Michigan
Ball State
Canceled: Michigan to Host Ball State, Honor Seniors
3/10/2020 1:50:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
THIS WEEK
Friday, March 13 -- vs. Ball State (Crisler Center), 6:30 p.m.
TV: BTN+ Live Scoring | Live Video
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COVID-19 Update: On Thursday, March 12, 2020, the Big Ten Conference canceled the remainder of the winter and spring sports seasons due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. In response, the University of Michigan has suspended all athletic activities, including practices, effective immediately, until further notice. Fans who purchased tickets for affected events will receive a refund. For the latest information on the situation, please visit MGoBlue.com/covid19.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team will honor its six seniors following Friday night's (March 13) meet against Ball State as part of its Senior Night ceremony.
Senior Night vs. Ball State
• No. 5 Michigan will honor six individuals following Friday night's (March 13) meet against Ball State at 6:30 p.m. in Crisler Center.
• The six set to be honored feature student-athletes Lexi Funk, Sam Javanbakht, Maggie O'Hara and Maddy Osman as well as student assistant coaches Sam Roy and Polina Shchennikova.
• The senior class has four Big Ten regular-season titles, three Big Ten Championships, one NCAA Regional title, two NCAA Semifinals appearances and a 93-22-2 (.803) overall record.
• Funk is a senior from Aurora, Illinois. She was a 2019 second team All-American on balance beam and is a two-time All-Big Ten selection. She is a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and is two-time Academic All-Big Ten. Funk has five career event or all-around victories. She will study abroad this summer in Spain before finishing her degree in the fall.
• Javanbakht lived her dream of joining the Michigan gymnastics team and will be graduating a semester early in December, and will not return to the team for her senior season. She is looking to do brand strategy in the sports or entertainment industry.
• O'Hara has been in the bars and beam lineups for two seasons. She plans to go to physical therapy school and get her doctorate after graduation.
• Osman was a 2019 second team All-American on beam and is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection. She will be working with the Detroit Tigers Foundation event staff after graduation.
• Roy and Shchennikova were members of the team for two seasons and transitioned to student assistant coaches in their junior and senior years. Both earned Academic All-Big Ten honors as sophomores. Shchennikova also won two career events in her time as a U-M student-athlete.
• After starting the season 12-0, Michigan is now 12-1 following a loss to No. 1 Oklahoma. The last time U-M finished the regular season with only one loss was 2013, when they went 17-1 with the only loss coming to No. 12 Minnesota.
• This will be the fourth meeting all-time between Michigan and Ball State. The Wolverines are 2-1 in the series with a loss in 1989 and wins in 1993 and 1996. This will be Ball State's first trip to Ann Arbor and Crisler Center.
Promotions
• Kids Go Blue Club Day -- All Kids Go Blue Club Members are invited to attend this meet and receive two free tickets per family. For more information, visit MGoBlue.com/KidsClub
• Giveaway -- Maize LED Wristbands (first 1,750 fans)
• Senior Night -- Be sure to remain in your seats after the conclusion of competition as the Michigan gymnastics senior class will be honored on the floor following the meet.
Last Time Out
• Michigan suffered its first loss of the season at No. 1 Oklahoma, despite scoring a 197.425 for its second-highest road score of the year.
• The Wolverines scored 49.400 or better on three of the four events and had eight routines score 9.900 or higher.
• Sophomore Abby Brenner stuck her vault for a career-high 9.975. The vault catapulted her into the top 10 nationally on the event.
• Funk recorded a career-high 9.925 on floor exercise after moving to the anchor spot in the lineup.
• Junior Lauren Farley led off the beam rotation with a season-high 9.900.
In the Rankings
• This week in the NQS rankings, Michigan stayed at No. 5 for a second straight week. The last time the team was ranked in the top five back-to-back weeks was the first two rankings of the 2018 season.
• U-M remains one of the top teams nationally on vault at No. 4 overall and also has climbed up to T-4th on floor.
• Two Wolverines are ranked among the best nationally in the all-around with freshman Sierra Brooks at No. 11 and sophomore Natalie Wojcik at No. 14.
• Brooks is tied for 15th on vault, tied for 32nd on bars, 35th on beam and tied for 37th on floor.
• Wojcik is tied for 34th on vault, tied for 19th on bars, tied for 17th on beam and tied for 37th on floor.
• Freshman Gabby Wilson is ranked on two events, coming in this week tied for 28th on vault and tied for 28th on floor.
• Brenner leads the team in the vault rankings, moving up six spots to a tie for No. 9 nationally. Funk rose to a tie for 36th in the beam rankings.
• U-M was ranked No. 6 in the WCGA preseason poll and was picked to win the Big Ten Conference.
On Record Pace
• Michigan is on pace to break the 2015 team's record for highest scoring average. The Wolverines are averaging a 197.128, .005 points higher than the 197.123 average in 2015.
• U-M also could be top five on every event: vault (49.342, 1st), bars (49.286, 2nd), beam (49.147, 5th) and floor (49.353, 3rd).
• If the season ended today, Brooks would have the 10th best all-around average (39.403) and would be tied for the fifth-highest beam scoring average with a 9.853.
Up Next
Saturday, March 21 -- at Big Ten Championships (Columbus, Ohio), 5:30 p.m.
Players Mentioned
