Michigan gymnastics wins Big Ten; Michigan State second

Michigan gymnast Abby Heiskell won her second straight Big Ten all-around title helping lead the Wolverines to the program’s 27^th Big Ten title, and eighth in nine years.

The Wolverines finished with a 198.00 at the Big Ten championship at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa, on Saturday. Michigan State finished second with 197.550 points, the Spartans’ highest team score at the Big Ten Championships.

Michigan coach Bev Plocki, who has the most Big Ten titles of any coach in any sport, saw the Wolverines win their second straight Big Ten championship, her 26th overall.

Heiskell had the only perfect score of the day with a 10.0 on the beam, the first at the Big Ten Championships since Penn State's Nikki Smith in 2000. Heiskell added a 9.950 on bars to share the title with Illinois’ Mia Takekawa, Michigan teammates Carly Bauman, Sierra Brooks and Natalie Wojcik, and Michigan State’s Delanie Harkness. Michigan’s Gabby Wilson, Michigan State’s Sage Kellerman and Minnesota’s Mya Hooten shared the Big Ten title on vault with a total of 9.925, while Iowa’s JerQuavia Henderson and the Gophers’ Hooten shared the conference title on the floor with a score of 9.950.

Brooks was named the 2023 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year for the second straight year, it was announced after the championships. She is the third Michigan gymnast to earn the honor twice or more, joining Beth Wymer, who was a three-time gymnast of the year, and Sarah Cain, who earned the award twice.

Entering the Big Ten Championship, Brooks ranked fifth nationally on the vault, seventh in the all-around, 17th on the beam and 18th on the uneven bars.

The Wolverines now await the site of their NCAA Regional, which begins March 30 with the final on April 1. The NCAA championships are April 13-15.