The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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56 THE WOLVERINE MAY 2022 BY ANTHONY BROOME T he third-ranked U-M women's gym- nastics team had high expectations heading into the NCAA National Semifi- nal and was the favorite to make the finals. The idea that they could make a run to the final Saturday of the season was not unfounded. The Wolverines won the national title last season and seemed a legitimate candidate to repeat. But that is why championships are not won on paper. Michigan, which won the Big Ten championship this year and advanced out of the Raleigh Regional, was unable to get out of the semifinals. The Wolverines started well but faded down the stretch, recording their lowest score of the sea- son at 196.2875 and finishing in last place. Second-ranked Florida (29-0-1, 197.9750) emerged victorious over No. 7 Auburn (22-8-1, 197.8375) and No. 11 Missouri (14-7, 197.200) during the semi- final meet April 14 in Fort Worth, Texas. "We picked a bad day to have a bad day," head coach Bev Plocki said told The Michigan Daily. "I had hoped that [our] consistency would be a benefit to us today," Plocki added. "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." The Wolverines started off the meet on a high note with high marks in their top-ranked floor exercise. Senior Abby Brenner started with a 9.8625-point showing and senior Abby Heiskell fol- lowed it with a 9.900. Senior Natalie Wojcik — winner of the 2022 AAI Award for best senior gymnast — had a stel- lar showing in her turn, finishing with OLYMPIC SPORTS UPDATE U-M women's gymnastics was unable to defend its national title, finishing fourth in the NCAA semifinals April 14 in Fort Worth, Texas. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY Falling Short Women's Gymnastics Season Ends In Semifinals At NCAA Championships