Seven Wolverines Named to Big Ten All-Conference Teams, Five to First Team
3/15/2023 3:30:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- For the second straight season, seven University of Michigan women's gymnasts were named to the Big Ten Conference teams as announced by the conference office Wednesday (March 15). For the 11th straight season the Wolverines have had at least five all-conference selections and at least four first-team selections as Sierra Brooks, Abby Heiskell, Naomi Morrison, Gabby Wilson and Natalie Wojcik were all named to the first team for the second straight season, and Carly Bauman and Nicoletta Koulos earned second-team honors.
U-M led the conference with five first team honors, while Michigan State had four and Minnesota two.
Wojcik returned for her fifth year of eligibility and becomes the first in program history to earn first-team Big Ten honors five times in program history. The graduate-student all-arounder won eight titles in her final year for Michigan and is just three individual titles away from 100 career victories. Wojcik earned her second career perfect 10 on the beam against Minnesota and posted three 9.975s on the uneven bars as she heads into the postseason ranked seventh nationally on the balance beam and 15th in the all-around.
Brooks is the 13th Wolverine in program history to earn first-team honors on four occasions as she joins Wojcik as the last gymnast to do so. The Plainfield, Ill., native earned 14 event titles including four all-around titles. The senior all-arounder was a three-time Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honoree in her senior year and recorded a perfect 10.0 on the vault at Rutgers, while scoring a career-high 9.975 on the uneven bars against No. 1 Oklahoma. Heading into the Big Ten Championship, Brooks ranks fifth nationally on the vault, seventh in the all-around, 17th on the balance beam and 18th on the uneven bars.
Wilson joins Brooks in earning first-team honors on four occasions, making her the 14th in program history to do so. The Ypsilanti, Mich., native won five titles this season and tied with Heiskell for the fifth-highest all-around score in program history with a 39.800 against No. 1 Oklahoma. Wilson notched a 9.975 on both beam and floor exercise against the Sooners, tying a career-high on the beam, while she also tied a career-best 9.950 on the uneven bars this season.
Heiskell returned for a fifth year to earn her third first team All-Big Ten honor. The graduate student capped off her final regular season as a Wolverine with nine event titles, including three titles at Rutgers and two Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honors. Heiskell scored her second career perfect 10.0 on the vault and tied for the fifth-highest all-around score in program history with a 39.800 at RU. The Charlotte, N.C., native also set a career high on the beam, scoring a 9.950 at Big Fives, and ranks 15th nationally on the vault and 16th in the all-around.
Morrison notched first-team honors for the second straight season as she won four event titles, competing on vault, uneven bars and floor. The Chandler, Ariz., native was dominant on the floor this season with three event titles and scoring a 9.925 or higher seven out of the eight times she competed. Morrison goes into the postseason ranked 17th nationally on the floor.
Bauman earns Big Ten honors for the first time in her career after missing the 2022 season due to injury. The West Des Moines, Iowa, native bounced back from her missed sophomore season and secured her spot in the lineup on both uneven bars and beam for the Wolverines. Bauman earned three event titles on the uneven bars, tying career-best 9.950s in all three outings, while posting a career-best 9.925 on the beam.
Koulos earns her first Big Ten conference honors as she competed on uneven bars, beam and floor for Michigan in her senior season. The event specialist won her first career title as she posted a career-best 9.950 on the beam at Nebraska, while also earning a career-high 9.950 on the floor against Minnesota. Koulos notched six scores of 9.900 or higher on the floor this season for Michigan.
The honorees and the rest of the U-M squad will travel to Coralville, Iowa, to compete Saturday (March 18) for its 27th Big Ten Championship. Michigan's session of the championship event is set to start at 4:30 p.m. CDT on the Big Ten Network.
Players Mentioned
