Beilstein Honored with 3rd Conference Award
With only four weeks into the 2010 gymnastics season, Natalie Beilstein has already made a name for herself on the collegiate scene. Just today, she earned her third Big Ten Freshmen of the Week award after winning floor exercise (9.9), placing second on vault (9.850), and finishing third on beam (9.825) at Iowa State last Friday. Recently, her hometown paper, The Butler Eagle, published an article on the freshman which is reprinted below.
Reprinted from The Butler Eagle
Beilstein a star in Mich. debut: Wolverines get victories from county gymnast
By John Enrietto, Eagle Sports Editor
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — With only one college meet under her belt, University of Michigan freshman gymnast Natalie Beilstein has visions of Big Ten and NCAA championships dancing in her head.
Is it a delusion of grandeur or a realistic goal?
“Those goals are very feasible,” Michigan coach Beverly Plocki said. “She and I have talked about that very thing at length.
“Natalie is focused. She’s determined. And she’s very, very talented.”
Plocki would know. She’s coached Michigan to 16 Big Ten titles, guided Elise Ray to three NCAA championships in 2001 and Beth Wymer to NCAA uneven bars titles from 1993-95.
A Knoch graduate, Beilstein was a two-time Junior Olympics national champion in floor exercise for the Butler Hy-Flyers. She was a six-time state champion and a four-time regional champion.
And she wants more.
“There are a lot of gymnastics left in her,” Plocki said. “Natalie trained for 20 hours or less a week during those years. Some elite kids hit the gym twice a day, put in more than 40 hours per week.
“By the time they reach college, they’re beat up and burned out. Natalie’s not that way at all.”
Plocki would know about that as well. Her maiden name is Beverly Fry and she’s a 1982 Butler graduate who won a PIAA championship in gymnastics under Coach Steve Heasley at Butler High. Heasley was Beilstein’s coach with the Hy-Flyers.
Plocki used that local tie to follow Beilstein’s Junior Olympic career closely.
“Natalie and I have developed a special connection, being from the same hometown. I’m thrilled to have her here,” Plocki said.
Beilstein wants to thrill the fans at Crisler Arena for years to come.
She’s off to a good start, placing first in floor exercise and vault in the Wolverines’ season-opening meet against Iowa and Bowling Green before 2,662 fans Saturday in the Michigan arena.
Beilstein scored a 9.875 in the vault and a 9.850 in the floor exercise.
“I was nervous,” Beilstein admitted. “I’m nervous before every meet. I guess it’s nervous energy.
“I loved the energy in the arena, though. I loved the applause I got. The crowd really gets into it.”
The crowds at Junior Olympic meets watch floor exercises in silence. College crowds react loudly to that portion of the meet.
Michigan fans were chanting “10, 10, 10 …” when Beilstein’s routine was finished.
“Once Natalie adapts to the crowd and learns to play to the crowd, she’ll get still better,” Plocki said. “She’s already made tremendous strides from September until now.”
While Beilstein excels in floor exercise and on the vault, her desire is to compete in the all-around at Michigan. She’s working harder on the uneven bars and balance beam to reach that point.
“I believe I can win Big Ten and NCAA championships on the floor and vault this year,” she said. “That’s my target. But I want to be among the best on our team in everything.
“We compete against other teams and we compete against each other. That’s the nature of this sport.”
Fellow freshmen Brittnee Martinez and Katie Zurales also earned top-five finishes in their debut meet for the Wolverines, who are ranked No. 12 in the country.
Plocki has taken numerous teams to the NCAA Championships and has finished as high as second in the team standings there.
“This year’s team is extremely talented, but we have to stay healthy. We don’t have much depth,” she said.
Beilstein is only the second gymnast Plocki has plucked from Butler County. Chelsea Kroll from X-Cel Gymnastics in Cranberry Township competed at Michigan from 2002-05.
“Chelsea had a solid career with us. Natalie has the potential to have a great one. It’s up to her,” Plocki said.
Standing only 5 feet tall, Beilstein isn’t afraid to stand up to the challenge.
“Limit mistakes and I can go a long way because I know I’m going to be pushed in practice every day,” Beilstein said. “That’s one of the reasons I came here.”