Season Preview: 2019 Michigan Women's Gymnastics

» Michigan enters its 44th season and 30th under head coach Bev Plocki.
» Emma McLean and Lexi Funk will lead Michigan as captains for the 2019 season.
» Michigan is ranked No. 1 in the Big Ten Preseason Poll and No. 9 in the WCGA Preseason Poll.

The University of Michigan women's gymnastics team has won five straight Big Ten Championships and will once again strive to be one of the best teams in the country in 2019 as the team is ranked No. 9 in the preseason and was picked No. 1 in the Big Ten preseason poll.

2019 Team Notes

• Michigan returns eight gymnasts from the 2018 team and has six newcomers. U-M finished in fourth place in the NCAA Regional after winning the Big Ten Championship and Big Ten regular-season title a year ago.
• Senior Emma McLean and junior Lexi Funk will serve as captains for the 2019 season.
• McLean returns as a team captain for the second consecutive year. She is a two-time NACGC/W Regular Season All-American and the 2017 Big Ten vault champion. Last year, she had the third-best floor exercise scoring average in school history with a 9.918, and won the event seven times. She ranked ninth nationally on vault in 2017.
• Funk was first team All-Big Ten a year ago and is one of the team's most consistent all-around performers. She burst on the scene on floor last season with six scores of 9.900 or better to rank tied for 39th nationally.
• Senior Olivia Karas returned to competition at the Michigan-hosted quad-meet exhibiton (Dec. 2) after suffering a 2018 season-ending injury in February. The two-time All-American figures to be one of Michigan's top all-around performers this season and is a two-time NACGC/W All-American and the 2017 Big Ten floor champion with 27 career victories.
• Junior Maddy Osman has battled injuries over her first two seasons, competing in just six meets her freshman year. Osman performed on vault, bars and floor as a freshman.
• Sophomore Lauren Farley will be looking to take the next step after a successful freshman campaign. She scored a 9.850 or better on bars, beam and floor, with two beam routines scoring 9.900 or better.
• Junior Maggie O'Hara and sophomore transfer Anne Maxim also competed in the team's exhibition meet on Dec. 2. O'Hara scored a 9.825 on bars to finish tied for second and both gymnasts also performed alternate routines with O'Hara on beam and floor and Maxim on vault and bars.
• U-M's four-member freshman class was the top-ranked class in the country and features Abby Brenner, Abby Heiskell, Maddie Mariani and Natalie Wojcik. Michigan also added two sophomore newcomers in Maxim and Anna Dayton. Maxim is a walk-on transfer from Michigan State and Dayton walked on to the team after spending her first year at U-M as a non-athlete on campus.
• Wojcik and Brenner impressed during the exhibition meet and were named to the Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch list. Wojcik won the all-around, bars and floor and Brenner was the event champion on vault and took third in the all-around. Heiskell and Mariani are both working their way back from injuries suffered prior to coming to Michigan and both will compete for lineup spots.

Preseason Polls

• Michigan is ranked No. 9 in the WCGA Preseason Coaches Poll, marking the eighth straight year and 20th time in the last 21 years the Wolverines will begin a season in the top 10.
• The Wolverines were picked No. 1 in the Big Ten preseason coaches' poll, ahead of Nebraska and Illinois.

Women's Gymnastics Poster

2019 Schedule

• The Wolverines ranked 10th nationally in average attendance in 2018. Fans will have four opportunities to see U-M at in Crisler Center during the 2019 regular season, when Michigan hosts Michigan State (Jan. 18), Nebraska (Feb. 3), Iowa (Feb. 10) and Oklahoma (March 9).
• Michigan will also compete in nearby Toledo, Ohio, on Feb. 23, in one of two sessions of the Big Five meet. The two meets will be held on podium and will determine the Big Ten regular-season standings and championship session participants.
• U-M opens the season on Jan. 4, 2019, at the Cancun Classic against Iowa State, Rutgers and West Virginia.
• Two home meets are slated to be broadcast on national television with the Feb. 3 Nebraska meet to be on ESPNU and the March 9 Oklahoma meet on Big Ten Network. Several other meets will be streamed online.
• Crisler Center is one of four NCAA Regional sites for the new three-day format in 2019. The meets will take place April 4-6 with two teams advancing to the NCAA Championship in Fort Worth, Texas.
• Download the 2019 schedule to your calendar here and download the schedule poster here

Ticket Information

• Individual and group tickets are on sale for all 2019 home meets.
• Sign up with the Kids Go Blue Club for special opportunities to sit on the floor during Michigan's floor exercise rotation at home meets.
• For group tickets call (734) 647-1268 or email gobluegroupsales@umich.edu.
• Visit the women's gymnastics tickets page for more information and to purchase tickets.