The No. 8 Michigan women”s gymnastics team is riding a hot streak that it does not want to end. Led by senior Karina Senior, who has captured two all-around titles in the past three meets alone, the Wolverines have been victorious in four consecutive meets and have increased their team score in each successive competition.
- Paul Wong
- Freshman star Calli Ryals practices her balance beam routine. The Wolverines have had recent success on the beam.<br><br>Brandon Sedloff/Daily
Tomorrow, the Wolverines will put this streak on the line when they travel to Gainesville, Fla. to compete in a dual meet against Florida and Auburn. Coach Bev Plocki feels that with each meet, her team continues to gain confidence as it excels against any and every opponent.
“We”re really excited about competing in Florida,” Plocki said. “Things are really starting to come together for this team.”
With each successive meet, the Wolverines seem to be gathering strength and determination as their team score continues to improve.
Since the Super Six Challenge, Michigan”s season opener in which it finished fourth out of six teams, the Wolverines” team score has improved by almost two full points, reaching a season high of 196.325 last week in Kentucky.
This progressive increase will be tested on Feb. 10, when Michigan goes on the road to compete against No. 3 Georgia. Perennially a national championship contender, Georgia has won all 11 meetings between the two teams. This includes a win at the Super Six Challenge earlier this season.
But, Plocki is concentrating on keeping her team”s focus on the dual meet at hand.
“We haven”t even spoken about Georgia,” Plocki said. “We are just trying to concentrate on our individual performances and make sure that we are prepared. That is the best offense and defense we can have.”
No. 6 Florida will be looking to even its all-time record against Michigan at 5-5, and to improve its season record to 3-6. Michigan defeated Florida in the Super Six Challenge, but only by .05 of a point, a miniscule difference.
“Florida has developed along with us this season, but we still have a lot of room to improve,” Plocki said.
Michigan holds an all-time record of 2-0 against Auburn.