The gymnastics team (1-0) will face Michigan (4-2) tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor.
The Wolfpack is ranked 25th in the nation after posting a 192.675 against Illinois-Chicago. The team is led by junior Taylor Seaman and senior Ashley Shepard. Both are ranked nationally on floor with Seaman also ranked on the uneven bars. The Pack is also led by freshman Jess Panza who was named EAGL rookie of the week after posting two 9.8 first place finishes on vault and balance beam last week.
“Our goal for the end of the season is to be ranked in the top 18 in the country,” coach Mark Stevenson said. ‘For us to get to that would mean that we would be seeded to regionals so we would only have two other teams in the top 18 in our regional instead of having possible four other teams from the top 18.”
According to freshman Brooke Barr, the team is on the right path.
“I think that knowing we are top 25 makes us want to push harder and do better because we want that top 20 spot, we want that top 18, we want to make it to nationals,” Barr said. “It is definitely possible as long as we keep working hard and keep the right mentality.”
The Pack are on the road today to face the pre-season number eight team in the country. According to sophomore Brittney Hardiman the travel and excitement will offer new experiences and challenges for the young team.
“We have a very young team and a lot of the freshmen haven’t traveled yet, so it will be there first opportunity,” Hardiman said. “Also, we are flying all day Thursday; it is just something that is different. A lot of excitement comes from traveling, and you learn how to use it to your advantage.”
While the team is traveling to face Michigan, coach Stevenson said it is not the Wolverines the Pack will be competing against.
“Even though we are competing against Michigan, they’re really not the people we have to compete against. In football, you have to stay at home and take care of your gap, or in basketball, you have to play your man and not get lost in the crowd. Well for us, it’s about doing what we do,” coach Stevenson said. “
We focus on our routines and making sure we are confident in what we were doing. We go out and do our routines to the best of our ability and Michigan goes out and does theirs to the best of their ability and the team with the higher score is going to win. If we do ours more consistently than they do, we have a chance to win.”
According to Barr, the support system within the team helped the team prepare to do well.
“We are going to do great. We have a really young team, so it is hard, but we have the potential to do well this weekend,” Barr said. “We have a great support system — everybody is here for everybody. The seniors have been through this for four years and they know exactly what needs to be done and they make sure to relay that to us so that we are not hit with shock.”
