“And after that, we knew we had
a lot of ground to make up, and
it was improbable that we were
going to be able to do it.”
Julia Schachinger/Daily | Design by Sophie Grand
F
ORT WORTH, Texas —
The No. 3 Michigan women’s
gymnastics team entered
the NCAA National Semifinal as the
Raleigh Regional Champion and a
favorite to advance to the final.
There were high expectations for the
Wolverines, who have rightfully earned
high praise all season. They won the Big
Ten Championship and the Regional
Championship, building momentum
and setting themselves up for success
Thursday night.
But those past successes could not
guarantee a return trip to the National
Final. A strong start faded into the
Wolverines’ (26-5 overall) lowest score
of the season at 196.2875 and a last-place
finish. No. 2 Florida (29-0-1) won the
meet, 197.9750-197.8375-197.200, with
No. 7 Auburn (22-8-1) also advancing
to the final with a second-place finish.
Meanwhile, No. 11 Missouri’s (14-7)
season also came to a close with a
third place finish.
“We picked a bad day to have
a bad day,” Michigan coach Bev
Plocki said.
Despite the end result, Michigan
started off strong with a solid
performance on its top-ranked floor
exercise. Senior Abby Brenner kicked
off the rotation with an electrifying
9.8625-point performance, and it
seemed like Michigan was off to
another historic night out of the gate.
Senior Abby Heiskell followed
Brenner’s routine with a 9.900,
complete with stuck landings and
beautiful flips throughout her 90
seconds. Heiskell ended by pointing
at the sky, and then leaped into her
traditional double fist-pumps while
running back to her teammates.
That success continued as senior
Natalie Wojcik stuck the landing on her
first tumbling pass, a key ingredient to
some of her top scores on the event this
season. Wojcik’s stellar routine earned her
a 9.9125, which was followed
by junior Sierra Brooks’ 9.900
and junior Gabby Wilson’s
9.9125.
The 49.425 team score
on floor exercise — the
third best floor score
at NCAA Nationals in
team history — gave the
Wolverines
momentum
heading
into
the
second
rotation, but Michigan led the
pack by only a slim 0.0125, with Auburn,
Florida and Missouri trailing behind.
The Wolverines followed that up with a
solid performance in its first-ranked vault,
including three 9.8875s from sophomore
Reyna Guggino, Wojcik, and Wilson. Brooks
was the highest scorer for the Wolverines in
the event with a 9.900, and Michigan was
cheering louder than they had all season
with every landing.
But even with those high scores, the
overall 49.4250 on the event was not good
enough to keep Michigan in first place
headed into the third rotation.
better on the floor exercise from Suni
Lee and Derrian Gobourne to overtake
Michigan for first place. Halfway through
the competition, all four teams were
within 0.500 of each other, indicating that
it would be a tight finish no matter what.
In order to stay competitive headed into
the final rotation on the balance beam —
its worst event — Michigan had to hit three
9.9s or better on the uneven bars.
Heiskell nailed her leadoff routine
with excellent pivots and handstands
throughout. Her stuck landing earned
her a 9.9125, giving the Wolverines a solid
start on the event. It seemed like Michigan
could get the job done.
But then, Brenner fell in the second slot
of the rotation, earning a mere 9.000. That
put pressure on the next competitors to
earn scores that would keep Michigan in
a competitive position to advance to the
National Final.
“I had hoped that (our) consistency
would be a benefit to us today,” Plocki said.
“But sometimes all it takes is one little
thing to derail you from that sort of zone,
and sometimes it’s just not your day.”
That looked like a momentary lapse at
first, and sophomore Naomi Morrison’s
9.8875 seemed to get the Wolverines back
in that zone. The volume increased from
the players’ corral and the Michigan
faithful as Brooks’ 9.950 and Wojcik’s
9.925 brought the total of 9.9-plus scores
for the Wolverines to three.
But still, it turned out to be not enough.
In the anchor position, freshman Jacey
Vore over-rotated on her last handstand,
was forced to dismount too close to the tall
bar and fell to the mat. The resulting 8.975
forced Michigan to count Brenner’s 9.000,
dropping Michigan 0.6375 behind second-
place Florida.
“(The counted fall on bars) gave up
probably 0.9000,” Plocki said. “And after
that, we knew we had a lot of ground to
make up, and it was improbable that we
were going to be able to do it.”
Despite the best efforts of the
Wolverines, the margin was too much
headed into the final rotation. On beam,
the nerves settled in, and Michigan
suffered two more falls, though those
were less consequential.
Facing those steep odds — and in
the final routines of their collegiate
careers — Heiskell and Wojcik shined.
Heiskell’s 9.900 was her second highest
of the season, and Wojcik’s beautiful
9.8625 elicited resounding cheers and
applause from even the most vocal
opponent fans.
“I’m incredibly proud of the culture
that we have in our program,” Plocki
said. “After 33 years, last year and this
year they have been some of the most
amazing athletes I’ve ever coached, not
just athletically but personally.”
Following up a historic National
Championship last season, Michigan
held the No. 1 ranking for eight weeks.
They were consistent all year long and
only had one meet — bar on Thursday
night — scoring below 197.000.
Even when the outcome looked grim,
the Wolverines stood tall. But in the
end, their efforts weren’t enough to
repeat last season’s historic success.
TAYLOR DANIELS
Daily Sports Writer
“And after that, we knew we had a lot of
ground to make up, and it was improbable
that we were going to be able to do it.”
Not enough:
Michigan’s season
ends at NCAA
National Semifinal
SPORTSWEDNESDAY
Julia Schachinger/Daily | Design by Sophie Grand
FELL
FELL
SHORT
SHORT