Michigan women's gymnastics KO'd in semifinal, won't repeat as national champions
The Michigan women’s gymnastics team won’t get the chance to defend its 2021 national championship after being eliminated in the national semifinals on Thursday night in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Wolverines, who won their regional on April 3 to make the final eight teams, finished fourth Thursday, 0.9125 points behind Missouri. The Tigers were also eliminated. Florida (197.975) and Auburn (197.8375) finished first and second, respectively, and advance to Saturday’s final. In the first semifinal Thursday, Oklahoma and Utah advanced to Saturday’s final, with the Sooners topping 198 points for the fourth consecutive time.
THE REGIONAL: Michigan women win regional, headed to NCAA tournament semifinals
The Wolverines sat in second place halfway through Thursday’s semifinal, but a fall in the fourth rotation cost Michigan a return to the final.
What a ride it has been, this year was something special.
Thank you to everyone who has supported us all season long, through our highs and our lows.
Forever, #GoBlue 💙 pic.twitter.com/TCTFwT2MaL— Michigan Women’s Gymnastics (@UMichWGym) April 15, 2022
Michigan started out strong on the floor exercise, the first rotation, as four Wolverines -- senior Abby Heiskell (9.9), senior Natalike Wojcik (9.9125), junior Sierra Brooks (9.9) and junior Gabby Wilson (9.9125) – led the way with near-perfect scores. U-M’s combined score of 49.4875 gave the Wolverines a slim 0.0125-point lead going into the vault.
The Wolverines weren’t quite as clean in the second rotation; Brooks hit a 9.9 score, but no other U-M gymnast was able to top her, and the Wolverines fell into second, at 98.9125 points, 0.1375 points behind Auburn.
On the third rotation, Abby Heiskell opened with a 9.9125 on the uneven bars and Sierra Brooks topped that with a 9.95 to spring the Wolverines to a strong start. But the Gators turned in a scorching 49.5125 points to leap into second place, and Michigan fell to fourth with one rotation remaining, though they trailed first-place Auburn by less than a point.
Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @theford.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan women's gymnastics KO'd, won't repeat as national champions
