Plocki WCGA Coach of the Year; Staff Earns Assistant Coaches of Year Nod
4/21/2021 11:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- After winning the first national championship in program history, University of Michigan women's gymnastics head coach Bev Plocki was voted the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) Coach of the Year, while her staff was named the Assistant Coaches of the Year as announced Wednesday (April 21).
The honor is the second of Plocki's career as she was Co-Coach of the Year in the 1994 season when the Wolverines finished fourth at the NCAA Championships and won their third straight Big Ten title.
Plocki's staff -- associate head coach Scott Sherman, assistant coach Maile'ana Kanewa-Hermelyn and volunteer assistant coach Lexi Funk -- teamed up for their award, the second of Sherman's career, first earning the honor in 2008, and the first for Kanewa-Hermelyn and Funk.
Plocki and her staff led Michigan to its first national championship with a program-best 198.2500. The Wolverines eclipsed the 198 mark for the first time in 2021 and ended the season with four scores of 198.000 or higher.
This season, U-M broke the U-M balance beam (49.600) and uneven bars (49.725) records, while notching the second-best score in program history on the vault with a 49.800. The Wolverines finished the regular season ranked in the top 15 in all four events, including leading the nation on the vault, and went into the NCAA Championships ranked second nationally.
Maile'ana Kanewa-Hermelyn, Scott Sherman, Lexi Funk (back)
At the NCAA semifinals, U-M used the best NCAA scores in Michigan history on the beam (49.4750) and floor exercise (49.6500) to propel them to Saturday's (April 17) team finals, while the all-around trio of Abby Heiskell, Sierra Brooks and Natalie Wojcik all posted scores of 39.7000 or higher in the NCAA Championships to take the top three spots in Michigan NCAA all-around history.
Michigan totaled 14 All-America performances at the NCAA Championships, with Brooks leading the way with four first-team honors and Heiskell picking up three. Gabby Wilson had two first-team honors among her four total awards, while Wojcik also earned two second-team honors and Naomi Morrison had one.
The Michigan coaching staff led the Wolverines to a clean sweep of titles at the NCAA Morgantown Regional as Brooks shared the vault title with freshman Morrison and also clinched the balance beam and all-around crowns, while Wojcik won the uneven bars and Wilson won the floor title.
The U-M coaching staff helped Wojcik to two perfect 10s (beam, vault) this season with her perfect 10 on vault earning her the Big Ten title.
The Wolverines had eight WCGA Regular Season All-America citations with Wojcik earning four, Brooks earning two and Heiskell and Morrison both garnering one, while Wojcik was named the WGCA Regional Gymnast of the Year.
• Conqu'ring Heroes: Plocki on Women's Gymnastics National Championship
• National Champs! Michigan Claims First NCAA Title with Program-Best Score
Players Mentioned
