Four.
The number of freshmen on the Michigan women’s gymnastics team.
Three.
The number of freshmen who competed in the Wolverines’ exhibition meet — the Michigan Quad in Crisler Center against Central Michigan, Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan.
Two.
The number of Michigan gymnasts who competed all-around, including freshman Sierra Brooks.
One.
The place Brooks finished in the all-around category.
In the exhibition, the Michigan freshmen class brought its stellar reputation to the floor. And the beam, and the bars, and the vault. Three of the four freshmen — Gabby Wilson, Nicoletta Koulos and Brooks — made their collegiate debut.
An exhibition meet is a unique experience, allowing gymnasts to showcase routines and test things out in a low-stakes environment. There isn’t always the same level of pressure to perform, something the freshmen class capitalized on.
“I just tried to do as best I could,” Brooks said. “I just tried to keep that mentality throughout the meet. Don’t try to change anything too drastically because people are watching and you’re in Crisler.”
In a team win for the Wolverines — with a final score of 195.975 — all four events were covered by the three freshmen: Koulos on floor, Wilson on floor, bars and vault and Brooks competing all-around. Koulos, despite multiple falls during her floor routine, scored a 9.075. She also did an exhibition on vault, bars and beam.
“Nicoletta Koulos fell on the floor and I’m not going to say that I’m not surprised,” said Michigan coach Bev Plocki. “We have pushed her a little bit. She’s going to be great. I have no doubt in my mind that she’s going to be great.”
Wilson’s performance on three of four events also trended in a positive direction. On vault, she tied with Brooks for first out of the Michigan competitors, and tied for second between the four teams with a score of 9.825. On floor and bars she added valuable points to the Wolverines’ team-score. She also did an exhibition on beam.
Brooks was one of two Michigan gymnasts who competed all-around — the other was the NCAA national champion on the beam event, sophomore Natalie Wojcik. Brooks posted an all-around score of 39.425 on her way to being the all-around champion of the meet. She was also the bars champion with a score of 9.925.
Overall, the freshmen accounted for almost 40 percent of Michigan’s 195.975 points. Out of that 40, Brooks contributed 50.5 percent of those points. With the loss of two key seniors, Olivia Karas and Emma McLean, the Wolverines looked to replace their six lineup spots with these freshman. The freshmen’s positive early performances shows steps in the right direction in filling those spots.
“I think we did really good like for our first time in Crisler,” Brooks said. “It was awesome that everybody was able to contribute.”