Sierra Brooks’ perfect 10 boosts Michigan to regional final

A perfect 10.0 is the ultimate goal in gymnastics. Every flip, twist and movement is in the pursuit of perfection. 

The two-time reigning Big Ten Gymnast of the Year and one of six nominees for the AAI award, senior Sierra Brooks has achieved perfection three times in her career, all on vault. But the 10.0 on floor has remained elusive, as her two scores of 9.975 — which earned a 10.0 from one of two judges — remained just shy.

But in the No. 3 Michigan women’s gymnastics team’s first meet on the path towards a second national championship, Brooks’s excellence could no longer be denied.

Her first career perfect 10.0 on floor led the charge for the Wolverines, headlining a 0.600-point swing in their favor in the second rotation that they only built upon en route to a victory over Denver, Minnesota and Arizona. The win propelled Michigan into the regional finals, where it will compete to place among the top two teams and earn a berth in the national semifinal meet.

“I was just feeling very confident (going into floor),” Brooks said. “I wanted us to all get the ball moving again. We can put up really, really high scores on all of the next three events. So I think (we) just went into it looking forward to competing and just showing everyone how good we are.”

After a beam rotation 0.120 points below their average and facing a deficit, doubt was nowhere to be seen from the Wolverines. Senior Nicoletta Koulos led off the second rotation on floor with a 9.925, followed by a 9.950 from graduate Abby Heiskell and a 9.900 from graduate Natalie Wojcik. Already, Michigan had eclipsed the number of 9.9-plus scores from its beam rotation, with three more routines to come.

Despite the high stakes — anything less than second place in the meet would end their season — the Wolverines didn’t waver. A 9.850 from junior Naomi Morrison captivated the crowd, and her performance amplified Michigan’s already contagious energy, setting the stage for Brooks.

From the moment she stepped on the mat, Brooks was locked in. She exuded focus and confidence, and everyone watching was prepared for something big. Each leap, flip and dance move drew more attention as Brooks piled up stuck landing after stuck landing. On her final pass, a front tuck through to a double tuck, Brooks stuck her third and final pass, finishing her routine with a giant smile and a chorus of cheering from her teammates.

“I feel like I warmed up fine and I was feeling confident, but still those are probably some of my best landings for the day,” Brooks said. “So it’s very exciting to just know that it counts. This is the one that the judges are judging and I just tried to take that in and also I was just happy to contribute to that score, too.”

While Brooks’s score was the headliner — the fourth ever regional-title-winning 10.0 in program history — junior Reyna Guggino closed out the rotation with a 9.925 for a team score of 49.700, Michigan’s highest regional floor total in program history.

The Wolverines prepared all week, going back to the basics on the floor and reinforcing the performance aspect of the routines. And with a regional final berth on the line, their execution in the second rotation, highlighted by Brooks’s 10.0, paved the path forward.