In an environment as competitive as collegiate gymnastics, teams need to take advantage of everything at their disposal, and simply being consistent isn’t enough. For the No. 19 Michigan women’s gymnastics team, it was its individuality that pushed it over the edge to victory.
As they enter the final stretch of the season, the Wolverines (6-2 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) took on No. 25 Nebraska (2-8, 1-3) in a home match in which their impact went far beyond the mat, celebrating National Women and Girls in Sports Day. While the meet remained close down the stretch, Michigan pulled away in the final two rotations and secured the win, 197.100-196.750.
“It was our first time breaking 197 this season,” Wolverines coach Bev Plocki said. “So I feel really good. We still have a ways to go on our vault performance, but I’m happier with our bar performance tonight. … I’m confident and I really love to see what we did on our other three events.”
Michigan started the competition on vault, the apparatus in which it traditionally has had the least success. Graduate Jenna Mulligan was the highlight of this event as she completed a challenging, yet clean vault. Mulligan launched onto the vault blindly, rotating backwards over her shoulder and landing with just a half-step forward, earning a 9.825.
For their first rotation, the Cornhuskers flew effortlessly on the uneven bars. The unit started hot, with Nebraska’s Emma Simpton and Whitney Jencks each securing a 9.900. The Cornhuskers struck first, but the Wolverines were just getting started.
“It’s exactly what we hoped would happen,” Plocki said. “We want to start solid and continue to build confidence, once you get the meet jitters out initially, and you get into the flow of competition, it’s like a snowball rolling.”
After rotation one, Michigan trailed Nebraska by a measly 0.325 points. The second rotation saw the Wolverines take on the uneven bars and put up a somewhat choppy and inconsistent showing. But the Cornhuskers mirrored this shaky production on vault, allowing Michigan to pull even as the first half of the meet came to a close.
In the second half of the meet, the Wolverines’ truly began to thrive. After shaking out the last of its jitters on the uneven bars, Michigan was not just ready to compete, but to perform.
Mulligan exemplified this mentality in the Wolverines’ third rotation on beam. Mulligan leaned on her artistic ability, balancing technical excellence in her rhythmic routine. After mounting the beam in a powerful sequence, Mulligan completed a series of spins before launching into a methodical flip progression. Mulligan earned a 9.825 for her performance, followed by freshman Jahazar Ranger and graduate Carly Bauman who built on Mulligan’s success, earning a 9.850 and 9.975, respectively.
For its third rotation, Nebraska executed on the floor. Usually, this event is where gymnasts show off their creative prowess and highlight their stylistic differences. While the Cornhuskers put up a stellar showing that was certainly powerful, but their style didn’t vary greatly between routines. The exception was Nebraska’s Sophia McClelland, who stunned with a performance that was entirely unique. McClelland spearheaded the Cornhusker’s success throughout the meet, but her shining moment was on the floor.
As Michigan entered the last rotation, it had succinctly closed the score gap. The gymnasts took on the floor powerfully and leaned into its stylistic differences. Freshman Sophia Diaz highlighted the duality of her abilities in back-to-back tumbling passes. After her first sequence across the mat, Diaz danced cleanly out of her landing, illuminating the lightness with which she graced the floor. And, in her second pass, Diaz instead showed off her technicality, ending the sequence by sticking her landing without a wobble in sight.
“Everyone has a different personality and we want to play to those strengths,” Plocki said. “We do a really good job of styling that, both on beam and floor.”
Gymnastics is unlike most other collegiate sports, as athletes are scored not only on technicality but also on their performance qualities. When everything from their hair to their uniform to their music counts, each decision is expertly calculated. The Wolverines understand this metric well, and their willingness to work in the parameters and surpass expectations allowed them to secure a win.
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