The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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26 THE WOLVERINE ❱ AUGUST 2023 2022-23 YEAR IN REVIEW BY CLAYTON SAYFIE I t was no surprise, but Bev Plocki — who wrapped up her 34th season as Michigan's women's gymnastics head coach — en- joyed another successful season. The Wolverines won their eighth Big Ten regular-season championship before capturing their league-record 27th con- ference title with a first-place finish at the 2023 Big Ten Championships. The Maize and Blue has won both Big Ten titles in each of the past two sea- sons, after earning the program's first NCAA championship in 2021. Plocki has things rolling in Ann Arbor. "The last several years have really been amazing," Plocki told The Wol- verine. "Just the leadership internally, with our captains, the commitment of each and every member of the team, the culture that we have in our team is re- ally incredible. It's just made it so much fun for me to be able to work with these young women." Michigan had a 27-3-1 overall record this past season, with the lone loss coming at No. 14 Michigan State Jan. 22 (197.200-196.975). That setback pro- vided an increased level of motivation heading into the rest of the season, par- ticularly the Big Ten Championships, where U-M bested the Spartans, who finished second. "Those are the things that build char- acter in a team and make us realize that you can't walk into any situation taking anything for granted," Plocki explained. "The year that we won the national championship, we didn't win the Big Ten regular season and we didn't win the Big Ten championship. Sometimes, it's those things that will pull you closer together as a team." This year, the Wolverines placed first at the Rutgers quad meet and the Big Five Meet, and won four matchups over ranked opponents. That included beat- ing No. 1 Oklahoma, another one of the nation's most prestigious programs, in front of 6,561 fans at Crisler Center March 6. "I have an incredible amount of re- spect for the Oklahoma program and the Oklahoma coaching staff," Plocki said. "To be able to have them in a dual meet in front of our fans on our turf and go out there and be able to beat them in a really close competition was amazing. "Those are the kind of things that help our team realize that they are good enough. If we put it together the way that we need to, we are good enough to go out and win another national cham- pionship." The win against the Sooners gave the Maize and Blue momentum rolling into their final dual meet, a win at No. 18 Georgia, and the Big Ten Champion- ships. In all, Michigan eclipsed the 198 bar- rier six times on the season, including the victory over Oklahoma and for only the second time in Big Ten Champi- onship history. The Wolverines also recorded a program-record 49.625 on the beam twice and tied their uneven bars record with a 49.725 at the Big Ten Championships. The uneven bars were where it all got started at Big Tens, when a Michigan team "with a chip on our shoulder," per Plocki, started strong. "We came out of the gate on fire," the FEMALE TEAM OF THE YEAR AMAZING AND GRACEFUL Gymnastics Continues Record-Setting Big Ten Dominance Head coach Bev Plocki (far right) and her Wolverines — including (left to right in foreground) Sierra Brooks, Nicoletta Koulos and Natalie Wojcik — celebrated Big Ten titles in the regular- season and at the conference championships for the second year in a row. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS