Michigan
Washington, Texas Woman's University
Michigan Tops Washington, Texas Woman's University in Season Opener
1/10/2020 9:39:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
» Michigan topped Washington and Texas Woman's University in the first meet of the 2020 regular season.
» Michigan gymnasts posted the highest individual score at each rotation.
» Freshmen Sierra Brooks and Gabby Wilson each made their official collegiate debuts.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Scores: Michigan 195.650, Washington 195.300, Texas Woman's University 189.850
Records: Michigan (1-0), Washington (0-1), Texas Woman's University (0-1)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Jan. 18 -- at Illinois (Champaign, Ill.), 1 p.m. CST
• Complete Results (PDF) | Photo Gallery
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The M, thumbs up, star eyes and fire emojis were common themes on social media night at Crisler Center, where the University of Michigan women's gymnastics team opened the 2020 season with a come-from-behind win over Washington and Texas Woman's University on Friday (Jan. 10) in front of 2,534 fans.
The Wolverines finished with a score of 195.650, edging out Washington (195.300) for first place in the meet after trailing by four-tenths heading into the final rotation.
"We have a motto which is 'lock in,' and it is a sport where a lot of things can happen," said sophomore Abby Brenner. "Moving forward and thinking about our floor rotation only, being in the moment, we gave it all we had."
The floor exercise rotation ended up scoring 49.075 for the Wolverines and Washington's 48.375 on beam helped U-M to complete its comeback. Sophomore Natalie Wojcik won the event with a 9.900 while Brenner added a 9.850.
Two U-M freshmen made their official collegiate debuts. Sierra Brooks competed in the all-around while Gabby Wilson was in the lineup for three events. Both were impressive, combining for three event wins.
In Michigan's first rotation on vault, Wilson introduced herself to the home crowd by scoring a meet-high 9.900. Wilson also was the meet leader with a 9.875 on uneven bars to start her collegiate career on a high note.
"I felt a lot better than I did in our exhibition," said Wilson. "Believing I could do it, doing a lot of pressure sets during practice, I felt ready for this meet. When the hype video came on I got chills. Usually, I don't approach meets like that and am calm, but that got me going."
Brooks notched her first career victory on balance beam with a 9.875. She also scored a 9.875 on vault.
After the meet ended, the Michigan gymnastics team spent 30 minutes taking pictures with fans on the concourse. Senior student assistant coaches Sam Roy and Polina Shchennikova were recognized on the floor following the final routine. The duo recently began positive mental health initiatives after their struggles with the ends of their competitive gymnastics careers. [ Feature ]
Michigan will open its Big Ten season next weekend when they travel to Champaign to face Illinois next Saturday (Jan. 18) at 1 p.m. CST.
Players Mentioned
