The Wolverine

August 2021

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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AUGUST 2021 THE WOLVERINE 37 where we are today, to be able to ac- complish this goal," she pointed out. Her team will also take the field at some point during the Rutgers- Michigan football game on Sept. 25, allowing more than 110,000 fans to properly express their appreciation. There have been quieter moments ushering in gratifying reminders, too. One night at Blank Slate Creamery in Ann Arbor, several team members got a taste of local celebrity. "A couple of people recognized who they were and wanted to get pictures with them," Plocki said. "It does give you little moments that are fun and pretty special." But this team wasn't built on back- patting and ego boosts. It came to- gether via incredible talent, mixed with a major infusion of grit and in- cessant preparation. The Wolverines featured no fewer than five All-Americans — Wojcik, Brooks, Heiskell, freshman Naomi Morrison and sophomore Gabby Wil- son — and the same fivesome cap- tured All-Big Ten recognition, as well. They were driven by an increasing belief that they could get this done. The juniors among them recall reaching the NCAAs as freshmen, and feeling overwhelmed and just grateful to have made it there. They didn't advance to the championship, and that was okay — at the time. This year, they didn't hope they could win, Plocki assured. They didn't strongly believe they could win. They knew it, a competitive separator that the head coach wishes she could bot- tle and give to every crew she guides. "I wish I actually knew more of what's inside their heads, that sort of made that transition, from being pretty confident in themselves to being like, 'We can do this.' It's such an interesting series of events," Plocki said. "This whole year of pandemic made us stronger, both in the gym and mentally. You had to be strong to endure and get through all the ob- stacles that we had to get through." In some ways, the unprecedented year 2020 presented took away some obstacles. Plocki insists she wants the full college experience for her student- athletes — academics, athletics, social life — but the latter unavoidably took a hit in the days of masks, COVID testing and six feet of separation. All of it allowed for an even more laser-focused approach to honing their craft. "Any time there was a shutdown, a setback or more restrictions, we just kept reiterating that we were fortunate to be able to be here together," Plocki said. "The whole mantra, all year, was about, The Team! The Team! The Team! "It just evolved into that. The team really knew. We challenged them ev- ery day, with how good they thought they were. It's kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy. When you tell somebody they're good, over and over and over again, that's what they think they are. That's what they expect themselves to be. That's what they become." They have an opportunity to re- main good — really good — for the foreseeable future. Most of the fire- power that carried them to the na- tional championship this spring re- turns in the fall. All of that talent will be armed with the knowledge of how a title run came together. And the celebrations? They'll be put away soon enough. In fact, most of them already have been. Plocki's crew is working, even now, as if it hadn't won anything a couple of months ago. "I can see it already," Plocki said. "We took about a month off — which is more than we have to, but they deserved it. We've been back in and allowing them to do their volunteer workouts. They're showing up and working hard. They're practicing a higher level of skills, every day. I see a difference in both the volume and the level of what they're doing when they come into the gym every day. Just the intensity, even in a volunteer practice. "It's like, 'We were national champi- ons. We want to do that again.' They know everybody is going to be in their gyms, working to be better than we were. They're pushing themselves." She sees a star like Brooks trying difficult new maneuvers, while dili- gently honing the routines that made her an All-American. The same goes for Heiskell and others who will be in the mix in 2022. "They're doing it with the intent of learning the skill," Plocki assured. "It's the difference in the focus and the mentality, even in summer training." They've been there. They've done that. Now, they're locked in on doing it again. ❏ Head coach Bev Plocki "This whole year of pandemic made us stronger, both in the gym and mentally. You had to be strong to endure and get through all the obstacles that we had to get through." Rounding Out The Top Five While women's gymnastics rightfully dominated the headlines with its national championship, Bev Plocki's crew wasn't the only high achiever on the female side. Here's a look at the next four best on the year: Field Hockey — Marcia Pankratz led her crew to another outstanding season. U-M went 15-3, 6-0 in conference play, and advanced all the way to the NCAA cham- pionship game before dropping an overtime heartbreaker to North Carolina, 4-3. The Wolverines overcame a two-goal deficit, scoring a pair of markers in the last 5:06 of the third period to knot the game. But the title slipped away when the Tar Heels scored at the 66:39 mark. That's how close U-M came to another title. Rowing — Mark Rothstein's squad finished fourth at the NCAA Finals, topping all Big Ten squads with 108 points. The Wolverines lost out to a trio of teams that scored 126 points, Texas winning in a tiebreaker over Stanford and Washington. U-M also won the Big Ten crown, making this one of the best seasons in history. Swimming & Diving — Mike Bottom's women's swimmers wound up No. 6 at the NCAA Championships. Senior Maggie MacNeil won national championships in the 100-yard freestyle (46.02) and the 100-yard butterfly (48.89), while senior Olivia Carter captured a national title in the 200-yard butterfly (1:51.33). Softball — Michigan softball posted another very strong season, finishing 38-8 overall, 36-6 in league play. Carol Hutchins' crew won the Big Ten, and looked to make another long run in the NCAA Tournament. A very tough regional draw — getting sent to Washington, where the No. 6 Hus- kies hosted — proved a bit too much. The Wolverines beat Seattle in the NCAA Regional opener, and took down the Huskies, 2-1. But the home team bounced back in the double-elimination regional, winning 2-0 and 10-5 to advance. — John Borton

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