Michigan to Open Season With Social Media Night Meet at Crisler

THIS WEEK
Friday, Jan. 10 -- vs. Washington and Texas Woman's University (Crisler Center), 6:30 p.m.
TV: BTN+ | Tickets | Live Scoring | Live Video

PROMOTIONS
• Jan. 10: Social Media Night, Senior Recognition, Selfie Night
• Full Promotions Schedule

• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's gymnastics team will open its 2020 season when it hosts Washington and Texas Woman's University on Friday (Jan. 10) at 6:30 p.m. inside Crisler Center. The meet also is Social Media Night and will be streamed live on BTN Plus.

Meet Details

• Friday's meet will be Social Media Night at Crisler Center with social media-themed fan cams, hashtags, Twitter requests to the in-house #CrislerDJ. Fans can take part in a post-match selfie session during which they can take photos with their favorite Michigan gymnasts.
• Senior recognition will be given to student-assistant coaches Sam Roy and Polina Shchennikova.
• The Wolverines will take on Texas Woman's University for just the second time in program history. The last was a neutral-site meeting at Oklahoma in 2012, a 196.300-194.650 victory for Michigan. U-M has never lost to Washington in seven meetings. The last time the two competed against one another resulted in a Michigan victory at Ohio State in 2017. The only other trip to Ann Arbor for the GymDawgs was 2002, when their current head coach and former Wolverine Elise Ray-Statz set a U-M all-around record with a 39.825.
• Ray-Statz is one of the most heralded gymnasts in U-M program history. She won three individual NCAA titles, was a 14-time All-American and is one of three women's gymnasts in the Michigan Hall of Honor. However, she will not be making the trip to Ann Arbor with the team as she is expecting the birth of a child.

In the Polls

• Michigan was ranked No. 6 in the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) preseason poll.
• It marked the eighth straight year the Wolverines were among the top 10 teams in the preseason poll and 20th time in the last 21 seasons that Michigan has been ranked in the preseason.
• The Wolverines were ranked No. 1 in the Big Ten coaches preseason poll on Dec. 13. Michigan again was selected as the favorite after winning its sixth straight Big Ten title last season.
• U-M is currently unranked in the initial WCGA poll after not competing the opening week of the season.

Michigan Captures Exhibition Meet

• Michigan (195.975) won its Dec. 7 exhibition quad meet against Central Michigan (194.500), Western Michigan (193.400) and Eastern Michigan (192.400).
• Freshman Sierra Brooks made a great first impression with wins in the all-around (39.425) and on uneven bars with the highest score of the meet (9.925).
• Sophomore Natalie Wojcik won two events, claiming the balance beam (9.875) and floor exercise (9.900) crowns. She also tied for the team's top vault score with a 9.825 to finish second overall.

31st Season

• U-M head coach Bev Plocki begins her 31st season at the helm of the Michigan program. She has led the Wolverines to 777 victories, 24 Big Ten Championships, five Big Ten regular-season titles, 11 NCAA regional championships and 10 NCAA Super Six appearances.

Home Slate

• Michigan will host four more regular-season home meets after Friday's home opener: Jan. 24 vs. Rutgers, Feb. 9 vs. Ohio State, Feb. 28 vs. New Hampshire and March 13 vs. Ball State.
• The Jan. 24 event will be the annual Flip for Chip meet at 6:30 p.m. The first 1,500 fans will receive a Flip for Chip foam spirit stick, and several members of the team will be available for autographs after the meet.
• Individual and group tickets are on sale with general admission tickets starting at $6 and groups of 10 or more eligible for $3 tickets.
• For more information, visit the women's gymnastics tickets page.

Up Next

• Saturday, Jan. 18 -- at Illinois (Champaign, Ill.), 1 p.m. CST