Season Review: 2018 Michigan Women's Gymnastics
4/25/2018 11:55:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
• Team Captains: Emma McLean, Paige Zaziski
• Big Ten Conference: Regular-Season Champions
• Big Ten Championships: Champions
• NCAA Regionals: Fourth Place
The 2018 University of Michigan women's gymnastics team claimed its fifth straight Big Ten Championship and earned the Big Ten regular-season title. The team picked up wins over No. 4 Alabama and No. 4 Utah along the way but finished fourth at the NCAA Regional to miss out on qualifying for the NCAA Semifinal. The team finished the year with a 26-5-1 record, including an 8-1 conference mark.
Team Highlights
• Michigan took care of business in the evening session of the Big Ten Championship, scoring a 197.200 to top No. 12 Nebraska for the Big Ten title. Seniors Brianna Brown (uneven bars) and Lauren Marinez (balance beam) won individual titles to help push the Wolverines over the top. Six routines scored a 9.900 or better as U-M won for the fifth straight year. The title was Michigan's 24th overall and 23rd under head coach Bev Plocki, who tied Indiana men's swimming head coach Doc Counsilman for the most titles by any head coach in Big Ten history.
• Entering the Big Five Meet, U-M was second in the conference standings behind Nebraska. A fourth-place finish by the Huskers opened the door for the Wolverines to compete for the regular-season title and they took advantage of it. Michigan won its Big Five in Piscataway, New Jersey, with a score of 197.225 to overtake Nebraska for the Big Ten regular-season championship. It was the fourth regular-season crown in six years for Michigan.
• The Wolverines finished the year ranked No. 13, the top ranking for a team that did not reach the NCAA Championship. U-M ended the regular season ranked No. 7 and was ranked in the top eight nationally on all four events.
• Michigan finished the year with a scoring average of 196.773, the fifth best in school history. Ranked fifth nationally on beam, the Wolverines recorded their second-highest beam scoring average of all time with a 49.242. U-M's highest ranked individual on the event was Marinez at No. 39. Michigan also had top-10 all-time scoring averages on vault (10th, 49.123) and bars (sixth, 49.231).
• The Wolverines defeated two top-five opponents during the 2018 season. U-M started the season with a top-10 matchup, defeating No. 4 Alabama at home in front of a national TV audience. The Wolverines came full circle, closing the home slate with a narrow victory over No. 4 Utah on Senior Night.
Individual Highlights
• Brown, an American Athletic Inc. (AAI) Award finalist, advanced to the NCAA Championship as an individual after winning the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional with a 9.950 on bars and finishing third in the all-around with a score of 39.325. She earned her second-career Big Ten Championship on bars with a 9.950 and was an All-Big Ten selection. Her 9.875 scoring average on bars ties for the 10th best in school history.
• Senior Paige Zaziski was named the Big Ten Gymnast of the Year and National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women Northeast Region Gymnast of the Year after a fantastic senior season and earned first team All-Big Ten honors. She was a consistent performer on vault and beam, leading the team in scoring average on both events.
• Junior Emma McLean was ranked in the top 10 on floor and in the top 10 on vault for most of the year. She earned NACGC/W Regular Season All-America second team honors on floor exercise and was a first team All-Big Ten selection. Her floor scoring average of 9.918 was the sixth best nationally and stands as the third best in school history. Â
• Marinez won a Big Ten title on beam in her final season. The senior was named to the All-Big Ten Championships team and was a second team All-Big Ten choice. She was the highest ranked Wolverine in the Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) on beam with a 9.890 to tie for 39th.
• Sophomore Lexi Funk made a great jump from her freshman to sophomore year and finished ranked 42nd nationally in the all-around. She scored over a 39.000 in eight meets on the season and was a first-team All-Big Ten selection.
Honors and Awards
Brianna
Brown
Paige
Zaziski
Emma
McLean
Lauren
Marinez
Lexi
Funk
National
AAI Award Finalist: Brianna Brown
NACGC/W Northeast Region Gymnast of the Year: Paige Zaziski
NACGC/W Regular Season All-America: Emma McLean (second team on floor)
NCAA Regional Champion: Brianna Brown (bars)
NACGC/W Northeast Region Coach of the Year: Bev Plocki
NACGC/W Co-Northeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year: Scott Sherman, Scott Vetere, Kaitlyn Betts
Gymnast of the Year: Paige Zaziski
Big Ten Champion: Brianna Brown (bars), Lauren Marinez (beam)
All-Big Ten Championships Team: Brianna Brown, Lauren Marinez, Paige Zaziski
Sportsmanship Award: Olivia Karas
All-Big Ten (First Team): Brianna Brown, Lexi Funk, Emma McLean, Paige Zaziski
All-Big Ten (Second Team): Lauren Farley, Lauren Marinez, Syd Townsend
Academic All-Big Ten: Brianna Brown, Lexi Funk, Emma McLean, Olivia Karas, Maddy Osman, Sam Roy, Polina Shchennikova, Paige Zaziski
Big Ten Weekly Honors
Gymnast: Olivia Karas (Jan. 8), Paige Zaziski (Jan. 16)
Event Specialist: Brianna Brown (Jan. 8), Emma McLean (Jan. 16), Emma McLean (Mar. 12)
Freshman: Syd Townsend (Jan. 16)
Players Mentioned
