The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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44 THE WOLVERINE JUNE/JULY 2021 two were already doing — was kind of what pushed us over the edge." The trio certainly pushed Michigan to the top in the final event. Brooks and Wojcik set up Heiskell's clutch clincher, Brooks scoring 9.9625 on the beam and Wojcik 9.9875. The Wolverines opened the cham- pionships red hot as well, posting five consecutive marks of 9.9000 or greater on the floor exercise. Sopho- more Nicoletta Koulos notched a ca- reer-best 9.9125, followed by Wojcik's 9.9500, tying her career mark. Heiskell and Brooks each went 9.9125, and sophomore Gabby Wil- son 9.9375. Heiskell and Brooks tied career highs on the vault at 9.9750, with Wojcik checking in at 9.9375. Heiskell managed a 9.9125 on the uneven bars, with junior Abby Brenner de- livering a 9.9250 that Brenner — and Plocki — will always remember. An injury in February knocked Brenner out of the lineup, and it proved tough to get back in, given the way the Wolverines were performing. But she'd worked her way back to health and readiness for the championships. When a teammate experienced a sub-par warmup, Plocki and associ- ate head coach Scott Sherman went to the bullpen with Brenner. "For her to step up, in that situation … she went up and got a 9.925 for us on bars," Plocki said. "I thought it was incredible that she was able to actually able to feel like she contrib- uted to that championship with her bar routine, and not just with her vocal leadership. That was another pretty cool component of it." Others contributed in many ways, including senior captains Anna Day- ton and Anne Maxim, along with Brenner. The leadership paid off, Plocki insisted. "I just am so humbled and in awe of this team and what they did," she said. "The longer it goes on, the more I can realize and think back about the little things. I didn't see them feeling nervous and under pressure. I saw them feeling excited. "It's all worth it. That's what it comes down to. Thirty-two years is a long time, but I would do it all over again, knowing this is the result." PRETTY SURE TO CERTAIN Other Plocki squads hoped they could win it all. This one knew it, she offered. "They believed in themselves, prob- ably more than any other team I've ever had, cumulatively," she said. "I've had teams before where there were a percentage that really believed we could win a national champion- ship, and some others that, well, they didn't really not believe it, but hey, it's a whatever happens kind of a thing. "This team, 100 percent, lock, stock and barrel was on board with the fact that they believed they could do it. They knew we believed they could do it. They were just very determined and focused." It's one thing to win the Big Ten, and take care of business at the re- gionals. Then the heat's on. "When you get to nationals and you know it's the top eight teams in the country, and you know you have to perform at a certain level, there's a different kind of pressure," Plocki explained. "This year was the first time I didn't see my kids feeling that pressure. "Instead, what I saw from them was more excitement. To me, that's when I knew we really had a legiti- mate chance. When you are thinking of things in terms of pressure, that's what's going to get you. That's when you're going to have the tiny bobble, or the step on the dismount. Junior Abby Heiskell scored a 9.9250 on the beam in the final event at the NCAA Championships to help the Wolverines clinch their first national title in the sport. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY