Michigan
Illinois
Michigan Wins First Road Challenge Against No. 21 Illinois
1/20/2018 12:39:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
» Michigan fought through adversity to stay undefeated.
» U-M claimed event titles on bars and floor.
» Sophomore Polina Shchennikova stepped up to close out the win.
Site: Champaign, Ill. (Huff Hall)
Score: No. 3 Michigan 194.975, No. 21 Illinois 194.325
Records: Michigan (3-0, 2-0 Big Ten), Illinois (3-1, 1-1 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Jan. 27 -- at Nebraska (Lincoln, Neb.), 2 p.m. CST
• Complete Results
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The No. 3 University of Michigan women's gymnastics team fought through several challenges to pass its first road test as they defeated No. 21 Illinois, 194.975-194.325, on Friday (Jan. 19).
The Wolverines did not have things go their way like they did the first two meets of the year. U-M overcame falls, missed landings and low scores to battle back and come up clutch at the end to pull out its third straight victory to start the season and improve to 2-0 in the Big Ten.
"There were an awful lot of things that didn't go right for us tonight," said head coach Bev Plocki. "There has been a lot going on this week. We started out really well on bars, but sometimes you just can't buy a score."
Sophomore Polina Shchennikova came through in the clutch for U-M. She was thrust into a situation in which she was making her collegiate debut on beam, in the anchor spot, after an earlier fall in the event.
After junior Olivia Karas landed hard on one of her floor passes, Plocki needed to make a change to her beam lineup. She moved everyone up one spot each and inserted Shchennikova in the anchor spot.
"Polina has worked so incredibly hard on beam," said Plocki. "For her to earn her first spot in the lineup by being thrust into the anchor spot, I thought she had a beautiful routine. We are really proud of her for holding up under the pressure and coming through for us."Â
After an earlier fall, Shchennikova gained confidence from teammates Brianna Brown, Lauren Farley and Lauren Marinez, who all hit their routines before her to set her up for the final performance.
Shchennikova had done exhibitions on beam in previous meets and was prepared to step in and help her teammates. It also helped that she had been competing after Marinez in the exhibition spot, the same teammate she followed on Friday night.
"I knew I had my team behind me," said Shchennikova. "It came from an unfortunate circumstance. I knew I was ready and had trained hard in the gym. My teammates were amazing and reassured me how prepared I was. To know they had my back all the way until the end was an amazing feeling."
The final score of 9.725 was not indicative of what the routine by Shchennikova meant to the team. She sealed the win and completed the team's comeback. When she finished her routine, her teammates rushed her at the beam and embraced her. It was an emotional end to a rough day.
"It was really important for us," said Marinez. "She has been working super hard. She did what she knew she needed to do in a pressure situation, it just shows she can do anything. Our team is a fighting team. We had so many obstacles but we didn't let it get to us. It is that drive and fire we have as a team. We are going to fight until the very end."
Senior Paige Zaziski earned her seventh career win on bars as a Wolverine. Junior Emma McLean tied for the win on floor with a 9.875, her 12th career event title and fifth on floor. Brown also had a good meet with a 9.825 on bars and floor.
"Brianna Brown was really solid on all three of her events and I thought she did a great job for us today," said Plocki. "Syd Townsend also had a nearly flawless routine on bars and got a 9.800."
In conjunction with Illinois' Salute to Service meet, the Wolverines all had camouflage ribbons tied in their hair along with their usual maize ribbon.
Michigan will be back on the road next weekend when it travels to Lincoln, Nebraska, to take on conference foe Nebraska at 2 p.m. CST on Saturday (Jan. 27).
Players Mentioned
