The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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behaving, working and training like a leader of a team that wants to win championships." Fifth-year senior Natalie Beilstein has taken big leaps this year. A twotime NCAA All-American on floor exercise, she is ready to compete on floor, vault and uneven bars, and is closer than ever to earning a rotation on beam to compete in the allaround. Senior Reema Zakharia, who was the national runner-up on floor in 2011, will compete in all events but the uneven bars. pionships before last season, is a more complete athlete this year and could compete for a spot in the rotation at all four events. "It took her a year to sort of get it, but she came back in fantastic shape," Plocki said. "Last year, the only event she competed for us was vaulting, and she could potentially see herself into the all-around." And junior Brooke Parker, who transferred to Michigan from Alabama, could make an immediate impact on beam. Freshmen Nicole Artz and Talia Chiarelli are talented youngsters who U-M women's gymnastics head coach Bev Plocki "At nationals, we want to be on podium. We're not afraid to say we want to win a national championship." Juniors Annette Miele and Sachi Sugiyama could break into the allaround rotation, too, with improvements on floor and beam, respectively. With depth and multi-talented gymnasts comes competition, which breeds improvement. "The fact that we can field two full teams to do an intrasquad and put one team against another, it makes for a much better atmosphere in practice," Plocki said. "Every one of these athletes looks around every day and sees there are a lot of other talented athletes training alongside them. It is going to be up to them to earn a spot in the lineup." The Wolverines will also receive a boost from some newcomers. Sophomore Austin Sheppard, who required shoulder and knee surgery after competing in the World Cham- have a chance to compete for a spot at any event. "Our expectations never change," Plocki said. "We expect that we're going to win the Big Ten every single year, both the regular season and the championship. We were very disappointed we didn't win the Big Ten Championships meet last year. "At nationals, we want to be on podium. We're not afraid to say we want to win a national championship. We can compete with any team in the country. If we believe in ourselves and do what I see in the gym every day, we can compete with anyone. We want to win championships, all of the above." The Wolverines will begin the season ranked No. 7 in the 2014 GymInfo National Preseason Coaches' Poll and as the Big Ten coaches' pick to win the conference title. ❏