The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2019 THE WOLVERINE 17 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS all seven showdowns while averaging 7.4 points and a team- high 7.6 boards in 25.3 minutes of action per contest. T h e r i s i n g - s o p h - omore ranked 13th overall at the tournament in rebounds per game, accumulating at least 10 boards in three tilts. The team finish actually marked the second gold medal for the forward, who also helped the USA Basketball U18 club take home the top prize at last summer's FIBA Americas Championship. Men's track and field rising-se- nior thrower Andrew Liskowitz: He finished 12th in the nation at the USA Championships meet July 26 in Des Moines, Iowa, with his best throw checking in at 19.93 meters (65 feet, 4.75 inches) on his third and last attempt. Even though Liskow- itz did not advance to the eight-man final for three additional tosses, he still accumulated an excellent se- ries of 19.74 meters (64 feet, 9.25 inches), 19.47 meters (63 feet, 10.5 inches) and the aforementioned 19.93 meters. The event concluded an outdoor season for Liskowitz that saw him tally an average distance of 19.54 meters (64 feet, 1.25 inches) on 44 throws. Water polo rising-senior utility player Maddy Steere: She guided Australia to a bronze medal at the 2019 FINA World Championships July 26 in Gwangju, South Korea. The medal was the first for Steere with the senior national team, and her first since taking home gold at the 2015 World University Games. In the bronze medal game, Austra- lia took down Hungary 10-9, but lost 7-2 to eventual champion Team USA in the semifinals. The Aussies also defeated Russia (9-7) in the quarter- finals and Kazakhstan (13-3) in the preliminary round. Steere's 42 assists and 97 points were each second most for the Wolverines last year, while her 55 goals checked in third. — Austin Fox Student-Athlete Of The Month Field Hockey Rising-Redshirt Sophomore Midfielder Emma Tamer Rising-redshirt sophomore midfielder Emma Tamer has seen her Wolverines rack up quite the list of accomplish- ments during her two-year collegiate tenure, claiming both the Big Ten reg- ular-season and tournament titles with a 21-3 overall record in 2017, before repeating as regular-season champs in 2018. Tamer played in 10 games last year after redshirting as a freshman in 2017, but is expected to take on the biggest role of her career during the 2019 cam- paign that kicks off Aug. 30 against North Carolina. "We're focused on our culture and making sure we're one united family," she explained. "We're also emphasizing accountability and ensuring our culture is both authentic and honest. All our core values that involve hard work are obviously still being stressed as well. "My personal goals simply involve creating that culture as an upperclassman, and making sure the freshmen coming in understand what we're trying to build here. Tenacious is a word I would use to describe what I want my play to look like this season." Though Tamer's athletic contributions are expected to expand in a big way in 2019, her academic performance has already been flourishing during her two years in Ann Arbor. Not only did she receive U-M's Athletic Academic Achievement Award in 2018, but she was also tabbed to both the Academic All-Big Ten team and the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Collegiate National Academic squad. However, Tamer admitted the award from the university itself has been the most meaningful classroom accomplishment during her time in Ann Arbor. "Michigan puts on a dinner every year to honor student-athletes with outstand- ing GPAs, and to have been a part of that ceremony was an honor in itself," she recalled. "To know you've surpassed a threshold the school holds in high esteem is a special feeling. Declaring my major [statistics] was also exciting to me, though I've actually been thinking about going to law school once my field hockey days come to an end. "I've recently been thinking about attending graduate school and then doing a JD-PhD, which is a program where you can get a PhD in law in about five years. I'd potentially become a lawyer after that." The fact that the rising-redshirt sophomore may someday be in line for more schooling at Michigan shouldn't necessarily come as a surprise when taking a closer look at her background. Born in Whitmore Lake, Mich. (13 miles from Ann Arbor), Tamer's father played ice hockey at U-M from 1989-93, while her mother participated in field hockey for the Wolverines during that same four-year span. "I learned the ABCs when I was a baby, and then the next song I learned was 'Hail to the Victors,'" Tamer said with a laugh. "I grew up loving Michigan, and that's something that will never change. It just happened to be a coincidence that Michi- gan was both right in my backyard and the best university in the world. "I had heard all the stories about U-M from my parents and had attended games growing up, so I knew this was exactly what I wanted when I decided to come here." — Austin Fox Last year, Tamer received Academic All- Big Ten and National Field Hockey Coaches Association National Academic honors. PHOTO BY SAM JANICKI/MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY