The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1222671
APRIL 2020 THE WOLVERINE 15 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Getting To Know Men's Lacrosse Fifth-Year Senior Attackman Rocco Sutherland Men's lacrosse fifth-year senior attackman Rocco Suther- land was in the midst of a productive campaign in Ann Arbor before the coronavirus outbreak cut the Wolverines' season shor t after just seven contests (the team had com- piled a 4-3 record). The attackman had already racked up 11 goals and four assists on the year, with the former statistic tying for the fourth most on the roster and the latter deadlocked for third. Fortunately for the Northport, N.Y., native, the NCAA is exploring allowing spring sport seniors to return for another ye a r o f e l i gi b i l i t y next season. Here a few other interesting facts you may not have known about Sutherland: Nickname: "I think Rocco is a pretty unique name in it- self, so I was fortunate enough to have a pretty cool name." Favorite restaurant in Ann Arbor: "We go to Moe's [Southwest Grill] quite a bit as a team." Best meal he can cook by himself: "Not much. I can make breakfast foods pretty good — bacon, eggs and cheese." Hobbies: "I like to play golf, tennis and video games with my teammates." Favorite TV show: "'Peaky Blinders.'" Favorite movie: "'Jumanji.'" Dream vacation: "Hawaii." Role model: "I'd have to go with my dad on that one." Sports he plays besides lacrosse: "Tennis and golf are the other big two sports I like to play." Why he chose Michigan: "My brother actually went here as well, so I'd visit him a bunch when I was young. I remem- ber coming up to see him as a little kid and then fell in love with this place from an early age." What he hopes to do after lacrosse: "I'm not too sure yet. I'd like a career in sales, though, in Manhattan in New York City." His overall experience at Michigan: "It's been great, even though [the 2020 season] was obviously cut short these last few days [in mid-March]. That news was tough to hear, and it definitely ruined some dreams and cut our season short. Everyone in the country is going through it the same way we are though, so we just kind of have to get over it. "I wouldn't trade this experience at Michigan for anything in the world, and it's the best decision I've ever made." — Austin Fox Sutherland ranked second on the Wolverines with 13 assists in 2018, and had notched 11 goals with four assists in seven games this season. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY MICHIGAN'S TOP PERFORMERS Women's lacrosse senior midfielder Molly Garrett: She was pegged as the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week March 3 after tallying eight of Michigan's 12 draw control victories in the Maize and Blue's 12-11 triumph over Albany Feb. 29. Garrett also contributed on the offen- sive end against the Great Danes by posting a goal and two ground balls, with the former occurring at the 14:15 mark of the first period and giving the Wolverines a 6-0 lead at the time. Women's basketball sophomore forward Naz Hillmon: She was named a unanimous first-team All- Big Ten selection by both the coaches and media March 2, marking her second straight first-team all-conference distinction. Hillmon started all 29 of Michigan's regular-season con- tests, and led the team in scoring (17.1 points per game), rebounding (8.6) and field goal percentage (58.2). Her 10 double-doubles ranked third in the league, and she scored at least 10 points 24 times while hit- ting the 20-point mark on 11 different occasions. The sopho- more joins former Wolverines Katelynn Flaherty (2014-18) and Hallie Thome (2015-19) as the only two U-M players to earn All-Big Ten first-team honors in two different seasons. Women's golf junior Ashley Kim: A final round, even- par 72 helped her tally a 215 (-1) total and subsequently share medalist honors with Oklahoma State's Maja Stark March 3 at the Hurricane Invitational in Coral Gables, Fla., an event that saw U-M take fourth place out of 12 teams. Kim's Sunshine State title was the first of her career, making her just the 19th Wolverine golfer ever to win an event. It was also the first individual trophy for a Michigan golfer in three years, with the last one occurring at the 2017 Big Ten Championships when Elodie Van Dievoet won top honors. Ice hockey sophomore goalie Strauss Mann: He was tabbed as the Big Ten First Star of the Week March 3 after an impressive two-game show- ing at Minnesota Feb. 28-29. Mann first tal- lied a career-best 48 saves in U-M's 2-2 tie with the Gophers Feb. 28, before registering another 27 saves in the Wolverines' 2-1 tri- umph Feb. 29 in Minneapolis. The sophomore goalie finished the weekend with a .962 save percentage and a 1.44 goals against average, resulting in what was his third weekly honor of the season. Women's gymnastics sophomore Natalie Wojcik: She earned consecutive Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honors Feb. 25 and March 3, bringing her total for the individual award to nine for her career. The Feb. 25 accolade came after Wojcik won the all-around at the Feb. 22 El- evate the Stage competition in Toledo, Ohio, with her 39.775 score standing as the sev- enth-best mark in the event in program history. The sopho- more followed that up by once again winning the all-around (39.675) Feb. 28 against New Hampshire, while taking home two other event titles against the Wildcats when she matched her career highs on bars (9.950) and on floor (9.950).