The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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90 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2020 OLYMPIC SPORTS right field is senior Christian Bullock, who batted .263 with two home runs, 14 RBI and 14 steals in 2019. "I really like the positions that are really defensive-centered," Bakich said. "Returning starters up the mid- dle of the field with Joe Donovan and Jack Blomgren and Jesse Franklin, and to have some big-time sluggers back like Jordan Nwogu is great." Bakich said the goals at U-M are to win the national championship and Big Ten championship, but in the short term it's day-to-day improvement in an effort to maximize the team's potential. "In order to even come close to ac- complishing our destination goals, it's the process goals that happen on a daily basis that need to be in the fore- front, at the front of your mind," he noted. "You know what the end des- tination is, you know what the top of the mountain is, but it's how you take the next step to climb that mountain. "That's where we put the majority of our focus, simply because that's what's most important, because that's what's happening in the mo- ment. Whatever we're doing next is the most important thing we're do- ing at that point in the season." WOMEN'S GOLF First Event: IJGA Collegiate Invi- tational Feb. 16-18 at Guadalajara, Mexico Coach's Expectations: "We're train- ing to compete and we're training to win," head coach Jan Dowling said. Women's Basketball (16-9 Overall, 7-7 Big Ten) Senior guard Akienreh Johnson (24 points, 11 rebounds) and sophomore forward Naz Hillmon (20 points, 12 re- bounds) each put up double-doubles in a 71-57 win over Rutgers Jan. 26 … Hillmon went for 27 points, eight re- bounds and a career-high five assists in an 81-73 loss at No. 23 Northwestern Jan. 30, then poured in a career-high 30 points in a 78-63 win over No. 18 Iowa Feb. 2 to earn Big Ten and ESPNW Player of the Week Feb. 3 … ESPN's Charlie Creme had the Wolverines as a No. 10 seed in his Feb. 18 bracket projection. Men's Gymnastics (9-0 Overall, 1-0 Big Ten) Michigan beat No. 9 Ohio State Feb. 1, winning four out of six events as a team and five individual events … No. 3 U-M knocked off No. 2 Oklahoma for the first time in an Ann Ar- bor dual meet since 2007, winning five of seven team events and earning victories in five individual events, highlighted by two wins each from freshman Paul Juda and junior Cam- eron Brock … The Wolverines' team score of 416.500 was the third-highest mark in the country this season. Women's Gymnastics (7-0 Overall, 5-0 Big Ten) Michigan registered a victory at No. 17 Nebraska Jan. 30, highlighted by sophomore Abby Brenner winning vault with a career-high 9.950 … Two-time captain Lexi Funk has been nominated as a finalist for the AAI Award, given to the nation's top senior gymnast … The Wolverines are ranked at No. 9 in the country following wins over Ohio State Feb. 9 and Iowa Feb. 14. Men's Swimming And Diving (6-1 Overall, 4-1 Big Ten) Third-ranked U-M defeated Michigan State 195-76 on se- nior night Jan. 31 … Four seniors combined for seven indi- vidual event wins, with Tommy Cope, Jacob Montague and Miles Smachlo each winning two events … The Wolverines will participate in the Big Ten Championships Feb. 26-28 in Bloomington, Ind. Women's Swimming And Diving (6-0 Overall, 4-0 Big Ten) No. 1-ranked U-M defeated Michigan State 181-83 Jan. 31, winning 15 of 16 events and capping off the program's third straight undefeated season … Senior Miranda Tucker won three events (100-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard individual medley) against the Spartans … The Wolverines are seeking their 18th Big Ten championship in Iowa City Feb. 19-22. Men's Tennis (10-2 Overall, 0-0 Big Ten) U-M defeated No. 8 TCU 4-2 Feb. 1 … At the ITA National Indoor Championship Feb. 14-16, the 13th-ranked Wolver- ines beat No. 7 Texas A&M (4-3) and No. 4 Texas (4-2), before falling to No. 1 USC (4-3) in the semifinals. Women's Tennis (4-4 Overall, 0-0 Big Ten) At the ITA National Indoor Championship Feb. 7-9, the Wolverines lost to No. 1 Stanford (4-3) and No. 12 Ohio State (4-3), before knocking off Illinois (4-1) … The No. 12 Wolver- ines also fell to No. 13 Virginia (4-1) in Charlottesville Feb. 15. Men's Indoor Track And Field U-M posted six top-five finishes on the final day of action at the non-scoring Notre Dame Meyo Invitational Feb. 8 … Sophomore Cole Johnson led the Wolverines as the top finisher in the unseeded sections of track events, winning the 800-meter competition in a career-best mark of 1:50.71 … At the non-scoring Vanderbilt Music City Challenge, U-M swept the throwing events, led by All-American fifth-year senior Andrew Liskowitz in the shot put. Women's Indoor Track And Field Senior Courtney Jacobson improved her own school weight throw record as she went 20.17 meters in the Vander- bilt Music City Challenge Feb. 14, which was sixth among the competitors … The 4x400 relay team of junior Emma Lane, senior Jade Harrison, senior Julia Hall and junior Chloe Foster shattered the U-M record, posting a time of 3:36.70 at the Arkansas Tyson Invitational Feb. 15. Water Polo (5-6 Overall, 0-0 CWPA) U-M notched three top-25 wins when the team hosted the Michigan Invitational, beating No. 21 Wagner (11-8), No. 11 Pacific (7-4) and No. 9 UCSB (7-6) … In the event, the Wol- verines did fall to No. 5 UCLA (12-4) … Senior goalkeeper Heidi Ritner recorded a season-high 12 saves in the win over Pacific … U-M lost all three of its games in the Stanford Invitational Feb. 1-2, losing to No. 6 Cal (10-8), No. 2 Stanford (13-10) and No. 11 UC Davis (11-6). Wrestling (6-6 Overall, 5-4 Big Ten) The Wolverines took down No. 23 Rutgers 21-16 Feb. 1 at Madison Square Garden … Sophomore heavyweight Mason Parris sealed the victory with a pin in 1:17 … No. 22 U-M lost 20-12 in its Big Ten dual finale at No. 12 Wisconsin, dropping three individual matches by just one point. — Clayton Sayfie Updates On Michigan Olympic Sports In Progress