Quotes: NCAA Championships - Individual Event Finals
4/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
April 19, 2015
Michigan Head Coach Bev Plocki
On Sachi Sugiyama ... "It's amazing. This whole experience had to be really special for her, to have NCAAs here and to be able to compete in front of her family. I'm really excited for her and I know she has to be feeling good about her career and everything. She did an absolutely fantastic job all year."
On what makes event finals different ... "This whole event finals thing is really a totally different atmosphere. This was Talia (Chiarelli) and Nicole's (Artz) first experience at it. They're down there without their team. There's a million people and all this stuff going on. There are distractions everywhere. You're doing the same routine and all that, but because it's a different set of circumstances, you're out of your element a little bit versus what you normally do. They handled it very well. I'm proud of them all. They should all feel good about themselves."
On putting three people on the podium on the final day and how to that speaks to the season the team had ... "It's great. This has been an outstanding season, a consistent season. Even though we only had eight athletes who really performed for most of the season, they were strong and consistent. I'm not at all surprised we had that many people in finals. We could have certainly had more."
U-M Senior Sachi Sugiyama
On what her goal was ... "I just wanted to lay it all on the floor, have the time of my life and do what I do every day in the gym. I think I did that today and represented Michigan in a positive way."
On what she is going to miss most ... "I'm going to miss this Michigan Gymnastics family. It's not like they're going away, but I'm going to miss seeing these girls every day and being around everyone. Also, the feeling you get from competing, all the adrenaline and euphoria that you get."
On sharing the final day with Talia and Nicole ... "It was wonderful. Both girls are very fun to be around. It was relaxing. We didn't have to worry about each other, because we knew we were there for each other. Just because we're on different events at different times doesn't mean we aren't going to cheer as loud. It was really heartwarming to be with them."
On her last routine being in her home state in front of family ... "It was very special, something I'll never forget. It's awesome just to be able to compete a floor routine. That's where you can have the most fun and show your personality. I think it shows how far I've come in four years. My family couldn't watch me as much as they would want, but now I come here in my last event and they can see me for the first time and last time. I'm going to miss this."
U-M Sophomore Talia Chiarelli
On the day ... "It was a lot of fun, sort of the cherry on top of the whole competition. It was a fun day to go out and just enjoy the whole season."
On Sachi Sugiyama ... "Well, we're not really supposed to watch, but I did, in fact, watch the whole thing and cheered her on from the beam podium right up until it was my time to go. I couldn't not watch. To end her career in her home state and to be able to do a great floor routine, that was really special."
U-M Sophomore Nicole Artz
On the day ... "It was so much fun. I wouldn't want to end my season any other way than to be with these two girls on the final day of the season. I've never experienced it before, but it was very cool to be a part of."
Players Mentioned
