Resiliency propels Sierra Brooks, Michigan in win over Georgia

When the No. 2 Michigan women’s gymnastics team traveled to Duluth, Georgia, on Friday for its meet against No. 18 Georgia, it was prepared to bring its own energy. However, the crowd in Gas South Arena had other ideas. “Let’s go blue” chants after every routine rivaled the “U-G-A” response from the home crowd, and fueled the Wolverines to a win in their final regular season meet. 

Senior Sierra Brooks harnessed that energy and used it to capture all five event titles for Michigan, including being the only Wolverine on top of uneven bars, beam and vault. Her stellar individual performance, coupled with a quality team showing propelled Michigan (14-2 overall) past Georgia (6-11), 197.825-196.600.

The Wolverines’ uneven bar routines typically warrant high scores. Yet, Friday was a different story. With Brooks’ 9.875 being the team’s highest score, Michigan was off to an uncharacteristically slow start, trailing Georgia by 0.05 after the first rotation.

“It’s hard when judging is a subjective thing,” Michigan coach Bev Plocki said. “It sometimes can be really deflating. They did not let that happen, and I was really proud of them for that.” 

Deflating or not, the Wolverines did not allow the slow start to affect the rest of their night, exploding in impressive vault, floor and beam routines. Brooks scored a 9.950, while junior Naomi Morrison and graduate Abby Heiskell both scored 9.925 on vault, ending Michigan’s scoring woes and putting it in the driver’s seat for the rest of the night. 

Fueling the impressive routines was the sideline chemistry the Wolverines have developed throughout the previous seasons. 

“I think it’s something that’s definitely led to our success the past few years,” Brooks said. “Our team is incredibly good, and I think that makes everyone really comfortable to do their gymnastics and be confident.”

Confident they were, as Brooks, Morrison, Heiskell and senior captain Gabby Wilson all scored 9.925 in their floor routines, pulling Michigan further ahead of the Bulldogs before the final event. 

The Wolverines finished off strong on beam, preventing any hope of a Georgia comeback. Brooks scored a team-high 9.925, and Wilson and graduate Natalie Wojcik both scored 9.900. 

Even though the scoresheet said one thing, Plocki had a different take on the night and the competition ahead of them.

“We actually put together a better performance tonight than we did on Monday,” Plocki said, alluding to their win over No. 1 Oklahoma. “I think Oklahoma is still the top contender, but I think there are about five or six teams that could walk away with a title on the right night.” 

Before it reaches the NCAA Championships, Michigan will compete in the Big Ten Championships on Saturday, which is a familiar setting where it won last season. Earlier in the season, Michigan State beat the Wolverines, so it won’t just be a walk in the park. As dominant as Michigan has been throughout the season, Brooks knows there is still preparation to be done ahead of the championship.

“I’d say preparing the team and also making sure everyone has the right mentality – you can either handle these big meets really well or incorrectly,” Brooks said, when asked about her role as captain. “We don’t want to go into any meet over-confident or not on the same page because it can cause friction you just don’t need.” 

If the Wolverines can ride their newfound momentum, they may just find themselves on top of it all for the second time in three years.