Plocki Named Regional Coach of the Year, Staff Named Assistant Coaches of the Year
4/7/2022 12:00:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- The No. 3-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team swept the 2022 WCGA Regional Coach of the Year Awards as announced Thursday (April 7) by the Women's College Gymnastics Association.
Head coach Bev Plocki was named the WCGA Regional Coach of the Year for the 12th time in her career, while associate head coach Scott Sherman earned Regional Assistant Coach of the Year honors for the eighth time in his career. Assistant coach Maile'ana Kanewa-Hermelyn notches regional coach of the year honors for the second time and volunteer assistant coach Lexi Funk earns the honor for the first time in her career.
The Michigan staff sweeps the coaching honors after leading the Wolverines to multiple program records so far this season, including the sixth-best score in NCAA history and a program-best 198.525 in a road meet at Rutgers. Michigan also recorded the second-highest vault score in NCAA history with a 49.875 and broke the U-M floor record with a 49.750.
The quartet led Michigan to its 26th Big Ten Championship, scoring the conference's first-ever 198+ with a 198.200 and its 14th regional title in 2022. The Wolverines rank third nationally under Plocki and her staff and are in the top 15 in all four events. They are the nation's top team on vault and floor while ranking fourth on uneven bars and 11th on beam. Regionally, Michigan is the top team on all four events.
Individually, all five of U-M's all-arounders earned WCGA Regular Season All-America honors as Sierra Brooks was a three-time first-team honoree, Natalie Wojcik earned two first-team nods and two second-team nods, Gabby Wilson was a first-team honoree on floor and was second team on vault, while Naomi Morrison was first team on vault and second team on floor. Finally Abby Heiskell was a second-team honoree in both the all-around and on vault for 13 total Michigan All-America citations.
Players Mentioned
