The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JUNE/JULY 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 9 BY ANTHONY BROOME J unior and team captain Zach Grana- dos was part of a U-M men's gym- nastics national championship, cap- tured in April before the maize and blue faithful at the host venue, Crisler Cen- ter. The title was the seventh in program history and the first since 2014. For the team, the championship closed out a years-long journey. "I don't think it's settled in totally yet," Granados said on the May 1 edition of the "Conqu'ring Heroes" podcast. "It's something that has embodied my whole time here at Michigan. They fin- ished in third in the NCAAs the year before I got here, second my freshman year and second last year. "To finally get it done this year in front of a home crowd in Crisler was unbelievable. I don't think we could have written it any better." Michigan's previous title had come at Crisler in 2014, the last time the pro- gram hosted the championships. Gra- nados said that having the opportunity to win the title at home was a goal ev- eryone wanted to achieve. "I don't know if it added pressure over that weekend, but the whole year before we knew it was going to be in Crisler. We had notes all over our gym, like, 'NCAAs are coming, be ready' and 'What are you doing today to become a national champion?' "The year before, we turned up our intensity in the gym to get ready for it because it was written in the stars. We knew we had to bring it home. We had to defend our house. … We definitely tried to increase our preparation and make sure we were going to be ready when the day came." Michigan's leaders preached a cham- pionship mindset all season long, and turned it up to the next level the week leading up to the meet. It all came down to a confidence they could get the job done. "It was all about belief in each other, and belief that for those two and a half hours or whatever it was, we were the best gymnasts in the country," Grana- dos said. "Paul [Juda] preached it a lot leading up to the meet, that every single one of us had to believe that it was pos- sible, no matter what happened. "As soon as one person drops that be- lief, it's infectious. We had to believe no matter what happened, no matter what mistakes happened, that we had what it took to become national champions. "It wasn't a perfect meet for us, but we held that belief to the end and we ended up on top." U-M hopes that the title can keep fans coming out and supporting the program well into the future "The doors opened, and Michigan fans started flowing in," he recalled. "I looked up after I finished my warmup, and we had three full sections of just maize and blue. That was absolutely in- credible. "I don't think I'll ever compete in an environment like that ever again." ❑ ❱ Inside Michigan ATHLETICS Team Captain Reflects On Men's Gymnastics National Title And Crisler Environment Team captain Zach Granados said hosting the NCAA Championships at Crisler Center served as extra motivation, not pressure, for the victorious Wolverines. PHOTO BY U-M PHOTOGRAPHY