The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1147681
AUGUST 2019 THE WOLVERINE 17 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Student-Athlete Of The Month Women's Soccer Junior Midfielder Alia Martin Women's soccer midfielder Alia Martin got off to an out- standing start to her sopho- more campaign in 2018, start- ing all 11 of the contests she appeared in and tallying seven points (which wound up being fourth most on the team), with two goals and three assists. A foot injury in September caused her to miss the rest of the year, however, and she could only watch as her Wol- verines stumbled to a 9-9-1 overall record that culminated with a first-round exit in the Big Ten Tournament. "I had never had a major in- jury in my life that kept me out for months on end," she admit- ted. "The fact that it happened in September and wound up holding me out six to eight months was pretty transforming for me. "It was a partially torn/sprained ligament in my midfoot, and was right over a joint. Any time I'd move, the joint would open up further than it should and cause pain and instability. I've seen teammates suffer major injuries and have al- ways tried to support them, but it's pretty eye-opening when it actually happens to you. It takes a lot more drive than people realize to get through it." Although last year's injury cost Martin nearly half of her sophomore campaign, she admitted that the recovery process has only made her better. "I'm physically stronger now because I've been rehabbing for several months, and have been trying to build up the muscles around my foot," she explained. "I'm mentally stronger too — going through something that takes so much time to recover makes you relearn how to love the game, and reminds you what it takes to get back to that top level. "I'm back to 100 percent." Though the injury was obviously a setback for Martin on the athletic side of things, she still excelled in the classroom by grabbing Academic All-Big Ten honors as a dual major in psychology and cognitive science. "It's always special to be honored for something that's both athletic and aca- demic-related, because it's such a time commitment to do both at this level," she explained. "For all that work to pay off with the academic recognition is pretty cool to see." With her foot healed up and back to 100 percent, Martin admitted her excite- ment for this season is at an all-time high. The Maize and Blue will officially begin the 2019 campaign Aug. 22 when the Marshall Thundering Herd visit Ann Arbor. "I've noticed in the conversations I've had with both coaches and players that everyone is incredibly excited to get back after it as a team," she exclaimed. "Coach [Jennifer Klein] has a new system in place involving the way she trains us and the way we play soccer — it furthers our ability to understand what she's putting in place and how to execute it. "The fact that we have so many upperclassmen to go along with several good freshmen and sophomores will make for an exciting season. We all realize the huge opportunity in front of us." — Austin Fox Martin finished fourth on the team last year with seven points, despite playing in only 11 of the team's 19 games. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY DID YOU KNOW... Your home address will be automatically changed to the mailing address on file with the US Postal Service? ALL addresses are cross-referenced with the USPS National Change of Address database. It can take up to 7 days for the USPS to update your address in their database? To prevent missed issues, please notify the US Postal Service ASAP. Your postal forwarding order expires in 60 days or less? Most forwarding requests expire in 60 days and DO NOT always include periodical mail. Issues are discarded at their discretion. You should call your local post office to verify your delivery address? Don't assume the post office knows your vacation or moving schedule. AVOID COSTLY DELAYS & REPLACEMENTS! Wolverine Customer Service: 1–800–421–7751 We are happy to assist, but due to privacy laws all postal address changes must be completed by you.