The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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56 THE WOLVERINE JANUARY 2020 OLYMPIC SPORTS Northwestern's always good. Illinois is good. There's a lot of depth." Top Players: "It's interesting," Ber- nstein said. "We have different peo- ple stepping up as leaders. [Gradu- ated seniors] Kate [Fahey] and Bri [Minor] were the heart and soul of the program for such a long time. We have three seniors — Lera Patiuk, Chiara Lommer and Giulia Pairone — who are stepping into that leader- ship role. We're going to need a lot from those guys clearly as we move forward into this season here. "Giulia transferred from Arkan- sas. She's going to play high in the lineup. She actually had a really good fall. She brings great energy. She's a good competitor. She cares a lot about the team and will have a big impact. If the match is on the line, Chiara is who I want out there. She's unbelievable under pressure. She stays calm on court, which is inter- esting because she's always nervous before a match. Everybody is ner- vous, but she handles the pressure well and is a great competitor." Players to Watch: "I think the fans will like our freshmen, Andrea Cer- dan and Nicole Hammond," Bern- stein said. "They hit the ball super clean. It's going to depend on how that fits into the college scene; how they get used to playing on a team and dealing with the pressure of that. "Cerdan is just a little thing. She's tiny, but probably hits the ball big- ger than anyone on our team. Ham- mond, as well, provides a lot of room for growth. She's quiet, but I think she has a really big upside." Men's Track & Field First Event: Jan. 11 at the Wolver- ine Invitational in U-M's Indoor Track Building. Coach's Expectations: "Last year, our indoor season didn't go really well," head coach Jerry Clayton said. "Outdoors was significantly better, es- pecially at the national level [where U-M tied for 26th]. This year, especially with adding our newcomers and with who we have returning, we have a team that can be realistically in the top half [of the Big Ten]. It will be a chal- lenge, but top three would be a really good place to be at." Top Performers: Andrew Liskowitz, Updates On Olympic Sports In Progress Women's Basketball (9-1 Overall, 0-0 Big Ten) After sophomore forward Naz Hillmon and senior forward Kayla Robbins each contributed a double-double in Michigan's only loss of the season against Notre Dame on Nov. 23, the Wolverines answered with a five-game win streak against Eastern Michigan, Morgan State, Syracuse, Oakland and Appalachian State … The overtime win over Syracuse featured a 10-point comeback effort, fueled by Robbins' career-best 23 points and six rebounds, along with Hillmon's 16 points and seven rebounds … The team was ranked 24th nationally by the Associated Press and No. 22 by the coaches in the Week 7 polls released Dec. 16 and 17, respectively. Men's Swimming and Diving (3-1 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) Led by junior Ross Todd's sweep of the diving events, Michigan placed sec- ond of seven teams at the Minnesota Invite in early December … In the four days of competition, Michigan achieved 46 swimming and eight diving NCAA standards … "Our team became so much better as a result of this meet," head coach Mike Bottom said afterwards. "We saw a lot of improvement and best times all up and down the team. Our divers, too, did an exceptional job." … The squad checked in at No. 3 nationally in the Dec. 11 coaches' poll. Women's Swimming and Diving (3-0 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) Maggie MacNeil tied the NCAA and U.S. Open records, swimming a 49.26 in the 100-yard butterfly, to help lead Michigan to a second-place finish at the Minnesota Invite four-day competition in early December … Other Wolverine event winners were junior Sierra Schmidt in the 1,650-yard freestyle, senior Mi- randa Tucker in the 200-yard breaststroke and junior Christy Cutshaw in plat- form diving … U-M was ranked fifth nationally in the Dec. 11 coaches' poll, an increase of 13 slots from its standing in the previous edition released Nov. 13. Wrestling (1-1 overall, 0-0 Big Ten) The Wolverines won five of the last six weight classes to top Central Michigan, 22-12, in a Nov. 24 dual meet … Sophomore Mason Parris scored a pair of first- period takedowns and used 1:30 of riding time to beat sixth-ranked Tanner Hall of Arizona State, 6-3, to win the heavyweight division of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational … The team is ranked No. 22 in the land by the coaches' poll that was released Dec. 10 … In individual rankings, freshman Cole Mattin is ranked No. 16 nationally at 141 pounds, redshirt freshman Will Lewan is No. 11 at 157, redshirt sophomore Jelani Embree is No. 16 at 184 and Parris is No. 2 at heavyweight according to FloWrestling. — Bob Miller Through the Wolverines' 9-1 start, senior for- ward Kayla Robbins is averaging 11.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY