For sixteen straight Aprils, the Michigan women’s gymnastics team booked a trip to a 12-team meet that would decide that particular season’s national championship.

After a while, the Wolverines’ participation in NCAAs was just taken for granted.

But last year, after a lackluster performance in the Regional championships, Michigan’s streak ended abruptly. Since that major disappointment, the Wolverines have worked to make sure it didn’t happen again this year.

“Usually we give the team a couple of weeks off at the end of the season, just to relax and wind down a little but,” Michigan coach Bev Plocki said. “But they’ve been on a mission ever since we got back from that Regional. They were asking us to get in the gym immediately, and they busted they’re butts all summer long.”

Today, Michigan’s mission will come full circle, as they compete in the first round of the NCAA meet with opponents No. 1 Alabama, Florida, Stanford, Arkansas and Missouri. The top three teams will move onto Friday’s Super Six, the winner of which is crowned national champion.

And, although Michigan did avenge last season’s setback, the team is not satisfied just yet.

No member of the current roster has competed in a Super Six, since the Wolverines’ last appearance was 2005.

“We’re playing some of the top teams in the country, but we know we can beat them (and advance to the Super Six),” junior Kylee Botterman said. “We have the talented and we’ve prepared ourselves; we’re not scared or nervous. If we’re at the top of our game and we hit 24 for 24, we know we’ll make it.”

Michigan are the 11th-seeded team of 12 in the meet, after a rough performance on the beam in the Regionals almost cost them a spot. But, in the practices leading up to the Nationals, the team put its main focus on the event.

Tomorrow, Michigan will kick off its meet on the beam, and if the Wolverines hit their marks, it would be huge momentum going into the rest of the meet.

“Our confidence level will be through the roof,” Plocki said. “There’s no doubt they we can have a very good meet if we hit on the beam.”

Even though the Wolverines have such a low seed, the team knows that, at this point in the season, a meet is any teams to win.

“Any little thing can be the difference at Nationals,” Plocki said. “We just have to relax and enjoy ourselves. That’s when we’re best as gymnasts, when we’re having fun.”

Besides the team competition, the Wolverines could take home some individual titles, as well. In the Regionals, Botterman won the all-around competition and the floor, freshman Natalie Beilstein won the floor exercise and senior Jordan Sexton won the uneven bars title.