timely bases-loaded single to give
Michigan a 2-1 lead in the third, a lead which Michigan
would never relinquish.
“The guys just go up there trying to have hard contact,”
Bakich said. “In the last couple of days, there’s been such
a high priority on competing pitch to pitch, I just felt like
the guys were really locked in, giving their best effort, their
best focus.”
Balanced offense
leads Wolverines past
Buckeyes
LUKE HALES/Daily
Michigan sophomore infielder Tito Flores notched one RBI
and two runs in Sunday’s game against Ohio State.
STEEL HURLEY
Daily Sports Writer
After racing out to a 4-0 lead in the first
set, fifth-year Connor Johnston coasted to
a 6-3 victory over Michigan State’s Jarreau
Campbell. But the second set was a far
different story as Campbell came out ultra-
aggressive, ripping serves at Johnston.
As the two players traded blows, it was
Johnston who delivered the knockout
punch, breaking Campbell’s serve and
volleying his way to a 6-4 second-set
victory.
Johnston’s 6-3, 6-4 victory fueled the
No. 17 Michigan men’s tennis team (13-2
overall, 13-1 Big Ten) to a 7-0 shutout
over the Spartans (5-11, 5-9) at the Varsity
Tennis Center. It was the fourth shutout
in a row for the Wolverines.
“This sounds counterintuitive, but I
tried to go after his hard serves,” Johnston
said. “If you let him come after you, he’s
going to stay aggressive. I took two steps
back and tried to be aggressive and go
after his serves.”
Johnston was not alone in strategically
countering Michigan State’s aggressive
play with finesse at the baseline and
strong groundstrokes. At No. 2 doubles,
Michigan State’s Reed Crocker and Drew
Keene relentlessly charged the net. Senior
brothers Kristofer and Mattias Siimar
utilized pinpoint lobs and passing shots to
dominate, 6-2.
“They had great control of the ball,”
Michigan coach Adam Steinberg said.
“When they have a target, something to
hit through, they’re tough. If you come in,
you better bring something extraordinary
or else they’re going to beat you through
the middle, they’re going to dip the ball, or
they’re going to be able to lob.”
Johnston
and
freshman
Nino
Ehrenschneider followed up with a 6-2
victory of their own, securing the doubles
point for the Wolverines. Ehrenschneider
followed his doubles performance with
a swift 6-0, 6-1 victory over Michigan
State’s Luke Baylis at No. 5 singles,
pushing Michigan’s lead to 2-0.
Freshman Jacob Bickersteth put on
a groundstroke clinic at No. 4 singles,
defeating Graydon Lair, 6-0, in the first set,
highlighted by a backhand winner at set-
point. Unforced errors from Bickersteth
allowed Lair to stick around in the second
set, but Bickersteth kept his composure en
route to a 6-3 victory in the second.
After a dominant first set victory,
senior Nick Beaty found himself down
3-2 in his second set, struggling with a
strong serving performance from Josh
Mukherjee at No. 3 singles. But Beaty was
able to serve his way back to 4-4, before
grinding out a 6-4 victory to take the
match for the Wolverines.
“I thought he served great today,”
Steinberg said. “He always fights as hard
as he can. I thought on the return game
he was inconsistent in the second set, but
his serve helped him a ton because he was
holding easily and serving really well.”
At No. 1 singles, Michigan State’s Nick
Williams was hitting huge serves and
took every opportunity he had to rush
the net against junior Andrew Fenty.
Yet Fenty’s debilitating returns never let
Williams gain control.
“(Fenty) hit some incredible returns,”
Steinberg
said.
“(Williams)
started
missing his first serve because of it, (and
he) was trying to overhit. With (Fenty)
you really have to hit your spots and serve
the right way otherwise he’s going to
hurt you on the return for sure. He turns
defense into offense quickly.”
In a match in which Michigan didn’t
drop a single set, the one moment of
adversity was the weather forcing the
match inside, just after Michigan had
gained some momentum from winning
the doubles point.
Judging by the score, however, the
Wolverines didn’t miss a beat.
“I don’t think it hurt us at all,” Steinberg
said. “The guys were super excited about
this match. Indoors, outdoors, it didn’t
matter.”
ALEX WALKON
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan dismantles MSU in fourth straight shutout
KATE HUA/Daily
Connor Johnston’s 6-3, 6-4 victory fueled the No. 17 Michigan men’s tennis team against
MSU.