Natalie Wojcik was always sure she wanted to use her extra year of eligibility due to the Covid pandemic. For her classmate Abby Heiskell, the decision was harder.
Bev Plocki made her 2022 seniors aware that there were two scholarship spots open if they wanted to return for a fifth season. Abby Brenner had entered the transfer portal early to pursue that opportunity elsewhere; she ended up at Utah. Wojcik had already asked if there would be a spot available about halfway through the 2022 season since she knew she wanted to pursue a Master’s in social work.
Heiskell felt like she was done. She wanted to graduate and go to nursing school. She came into college off of an Achilles tear suffered in her senior year of high school, having to fight her way back into health and the lineups. She clinched the Wolverines’ 2021 title with a lights-out beam performance and had a stellar 2022 highlighted by her first career perfect 10.
Plocki joked with Heiskell that she could cut floor out of her program if it meant she’d come back. After her Achilles injury, that was the event that gave Heiskell the most trouble.
“I said, all right, what do we have to do to make this deal happen?” said Plocki.
Unsure what to do in her career after graduating an academic All-American with a…
