The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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66 THE WOLVERINE APRIL 2020 OLYMPIC SPORTS right all four events and the all-around title on Jan. 18 to win 196.700-195.650. Freshman Sierra Brooks won on balance beam, floor exercise and captured the all-around crown. MVP — Sierra Brooks: She ranked No. 11 in the country in the all-around. She tied for 15th on vault, tied for 32nd on bars, 35th on beam and tied for 37th on floor. Honors: Senior Lexi Funk was named one of 32 nominees for the AAI Award, given to the nation's top senior wom- en's gymnast … Senior Natalie Wojcik won four Big Ten Gymnast of the Week awards this season … Brooks won seven consecutive Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards. Notable: U-M was ranked No. 5 in the country to end the season and won the Big Ten regular-season title for the fourth consecutive year. Men's Lacrosse (4-3, 0-0 Big Ten) Best Per formance — Win over Canisius: U-M took down Canisius on Feb. 18, 16-8, behind a record-setting performance by sophomore attackman Bryce Clay, who tied the school record for goals in a game with six while only playing three quarters. MVP — Freshman midfielder Josh Zawada: He led the team with 32 points and 16 assists, and was also sec- ond on the team in goals, notching 16. The Raleigh, N.C., native led the nation in points for a freshman. Notable: U-M's offense ranked 23rd in the country, averaging 13.29 goals per game … The Wolverines finished fourth in the country for fewest turn- overs, with 13.71 per game. Women's Lacrosse (5-1, 0-0 Big Ten) Best Per formance — Win over No. 18 Colorado: On Feb. 23, U-M routed Colorado, 20-7. Five Wolverines notched hat tricks to lead the Wolver- ines to victory. MVP — Junior attack Caitlin Muir: She led the team with 16 goals and 11 assists. Honors: Senior midfielder Molly Gar- rett and Muir were named to the 2020 Tewaaraton Watch List, which honors the top player in the country. Notable: U-M finished the season ranked No. 13 in the country … The Wolverines' lone loss was a 10-8 defeat at No. 16 USC … Three players — Muir, junior midfielder Maggie Kane and sophomore midfielder Kaitlyn Mead — had three hat tricks each this season. Softball (15-8, 0-0 Big Ten) Best Performance — 11-2 blowout win over No. 7 Florida: U-M rolled to victory over the No. 7 Gators on Feb. 8. Sophomore pitcher Alex Storanko pitched a complete game, allowing two runs on six hits. MVP — Junior pitcher Meghan Beaubien: The left-hander had an ERA of 1.52 in 73⅔ innings and posted a 7-5 record. She had a 1.03 ERA over the Wolverines' spring break trip, allowing just five earned runs over 34 innings, and carried a perfect game into the sixth inning in a 1-0 loss to No. 3 Texas on Feb. 29. Honors: Before the season, Beaubien and sophomore outfielder Lexie Blair were named among 50 candidates on the watch list for the USA Softball Col- legiate Player of the Year. Notable: U-M posted four wins over top-25 opponents in nine tries … Se- nior outfielder Thais Gonzalez led the team in batting average, with a .357 clip, but had just 28 at-bats … Blair led the regulars with a .307 average (on a team-high 75 at-bats) … Storako ranked third nationally in strikeouts per seven innings (13.2); nobody in the country averaged a better clip with more innings pitched than her 75. Men's Swimming and Diving (6-1, 4-1 Big Ten) Best Performance — Win at Ohio State Jan. 18: U-M won decisively, 190-110, over the Buckeyes, taking vic- tory in 12 of 16 events. Senior Miles Smachlo took first in both the 100-yard butterfly and the 200-yard butterfly, while junior Luiz Gustavo Borges won both the 50-yard freestyle and 100- yard freestyle. MVP — Senior Felix Auböck: He was one of seven U-M swimmers to win Big Ten titles this season, and is the only one that won two. He won conference crowns in the 500-yard freestyle and 1,650-yard freestyle. Honors: U-M had six All-Big Ten first- team selections: Auböck, sophomore Patrick Callan, senior Tommy Cope, Smachlo, senior Charlie Swanson and junior Ross Todd. U-M also had six named to the All-Big Ten second team: Gustavo Borges, sophomore Will Chan, freshman Cam Peel, freshman River Wright, sophomore Eric Storms and ju- nior Ricardo Vargas. Notable: U-M won its 41st Big Ten Championship and first since 2016 … 12 Wolverines qualified for the NCAA Championships before cancellation … The Wolverines were ranked No. 3 in the country at the end of the season. Women's Swimming and Diving (6-0, 4-0 Big Ten) Best Performance — Victory over Indiana Jan. 11: U-M won 186-114, winning 12 of 16 events. Sophomore Olivia Carter won all three of her indi- vidual swims, while sophomore Maggie MacNeil and freshman Kaitlynn Sims each won two events. MVP — Sophomore Maggie Mac- Junior pitcher Meghan Beaubien helped the Wolverines ascend to No. 18 nationally in the USA Today coaches' poll before the season was called off. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY