The best way to catch a rabbit in the wild is to set up a trap, find a big juicy carrot, dangle it in front of the rabbit, then pull back the bait and close the trap door at the last minute.
The poor rabbit thought it had just found a free gift, when all of a sudden, it turns out to be nothing more than a slap in the face.
What appeared to be a big juicy treat to the Michigan women's gymnastics team early on this weekend eventually spelled doom for the Wolverines, who finished fourth at the NCAA championships - 0.65 points behind champion UCLA.
After finishing fourth overall in Thursday's preliminary rounds and qualifying for the championships, Michigan drew Olympic order for Friday's competition. The Wolverines would compete, in order, on the vault, uneven bars, beam and floor - just as they had during the regular season.
And like a big juicy carrot, that's usually a good thing. Michigan was undefeated at Cliff Keen Arena this year and won the Central Regional championship at Crisler, with a record-breaking 197.7 all-around score, just two weeks ago - all in that order.
But Michigan coach Bev Plocki realized that the Olympic order would eventually spell doom for the Wolverines at the NCAA championships. Tied with UCLA heading into the evening's last apparatus, Michigan finished its season on the floor - and didn't get any carrots in the process.
The floor exercise - usually a solid event for the Wolverines in the regular season - received lower scores across the board at the championships.
Teams averaged a 49.3 on the vault and bars on Friday but only a 49.0 on the floor.
"Having to end on the events that were being the most tightly judged ended up being a disadvantage for us," Plocki said. "UCLA ended on their best event, which is the uneven bars. We were tied going into the last rotation, but us ending on floor and them ending on bars made a very big difference."
In the end, Michigan found itself stuck in a cage at the conclusion of the championship, looking out at UCLA as the Bruins hopped away with carrots in their mouths and smiles on their faces.
But the Wolverines would not go completely hungry. There was some bait left at the bottom of the cage - it wasn't a big juicy carrot, but it still tasted good.
"Our team did an absolutely outstanding job and I'm very pleased with their performance," Plocki said. "I'm just proud to say that we were on the podium and we've been on the podium three out of the last four years, and I think that's quite an accomplishment."
Fourth-best in the nation is quite an accomplishment and, unlike the poor doomed rabbit, the Wolverines will get plenty more shots at the prized juicy carrot.
Michigan is young and its strength lies in its youth. Sarah Cain - far and away the team's best performer all year - is only a freshman, and she will inevitably get three more shots at an NCAA title.
"Eighty-five percent of our team or better are freshmen or sophomores," Plocki said. "We've got a great group of freshmen coming in next year. I think that the next three years are going to be stellar years for Michigan, as long as we can stay healthy."