2014 NCAA Championships Loveliest Leo
The results are in and the Loveliest Leo from NCAA Nationals is Michigan’s “corset” leo! This leo captured our eye as soon as we saw it and Gymnastike users agreed. It breezed by the first round of polling winning with 32% of the votes (Oklahoma came in second with 28%). In the final poll, it again pulled ahead of the others and ultimately won with 50% of the votes. This gorgeous leo has a unique background story to go along with its original design. The leo was designed by Michigan gymnast Sachi Sugiyama who has become a key factor in the teams fashion. The art and design junior began designing leos for the team her sophomore year when head coach Bev Plocki casually mentioned that it’d be great if she created some of them. She took that casual comment to heart and put her head to work. Throughout last season, Sachi paid close attention to other teams’ leos, particularly during post season, “That’s when teams bust out their most impressive and prettiest leos so I was paying close attention at nationals, regionals, and big tens.” Sachi noted that Plocki would point out interesting leos during meets, “so I would sketch them real quick so I could remember the idea and hopefully incorporate them in future leos.” Sachi sketched out a total of five leos for the team for this season, taking in suggestions and feedback from her teammates and coaches along the way. After the sketches were solid, the team voted on their favorite three to become a reality.
May 2, 2014
