National Champs! Michigan Claims First NCAA Title with Program-Best Score
4/17/2021 7:29:00 PM
// Megan McIntosh
» Michigan earned its first NCAA Championship and joins an exclusive club, becoming just the seventh team to ever win one.
» The Wolverines scored a program-best 198.2500 in their national championship win.
» U-M's score is the third-highest score in national championship meet history.
Site: Fort Worth, Texas (Dickies Arena)
Event: NCAA Championships (Team Finals)
Scores: Michigan 198.2500, Oklahoma 198.1625, Utah 197.9875, Florida 197.1375
Record: U-M (29-2)
Next U-M Event: Season completed (NCAA champion!)
• Complete Results (PDF) | Photo Gallery
FORT WORTH, Texas -- It all came down to one final routine, as every other event had finished. Junior Abby Heiskell stood alone on the beam as the rest of the No. 2-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team watched and waited for the final score to flash. Needing a 9.8500 for the Wolverines to capture their first-ever championship, Heiskell delivered with a 9.9250, and Michigan became the 2021 national champion with a program-best 198.2500 Saturday afternoon (April 17) at Dickies Arena.
U-M joined an exclusive club, becoming just the seventh team to ever capture an NCAA women's gymnastics title, scoring the third-best score in championship history and the best score in Michigan history. The Wolverines join Georgia, Utah, UCLA, Alabama, Oklahoma and Florida as the only teams in the country to win a national championship.
"This is 32 years I've been waiting for this feeling," said head coach Bev Plocki. "It's just an unbelievable pride and just an admiration for what our team has been through and the sacrifices that they've made."
Michigan led throughout the entirety of the meet, taking a slight 0.0500 advantage after the first rotation over the field before going up by 0.1375 for the second and third rotations. The all-around trio of Heiskell, Sierra Brooks and Natalie Wojcik all posted scores of 39.7000 or higher to take the top three spots in Michigan NCAA all-around history. Brooks led the group with a 39.7750 and becomes the U-M leader in the all-around at the NCAA Championships, while Wojcik ranks second in Michigan NCAA history with a 39.7375, and Heiskell rounds out the top three spots with a 39.7250 in the all-around.
Brooks, Wojcik and Heiskell closed out the meet with three straight scores of 9.900 or better to clinch the championship title. Brooks scored a 9.9625 on the beam, Wojcik followed it up with a 9.9875 and Heiskell finished off the championship with a 9.9250.
Help us welcome the CHAMPIONS back to campus!
Join us Sunday, April 18 at 1:45 p.m. for a socially-distanced welcome party in the Donald Shepherd Training Center parking lot (Lot SC39) to celebrate U-M's National Championship!#GoBlue ???? pic.twitter.com/mz1G3959Ud
— Michigan Women's Gymnastics (@UMichWGym) April 18, 2021
The Wolverines started things off on the floor with five straight scores of 9.9000 or better as Nicoletta Koulos scored a career-high 9.9125 and Wojcik tied a career best with a 9.9500. Michigan finished off the rotation with 9.9125s from Heiskell and Brooks, while Gabby Wilson anchored the floor with a 9.9375, giving U-M a 49.6250 after one complete rotation.
The Wolverines continued to bring it as they notched a 49.6500 on the vault behind Heiskell and Brooks, who both tied career-high 9.9750s, while Wojcik scored a 9.9375. Moving to the uneven bars, Heiskell once again led off with a beautiful routine, scoring her third score of 9.900 or better on the day with a 9.9125, while junior Abby Brenner returned from injury and put together a 9.9250 in her only event of the day to ignite the Michigan energy once more. Following the third rotation, the Wolverines led the field by 0.1375 with a running score of 148.7625 and one rotation between them and a national championship.
With all eyes in the arena on Michigan, Brooks, Wojcik and Heiskell delivered, closing out the meet with some of the best gymnastics of their careers to capture the first-ever national title for Michigan women's gymnastics and etching their name in U-M and NCAA history.
• NCAA.com: Watch Michigan win its first women's gymnastics national championship
• NCAA.com: Top highlights from the 2021 women's gymnastics championship finals
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