As graduate Carly Bauman finished her floor routine, Crisler Center erupted in cheers. This would be expected, as fans know what they’re getting from the All-Big Ten First Team gymnast. But it wasn’t just the returning gymnasts that shone.
As the Wolverines tallied 195.600 points in their exhibition win over Western Michigan’s 194.175 and Eastern Michigan’s 191.700, the freshman class stole the spotlight, signaling hope for a promising season despite major losses from last year’s roster.
“I’m very confident,” Wolverines coach Bev Plocki said. “This freshman class has a great deal of talent, and I think as they get their feet under them and they gain more confidence in competition, they’re going to get better and better and better.”
That confidence led the freshmen to start three of the four events. And despite their inexperience, they shined.
Freshman Peyton Davis opened the vault event scoring a 9.775, and she wasn’t the only freshman in the rotation. Freshmen Jahzara Ranger and Sophia Diaz shared the vault title as both of them scored 9.875, further demonstrating the talent that the freshmen class brings to the event.
“Starting off an event is not easy especially as a freshman,” Bauman said. “This is their first time in Crisler with all the fans. That definitely can be very nerve-wracking and a lot of pressure, but they handled it so gracefully, and I’m so proud of them.”
The strong performances by the freshmen gave Michigan a narrow lead over the Broncos and a bigger lead over the Eagles.
Heading into the second event, the bars, another freshman made her debut opening an event for the Wolverines as Sophie Parenti scored a 9.650. While that score was lower than Michigan’s opening score for vault, Plocki wasn’t concerned as it’ll take time for the freshmen to adjust to the collegiate level.
“So tonight is really, like even in football, they always say you get the most improvement from the first game to the second,” Plocki said. “And that’s kind of how I feel. We need to get out here and get some of these things under our belt.”
While Bauman took the uneven bars title with a 9.900, Ranger had another stellar performance scoring 9.750 — the second-highest score of the event — and again displayed the talent of the freshman class. With those strong performances on bars, the Wolverines held onto their narrow lead with 97.675 points over the Broncos’ 96.675 and the Eagles’ 96.700 points.
The beam event, though opened by sophomore Kayli Boozer, still displayed freshmen talent as Davis and Ranger scored 9.775 and 9.625 respectively. Bauman took the beam title with a score of 9.800. And Michigan’s lead expanded after the beam event, ballooning to 1.125 points above Western Michigan and 1.775 points above Eastern Michigan.
Parenti opened the floor event opened with a score of 9.825, exceeding her score on the bars. While Boozer won the event with a 9.900, all three freshmen performed well. Davis and Diaz scored 9.800 and 9.625, respectively.
Altogether, the freshman class helped lift the Wolverines to a win. In their Michigan debuts, the new faces on the team came out and signaled a promising future.
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