Michigan
Alabama Quad Meet
Wolverines to Return to Road for Alabama Quad Meet
1/9/2019 12:45:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
THIS WEEK
Friday, Jan. 11 -- Alabama Quad Meet - vs. #18 Alabama, Bowling Green and Denver (Tuscaloosa, Ala.), 7:30 p.m. CST
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- After opening the 2019 season with a win at the Cancun Classic, the No. 6-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team will be back on the road this week as they travel to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for a quad meet with No. 18 Alabama, Bowling Green and Denver. Â Â
Alabama Quad Meet
• Michigan will travel back to Alabama after its season ended in Tuscaloosa at the NCAA Regional last year.
• This will be the second straight quad meet for the Wolverines after they started the year 3-0 with a win over Iowa State, West Virginia and Rutgers at the Cancun Classic.
• Alabama holds a 29-7-1 record all-time against Michigan, but the Wolverines defeated the Crimson Tide in last year's season opener in Ann Arbor, before falling to them in the NCAA Regional.
• Michigan faced both Bowling Green and Denver last season at the Elevate the Stage meet in Toledo, Ohio. The Wolverines hold an 8-3 record in the all-time series against Bowling Green and are 6-2-1 all-time against Denver, with the tie coming last season.
• U-M head coach Bev Plocki was a gymnast at Alabama for one season before transferring to West Virginia to finish out her collegiate career.
Cancun Classic Champions
• The 2019 season started off with the Wolverines claiming their third straight Cancun Classic championship. The team scored a 196.050 to add to its collection of titles from 2013 and 2016.
• The first two competitors for U-M fell off the beam, but Michigan rebounded to hit its next 22 routines in the meet and earn the victory.
• The podium was dominated by Wolverines after the meet as they had three of the top four on vault, six of the top seven on bars, four of the top five on beam and the top competitor on floor.
• The team had a bonding trip the day following the meet, renting a catamaran that took them snorkeling and swimming with dolphins.
Wojcik Shows Star Power
• Freshman Natalie Wojcik became an instant star in her college debut, winning three events and the all-around.
• Wojcik's all-around score of 39.625 was a school record for a U-M debut, and tied for the 28th best score in school history.
• She hit her first career routine with a 9.925 on beam to tie for the fourth best score in the country. She was near perfect on vault with a 9.975 for the nation's second best score and she won bars with a 9.900.
• Wojcik was named Big Ten Gymnast and Freshman of the Week for her efforts.
McLean Owns the Floor
• After winning floor exercise in seven meets last year, senior Emma McLean got off to another great start on the event with a 9.925 to win at the Cancun Classic.
• The title gives McLean 11 career floor titles and 18 event titles overall.
• McLean also contributed a 9.875 on a stuck Yurchenko Full vault to finish second behind Wojcik.
College Debuts
• Three freshmen made their college debuts at the Cancun Classic, and all three were successful. Wojcik was the top scorer of the group.
• Abby Brenner competed in three events. She started on floor with a 9.800, then scored a 9.850 on vault and a 9.875 to take second place on bars.
• Maddie Mariani competed for the first time on bars, scoring a 9.850 to finish in third place.
• The fourth freshman from the No. 1 signing class in the country, Abby Heiskell, was scratched from the vault lineup following the practice day with a minor injury.
In the Rankings
• U-M climbed three spots in the rankings after scoring higher than a 196.000 to start the season at No. 6 overall.
• The Wolverines are No. 3 on vault and No. 4 on bars, finishing strong at the Cancun Classic in their final two rotations.
• All six competitors on bars are ranked in the top-40 nationally with Wojcik tied for seventh, while Brenner is tied for 14th.
• Wojcik also is ranked fifth in the all-around, second on vault, tied for fourth on beam and tied for 40th on floor.
• McLean is ranked  tied for 13th on vault and tied for eighth on floor.
• Junior Maggie O'Hara and sophomore Lauren Farley are both ranked on bars and beam.
Michigan was ranked No. 9 in the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association preseason poll.
• This mark's the eighth straight year the Wolverines were among the top 10 teams in the preseason poll, and 20th time in the last 21 seasons there has been a preseason ranking.
• The Wolverines were ranked No. 1 in the Big Ten coaches preseason poll on Dec. 13. Michigan was once again picked as the favorite after winning five straight Big Ten titles.
Home Opener
• Michigan's meet in Tuscaloosa will be its second road meet to start the season before returning to Crisler Center for the first time on Friday, Jan. 18, against Michigan State at 7 p.m.
• Individual and group tickets are on sale, with general admission tickets starting at $6 and groups of 10 or more eligible for $3 tickets.
• For more information visit the women's gymnastics tickets page.
Players Mentioned
