Michigan
Alabama
Michigan Bests No. 4 Alabama in Season Opener
1/5/2018 8:24:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
» Michigan started the season with a victory over No. 4 Alabama.
» Junior Olivia Karas won the all-around with a 39.350.
» Senior Brianna Brown scored a 9.900 on bars.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Event: Season Opener
Score: No. 7 Michigan 196.200, No. 4 Alabama 195.675
Records: Michigan (1-0), Alabama (0-1)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Jan. 13 – vs. Ohio State (Crisler Center), 6 p.m.
• Photo Gallery | Results
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 7 University of Michigan women's gymnastics team started the season at home and impressed a crowd of more than 3,000 with a 196.200-195.675 victory over No. 4 Alabama.
The Wolverines fed off the energy from the crowd that braved freezing temperatures to come out and support their home team in a top-10 matchup to open the 2018 gymnastics season.
"It was exciting," said head coach Bev Plocki. "I have always believed you are only as good as the teams you compete against. Sometimes wins aren't pretty and we have a lot to work on, but when things weren't going our way and the pressure mounted we kept fighting and came out with the win."
Michigan's two juniors put the exclamation mark on the win with the team's last two floor routines. Olivia Karas drew a standing ovation and loud cheers with her winning score of 9.925. Emma McLean kept the crowd on its feet, following with a 9.900 to close out the victory.
Karas won the all-around with a 39.350, her sixth career victory. She won floor for the sixth time in her three seasons. She had a 9.875 on bars to help the team to a rotation score of 49.225 and had a 9.825 on vault.
McLean scored a 9.900 on floor in six straight meets last year and continued her success with another one to start the season.
Senior Brianna Brown posted a team-high 9.900 on bars to finish tied for second. After missing most of last season she looked poised to start the year strong with a 9.850 on beam and 9.800 on floor.
Freshmen Lauren Farley and Syd Townsend made their collegiate debuts. Farley was in the beam lineup and Townsend competed on vault and bars. Townsend collected a 9.850 on bars.
Tweet of the Meet
That's a win over the No. 4 team in the country. #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/r19idciqKP
— Michigan Women's Gymnastics (@UMichWGym) January 6, 2018
Michigan will be back in Crisler Center next weekend when it hosts Ohio State on Saturday (Jan. 13) at 6 p.m. The Wolverines will look to raise awareness for developmental disabilities with their Adaptive Gymnastics Meet.
Players Mentioned
