The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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APRIL 2019 THE WOLVERINE 65 OLYMPIC SPORTS Citadel Feb. 22, when he had a com- plete game, only allowed one hit and struck out a career-high 13 batters … That performance also earned him the National Collegiate Baseball Writers As- sociation National Pitcher of the Week honors … He received his second Big Ten Pitcher of the Week recognition after tossing eight shutout innings in a win at Cal State Northridge March 1 … On March 8, Michigan scored a big victory with Henry on the mound, defeating No. 2 UCLA 7-5 … This was the program's first win over a top-five team since 2015, when the Wolverines topped then-No. 4 Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (21-11 OVERALL, 11-7 BIG TEN) Michigan's run in the Big Ten Tourna- ment came to an end in the semifinals with a 73-72 defeat versus No. 8 Mary- land … It was the program's first ap- pearance in the semifinals since 2001 … U-M punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid for the second straight season, and drew a No. 8 seed … They will play No. 9 seed Kansas State (21-11) in round one at approximately 2 p.m. March 22 in Louis- ville, with television coverage on ESPN2 … It is the program's eighth NCAA ap- pearance … Before the Big Ten Tourna- ment, the Wolverines won eight of their last nine games to finish fourth in the conference … Freshman forward Naz Hillmon earned consensus first-team All-Big Ten honors, making her the first freshman in school history to earn a first-team nod … She received Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors six times during the season, which tied a school record … Senior center Hallie Thome was named first-team All-Big Ten by the coaches and was a second-team pick by the media … This was her third straight season picking up first-team honors … Thome joins Katelynn Flaherty as the only three-time All-Big Ten first-team selections in program history. MEN'S GOLF At the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate March 10 in Scottsdale, Ariz., Michigan finished 10th out of 12 teams … Sopho- more Henry Spring, who played as an individual, tied for 22nd at the event … U-M's top finisher at the event was freshman Ben Dunne (tied for 28th) … Senior Nick Carlson's 35 pars were tied for fourth at the event … At the Gator Invitational Feb. 16-17 in Gainesville, Junior left-handed pitcher Tommy Henry started the season strong, winning each of his first five starts and compiling a 0.51 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 35 innings. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY Men's Indoor Track And Field Best Performance: At the John Thomas Terrier Classic Jan. 26 in Boston, sopho- more Jack Aho posted one of the nation's fastest times for the 3,000 meters (7:57.54), while the duo of fifth-year senior Chase Barnett and senior Ben Hill ran two of the fastest miles in school history, 4:00.86 and 4:01.76, respectively. MVP: Fifth-year senior Joe Ellis was the Big Ten champion in the indoor weight throw with a throw of 23.46 meters … At the NCAA Indoor Championships, he finished sixth with a mark of 22.38 on his way to first-team All-America honors … This was his third straight year that Ellis earned All-American status … In all of U-M's men's indoor history, his three-year All-America streak in a single individual event is equaled by only Olympian distance runners Kevin Sullivan and Nate Brannen, and high jumper Jon Royce. Honors: Senior Andrew Liskowitz earned second-team All-America honors in the shot put, finishing 13th at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Notable: Liskowitz threw the shot put a school-record 19.67 meters at the Big Ten Indoor Championships, earning the league title. Women's Indoor Track And Field Best Performance: At the Notre Dame Alex Wilson Invitational Feb. 16, sopho- mores Chloe Foster and Alice Hill, freshman Aurora Rynda and fifth-year senior Hannah Meier ran the fastest distance medley relay in the history of the Big Ten. The Wolverines clocked a nation-leading 10:54.47 to reclaim the all-time Big Ten record in the event from Indiana. MVP: Meier was named second-team All-America at the NCAA Indoor Cham- pionships after finishing 11th overall in the mile final with a time of 4:45.80 … Meier was also the Big Ten champion in this event, along with being a part of the Big Ten champion indoor distance medley relay. Honors: The quartet of Hill, Foster, Rynda and Meier were named Big Ten Track Athletes of the Week Feb. 20 for their performance at the Alex Wilson Invitational … They were also named National Athlete of the Week, a program first, for their performance … Rynda was named Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week Jan. 23, becoming the first U-M female freshman to win the weekly honor. Notable: At the Big Ten Indoor Championships, Meier ran a school-record 4:32.46 in the mile and Rynda won the 600-meter title, becoming only the sec- ond freshman Wolverine to do so … The distance medley relay team took sixth at the NCAA Indoor Championships. — Andrew Hussey Olympic Sports Wrap-Ups