ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Bev Plocki believes everything happens for a reason.

The University of Michigan women’s gymnastics coach and Butler graduate hopes the reason Knoch graduate Natalie Beilstein is still with the team is to help it win a national championship.

“Absolutely, we’ve got a chance,” Plocki said. “We’ve got a talented group of athletes here and we’ve got depth to rotate people around, stay fresh and protect people from injury.”

Now in her 25th season at Michigan, Plocki has guiided the Wolverines to 19 NCAA Tournament berths, 18 Big Ten championships and 10 Super Six appearances during that time.

Beilstein, a first team All-Big Ten performer as a sophomore, tore her achilles in the second meet of her junior season in 2011.

After missing the balance of that season, she returned last year and was second team All-Big Ten while reaching the NCAA semifinals.

Applying for a medical redshirt, Beilstein was granted an extra year of eligibility in June.

“I definitely wanted to come back one more year and finish strong,” Beilstein said. “This is my last year in gymnastics. I won’t stay involved in the sport. I’m looking forward to pursuing social work and the next phaseof my life.

“In terms of personal goals, I have none. But our team goals are to win the Big Ten, get to nationals, the Super Six and finish somewhere in the top three. I want to do what I can to help us get there.”

Plocki says she can do plenty.

“Natalie is a very talented young lady who continues to get better,” the coach said. “You’re talking about someone capable of scoring 9.9 or better in three events (floor exercise, uneven bars and vault). She is an impact performer.”

Already this season, Beilstein has been named Big Ten Specialist of the Week for her performance in Michigan’s tri-meet win at Iowa State recently. She scored a 9.9 on uneven bars, 9.8 on vault and 9.850 in floor exercise.

That’s not bad for an athlete who, less than two years ago, wasn’t sure she would have a spot on the team.

“There’s only so many scholarships available each year and I wasn’t sure, coming back for a fifth year, there would be one for me,” Beilstein said. “I’m just happy to be back.”

“We’re elated to have her back,” Plocki said. “We happened to have an extra scholarship available and it worked out. Like I said, things happen for a reason.”

Beilstein said she’s 100 percent healthy now, but the process took a while. She went from being Big Ten Freshman of the Year, a Big Ten champion on vault and NCAA regional champion on floor exercise to not being able to walk for four months.

“Basically, she was starting over from scratch,” Plocki said of Beilstein’s recovery from the achilles tear. “It took a lot of time and patience.”

“I was scared,” Beilstein admitted. “I had never had a serious injury before.

“The rehab was intense. I had to strengthen my calf again and I gained 12 pounds from being idle. The hardest part was getting myself back into shape to compete and losing that weight.”

All told, Beilstein spent 10 months building herself back into a gymnast again.

The nature of her sport aided her return.

“Gymnasts are perfectionists. We know we can’t be perfect, but it’s what we strive for,” Beilstein said. “We’re never satisfied. We are our own worst critics.

“Nobody is harder in critiquing my performance than I am.”

But while she does so, it’s with a smile on her face.

“Natalie has a great personality. She’s fun to be with in the gym,” Plocki said.”We like to have fun at practice, keep things light, and she’s at the height of that.

“She brings the right perspective every day. She just enjoys doing this.”

And she’s been great at it.

Her resume includes being a two-time national champion in floor exercise with the Butler Hy-Flyers, a three-time all-conference selection at Michigan, winning an NCAA regional title in floor exercise and being a two-time NCAA All-American.

“Now I’m looking for a big finish,” Beilstein said.

“She’s got the ability of being a first team All-American in vault, bars and floor exercise,” Plocki said. “There’s nothing out of her reach.”