The Saturday session of Elevate the Stage in Toledo was electric from the first vault, but it took on a new level when judges flashed the long-awaited 10.0 for Natalie Wojcik’s stuck Yurchenko one and a half.
The Wolverines didn’t slow down from there. The bar squad’s 49.625 was second-best in program history; the low score the team dropped was a 9.900. Michigan went on to tally a 197.750—a score only Oklahoma, UCLA and Florida have topped this year—to win the session and make a statement going into out-of-conference play for the remainder of the regular season.
Head coach Bev Plocki called the night “awesome,” and she hopes it proves Big Ten teams are capable of big scores. Looking to the team’s next two matchups, at Utah and versus Oklahoma, Plocki said, “I think if we perform like we did tonight, we can compete with anybody.”
Senior Olivia Karas agrees. “We showed the nation, don’t count us out. We’re here. We’re ready to play with the big dogs.”
Despite the excitement surrounding Wojcik’s perfect score and the big team total, Plocki acknowledges that scoring discrepancies nationally have been frustrating this season. She specifically called out vaults with hops scoring the same as some of Wojcik’s stuck performances earlier in the year.
The team does its best to only focus on the things it can control, but Plocki added, “Scores and RQSs are not necessarily going to be indicative of a correct ranking until everybody gets on the same floor at the same time and competes.”
Scoring hasn’t been Michigan’s only distraction this year. From losing an assistant coach and gymnast during preseason to the Rhonda Faehn hiring and firing to Maggie O’Hara’s recent Achilles injury, the team, Karas said, has had setbacks, but the emotions have helped motivate them.
Plocki said her gymnasts have come together and bonded around the experiences, and they know that to be successful they need to stay positive. “I am so incredibly proud of this team,” she added.
Part of Michigan’s success the past few weeks has come with upgraded skills. Madison Osman added her full-in on floor, and Karas is doing her double Arabian and double pike floor set and has added back her Yurchenko one and a half.
For the senior, the upgraded vault and E-level tumbling were no-brainers. She called the Arabain her easiest skill—saying it “just makes sense” in her head—and said the forward vault landing is easier on her ankle.
The double pike, the skill on which she tore her Achilles last year, was more nerve wracking, but she tries not to dwell on it. She credited the University of Michigan with her rehab, and said, “I really do feel like a better athlete emotionally and physically after it.”
According to Plocki, the upgrades are happening now because she wanted to start the year clean and consistent and not risk injuries on short landings. We may see one more new E pass in the coming weeks as Wojcik warmed up several full-ins on floor before ultimately opting for her “easier” set in competition.
Plocki says she left it up to Wojcik whether she competed the skill or not. “She landed the one in touch a little bit short,” Plocki said. “She wants to be so perfect all the time—she would’ve been very safe to do it, but she decided not to and I respect that.”
Wojcik said she hopes to add the skill to her floor set soon, and Plocki noted that getting to warm it up on the podium is great practice.
The upgrades are a sign that postseason looms, but Plocki isn’t interested in anything other than the present. When asked whether missing nationals last year adds pressure to the team, especially since Michigan hosts a regional in April, she said, “We don’t think about last year.”
She did say that regional fields will be more competitive than ever before since there are fewer of them, and that the added day of competition makes it even more challenging. “It’s not going to be for sissies.”
Karas similarly tries to stay in the moment and sees the team heading for Four on the Floor. However, she does still keep her focus on each week as it happens, mentioning she’s excited to visit Utah next week. “It’s a great opportunity to compete in a freaking awesome stadium against a really fantastic team.”
That meet will be a rematch of last year’s dual when Michigan took the win in Ann Arbor. Can the team take this Big Ten success and put it on the wider national stage?
Plocki thinks so.
“This was huge. Hopefully it will catapult us into the rest of the season.”
Article by Emily Minehart
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