On Saturday, Natalie Wojcik announced that she will use her final year of eligibility and return to the Michigan women’s gymnastics team for the 2023 season as she works towards a Master’s degree in Social Work.
In addition to Wojcik’s significant accomplishments as a gymnast, her academic resume is extensive.
Wojcik — a four-time UM Academic Achievement Award recipient — triple majored in Psychology, Spanish and Linguistics. She is additionally recognized for being a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, a 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-American and a two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar.
As astounding as her academic record is, Wojcik’s gymnastics resume is equally impressive. She is arguably one of the best Michigan gymnasts of all-time.
Wojcik is a 6-time WCGA All-American and a 12-time WCGA regular season All-American across all four events. And in her four years, Wojcik’s contributions have been extensive, being named Team MVP or co-MVP in each season.
“Natalie’s work ethic and her passion for the sport of gymnastics is amazing,” Michigan coach Bev Plocki said. “And that’s what I want all my athletes to have, a genuine love and a passion for this sport.”
Wojcik’s dedication in the gym has amounted to four perfect 10s throughout her career thus far — three on the vault and one on the balance beam. Her all-around best of 39.825 at the Rutgers tri-meet tied the highest all-around score in program history.
In her senior season, Wojcik won the prestigious AAI award — an accolade given to the most outstanding senior gymnast in the nation — and was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week three times, totalling a program-best 14 times being honored in this respect.
Wojcik’s senior season added to her already impressive resume. She finished the year with a total of 87 career events and all-around victories, 110 scores of 9.900 or better, 28 all-around scores of at least 39.500 and a program record 22 all-around scores of 39.600 or better.
“She’s an incredible athlete, and she cares deeply about her teammates and our team,” Plocki said. “It’s great when you have somebody that’s that talented that still cares about putting the team first.”
Next season, Wojcik looks to bring that team-first mentality to help the Wolverines redeem themselves after falling short in 2022.
Already considered one of the greatest gymnasts in program history, Wojcik hopes to add to her resume and lead Michigan to a second National Championship.