Five First Teamers Among Michigan's League-Leading Six All-Big Ten Picks
3/18/2019 6:33:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- The University of Michigan women's gymnastics team had six student-athletes named to the All-Big Ten teams, the most in the conference in 2019.
Michigan had five student-athletes named to the first team and one to the second team. It is the seventh straight year there have been at least four first team selections for the Wolverines and the fourth straight season with more than five honorees.
The Wolverines on the first team include seniors Olivia Karas and Emma McLean, sophomore Lauren Farley, and freshmen Abby Brenner and Natalie Wojcik. The All-Big Ten second team included junior Lexi Funk.
Karas is a three-time first team All-Big Ten choice, adding to her 2016 and 2017 honors. She had the highest scoring average of any gymnast in the Big Ten on floor exercise with a 9.890 and finished third in the conference in the all-around rankings. She was Gymnast of the Week on March 5 and won 12 event or all-around titles while leading U-M to the Big Ten regular-season title.
McLean made the first team for the third consecutive year. She posted the top scoring average in the Big Ten on vault with a 9.864. She was the Event Specialist of the Week on Jan. 8 and won one title on both vault and floor this season.
Farley is an All-Big Ten selection for the second straight year, moving up from her second team selection last season. She has won two event titles this season with one on uneven bars and one on balance beam. Her Regional Qualifying Score on beam ranks third in the conference at 9.890.
Brenner and Wojcik each received their first All-Big Ten honors as freshmen. Brenner has competed on three events all season: vault, bars and floor. She has the conference's fifth-best average on vault with a 9.848 and has won two event titles with one on vault and one on bars.
Wojcik leads the Big Ten with an RQS of 9.955 on vault and 39.630 on floor. Her averages rank among the top five in the conference on every event except floor, where she ranks sixth. A five-time Gymnast of the Week and eight-time Freshman of the Week this season, she has won 31 event and all-around titles.
Funk has been named to the All-Big Ten team each of the last two seasons with a first team honor in 2018. She was the Event Specialist of the Week on Feb. 12 and has one beam title this season. Her RQS score on beam (9.885) is fourth best in the Big Ten this season.
U-M won its third straight Big Ten regular-season title with a 9-0 record in conference. The Wolverines will compete at the Big Ten Championships this Saturday (March 23) at 5 p.m. in State College, Pennsylvania.
Players Mentioned
