“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

