Michigan
Nebraska
Raising Autism Awareness with a Win
1/28/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Jan. 28, 2017
» Olivia Karas had a career-high 9.975 vault.
» The Wolverines won all four events and the all-around.
• Complete Results | Photo Gallery 
| Event Replay 
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Event: Autism Awareness Meet
Score: #10 Michigan 197.225, No. 12 Nebraska 194.800
U-M Record: 4-2 overall, 2-1 Big Ten
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Feb. 5 -- at Maryland (College Park, Md.), Noon
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 10 University of Michigan women's gymnastics team hosted its fourth annual Autism Awareness Meet on Saturday (Jan. 28), defeating No. 12 Nebraska 197.225-194.800 in Crisler Center.
The Wolverines scored a season-high 197.225, topping the 197 mark for the second straight meet. The biggest win of the evening was more than 4,000 fans at Crisler learning more about autism.
"Our team has developed such an appreciation for all the things individuals can do," said head coach Bev Plocki. "They are just like all of us. It has been an amazing week for our team, and if people left here knowing one or two more things about autism then we did our job."
The team wore a puzzle piece ribbon on their cheek during the meet to help raise awareness. During the week, the coaching staff had a poster with puzzle pieces. When they stuck a good landing, they got to color in one of the puzzle pieces.
"This meet is really special to us," said sophomore Emma McLean, who set a career high on vault with a 9.900 and matched her career best with a 9.900 on floor. "We are competing for something bigger than us."
McLean's pair of 9.900 routines were two of eight routines on the day that scored 9.900 or better for the Wolverines.
Sophomore Olivia Karas, who was one of the top-ranked vaulters in the nation last year, had a huge Yurchenko 1 1/2 with a stuck landing for a career-high 9.975. Vault was the top event for the Wolverines as they posted a 49.450 as a team.
"I just wanted to trust everything I have been working on," said Karas. "It was really nice to see all the hard work pay off. It is all about the team though, and the best thing in the world is sticking a dismount and having your team run up and hug you."
U-M closed out bars with back-to-back 9.925 routines by senior Nicole Artz and junior Paige Zaziski. The 9.925 is a season high for Artz, while Zaziski followed up her 9.975 from last weekend with another big score.
Senior Talia Chiarelli earned a win on beam with her 9.925. She was the only gymnast to score more than 9.850 on the event.
Three gymnasts hit the 9.900 mark on floor. McLean and Karas did it back-to-back for the second straight week, and Artz closed things out with a 9.900 to follow up her perfect 10.0 from a week ago.
Artz won the all-around for the second straight week with a 39.500 as Michigan won all four individual events and the all-around.
Throughout the meet, Michigan displayed autism facts on the video board. The U-M women's soccer and men's golf teams helped out on the concourse. The soccer team had puzzle pieces for kids to color, and the golf team set up a putting station.
Also on hand were Special Olympics of Michigan, Autism Speaks, Adaptive Gymnastics and the U-M School of Dentistry to support the cause. Adaptive Gymnastics put on a performance on floor prior to the meet.
As the Wolverines came away with a big home score and a victory, but the big win was the team and its more than 4,000 fans in attendance were all part of a much greater cause.
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Olivia Karas nails her huge vault for a career-high 9.975. Huge!!!! #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/TRUSDKMXTd
-- Michigan Gymnastics (@UMichWGym) January 28, 2017
Michigan will travel to Maryland next weekend for another Big Ten showdown in College Park at noon on Sunday, Feb. 5.
