Opening up the 2026 season with an intrasquad meet gave the Michigan women’s gymnastics team a chance to showcase its potential while cleaning up mistakes.
“This meet is to work out the kinks and to make some mistakes,” Wolverines coach Maile’ana Kanewa-Hermelyn said.
With six sophomores and five freshmen on the roster this year, the team is relatively young. For many of Michigan’s gymnasts, this was the first time that all the eyes and lights in Crisler Center were focused on them. This inevitably created ample room for mistakes. Mistakes that brought the Wolverines’ final score to 194.975, short of an ideal tally of 197 to 198.
Freshmen Quincy Walters and Myli Lew debuted their potential, but experienced a few blunders in the process. After a difficult routine on the floor, Walters faltered and stepped out of bounds, deducting points from her score. However, the mistake had no effect on her composure and she finished her routine without looking back, claiming a 9.525 from the judge bench.
In comparison, Lew demonstrated a strong performance on the floor, but could not repeat the same process when it came time for the bars rotation. She added an extra handstand on the low bar and landed with both knees on the mat, receiving an 8.900. These hiccups may have sounded the alarm, but they are certainly fixable.
“We had some mistakes tonight,” Kanewa-Hermelyn said. “There were some uncharacteristic (mistakes) and some that have been happening in the gym, so it’s a really good first test for our athletes to get some pressure. (The freshmen have) never done this before, but the fact that they were able to fight through the routine, come back and still finish strong is amazing.”
While there may have been some shaky routines throughout the first three rotations, Michigan did not hesitate on the beam and delivered a performance worthy of the 49.225 it received.
Historically this is not a surprise. Beam was the Wolverines’ top-ranked event throughout the 2025 season. Gymnast after gymnast stuck their landing as if there was glue on the mat, demonstrating incredible attention to detail and composure. Junior Kayli Boozer exhibited prowess and confidence on the beam, executing a back handspring and layout step-outs so smoothly she appeared not to touch the beam at all and ending with a 9.900.
The mistakes that Michigan exhibited throughout this meet are to be expected for a team going through many transformations. With Kanewa-Hermelyn taking over the helm from decorated former head coach Bev Plocki, the Wolverines will also have to adjust to the new leadership. However, this doesn’t seem to phase Kanewa-Hermelyn or her team.
“(Plocki’s) done amazing things with this team, and we have a legacy of not just winning, but being a great championship-like team. They’re big shoes to fill, but I see it as an opportunity,” Kanewa-Hermelyn said. “I don’t get nervous, I get excited. A fire lit under me to get us back to that level.”
While there were many mistakes Friday night, Michigan is exactly where it needs to be. The Intrasquad event revealed that under the lights, the Wolverines still need to iron out some kinks. However, now they know exactly what to work on in order to show up and show out when the official season begins.
