On Saturday, February 26, the U of M gymnastics team hosted a dual-meet against Oklahoma, who is ranked 3rd. Even though the Wolverines posted a solid team score of 196.250, they couldn’t beat the undefeated Oklahoma Sooners, who posted 196.650.
Although the Wolverines didn’t win, head coach Bev Plocki was pleased with their performance. With six girls in the lineup, only the top five scores contribute to the team’s final score. The team did not have to count any major mistakes, it was several smaller errors that contributed to the loss. “Our bars were not as sharp as [they] usually [are], which caused us a couple of tenths,” she said.
Plocki and the team believe that competing against some of the top teams in the country can prepare them for post-season meets, where they will be competing against them once again. This time for the national title.
“I love the challenge of doing it and you’re only as good as the teams you can compete against. We’ve been very close in the game with every one of these teams and we know where the areas are that we can improve to make the difference between a win and a loss,” Plocki said.
Losing another home meet did not break the spirit of the team. In fact, senior Kylee Botterman, sophomore Katie Zurales, and freshman Stephanie Colbert, enjoy hosting the top teams in the country, and find it exciting.
The team has big goals that go beyond Big Ten championships. “We want to make it to super six this year, and make it to the podium,” said Stephanie Colbert.
Since Botterman has been on the team, the Wolverines have won Big Ten championships every year, and she wants to finish the same way she started 4 years ago and “get that fourth Big Ten ring.” This meet, Botterman won the all-around with a 39.400 and floor exercise with a nearly flawless 9.900.
“Kylee [Botterman], she’s doing the same gymnastics that she did last year, but I think where she has improved is in her consistency,” Plocki said, and continued to say “she’s just making the most of every second that she can in her senior year, because after this, she’s done. Gymnastics has been a big part of her life, so she’s putting it all out there and going for it.”
Kylee Botterman, and fellow co-captains Jordan Sexton, Trish Wilson, and Sarah Curtis, will lead the team going into the post-season. To make it to nationals, though, it’s going to need to be a team effort.
“We’re all really close, all of us are like sisters,” said Zurales. “We bond really well.”
For the following two weeks, the Wolverines will compete against top five teams. Botterman said “we know we can compete with them, and it’s going to be exciting, and it’s going to be fun.”
Watch Natalie Beilsein’s vault.
[quicktime]http://the-communicator.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Natalie.mov[/quicktime]
