University University of Michigan Colors Maize and Blue Arena Crisler Center Conference Big Ten Conference | Nickname Wolverines Founded 1976 Head coach Bev Plocki League Big Ten Conference | |
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Home arena Crisler Center (Capacity: 12,693) Location Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States | ||
Michigan women s gymnastics hosts 2011 ann arbor regional championships
The Michigan Wolverines women's gymnastics team represents the University of Michigan and competes in the Big Ten Conference. Under head coach Bev Plocki, the team won 16 Big Ten championships in 20 years and advanced to 16 straight NCAA championship tournaments from 1993 to 2008.
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History
The Michigan Wolverines women's gymnastics team was formed in 1976. In its 34-year history, the team has had six coaches as follows:
Newt Loken, head of the men's gymnastics team from 1948 to 1983, was hired to be the first women's coach and served one season. Anne Cornell and Scott Ponto both served short tenures before Sheri Hyatt for five seasons starting in 1980. Under Hyatt, the program won its first Big Ten conference championship and qualified to its first NCAA tournament, both in 1982.
Hyatt was followed in 1985 by Dana Kempthorn, and then in 1990 by current head coach Bev Plocki. Plocki has led the Wolverines to twenty Big Ten titles and sixteen straight NCAA championship berths from 1993 to 2008, as well as in 2010, 2011, and 2013-15.
The Wolverines have had four gymnasts who have won NCAA individual championships. Beth Wymer won the NCAA championship in the uneven bars three consecutive years from 1993 to 1995. Elise Ray won the NCAA all-around championship in 2001 (tied with UCLA's Onnie Willis), the balance beam championship in 2002 and the uneven bars in 2004. Kylee Botterman won the 2011 NCAA all-around championship. In 2013, Joanna Sampson won the national championship on floor exercise.
The Wolverines have qualified to the NCAA Championships 22 times. They have qualified to the Super Six team finals ten times:
Facilities
Michigan's home competitions are held at the 12,693-seat Crisler Center. In 2002, the 22,000-square-foot (2,000 m2) Donald R. Shepherd Women's Gymnastics Training Center was dedicated. The Shepherd Center is the practice and training home of the women's gymnastics team. The facility has 17,000 square feet (1,600 m2) of training space; the remaining 5,000 square feet (460 m2) contains a training room, coaches offices, a locker room, a team lounge, and a study area.