Fans in the maize-filled Crisler Center gathered Saturday afternoon to celebrate the Michigan women’s gymnastics team’s Senior Day. After last week’s loss to Oklahoma, the Wolverines were hoping to bring high energy to this week’s matchup.
However, when No. 17 Michigan (10-6) faced off against No. 12 Alabama (6-9), it fell 197.050-196.675.
The first rotation saw the Wolverines on vault and the Crimson Tide on uneven bars. While Michigan’s vault routines were executed well, not a single gymnast stuck the landing, leading to various minor point deductions that added up to an event score of 49.000 for the Wolverines. Meanwhile, Alabama performed strong, smooth routines on bars, consistently sticking each landing and earning an event score of 49.250, putting the Crimson Tide ahead of Michigan moving into the second rotation.
Despite this setback, the Wolverines still had moments to celebrate. Senior Jacey Vore participated as an exhibition gymnast and competed a Yurchenko full vault, a big accomplishment considering her mental block in that event for the majority of her career.
“I’m so proud of her for being able to overcome that and do that vault,” Michigan coach Bev Plocki said.
Rotation two started off strong for the Wolverines with a powerful routine by freshman Sophie Parenti on uneven bars. She stuck her landing and earned a score of 9.850, marking a new career high.
“I mean, (I) kind of just see what I always do in practice, and what I’ve been building up to in competitions,” Parenti said.
Parenti’s achievement set the tone for her teammates such as Vore and freshman Sophia Diaz, who scored a 9.850 and 9.875, respectively. However, sticking the landings still posed a challenge for Michigan, resulting in minor score deductions that did not measure up to Alabama’s high-scoring vault routines. The Crimson Tide, ranked eighth in the country on vault, came away with an event score of 49.275 compared to Michigan’s 49.175, widening the score gap.
The third rotation offered hope to the Wolverines, who competed on the balance beam as Alabama took the floor. A series of consistent routines and stuck landings resulted in an event score of 49.225 for Michigan. Although the Crimson Tide had strong floor routines, mishaps such as a low score of 9.575 brought their event score down to a 49.150, giving the Wolverines a chance to close the gap as they moved to floor on their final rotation, once again led by Parenti.
“We kind of just wanted to end on a good note,” Parenti said. “I just took that energy and tried to have fun.”
And have fun she did, performing a high skill and energy routine to receive another new career-high score of 9.875. She was followed by freshman Petyon Davis, who matched her career best for the fifth time with a score of 9.850. Michigan came away with an event score of 49.275, but it was once again not enough to beat Alabama’s consistent performances and dismounts. The meet ended in a loss for the Wolverines, the final score being 197.050-196.674.
Despite its loss, Michigan still came together at the end of the meet to honor fifth-year seniors Carly Bauman, Asta Ferrell, Reyna Guggino and Jenna Mulligan, who walked out with their families to applause from the crowd. Seniors Ashley Lane, Abigail Veides and Jacey Vore were also celebrated in a touching ceremony featuring personalized videos with pictures and commentary on their gymnastics journeys from their loved ones.
Yet frustration with the loss was present. The Wolverines chalked their lacking scores up to one key factor — landings.
“We had very few routines with zero deduction landings,” Plocki said. “That will be our key focus going forward.”
By working to perfect its dismounts, Michigan hopes to increase its scores, a vital improvement before next week’s Big Ten Championship, where it hopes to redeem itself under the lights of Crisler Center against highly ranked Michigan State, UCLA and Minnesota.
If the Wolverines can tap into that potential and continue to fix the mistakes that cost them against Alabama, a Big Ten Championship title may be within reach.
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