The University of Michigan women’s gymnastics team welcomed four freshmen to the 2013 season. Coming out of a season with no seniors, the team only had experience and confidence to gain.
Co-captain and U of M senior Katie Zurales said, “It was actually really great, because we didn’t lose anyone from last year, everyone worked really hard over the summer, and to have these new faces come in to just contribute to the strength and depth of our team has really helped.”
On Dec.7 the University of Michigan women’s gymnastics team faced Michigan State University in a pre-season exhibition meet. The team started the competition on vault, where co-captain Joanna Sampson earned the highest score of the night: 9.950. Anchoring that event was Sachi Sugiyama who scored 9.850 with a 1 ½ twisting yurchenko vault (1/2 twist more than necessary to get a 10.0 start value).
Zurales and Sugiyama tied for the highest score on uneven bars with a 9.850. “I was a lot more calm and composed, and I think it worked well today,” said Sugiyama, who placed first on floor and second all-around. Zurales placed second on beam and first in the all-around with an impressive 39.225.
The final score for U of M was 195.375, to MSU’s 191.100.
Head coach Bev Plocki talked about the dynamics of the team. “The team chemistry and energy that we have this year is simply phenomenal. The adversity that we went through last year definitely made us stronger, made us closer, and made us better. I think that we’re going to see a lot of payoffs from that this year.” she said.
With so much new talent on the team, Plocki will be mixing up the lineups throughout the season so the team won’t be worn out by the post-season competitions. “[Rotating the lineup] will also give us a bigger pool of athletes that have a lot of competitive experience, so when we go into the championship part of the season, we will truly be able to pick the best six on each event,” said Plocki.
Zurales, Sugiyama, and Plocki all agree on the goals for this season: to win the Big Ten title, and earn the chance to compete at NCAA championships.
Plocki said, “I have a great group of young women. I’m proud of them, and I’m excited for the season.”
