“The thrills of winning a national championship are as exciting as they are because everybody goes through the lows of lows, which is what we’re experiencing right now,” Michigan head coach Bev Plocki told the Wolverines after being eliminated from the postseason at regionals. “That’s athletics; that’s what we signed up for here.”
Just two years after winning an NCAA title, the 2023 NCAA championships looked a lot different for the Wolverines, who qualified just four individuals after losing a tiebreaker to LSU in at the Denver regional final to miss out on advancing as a team. But, for Michigan’s two fifth-years, qualifying for a fourth national championships just continues to add to their Wolverine legacy.
Natalie Wojcik took the competition floor for the final time on uneven bars, where she crushed her signature Deltchev to notch a 9.925 and a share of 10th place. After starting her NCAA career as national champion on balance beam as a freshman back in 2019 and taking home the AAI Award in 2022, she leaves as one of the most decorated Wolverines in history. But, it’s not her accolades that head coach Bev Plocki will remember Wojcik by.
“[Wojcik] brought that veteran, ‘I’m gonna hit this routine no matter what the level pressure is gonna be out…
