The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JUNE/JULY 2021 THE WOLVERINE 45 "But now you go out there and you're like, 'Man, we earned this! We're just as good as anybody else, and we're going to go out there and compete to win!' You see the excite- ment in the way they carry them- selves and the way I heard them talk- ing about things, that's when I knew this year was different." That's why Plocki made certain her athletes were absorbing everything, before they made history. She recalled: "I told them, 'I want you to take in every moment of this. I want you to remember what the facility looks like. I want you to re- member how it smells. I know it sounds corny, but I want you to take in every moment of this. "'I want you to pay attention to your teammates and who is with you and beside you, and what's happen- ing. These are the memories you are going to carry with you for the rest of your life.'" The reaction to the championship only crystalized the unprecedented sensation among the Wolverines. "It was amazing," Plocki said. "I had gone back to the locker room. When I picked up my phone, within 30 to 40 minutes of winning the title, I had over 350 text messages. That doesn't even include the many emails and Facebook messages. "I had texts from so many of our other coaches here at Michigan. My athletes are saying, 'Look! Juwan Howard tweeted about us!' "The coaches here have been so in- credibly supportive. My alumni were absolutely incredible, all the way back to my first year here at Michi- gan. I had alumni reaching out and just saying some really special, mean- ingful things that were incredibly heartfelt. That meant so much to me." Here's something that means plenty as well. Michigan loses only one routine from the championship lineup next year. After drawing more than 800,000 viewers in ABC prime-time coverage, Plocki envisions a packed Crisler Center next winter, watching the reigning national champs. "I don't want this to be, as people say, your 15 minutes of fame and then gone," she cautioned. "I hope that people will buy their season tick- ets for next year, and come out, and we can really build our fan base. "That's an important part of our program as well. We've been success- ful and had good attendances, but I think we could have record-breaking attendances going forward. Come out, and give it a chance." The Wolverines certainly gave fans a reason. When it comes to colle- giate women's gymnastics, this crew stands unquestionably as leaders and best. ❏ Recalling Where It All Began Wendy (Comeau) Mihm got in on the ground floor of Bev Plocki's dynasty cre- ation. In fact, Mihm sat on the floor to help lay the foundation. Since coming into being in 1976, Michigan's women's gymnastics squad had earned one Big Ten title (1982) and placed 10th that year at the national cham- pionships. They'd drawn a blank in those two categories in 13 other seasons. For five seasons leading up to Plocki (then Bev Fry) getting hired for 1990, the Wolverines languished at or near the bottom of the Big Ten. The team decided to do something about it. "It didn't feel right at all that we would go to these meets and we would get demolished," Mihm said. "We were a strong school, really proud to be Wolverines, and it didn't seem befitting of Michigan to have such a weak effort in this sport." So she and some teammates staged a sit-in in the hallway outside the office of women's athletic administrator Phyllis Ocker, who at first declined to meet with them. "We went and sat on the floor in the hallway, where her office was located," Mihm recalled. "We decided we would sit there until she would talk with us." When Ocker relented, the team members proved persuasive. "We deserved better, but we felt like Michigan deserved better," Mihm stressed. "She took our comments to heart, and the next season, she got us a new coach." Fry was that coach, beginning a 32-year stint culminating in this year's national title. Mihm knew right away there was a new sheriff in town. "From the very start, it was amazing what she could do, just by the way she spoke with us, what she said we should be doing, her expectations for us," Mihm recalled. "Her leadership was stern in terms of her expectations, but really under- scored with this warmth and deep concern for you as a human being. "She also made us realize we already were good athletes and gymnasts, and we owed it to ourselves and the school to live up to that realization." The 2021 Wolverines fulfilled the ultimate dream. From locations across the U.S. and beyond, the 1990 team roared its approval. — John Borton Head coach Bev Plocki had guided 21 teams to top-10 finishes, including eight in the top five and two that claimed national runner-up honors, but this year's team took it to a new level under its longtime leader. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY